You’re going to consider the possibility you might hate me, but today is another Friday without the Friday Feedback. I’m giving a presentation on stat interpretation tonight at an APBRmetrics seminar in Houston and the preparation took me a whole lot longer than I ever imagined.

Nevertheless, I’m pretty excited and I figure I can learn a few things and share them later. I hear there are a few games around town over the weekend, too. Perhaps I’ll get a chance to go to them. Perhaps I’ll be an invited guest. Perhaps you’ll forgive me.

Just a few things before we go for the weekend …

Welcome you to the April 1st edition of Friday Feedback, which thanks you for getting this far and thinking, if even subconsciously, “There’s no way this guy is teaching people anything that doesn’t involve Third Eye Blind, Nestea or employment agreements.” Much appreciated.

Spring football continues today and tomorrow and repeats the W-F-Sa. cycle next week before going M-W-F the final three weeks. We get to speak with players for the first time today and I wonder if Dana Holgorsen has a little or a lot of Pete Carroll in him.

 Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, improvise.

rekterx said:

The guy’s background and experience ARE intriguing. And I am wondering if it will be announced who it was that made this hire; Stew, Holgy, or Ollie?

Mike … got a lead on who led the way on this hire?

I can see the WVU football program becoming cutting edge in more ways than one. I am anticipating some innovative approaches to leadership training and community service being tied to the football program.

I am guessing that Ollie saw an opportunity for something special and sold both Stew and Holgs on the idea.

While at Harvard, Daron Roberts took a sabbitacal to do a paper that involved the person with whome his professor was obsessed — Mike Leach at Texas Tech. He worked with Leach for a month and got to know Leach and Holgorsen. When Roberts got into coaching, he kept in touch with his guys. He knows special teams pretty well and WVU needed a special teams guy. Roberts also did some legal work in Houston and I believe some of his people were people who knew Oliver Luck, but that only came into play during the “Hey, what do you think of this guy?” phase. Don’t think Stewart had anything to do with it, though. Holgorsen has a say on the staff, per the conditions of his contract.

glibglub said:

The most impressive thing about him is that he worked as as an aide to Senator Joseph Lieberman, who played the father on TV’s Alf.

That’s not true. Is it?

Josh24601 said:

When an opponent returns a kickoff past the 50 at Mountaineer Field this fall, I’m excited for some of the keg-bellies in the crowd to intone: “Dammit, Roberts, I want you to stand there with your Harvard mouth and draw up some f—ing kickoff coverage!”

Oh, that’s going to happen. Can’t wait for the “Guy’s never coached college!” slams. Much better than the series of Harvard Crimson/Crimson Tide/Red Sea jokes I’ve been working on all week.

SheikYbuti said:

Drinking at work again, are we, glib?

That’s not true, either. Is it?

Mr. M said:

I feel safe in inferring that Mr. Galloway’s lateral departure probably followed one of those “Uhhhh, Lonnie — got a minute?” moments.

That’s not what happened. Mr. Galloway was welcome to coach at WVU, even if he didn’t totally believe that.

Michael said:

This guy can’t be for real. His curriculum vitae along is extremely impressive but then you add that he has his own sports/ life skills camp for at risk kids that focuses 75% of its time on academics/college prep, and you begin to wonder if this person is a character in some script from a Hollywood fairy tale… and his Daddy is a preacher.

Agreed. My initial reaction to guys/stories like that is to try not to be overly impressed by credentials before interaction. Then I met him and I was overly impressed. I won’t gush but he knows he’s a fairytale and he doesn’t act that way at all. Oh, and he can’t be affiliated with that camp as long as he’s affiliated with a college. NCAA rules prohibit it. Sad side effect, though I’d have to imagine the camp will go on without him.

The 25314 said:

Well, let’s see if he can coach football. I’ve seen some brilliant men who couldn’t and some morons who could.

Yeah, that’s my point. He seems like a great guy. I know great guys who lost their jobs. And he happens to be working with the punt return and kickoff return teams, which haven’t been good at all for a few years now.

Wayne said:

His story has some of the same elements as Mike Tomlin’s does. Let’s hope that he can coach that well.

Common denominator? Billy Stewart! WVU will win the Super Bowl soon. That’s how good this guy is.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

Folks, say hello to another Texas recruiter!

Possibly, but Stewart told me Roberts will also take over the Virginia/Washington, D.C. area it lost a grip of when Galloway bounced and Chris Beatty was bounced.

hershy112 said:

First of all, to the picture. That looks really good.

Secondly, it’s impressive that the offense only takes only 3 days to install. Reminds me of Remember the Titans when he talks about how thin his playbook is, but they will run it well.

Yeah, that three-day installation arched my brow when I first heard it. Frankly, it’s refreshing. I got a ltitle tired of being told how hard it was to install an offense when I and others have always been suspicious that maybe it wasn’t that hard. It’s not simple, to be sure, and I probably can’t do it, but if you can put this thing in in six hours — forget three days — and then go back and brush up on a few dusty areas, we’re not building and flying rockets. We’re throwing and running footballs. What I’ve been told and what I’ve gathered is there are a bunch of plays — but not a lot — and fewer formations. Each play in each formation has different options for what to do depending on the defense and the personnel.

KMS said:

I like this guy more with every word that comes out of his mouth. Cannot wait for the season. My expectations are not sky high for this year, but I think the future is looking spectacular.

And that picture just sent my stomach on lunch break about an hour too early.

Same applies for him as it does for Roberts … except we know Holgorsen can coach. And he’s easy to like. I can only judge him on interactions thus far because I haven’t seen him coach and haven’t questioned a play call or appreciated an explanation. So far, he’s fine by me. By the way, can we get some votes on this meatball dilemma? I can’t partake. Cheese makes my throat swell.

Sam said:

JB,

I ask the same question over and over again precisely because nobody will answer it. I’ll ask it again: what expectations exist for Holgorsen and what does he have to achieve to keep his job? I’m getting sick of saying that I was never a Stewart supporter; I killed his ridiculously conservative offense from day one. But the standard that we’ve seen set is that nine wins a year and winning a bowl game once every three years ago isn’t good enough for fans. We’ve also said that the presence of special, once-in-a-generation, talents like Pat White (and Slaton and Schmitt) doesn’t matter; our expectations are high regardless of the presence of those types of guys. Fine.

What is? That’s what I want to know. The answer seems to be, “Well, he doesn’t really have to win MORE, he just win in the way that we did when had Pat White and Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt. So…umm, yknow, more offense.”

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say, “Hey, we’re paying you an obscene amount of money. We’re paying your assistant coaches an obscene amount of money. We gave the last guy three years to win 27 games and one bowl game. If you don’t win 30 games and two bowl games in your first three years, you’re gone. Now go do it.” If he can’t achieve at least that (and, frankly, he ought to, given his innovative offense and the relative weakness of the Big East), then he isn’t worth the ridiculous amount of money he and his staff are getting paid. Why is it so scandalous to have expectations for somebody making millions of dollars? Why is now, after the last coach was gotten rid of for not meeting amorphous expectations that nobody ever seemed to be able to clearly explain, entirely unreasonable to set expectations for a new, well-paid coach?

This isn’t about longing for Bill Stewart’s return. Nobody wants that. This is about saying that if we’re going to be all business now – to the point that we ignore the fact that Bill Stewart’s first three years were objectively better than Rich Rodriguez’s first three years, and Don Nehlen’s first three years, and if we’re going to abandon the loyalty that WVU used to have for its coaches (through thick and thin) – then lets be all business and clearly state programatic expectations.

This makes my throat swell, too. I didn’t pick this comment out for any real reason other than I think it just about encapsulates everything that went back and forth and was bandied about — and totally overshadowed Holgorections, too — in that particular thread. I’m can’t grab a tablet and a chisel and establish expectations because I feel like it’s a waste of time. There are too many variables and they’re just going to change. What if Geno gets hurt today and can’t play this year? I’d say people who hoped for 10 wins yesterday — hypothetical —  can’t do that now. What if Casteel is hired to be the head coach at Eastern Michigan next year — another hypothetical. The 2012 season will be very different. What if WVU goes 12-1 the next two years with two BCS bowl wins and then goes 4-8 in 2013? You’ve got 28  wins, but a coach that used the incumbent talent his first two years and then won four games in the third with what is mostly his talent. You can go on and on with these conditions. It’s a fun exercise, but it’s not something you can apply. You can’t specify that which involves variables you can judge but cannot control. You can apply generalities: In addition to complying with rules and graduating players, Holgorsen has to win the Big East and compete regularly. He has to, in Oliver Luck’s opinion, be in pursuit of a national title. He has to satisfy specific financial requirements. In short, he has to do everything to avoid the opinion Luck formed about Stewart and the fate that came to Stewart. And we’re all forgetting this: There’s a new president and athletic director and chair of the BOG and, if you choose to go this far, person in the Governor’s office. The people in their current positions would’t have done what was done in 2008.

bradmc said:

Amber Marra can clear this up! (Sort of. There is no actual, logical answer.)

Nevertheless:

Photo of WVU students used in contrasting polls
http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Sports/WVUSports/201103211283?page=2&build=cache

You would think that’s something I would have read.

SheikYbuti said:

There’s really no mystery. No one has ever confused the demographics of GQ readers with those of MTV subscribers. They may even be, down to each and every soul, mutually exclusive. One man’s trash is another treasure, and all that.

And vice versa.

Karl said:

I guess as the saying goes, you either love us or hate us.

True … and I was waiting for a Mr. Perfect vignette.

glibglub said:

I’ve been over GQ ever since they tried to put me in parachute pants back in the 1980’s.

Well done.
/Standing ovation 

JP said:

According to the learned sports journalist in charge of tweeting from spring practice for wvmetronews:

“Bruce Irving already wrecking havoc”

Who is this Bruce Irving he speaks of?

Friend of Jeff Mullens’.

lowercase jeff said:

wrecking havoc doesn’t make much sense either…..

Sure doesn’t. Especially in non-contact drills.

pkoncker40 said:

I hate to spoil the fun, but would like to raise the possibility that “Irving” and “wrecking havoc” are possibile autocorrect casualties brought on by tweeting via the esteemed journalist’s mobile device…

Hate to spoil your fun, but why should that matter?

Sam said:

Dawson’s comments on Urban at the 3:45 mark are fantastic. The dismissal of the idea that tight ends are merely guys who “put their hands on the ground” is precisely the sort of thinking that ought to be appealing to everybody but the game’s most genuine purists. Of course, those purists probably object to the idea of tight ends.

Absolutely. Reminds me of the Mitch Hedberg routine about three-bedroom homes. If your kitchen has a bed, is it a four-bedroom home?

Josh24601 said:

“WVU is going to throw the ball . . . [a]nd someone has to catch those passes.”

Chad Johnston and Wes Lyons would like a word.

Fair enough. Would we speak in … complete … sentences?

ccteam said:

Tavon getting 10 catches and 4-5 opportunities to carry the ball on sweeps or motioning into the backfield per game sounds pretty good to me.

I’m not sure people are prepared for a 50-pass game, but I think we might see two or more.

Sam said:

*Braces for the inevitable criticism that’s going to come from the purists*

Rest assured the biggest fight throughout this season beside, “Why is Stewart on the sidelines still?” is going to center around this offense. As exciting as it is, it represents such a total departure from what Mountaineers fans have become accustomed to over the last…what…100 years? The first time it doesn’t produce a victory, the whinging will be deafening.

“Those offensive lineman have gotta beef up!” “We gotta run it down their throats!” etc. Those will be fun fights to have.

It’s going to happen. There are too many people to ever have a consensus — unless this thing starts off 8-0. I think people are going to have or or develop an appreciation that there’s a general plan, goal, idea, clue what to do. I keep thinking of the Holgorsen quote the first time we met him: “If you run it and it works, do it again. If you run it and it sucks, you probably shouldn’t do it again.”

Sam said:

And before anybody gets the wrong idea, I’m embracing the new offense entirely. I’m not with the purists. Three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust is absolutely unwatchable.

Noted. I always thought people were furious with Rodriguez because there was never a Plan B that involved throwing the ball out of his spread offense, or that the spread at WVU ever involved the throw much at all. People are much more entertained by the pass. This staff absolutely believes in that, too.

SheikYbuti said:

With the new faces on defense, the propensity for a pass-first offense to turn the ball over (often deep in its own territory), and the likelihood that the offense will cause both WVU and its opponent to run more plays in the time allotted, I’d say the days of top-10 defenses are over. I think I’d be more than happy if the WVU defense could rank in the top 40 percent (let’s say no lower than #50) of the FBS teams. For those reasons, it’s more than probable that the average fan will find fault with the defense before blaming the offense, if not this season then down the line. Personally, I don’t much care whether we’re winning 57-45 or 17-13, but it’s nice to know that we may now occasionally win 57-13.

Eh, I think you’re onto something. That’s the side effect to it all.

jtmountaineer said:

The way we fumbled last year, passing more might actually help our turnover count.

Bam!

Parks said:

I enjoy games in which there are big plays. I don’t care if it’s an interception, 50 yard pass or 70 yard run. Big plays make the crowd go crazy, thus make me go crazy.

Big plays, one way or the other, win games. You need yardage and you need points to win and those are best achieved through big plays. On the other side, turnovers win a defense games and you’re involving a greater likelihood to get a turnover when the ball is in the air.

oklahoma mountaineers said:

Just me or does this offense sound like the Product’s, only the run is the beneficiary of suprise, rather than the pass. The coaches go out of their way to say there’s only a few formations to learn — I remember Owen Schmitt saying the same thing about our offense too. The thing is that they do those plays extremely well and through a few wiggles in there to catch the defense trying to play the tendancies.

I know that Tech’s offense was awesome to watch….until they got to the red zone.

Oklahoma State was truly awesome to watch last year — they had not only a home run at receiver, but Kendall Hunter, their TB, is big time as well. Hardly enough ball to go around……

My greatest hope is that the playbook is big enough that the opposition don’t catch up with it in the second, third, etc. time they see it — I believe that is what was the downfall for the Product against the better teams they saw near the end of their run at WVU.

Time will telll…..

Glad you put that last line in there. Too early to judge the playbook, no matter what we’ve been told. I will say this, though. An option offense isn’t wildly different from a passing spread offense. You’re using the field to get your core group of players the ball in the most favorable position. In an option, you’re using the quarterback and the running backs to facilitate and spring one another. In the spread, you’re still using two or three in the backfield — Oh, Holgorsen will use four … — to entice the defense and then get the ball to mutiple receivers.

Parks said:

http://www.wvmetronews.com/wvu.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=44291

Someone look at the picture in that article and tell me that there aren’t pads on his shoulders. I may be wrong, but sure looks like he has pads on his shoulders…

WVU broke no rules Wednesday. I am glad everyone has the eagle eyes, though.

mountaineer knarf said:

Will these changes have any effect on WVU Baseball and will Mr Luck make a move to raise the level of that sport to also contend for a natioanl title or at least get to the College World Series. I know a few years ago Pat White had some negative things to say about the Head Coach and Pat White was a pretty good baseball player and probably could have been a nice addition to the baseball team after his senior year of football. Also to date the issues raised by Pat White has not changed. Do you think if Coach Van Zant does not raise the level of play in that sport that he too can be released or will the status quo be good enough for him to keep his job.

Pat White had nice things to say about a football coach, too. And Pat White was wrong to say what he said about GVZ when they’d never even met before that. As for the issues you bring up, you have to keep in mind the demographics involved in baseball in general as well as in WVU’s recruiting radius make it really difficult to solve the issue you raise. It’s also unfair to expect GVZ, all of a sudden, to contend for a national title just because Luck said the football program needed to. That’s never happened here and WVU has never been remotely close. Could WVU be more competitive? Absolutely. Ultimately, the Mountaineers have to be. WVU runs its athletic department with a profit. It’s making more money now than it did before. That money can be put to use.

Whip said:

So does this mean we’ll see Greg Van Zant doing studio work, ala Rick Pitino after HIS Morehead State loss?

Enjoy the weekend!