Steve is saying Brian Baker new DL coach

[Really Clark?]

Oh I agree. I think people are taking that post of mine wrong....I just think with his combo of LB and DL experience, he might be a perfect guy to coach a 3-4 technique to DL-men & OLB'ers. But I'm probably reading too deep into it. I think it's a solid hire. Hopefully he and Sirmon are excited to work together.

No. You are exactly right. It's not uncommon to see DL coaches, especially ones who do well with DE's, coach the OLB in 3-4 schemes.

[mic]

It's not like Turner was pulling guys in from outside the state anyway.. Yes he is probably one of the main reason we got Simmons, but a recruiting guru he wasn't...
We just hired a major upgrade with an X and O coach...

Now maybe we will go hire a young up and coming DL guy under him... In a quality control position...

[Commercecomet24]

It's not like Turner was pulling guys in from outside the state anyway.. Yes he is probably one of the main reason we got Simmons, but a recruiting guru he wasn't...
We just hired a major upgrade with an X and O coach...

Now maybe we will young up and coming DL guy under him... In a quality control position...

Exactly!

[Commercecomet24]

The hires so far seem to be a good mix of guys that can recruit and guys that can coach.

[blacklistedbully]

Baker put a heavy emphasis on teaching technique, angles, hand fighting, and forcing turnovers during training camp and throughout the year. Ryan Kerrigan consistently praised Baker's influence before, during and after the season. Kerrigan finished the best year of his career with 13.5 sacks(7th in NFL) and 5 forced fumbles(T-1st in NFL). On the other side of the ball, Brian Orakpo had a down year with several injuries, finishing with only .5 sacks and on IR. Orakpo was reportedly not as receptive to Baker's instructions. Rookie Trent Murphy replaced Orakpo and started 8 games, finishing with 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

[BulldogBacker]

Baker put a heavy emphasis on teaching technique, angles, hand fighting, and forcing turnovers during training camp and throughout the year. Ryan Kerrigan consistently praised Baker's influence before, during and after the season. Kerrigan finished the best year of his career with 13.5 sacks(7th in NFL) and 5 forced fumbles(T-1st in NFL). On the other side of the ball, Brian Orakpo had a down year with several injuries, finishing with only .5 sacks and on IR. Orakpo was reportedly not as receptive to Baker's instructions. Rookie Trent Murphy replaced Orakpo and started 8 games, finishing with 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

I saw a video of Coach Baker and he spoke in terms of football coaching being part of his Christian ministry. I think this is not only needed, but also will be well received by parents of recruits.

[maroonmania]

It's not like Turner was pulling guys in from outside the state anyway.. Yes he is probably one of the main reason we got Simmons, but a recruiting guru he wasn't...
We just hired a major upgrade with an X and O coach...

Now maybe we will go hire a young up and coming DL guy under him... In a quality control position...

Just me but losing Turner is nowhere near the impact of losing Hughes. I mean if Turner had gotten us Brown from GA (the one with MSU parents) that would have been impressive but getting one highly coveted guy that is a stone's throw away from campus was good, but shouldn't be irreplaceable. Just don't remember Turner pulling in a lot of top shelf guys as the primary. As far as coaching, just seems like Turner did well in some cases (like Preston Smith) and just average to below average with others (like Chris Jones). Hopefully the new guy has some charisma even though he has not been in the recruiting game in a long time.

[blacklistedbully]

Check out these videos of an interview he gave a few years ago. How could you not be pumped about getting this guy? Looks like a home run hire to me.

[War Machine Dawg]

Croom would have been a very good RB's coach at State...we hired him for a position he wasnt qualified for

Exactly. Not being a good HC doesn't mean you aren't a good coordinator or a good position coach. There's a ton of difference.

[Dallas_Dawg]

Exactly. Not being a good HC doesn't mean you aren't a good coordinator or a good position coach. There's a ton of difference.

I don't know, Tennessee's RBs are pretty shitty. He rode Barry sanders and Ahman Green to the title of "great RB coach"

[dawgday166]

I don't know, Tennessee's RBs are pretty shitty. He rode Barry sanders and Ahman Green to the title of "great RB coach"

That may be. I've often wondered how he was Detroit's O coordinator when they produced the first tandem 1000 yd receivers in league history with Scott Mitchell at QB. I scratch my head on that one, even with Barry as the RB.

[djaymsu5]

I'm excited to see what this guy does with Simmons and co.

[War Machine Dawg]

That may be. I've often wondered how he was Detroit's O coordinator when they produced the first tandem 1000 yd receivers in league history with Scott Mitchell at QB. I scratch my head on that one, even with Barry as the RB.

Look, I hate Croom and what he did to our program as much as anyone. So far as I'm concerned, he's the worst coach in school history and bilked us for millions. He deserves every ounce of criticism he gets for his time as a HC. But the guy can flat coach some RBs. Ahmad Green was very average with a severe case of fumblitis before Croom got him. Green himself credited Croom with his improvement. As for the Titans RBs - you can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Not a single guy on that roster would start for another NFL team. Dexter McCluster is a slot WR with shitty hands. There's a reason Tennessee fired their GM recently.

Again, being a shitty HC is in no way indicative of one's ability as an assistant. The responsibilities are completely different. Being a HC is all about motivation, delegation, and setting the priorities/direction of your program/franchise. The actual football part of the job is further down the list.

But all this is derailing the initial thread. Let's just agree we hired a damn good DL coach, assuming he can croot. He's definitely an X & O upgrade. I'd have loved to see what he could've done with Jones.

[TrapGame]

The hires so far seem to be a good mix of guys that can recruit and guys that can coach.

Mullen might be putting together the best staff he's ever had at State.

[Reason2succeed]

Mullen might be putting together the best staff he's ever had at State.

When this is the only defensive coach without a recruiting pedigree but he still has that many years of NFL experience our talent level is going to rise. The guy is well groomed, articulate and has a long NFL resume. That will sell in living rooms. When he uses the hard work pitch Mullen requires it will go over because he has experience to back it up. (He also needs to get some of his former players to pitch in with a video message to recruits too.)

Muller wants to see dominant defense. It seems like the coaches are also technicians which I like.

On the flip side if Baker's DL starts dominating our OL in practice like Bama did them last year then we might actually see a change there too. We can only hope.

To the doomsayers pipe down and judge the program by what's on the field.

[dawgday166]

Look, I hate Croom and what he did to our program as much as anyone. So far as I'm concerned, he's the worst coach in school history and bilked us for millions. He deserves every ounce of criticism he gets for his time as a HC. But the guy can flat coach some RBs. Ahmad Green was very average with a severe case of fumblitis before Croom got him. Green himself credited Croom with his improvement. As for the Titans RBs - you can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Not a single guy on that roster would start for another NFL team. Dexter McCluster is a slot WR with shitty hands. There's a reason Tennessee fired their GM recently.

Again, being a shitty HC is in no way indicative of one's ability as an assistant. The responsibilities are completely different. Being a HC is all about motivation, delegation, and setting the priorities/direction of your program/franchise. The actual football part of the job is further down the list.

But all this is derailing the initial thread. Let's just agree we hired a damn good DL coach, assuming he can croot. He's definitely an X & O upgrade. I'd have loved to see what he could've done with Jones.

Dan needs to work on what's highlighted in bold IMO. Now with this new D staff in place, Dan might want to consider telling them he wants an aggressive, attacking D and then getting the hell out of the way. He should then go work on the offensive woes that plague us. And he should do a better job of getting the guys to relax and ball out in the bigger games against the better opponents.