Unofficial Football Staff

[yjnkdawg]

I'm not really OK with it, but JoMo didn't ask my opinion about it so I'll just hope they work out alright. I'm not paranoid about them but I would have just preferred him to have hired 2 assistants in those positions that didn't have the ties to a school that would just as soon see MSU burn to the ground. Personally I don't think Coach Mo totally understands the bitterness of the rivalry or he probably wouldn't have made 2 hires from guys that went through that program. Just too many good position coaches out there to even deal with that factor at all. Its not like these 2 guys are highly proven at their jobs, heck, Memphis' defense was terrible this year. And Johnson is still very green himself as an OL coach. If we were hiring big time, experienced coaches with that background it would be much easier to overlook. As stated, believe we could have gotten equal or better qualified coaches without the OM baggage to deal with. I at least hope they both signed a 3-4 year non-compete clause for OM or its really not smart. As someone else said, OM would hire one of these guys in a heartbeat if they thought they could flip a high profile recruit by doing so and likely either one would accept.

If Coach JoeMo can hire coaches that can recruit and coach and help us get to the next level. I don't care where they played their college football. Some have been bitching about no SEC or Mississippi ties, with our coaching staff. I think some of ya'll are paranoid on this hiring of former OM players and are trying to over think on it.

[parabrave]

Not trying to bitch and i know it?s been discussed, but we?re okay with 2 rebs being on staff?

Ever heard of Bob Tyler? Ask USM fans if hiring Bobby Collins was bad because he was a Bulldog, class of 1958 I believe. Even though both schools got probation under their terms but thats a moot point.

[yjnkdawg]

The only hire I question is Woodson- not because he went to Ole Miss but because the secondary at Memphis was atrocious. He probably has some good ties to both Memphis and the Mississippi Gulf Coast though.

Norvell considered Woodson a really good recruiter when he hired him and a good coach that could teach and relate to his players and accomplish what Norvell wanted on his defense. I don't know the situation on what happened with the Memphis secondary this year. When he was at Fresno, I think he recruited the Texas area.

[deltadawg99]

Memphis was ranked 122 in the country and according to 247, he has never signed a single 4* player. Sorry but not impresswd, no matter where he played college ball.

[Fader21]

Johnson and Woodson aren?t Rebs anymore. They are Bulldogs, let?s support them!

[msstate7]

Memphis was ranked 122 in the country and according to 247, he has never signed a single 4* player. Sorry but not impresswd, no matter where he played college ball.

Little deceiving looking at yds/game. Memphis blew out most everyone, so they had a ton of passes thrown against them (123rd in the country in passes thrown against them). They were 61st in completion % against and 14th in ints

[preachermatt83]

Little deceiving looking at yds/game. Memphis blew out most everyone, so they had a ton of passes thrown against them (123rd in the country in passes thrown against them). They were 61st in completion % against and 14th in ints

Not to mention, most of the teams they played threw the ball 50+ times a game. So really any # besides compleation percentage is going to be skewed

[Percho]

The only hire I question is Woodson- not because he went to Ole Miss but because the secondary at Memphis was atrocious. He probably has some good ties to both Memphis and the Mississippi Gulf Coast though.

they had 16 int's we had 9

[Todd4State]

Memphis was ranked 122 in the country and according to 247, he has never signed a single 4* player. Sorry but not impresswd, no matter where he played college ball.

It's unreasonable to expect a non power 5 team to sign a lot of 4 star players.

[Todd4State]

they had 16 int's we had 9

Likely against more pass attempts. I'm giving him a chance no matter what though.

[basedog]

It all starts up front, can we get to the QB with 4 or 5 rushing and the blitz. I am more interested in our DC and his tactics than our new defensive back coach.

[1bigdawg]

That's a really impressive line-up of Offensive coaches and I am excited about Fountain. To me the O coaches look MUCH more impressive that the D coaches. In particular, I see nothing impressive in the resumes of either Woodson or Lukabu. I would love for someone to disabuse me....

[Really Clark?]

That's a really impressive line-up of Offensive coaches and I am excited about Fountain. To me the O coaches look MUCH more impressive that the D coaches. In particular, I see nothing impressive in the resumes of either Woodson or Lukabu. I would love for someone to disabuse me....

I actually like the LB coach a good bit. Was Schiano LB coach at Rutgers and learned from him a number of years. Considered a sharp coach according to his peers.

[yjnkdawg]

Not to mention, most of the teams they played threw the ball 50+ times a game. So really any # besides compleation percentage is going to be skewed

This and the early season injuries they had. USAToday reported they had two more DBs' that were out since September and the first week in October.

https://www.memphisdailynews.com/new...y-this-season/

[Prediction? Pain.]

There are other stats to note about Memphis' pass defense and Woodson beyond total passing yards allowed. For instance, in both of Woodson's years at Memphis, they were top 5 in their conference in both opponent's QB rating and yards per passing attempt allowed.

But hopefully more telling of Woodson a DB coach is Memphis' DBs' knack for ball hawking. In both of Woodson's years there, they were top 2 in their conference in passes defensed (which is the sum of interceptions and pass break ups). In fact, their DBs were nationally outstanding at making plays on the ball. In both 2016 and 2017, Memphis' national ranks in "DB Havoc Rate" -- a secondary's "total tackles for loss, passes defensed, and forced fumbles divided by total plays" -- were 6th and 11th.

And what's really interesting about those ranks is that they coincided with crappy havoc numbers from Memphis' front seven (125th and 85th nationally). In other words, under Woodson, Memphis' secondary was one of the best in the nation at getting PBUs, INTs, TFLs, and forcing fumbles even though their front seven sucked at doing that stuff. I didn't think that's how it was supposed to usually work in the secondary.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

Prediction Pain, great write up! I feel much better about the hire now. Where do you find these advanced stats? I'd love to bookmark your source

[tcdog70]

The proof is in the pudding. Stop the gnashing of teeth. For me they are all great until they prove otherwise. Coach Joe , I'm sure doesn't want shitty Coaches on his staff. He must have plenty of confidence in these Coaches, so then do I. The Country Club is gone, isn't that what everyone wanted.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Prediction Pain, great write up! I feel much better about the hire now. Where do you find these advanced stats? I'd love to bookmark your source

Thanks, dude. The traditional stats are from CFB Stats and the advanced stats are from Football Outsiders. Here is the link to CFB Stats' page on passes defensed in Memphis' conference every year for the past decade or so. And here is the link to Football Outsiders' page with advanced stats for NCAA defenses. The "Havoc" stats are in the second of the two tables on the page. Since Memphis' opponent-adjusted defense was pretty bad overall, you'll have to scroll down to the bottom.

[bigplayslay]

There are other stats to note about Memphis' pass defense and Woodson beyond total passing yards allowed. For instance, in both of Woodson's years at Memphis, they were top 5 in their conference in both opponent's QB rating and yards per passing attempt allowed.

But hopefully more telling of Woodson a DB coach is Memphis' DBs' knack for ball hawking. In both of Woodson's years there, they were top 2 in their conference in passes defensed (which is the sum of interceptions and pass break ups). In fact, their DBs were nationally outstanding at making plays on the ball. In both 2016 and 2017, Memphis' national ranks in "DB Havoc Rate" -- a secondary's "total tackles for loss, passes defensed, and forced fumbles divided by total plays" -- were 6th and 11th.

And what's really interesting about those ranks is that they coincided with crappy havoc numbers from Memphis' front seven (125th and 85th nationally). In other words, under Woodson, Memphis' secondary was one of the best in the nation at getting PBUs, INTs, TFLs, and forcing fumbles even though their front seven sucked at doing that stuff. I didn't think that's how it was supposed to usually work in the secondary.

Making plays on the ball is something our secondary has struggled to do the past couple years so that sounds good lol

[maroonmania]

If Coach JoeMo can hire coaches that can recruit and coach and help us get to the next level. I don't care where they played their college football. Some have been bitching about no SEC or Mississippi ties, with our coaching staff. I think some of ya'll are paranoid on this hiring of former OM players and are trying to over think on it.

Sure, if Johnson and Woodson are difference making coaches that can help get us to the next level then I'm good with them and will more than overlook their background. Problem is, while they have the opportunity to accomplish that with us, they certainly don't have the proven backgrounds at this stage to give me any concrete evidence that they WILL do that. We are taking a chance on them to perform well in the SEC just like we could have taken a chance on a lot of young assistants across the country. And while they do have the background of having played in Mississippi have either of them actually coached in Mississippi? I would assume Woodson has at least recruited in Mississippi being at Memphis.