Coaching Staff

[JasonB]

Yeah, its the OC's fault, not lack of talent, especially since QBs and the offense have sucked since Flanigan left.

Problem is not the OC or the head coach. I might not agree with everything they do, but they are very limited right now due to personel.

[Mike Damone]

Good, I'm glad he's in charge and he calls the shots. I wouldn't have it any other way. The man was an assistant for 20+ years, he knows what it is like to be one. He knows what type of responsibility should be passed along to his coordinators and what is his to decide.

Some of the most successful coaches out there are such control freaks that they don't even have coordinators.

[PerunaPunch]

I think Bennett is trying to insulate his players from people like us and the media. It's kind of like when an individual player has a great game, but when he's interviewed he says, "I'd like to thank my team..."

Of course the coach isn't going to say derogatory things about his players. #1 for the time being he has to play with the cards he's dealt, and #2, whatever their shortcomings, they're his boys and he's going to be protective of them.

For those who don't think we have a talented OC, just give the team a little patience. With Phillips at the helm you're going to see some different things because Phillips brings different skills to the table. As you see Phillips and the receivers start to gel, you're going to see the offense get more amusing. Heck, the Mustangs' playbook(s) takes up a whole bookshelf, so obviously they're just scratching the surface.

[Hoop Fan]

Yea, who really believes that all our coaches want to do is handoff to KK? No way. Bennett would be as aggressive as Bob Stoops if he thought we could pull it off. I disagree with some of his situational play calls, but the limitations are obvious and have been for some time. It tells me something when we can't even score points at garbage time when the offense is certainly wide open and the other team has backed off. If it was just a matter of opening things up, there would be some more evidence of scoring drives and big plays in the 4th quarter than we have seen.

[Charleston Pony]

the comment about Bennett not being openly critical of his players is dead on. It's not their fault that they might not have been blessed with the same size, speed, strength and ability to analyze situations and make good decisions in a split second as have many of their opponents. Most of these guys are giving it all they've got and for that any coach has to be appreciative. When he acknowledges that "we just aren't making the plays", well, that's about as critical as I've heard from Bennett.

He made the comment in his press conference that he's always remembered a comment by former coach Howard Schellenberger (sp?) who told his team after a frustrating loss; "you played like dogs" and began to walk away...only to turn around and tell them; "but you're my dogs". Nobody would be more pleased to see these guys overachieve than this coaching staff, because these guys are their guys.

Everyone recognizes the need for SMU to recruit higher caliber athletes if we are going to compete with top 25 programs. That is the stated goal, not some unrealistic pursuit of a national championship in football. But let's get real...it ain't going to happen anytime soon. I know I don't have to preach to the group on this board, but I sure wish our fellow students & alumni would continue supporting the guys who are out there busting their tails for good old SMU instead of tearing these guys down at every opportunity.

Time will tell how good this coaching staff and Bennett in particular, will be at SMU. I've been disappointed with a lot of what I've seen, but will try to withhold judgment until Bennett is in his 5th year here. By that time, he will have had an opportunity to put a number of his own upperclass recruits on the field.

[PlanoStang]

Originally posted by Hoop Fan:
Yea, who really believes that all our coaches want to do is handoff to KK? No way. Bennett would be as aggressive as Bob Stoops if he thought we could pull it off. I disagree with some of his situational play calls, but the limitations are obvious and have been for some time. It tells me something when we can't even score points at garbage time when the offense is certainly wide open and the other team has backed off. If it was just a matter of opening things up, there would be some more evidence of scoring drives and big plays in the 4th quarter than we have seen.

If all we can do is handoff to KK then we should run the power I, or maybe even the wishbone, or Its not fair to KK to have all 11 people on defense locked on to him. At least make them guess who we're handing off to.

[ponyguts]

I think it is pretty safe to say that Phil is calling alot of the shots on offense. If you go back and look at Edmundson's(The O-Cord) old offenses, they look nothing like this. They were alot of shotgun and slinging the ball around.