Hiring from within begs the question if we are going to improve in the critical areas that were our short-comings this season considering they were a part of it. Offensive play calling, QB coaching, RB's, Special teams, defensive fits etc. could all use improvement, some more than others.

Perhaps the guys that left were just in the way of what could've been better. Or maybe this is how Elko ensures less bone headed play calls happen. Or a full grasp of the scheme and Elkoisms could be better than a splash hire that will want to make things their own.

It will take another big step to have any better of a season next year, and with a much harder schedule. Elko has earned a decent level of faith with the progress and opportunities he's set himself up for, but the pressure is on.

Hiring from within, the promotions, the assistants bonus structure etc. are all a good look for Elko and coukd really help in the long run, so long as it works out now.

Wiggins performed well during his time as an elite coach so I won't complain about him being promoted (he deserves a chance somewhere as the OC) - though it's a rather large gamble to give a first time play caller the reigns at program in which his predessor was lackluster in play calling and QB development. Let's hope we get a new O Line coach.

The other side of the equation is how are we going to land an elite QB? Our soon to be true senior QB hasn't worked out and developed anywhere close to expectations (buying weapons didn't fix the issue - especially when you struggle to hit them when they are open and make bad decisions).

On defense - I'm okay with internal promotions as we made improvements this year and our real DC is Elko. The jury is out if he will develop into an elite coach in time but he is an elite DC. Decisions were made to help our rushing defnese (line/lb) so let's hope he corrected his prior CEO role's personnel hiring decision errors.

northeastag said:

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Offense kind of stunk it up the last six quarters of the year. But don't forget that we were one or two plays away from the CFB quarterfinals. Why some want to just throw that out is a mystery.

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Yep

Not a good idea to ignore 11 games of data and only focus on two games of data

Elko liked what he saw overall with the offense so it makes perfect sense he wants to continue down that path and promote from within

Because unlike texags posters, Elko sees the whole picture and doesn't just cherry pick data.

I'm sure he'll work on what's necessary to fix what went wrong in the final 2 games

8-4 to 11-2 first round exit to…?

I wonder if Elko is playing a different bet here - not that these guys are going to be great/all-star replacements, but that consistency across the board trumps bringing in new schemes and processes.

Same way everyone is talking about how old Indiana is as a team (which is something we see a lot with teams that seeming punch well above their weight), I wonder if Elko is thinking that having these guys continue to practices the same, prepare the same, hear the same plays called, etc. will help them perform better in a way that will be more meaningful than somebody installing a "better" offense, but it being all new.

I'm not giving an opinion on this bet one way or the other, but I think when you see this many internal promotions - especially for some of the positions that we're backfilling with guys that were on staff but not in major roles - I don't think you can justify it as him thinking they're all "better" (if you were starting from day 1) than anyone else he could get, so it makes me think he must be pushing really, really hard in the direction of consistency.

LB12Diamond said:

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Hiring within is great way to do things if you Have a solid culture in place.

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The culture seems to be pretty solid and is definitely better than what we had in the past. Hopefully it adds up to another good season or better.

JDCAG (NOT Colin) said:

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I wonder if Elko is playing a different bet here - not that these guys are going to be great/all-star replacements, but that consistency across the board trumps bringing in new schemes and processes.

Same way everyone is talking about how old Indiana is as a team (which is something we see a lot with teams that seeming punch well above their weight), I wonder if Elko is thinking that having these guys continue to practices the same, prepare the same, hear the same plays called, etc. will help them perform better in a way that will be more meaningful than somebody installing a "better" offense, but it being all new.

I'm not giving an opinion on this bet one way or the other, but I think when you see this many internal promotions - especially for some of the positions that we're backfilling with guys that were on staff but not in major roles - I don't think you can justify it as him thinking they're all "better" (if you were starting from day 1) than anyone else he could get, so it makes me think he must be pushing really, really hard in the direction of consistency.

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In the ever-changing world of college football today, this is a great plan. If you can remain consistent in personnel and scheme, you can certainly out-perform a more talented opposition. See Appalachian St

Hiring from within means you don't have to completely change your offense that you've spent the last 2 years building.

As much as the zoo complains about Reed, let's throw an entirely new playbook at him, instead of continuing development.

Looks like every coaching change is a major upgrade. I also thought the Gumps would beat Indiana.

It either works or it doesn't not sure by people get bent out of shape. Elko's career is based on these hires. If they work he is a genius if theybdon't he's fired.

ironmanag said:

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It either works or it doesn't not sure by people get bent out of shape. Elko's career is based on these hires. If they work he is a genius if theybdon't he's fired.

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Offseason. And so it begins....

I think Elko has decided after Klein screwed up his season that he needs loyalty in the staff.
One way to do it is promote from within.

I would argue less of loyalty and more of not completely changing the scheme and losing commitments and having to revamp an offensive staff less than a month from the transfer portal.

Loyalty is great, but Elko is not an idiot… very few people would say if someone is waving a better opportunity with higher pay.

Scheme is king right now with Elko, he's not tenured here yet he cannot afford to have a complete change on offense and lose momentum going into most likely his most important year.

Look at Georgia and Alabama (Saban era). They were very consistent for many years basically running the same type of offense and defense. Bama for sure. Relied heavily on big and physical in the trenches and a strong run game. Didn't get fancy in play calling and changing up schemes. They were very successful that way. Granted, saban dis have some major coaching changes, but nothing really changed because the incoming coaches adopted Saban's culture and fit into the overall scheme.

AggieDub04 said:

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Better completion %, more passing yards, and higher passer rating than Arch you troll. Now who hasn't developed?

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Arch sucks too.

I think Elko has earned the right to be given the benefit of the doubt in every decision. I do think Marcel has a ceiling and he might have hit it, but see above.

Next season should be a tougher schedule- we need a QB who has confidence in himself and his line so that he can stand there and hit open receivers. That's the big need/question for next year.

Can we have a decent OL, and a QB that is accurate and calm.

oh- and please give me a kicker.

Ok, so in of itself, promotion from within isn't necessarily a bad thing for the reasons you said. However, it starts to seem to become a bit sketch when you do it for 90% of your offensive staff changes. It particularly worthy of criticism when your QB clearly isn't developing as fast as he needs to and you have an OC with no actual experience. Not to mention, Lynch's resume isn't exactly the caliber of say Sarkisian when he was promoted from within at Alabama. Also, when you do it across the board it begs the question of did you even consider anyone outside? We may all eat crow if they ball out, but it isn't wrong for us to at least question the approach.

Reed is not the problem, you can win with him. What we can't do is put it all on him. When we couldn't run the ball we fell apart.