Saturday, November 26, 2011

What to do about Spaz's staff

At any normal BCS program, retaining a 3rd-year coach who just went 4-8 would require some staff changes. BC is not a normal program. Spaz doesn't have a 100% control in staffing, so I don't know what will happen. Obviously I have been way off before so take this all with a grain of salt. I have no direct contact with any current staffers so this is all second hand gossip mixed with my opinion.


Dave Brock
Brock needs to come back. Although our offense was terrible this season, it is not fair to Chase Rettig or the other offensive players to make another change. Brock is who Spaz wanted all along (over Day or Rogers) so I assume he is safe. If Brock comes back, he needs to have 100% control of the offense from Day 1. If he wants to scrap everything and switch to an option or a spread or whatever, it needs to be his call. He has BCS experience and has been the lead recruiter on many of our key offensive players. I also think that Brock should have a say in the offensive staff. If he thinks we need to make a change on a position coach, then we should make it. We can't have dissension on the staffs. We cannot have guys undermining each other based on their offensive preferences or cliques. If Brock returns, Spaz has his guy in place for the most critical BC season in 13 years.


Ben Johnson
Johnson received a battlefield promotion when Rogers was fired. The Tight End play remained consistent and supposedly Johnson has been good on the recruiting front. Johnson also has a history with Brock. There is absolutely no reason to make a change here.


Sean Devine
Sean Devine may be a great recruiter. He may be a really hard worker who is passionate about BC. He may have a great feel for Chip Kelly's offense. Those are all great attributes. But he's paid to coach our offensive line and the offensive line play has been declining for three years. I hear from football alumni at random times, but one recurring theme is former BC Olineman frustrated watching our current squad. They are never throwing players under the bus. Instead they are pounding their keyboards about technique and assignments. The coachable things. Perhaps Devine should stay on, but not as OL coach. BC needs to find a great OLine coach who can restore our tradition and help the guys on the roster develop.


Mike Siravo
People who following recruiting closely complained about Jags's approach to recruiting. Many of those same recruitniks are upset with Spaz's disappointing recruiting results. The one constant is recruiting coordinator Mike Siravo. Although we were in the same class, I don't know Siravo personally but he has plenty of defenders. They will tell you Mike works very hard but is undercut by his head coaches. The head coaches' folks will conversely throw Siravo under the bus and say he is Gene's boy. Who knows at this point? Siravo's career has been closely tied to Gene. I doubt he is forced out unless Gene decides to cut him loose.


Bill McGovern
Everyone talks about Spaz's loyalty, but Bill McGovern had a stint at BC well before Spaz hit the scene. McGovern is also a BC parent. I don't want him out. If anything I hope that like Brock he gets more autonomy in 2012. The rumors surrounding Spaz and McGovern are always interesting. Some people have referred it to an old married couple. But if the breakdowns in this year's defense are due to Spaz's meddling, then I want him to leave McGovern alone. Or, if Spaz is going to be the DC and call the plays, then let the public know about it.

19 comments:

hsk said...

McGovern also has major connections with New Jersey high school programs---- he keeps that pipeline open. Spaz is the one who needs to go. For whatever reason ABC had a lot of solo shots of Spaz during the Miami game. Every time I saw that mug it reminded me that that "old grumpy grandpa" we all have in our families. You know, the one always mumbling to himself, never happy, impossible to satisfy, blah blah blah. So sad, I was thinking, "this is best that we could do ???" And then GDF had the audacity to try persuade us to believe that Spaz was the best in the last 15 years. Sometimes its best to just keep your mouth shut, and GDF should have done so. If he needed to speak he should have been honest and simply stated that Spaz has a contract to complete, and BC simply can't afford any changes at this time. I am sure this years, and next years, revenue losses are going to be severe. So, anyway, to preserve any hopes of some half way decent recruiting, if Spaz ain't going then no one else should either. One thing for sure, no season tix from me, and actually no one should buy them unless you are in love with your seat or if BC ends up offering some deeply discounted packages. Tickets can be purchased on game day for next to nothing, and after half- time you can sit just about anywhere you please. Yes, I am pissed......

JBQ said...

ND came out tonight wearing their "Flutie uniforms" against Stanford. "Ever to Excel", Baby! as Dick Vitale would say. I am one of those whose heart was broken in the Jags controversy and his cute as buttons 4 kids. I can tell you for sure that BC was ripped off in both ACC championship games by the referees. Once you have tasted the rarified air, then you want to return. Once you have crossed the Rubicon, there is no turning back. Even the chair of the board of trustees has a superior, even if it be God Himself. Sorry to remind evryone about the subject of reality. BC has a mission that the history of SLU shows can be the death of civilization. Semper Fi. If you spit in th eye of evil, then you will know. Fight on.

neenan said...

JBQ -- Just Be Quiet.

Ryan said...

JBQ is into the sauce tonight. Maybe acid, too.

John said...

Mark Blaudschun's article in today's Globe reads "Spaziani, BC may be on to something" and says he should come back. This is our Globe beat reporter?

Next year I'd like Mark to sit next to me at every home game to help me understand the genius of Spaz.

mod34b said...

ATL, what about Ryan Day? EO posters speculate he is joining Urban Meyer at OSU.

EL MIZ said...

i understand the continuity angle as a reason for keeping brock. that being said, our offense was so abysmal this year that there needs to be a fall guy. whether its the o-line coach (devine) or the WR coach (day) or something else, i'm not sure, but we had one of the worst offenses in america for the 3rd season in a row. keeping the same crew of coaches for "continuity's" sake borders on insane.

janebc said...

Friday's announcement left me with no hope for Boston College football I can only express my amazement and disgust as Boston College has stood by and allowed one individual to do years worth of damage to the football program. I am sickened and deeply saddened.

mod34b said...

janebc,

Perk up!

We are BC. You are BC.

You have every reason to have no hope for next year (even though, actually, I do think there is some hope for a winning season)

I felt depressed too about everything to do with Spaz - hiring, extension, retention etc. Then I thought: BC is my school. Not Spaz's, and certainly not GDF's.

Leahy is also a major disappointment,

All three will be gone soon enough (ok, soon, but not soon enough)

WE ARE BC!!! Not them. We'll continue to support and root for BC long after the incompetents are gone, gone, gone..

Next year, and maybe a few years after that, might be rough, but BC will be back.

Ever to Excel.

WI_Eagle said...

Mod34B, why has Fr. Leahy, SJ been a disappointment? You can't dispute that, since he took over as president in 1996...

The endowment has grown by a factor of 4...the school is in the midst of its second major capital campaign...application volumes and admission standards have increased materially...racial, socio-economic, and geographic diversity have increased materially... rankings (USNWR and others) have increased materially...men's hockey won 3 NCAA championships, men's basketball went to the dance 7 times, had 3 All-Americans, football had 12 straight winning seasons...the number of Jesuits on campus has doubled with the creation of the School of Theology and Ministry (re-affiliation with Weston)...C21 Center was created...I could go on and on and on.

Boston College is in a much better place than it was in 1996 and much of that success is because of Fr. Leahy, SJ. Calling him a major disappointment is really short sighted.

Big Jack Krack said...

I came across this article a little while ago from EO - from Chip Kelly a couple of years ago.

Here's an excerpt:

Told that some people consider his offense futuristic, Kelly demurred. He mentioned isosceles triangles and other geometric principles.

“It dates back to the Pythagorean Theorem,” he said. “It’s actually ancient history.”

Seeing the quizzical looks on the faces of reporters, Kelly broke it down more simply. It’s basic math.

Count the number of players a defense lines up in the box, he said. If there are too many defenders to block, pass the ball. If there are too few defenders to stop the run, run the ball.

“It’s really that simple,” he said. “We all just try to make it look fancy.”

That's the kind of coaches we want - coaches who can count and act accordingly.

If not, we need offensive coordinators and staff who will encourage the players - and then let them call their own plays during the game based on simply counting.

We do not want an OC who runs the ball up the middle with 8 defenders in the box. We do not want an OC who calls for a play everyone - EVERYONE - in the stadium knows is coming.

We want an OC who will be his own man and rebuff the Coaches DeFilippo and Spaziani. If Brock can do that, give him a chance. If not, I hope he leaves.

We want coaches who coach to win every game - and who give the players a chance to win.

We want enthusiasm.......... we know what qualities we want.

It doesn't matter - at least not this minute.

Gene has now painted himself into the corner of assuring a great season next year and for years to come.

Year 4 of Frank Spaziani will be the beginning of BC's resurgence in the ACC and in the FBS. Take it to the bank.

downtown_resident said...

ATL, you forgot to mention the most important coach of all, Coach Flip.

mod34b said...

WI eagle, I was only referring to Father Leahy's lack of supervision of GDF.

But i agree with you on the other points .

WI_Eagle said...

Mod34B -

Got it, fair enough, I can't argue with that. My roommate at BC actually had Fr. Leahy, SJ as an academic adviser (one of like 3 students per year to get him). He was always under the impression that Fr. Leahy was pretty hands off with the athletic department and trusted Gene to do what's right. That being said Fr. Leahy isn't naive about the importance of the athletic department's success in terms of alumni engagement, donations, etc. Fr. Leahy also would talk about how he and Gene had a pact...they were in it together and if one left the other would leave and vice versa. My roommate was also under the impression that Fr. Leahy would probably retire after the big "Light the World" campaign concludes in 2015. So, if that all holds true I think they might both retire in 2015 (it also makes sense given their ages). And if we pull a Georgetown and Fr. Leahy isn't replaced by another Jesuit I'll never give another dollar to the school, but that's a conversation for another time.

I think that GDF is good at fundraising and politicking (growth in endowed scholarships, ACC entry, etc. during his tenure prove that point), but its obvious that he is overbearing on the football program and really stubborn (like his refusal to admit that donor based seating for the entire lower bowl of Conte for basketball was a mistake).

Benjamin said...

Mod - thumbs up.

Ry said...

WI:
I don't think we'll see Leahy replaced with a non-SJ. BC is Jesuit ground-zero in the the wesernt hemisphere, let alone the US. Georgetown has cultivated a very different approach to the world (focus on Govt and diplomacy, med school, etc) to the extent that it makes sense for them to have a lay president. BC didn't expand to Brighton campus, absorb the STM, and build the new Faber community for nothing. If all other Jesuit universities in the country went lay, my guess is that we might be the last one standing Part of the long range plan is to become the premier Catholic university in the nation...something that only really happens with ordained leadership.

I share your sentiment...but I don't see that happening.

Back to sports....

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Thanks for your input, Peggy.

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