Posts Tagged ‘larry fedora’

Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken talked about the process of coordinators moving up one chair to the head coaching spot with the media yesterday. He had a lot to say. 

“It’s hard enough to get a head coaching job without being a head coach," Monken told The Oklahoman. "With all the money people are getting paid now, (school decision makers) don’t want to guess."

Monken is correct. As more and more money pours into college football, the amount of pressure on coaches equally rises. Administrators have a quick trigger finger and aren't afraid to use it (see: Bohn, Mike). 

“The next step is an offensive guy who’s scoring," said Monken. "Put some people in the stands, exciting offense and all that. And that’s becoming more and more common. You have to take a smaller job, if you can, and win.”

This was a line of thought that played out on the FootballScoop Twitter feed earlier today.

A FBS HC's right hand man said 2 me yesterday, "That's why sometimes hot OC's take a lower level HC job…just to prove they can be HC" #Gus

— FootballScoop Staff (@footballscoop) November 30, 2012

Being the head man is an entirely different world than serving as an offensive coordinator. Monken smartly realizes his best move may be to follow the steps of Larry Fedora, who jumped from the Oklahoma State offensive coordinator to the head coaching job at Southern Miss, and Gus Malzahn, who did the same when moving from Auburn to Arkansas State. 

At a reported salary of $600,000, Monken knows he can afford to be picky. In fact, he reportedly turned down the offer to become head coach at Tulane last year. 

“You’ve just got to be careful. It’s OK to wave at the neighbor lady, flirt a little bit. I don’t know if it’s across the street. Better be careful, might not want to go in the house. But it’s nice to be wanted. It’s nice to have someone tell you, ‘Hey, we want you. And here’s this amount of money. And a five-year deal. It’s your own program…

“Everybody likes to be smoothed. Everybody likes to be wanted. And if you’re not careful, you can make an emotional decision, even if you know it’s the wrong thing.

“How many coaches have done that, taken the job and said, ‘Can I get the old one back, I screwed up?’”

Monken isn't a fan of the timeline that most coaching changes operate on. Coaches have to juggle the interview and hiring process while simultaneously helping their current team finish their season. It's an awkward timeline, but it's the price of playing poker in this day and age. 

"That’s what’s screwed up about our profession, you can’t control that," explained Monken. "When opportunities come up, they don’t allow you to finish. You say, ‘Hey, can we wait?’ They say, ‘We don’t want to wait.’”

As one of four finalists for the FootballScoop Offensive Coordinator of the Year award, we already knew Monken understood the coaching aspect of his profession. After hearing his thoughts; it's clear to us that he has a very good understanding of the process. He'll be a good head coach one day. 

Preparing for a quality opponent during a short week always provides unique challenges to a coaching staff. So much work to do in such a short window of time...

With that in mind, immediately following their 68-50 loss to Georgia Tech, North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora reached out to a few coaches for some advice on how to prepare his guys in a five day span before they kicked off against Virginia last night (which they won 37-13).

"The best advice I got from a majority of guys is just don't wear them out. You're going to think you need to keep getting repitition, and really it's more important that they're fresh." Fedora explained to the Herald Sun yesterday.

Coming off from a loss that looked more like a basketball score, a lot of coaching staffs would have to bite the bullet to take that kind of advice. Conventional coaching wisdom says that the more repititions you take at something (like defense), the better off you'll be. But, as coaches told Fedora, sometimes allowing your guys to play with fresh legs under them is just as (if not more) important.

Last night, the UNC defense came up big on a goal line stand to maintain their seven point lead, and then the offense took things over from there.

That was the story of the night. Both sides of the ball looked fresh for the Tar Heels, and that likely hinged on the decision that Fedora and his staff made to take their foot off the gas during practice this last week and sacrifice some repititions for fresh legs. The decision defintiely paid off as the staff collected their win number seven in their first season in Chapel Hill.

Two games dot the schedule tonight, the traditional Thursday night affair on ESPN and a special mid-week game in the Southland Conference. Let's get right to it.

North Carolina at Virginia (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Though it may have seemed impossible when the Cavaliers endured their six-game losing streak, Mike London's team is still in contention for a bowl game. Virginia bookended its half-season slide wth wins over Richmond and Penn State to open the year and defeats of N.C. State and Miami in the last two weeks. A win tonight and next week at Virginia Tech will send the Cavs to back-to-back bowls for the first time since 2004-05. Nevermind that Virginia hasn't beaten Virginia Tech since 2003, that's next week's problem. What does Virginia need to do to beat North Carolina?

A big issue for Mike London's team has been its disconnect between yards and points. The Cavs have gained the fifth-most yards in the ACC but scored the ninth-most points. Their defense has allowed the third-fewest yards in the conference but allowed the fifth-most points. Underlying that issue has been its problems with turnovers.Virginia possesses and even turnover margin (6-6) in their four wins and stand at a minus-12 (16-4) in their six losses. That minus-12 margin puts them in last place in the ACC and 112th in the nation in turnover margin.

Quarterback Michael Rocco returned to a regular spot in the line-up last week and threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns in the 41-40 win over Miami. Virginia will need Rocco to remain hot and put pressure on a smarting North Carolina defense fresh off a 68-50 loss to Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels have also struggled away from home this season, winning only once in four tries. Tonight's game is in Charlottesville. 

If nothing else, you should tune in to watch the masterful North Carolina running back Giovani Bernard. The sophomore leads the ACC and ranks eighth nationally with 126 rushing yards per game while simultaneously ranking fourth in the country in punt returns at nearly 18 yards per return. Bernard won the N.C. State game with a 74-yard punt return touchdown with 13 seconds to go to break a 35-35 tie. The combination of Bernard and quarterback Bryn Renner (270 yards per game, 20 touchdowns) will be a handful for Jim Reid's defense. 

A bowl game is out of the picture for Larry Fedora's group in his first year at the helm, but at 6-4 he can still lead the Tar Heels to their first eight-win regular season since 2009. 

Southeastern Louisiana at Nicholls State (7 p.m. ET)

Bragging rights in the River Bell Classic are on the line tonight as Ron Roberts' first season at the helm of Southeastern Louisiana concludes in Thibodaux, La., against Charlie Stubbs and Nicholls State. At 1-8 overall and 0-6 in the Southland Conference, 2012 has been a trying season for Nicholls State but part of that can be salvaged if the Colonels can extend their home winning streak in the River Bell Classic to six games. The 2010 meeting came down to a late two-point conversion when Nicholls State batted down a Southeastern Louisiana pass to preserve a 27-25 win. 

A win tonight for Southeastern Louisiana means the Lions will finish in third place in the Southland in Roberts' first year. Roberts has impressively put the Lions near the top of the standings despite ranking at the bottom of the Southland Conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Luckily for Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls State is seventh among eight teams in scoring offense and sixth in scoring defense.  

North Carolina has lost five straight games to N.C. State.

Larry Fedora, in his first year as head coach of the Tar Heels, is keenly aware of this fact.

Fedora said that “since my first handshake when I took the job" he has known the importance of North Carolina's losing streak to its in-state rival, and the urgency to end it. With the Wolfpack coming to Chapel Hill on Saturday, Fedora made sure his players remembered the way the last handful of meetings have gone.

According to the News & Observer, "(UNC players) went into their locker room and found N.C. State paraphernalia everywhere. There were red and white streamers and balloons. Pictures of N.C. State players celebrating after a victory. Signs with a hand on them that said, 'Five in a row.' There were signs with N.C. State’s logo and the words, 'Our State,' plastered on them."

Fedora later downplayed the decorations. "I don't know if that's a big deal or not," he said. "We do things to motivate our players, I'm sure just like everybody else does."

“I took some of the stuff and put it up in my locker, just as a reminder that they have beat us five consecutive times,” said senior offensive lineman Jonathan Cooper. “I don’t want to end my senior season with that on my record.”

North Carolina competes this season under NCAA sanctions, meaning the 5-3 Tar Heels (2-2 in the ACC) are ineligible for the ACC Championship and will not play in a bowl game. With only four games left in the season, a date with the Wolfpack is the biggest game left on the Tar Heels' schedule. 

Fedora's team can play the role of spoiler. At 2-1 in the ACC, N.C. State sits in the thick of Atlantic Division standings as one of four teams with one conference loss. 

After popping balloons in the locker room, Fedora's team hopes to pop a losing streak on the field this Saturday.