Count Istvan Teleky
01-03-2017, 02:14 PM
I wouldn't have known about this book except that someone gave it to me. it's the story of Hal Mumme and how the "Air Raid" offense came into being.
It talks about the influencers at the time (Walsh, Dennis Erickson, Lavell Edwards, etc.) and their offenses (West Coast, Run & Shoot, etc.) and how Mumme and Mike Leach came up with the schemes. It covers Mumme from his first job out of college through his current stint at Belhaven. (Little known fact: He lives in the King Edward Hotel in Jackson.)
The writer doesn't do a hatchet job at all, but leaves something to the imagination as to why Mumme was dismissed at his first head coaching gig, Iowa Wesleyan, in spite of stellar on-the-field performance. it doesn't sugar-coat the problems he had at Kentucky with the NCAA, either.
One of the most interesting parts to me was the simplicity of the offense. No play book; roughly four-six plays; roughly two-four sets; practices were one-hour and forty-five minutes. No hitting. The key to the offense was the QB/receiver reading the defender and adjusting accordingly. It lays out the progression that the QB went through. The defensive coordinators apparently never completely figured it out.
A previous post on this board (By Todd4State) mentions that one of the top ten games he saw was the 1999 MSU - UK game that matched the wits of Joe Lee Dunn with Hal Mumme. For those who weren't there or haven't read that post, the game opened with Kentucky in possession and JLD lined up with one DL and ten DBs. It was that extreme.
My main visual from that game was Ed Smith chasing their TE Whalen (who the book identifies as a walk-on initially - could have fooled me) all over the field. The guy must've caught ten passes just past the line of scrimmage (after reading the book, you know the play was called 'mesh') with Ed on his heels, but Ed made the tackles and kept them from getting big gains.
Anyway, back to the book, it's an easy read, interesting from the football perspective as well as the personal side.
Other little known facts:
* Leach was a volunteer for the first several years of working with Hal
* Leach went to law school
* Dana Holgerson played for and coached under Mumme
* QBs called their own plays so they could get more snaps in a game.
* If I had to say who appears to have been the biggest influence for Mumme, I'd have to say Lavell Edwards
* Also, Mumme has a radio show in Jackson, that if you haven't listened to, you might want to. Sometimes they even talk about football!
PS - The author is S. C. Gwynne
It talks about the influencers at the time (Walsh, Dennis Erickson, Lavell Edwards, etc.) and their offenses (West Coast, Run & Shoot, etc.) and how Mumme and Mike Leach came up with the schemes. It covers Mumme from his first job out of college through his current stint at Belhaven. (Little known fact: He lives in the King Edward Hotel in Jackson.)
The writer doesn't do a hatchet job at all, but leaves something to the imagination as to why Mumme was dismissed at his first head coaching gig, Iowa Wesleyan, in spite of stellar on-the-field performance. it doesn't sugar-coat the problems he had at Kentucky with the NCAA, either.
One of the most interesting parts to me was the simplicity of the offense. No play book; roughly four-six plays; roughly two-four sets; practices were one-hour and forty-five minutes. No hitting. The key to the offense was the QB/receiver reading the defender and adjusting accordingly. It lays out the progression that the QB went through. The defensive coordinators apparently never completely figured it out.
A previous post on this board (By Todd4State) mentions that one of the top ten games he saw was the 1999 MSU - UK game that matched the wits of Joe Lee Dunn with Hal Mumme. For those who weren't there or haven't read that post, the game opened with Kentucky in possession and JLD lined up with one DL and ten DBs. It was that extreme.
My main visual from that game was Ed Smith chasing their TE Whalen (who the book identifies as a walk-on initially - could have fooled me) all over the field. The guy must've caught ten passes just past the line of scrimmage (after reading the book, you know the play was called 'mesh') with Ed on his heels, but Ed made the tackles and kept them from getting big gains.
Anyway, back to the book, it's an easy read, interesting from the football perspective as well as the personal side.
Other little known facts:
* Leach was a volunteer for the first several years of working with Hal
* Leach went to law school
* Dana Holgerson played for and coached under Mumme
* QBs called their own plays so they could get more snaps in a game.
* If I had to say who appears to have been the biggest influence for Mumme, I'd have to say Lavell Edwards
* Also, Mumme has a radio show in Jackson, that if you haven't listened to, you might want to. Sometimes they even talk about football!
PS - The author is S. C. Gwynne