MtownJacket
Dodd-Like
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2009
- Messages
- 6,698
I would be very sad to see CPJ go. I truly believe that his offensive scheme and playcalling give us the best shot to perform at a high level. I can even handle volatility where the high highs come between low lows. But while I think CPJ is a great coach as far as X's and O's, he has some fundamental flaws that have prevented sustained success and he is too stubborn to change:
1. CPJ is too loyal to his staff members. In what world does it make sense to change DCs 3 times but not let them bring in their own staff? Al Groh has a great defensive mind, and I'm not saying he would have been the right fit in a different world, but how do you expect a guy to come in and teach a unique defensive system with assistant coaches who have never used the system before? The guy felt like he was on an island because CPJ was more loyal to Groh's assistants than Groh himself. We should have cleaned house on the defensive side of the ball years ago, how many tries does it take to realize that the DC isn't the problem? And what about special teams? Special teams has been a problem every single year, and you should get a clue when rotating special teams duties through different assistants doesn't fix it.
2. I actually think CPJ's recruiting has been okay, not great but about what you would expect with our restrictions. However, I don't think CPJ properly appreciates how strong our academic reputation is nationally. Why is Stanford offering all of our top recruits, but we aren't offering hardly anyone in California? We should be evaluating everyone with a Stanford offer to see if they are a good fit for our systems. Part of that is a resources problem, but now that CPJ has additional recruiting resources he still is focusing too narrowly on the southeast. If GT ever becomes relevant again, it will be through a combination of great X's and O's (which CPJ has) AND marketing our program on a national level as the premier destination for recruits who actually care about academics and life after football.
In any case, CPJ wont be fired after this season. Too much time left on his contract. But I think next year his seat will start out blazing hot, and if he doesn't succeed on the field in 2019 then I wouldn't be surprised if he retired on his own. I can't imagine it is very fun for him anymore (especially when they are changing the damn rules to neutralize his system).
tl;dr
CPJ could have been great, but he is too stubborn to fix the actual problems so he is probably toast after next year.
1. CPJ is too loyal to his staff members. In what world does it make sense to change DCs 3 times but not let them bring in their own staff? Al Groh has a great defensive mind, and I'm not saying he would have been the right fit in a different world, but how do you expect a guy to come in and teach a unique defensive system with assistant coaches who have never used the system before? The guy felt like he was on an island because CPJ was more loyal to Groh's assistants than Groh himself. We should have cleaned house on the defensive side of the ball years ago, how many tries does it take to realize that the DC isn't the problem? And what about special teams? Special teams has been a problem every single year, and you should get a clue when rotating special teams duties through different assistants doesn't fix it.
2. I actually think CPJ's recruiting has been okay, not great but about what you would expect with our restrictions. However, I don't think CPJ properly appreciates how strong our academic reputation is nationally. Why is Stanford offering all of our top recruits, but we aren't offering hardly anyone in California? We should be evaluating everyone with a Stanford offer to see if they are a good fit for our systems. Part of that is a resources problem, but now that CPJ has additional recruiting resources he still is focusing too narrowly on the southeast. If GT ever becomes relevant again, it will be through a combination of great X's and O's (which CPJ has) AND marketing our program on a national level as the premier destination for recruits who actually care about academics and life after football.
In any case, CPJ wont be fired after this season. Too much time left on his contract. But I think next year his seat will start out blazing hot, and if he doesn't succeed on the field in 2019 then I wouldn't be surprised if he retired on his own. I can't imagine it is very fun for him anymore (especially when they are changing the damn rules to neutralize his system).
tl;dr
CPJ could have been great, but he is too stubborn to fix the actual problems so he is probably toast after next year.
