The Football Brainiacs

Image of Sonny Cumbie via thefroghorn.com

As one might expect with a Bob Stoops conducted coaching search, there has been very little in the way of tangible information. There was the report Wednesday of Sonny Cumbie being in Norman and apparently some sort of meeting with some portion of the OU coaching staff. Obviously, TFB has shared with you some of what we’ve been hearing. But aside from that, at least as far as I’m aware, there has been very little else other than names/lists just being thrown out there because those included ‘seem to make the most sense.’

And I say that because in a world in constant need of the next #HotSportsTake, allow me to offer mine. But I do so, and I couldn’t possibly emphasize this enough, knowing full well we’re just a mere few days into this thing and, as I’ve already stated, there is very little in the of anything resembling facts with regard to this coaching search and/or those involved.

* As I said on Twitter yesterday, you could easily talk me into Cumbie as the new OU QBs coach. And I presume it would almost have to come with a ‘co-…’ title of some sort given his current similar standing as a member of the TCU staff. But as the OC and primary play caller? Um, no.

This is a guy, as bright and talented and intelligent as he may be, who has virtually no experience calling plays and you’re going to (potentially) bring him in to install a new offense at the University of Oklahoma? I mean didn’t they just fire a guy that had a similar lack of experience prior to being named OC and play caller, who everyone was convinced was bright and talented and intelligent, and who struggled in his four years to establish an identity for this OU offense?

And not to mention this would be a guy from the ‘Mike Leach coaching tree’ which, again, would make for yet another very similar comparison to the guy you’ve just fired. And, yes, I know the system they’re running currently at TCU isn’t exactly a carbon-copy of the pass-happy style of offense people associate Leach, and his proteges, with running. But you’d still theoretically be replacing a guy with a resume strikingly similar to the one you just fired.

If — and, again, I cannot possibly emphasize the word IF in this statement enough — this is the guy you’re considering as the new offensive coordinator and play caller, it’s a hire that just wouldn’t make any sense to me given the current circumstances surrounding the position and the considerable pressure that will be coming along with it.

Now if you want to give Cumbie the QB job with a ‘co-…’ title and pair him with an experienced offensive coordinator/play caller, then I think you’re looking at a potential home run type of hire (pending who said experienced OC/play caller would be, of course). That said, I’m not entirely sure how realistic this type of scenario would be given this is already Cumbie’s current situation in Fort Worth. So what, other than money, would be the motivation for him to make that type of a “lateral” move?

* Here’s my other big issue with what we think we know and the names being thrown out there. I don’t think I’m going out on much of a limb in stating the importance of these impending hires and any more than may come after (like, say, National Signing Day). This is obviously Stoops’ chance to right the ship if you will. And, in my opinion, he probably won’t get another one.

Hear me out. The guy has been here 16 years and counting. This is clearly the most significant staff turnover he’s ever experienced and he’s had to do so largely because he, and the program, are coming off the worst season of his considerable tenure. If you make these hires, however many there may wind up being, and in two, three, maybe four years down the road things haven’t worked out, the program hasn’t been restored to at or pretty damn near a national championship level, I’m just not convinced Stoops is given another chance to “shake things up.”

I mean at that point, at pretty much 20 years on the job, aren’t you forced to consider it’s just time to go in another direction? Maybe, maybe not. None of us can predict the future, but if the program were to continue on what appears to be its current trajectory I’m not sure how things wouldn’t be forced to change.

So if you’re of the opinion, as I am, that Stoops is at least, on some level, feeling the pressure be it from fans, boosters, his bosses, or all of the above, you’re going to put the final chapter/s of your “legacy” on the line with some of these guys being mentioned? You’re going to take a chance on a guy with no play calling experience after that already didn’t work out? Or a guy from a small school in Conference USA?

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This is the University of freaking Oklahoma. We’ve been told since the day many of us have been born it’s one of the most prestigious football programs in the entire country. We’re watching lesser schools make high profile hire after high profile hire and OU is “reportedly” considering guys from schools like Toledo and East Carolina? It’s not like anybody with a brain is expecting Bob to go get Chip Kelly to run the offense and Nick Saban the defense. But at the same time, you’re telling me the name I’m supposed to get excited about is a guy from Western Kentucky? I can’t be the only one questioning this, right?

And, look, I get it. You go where you believe the talent to be. If it’s Texas A&M, Oregon, TCU, Western Kentucky, or wherever. Just because a guy is at a ‘big name school’ doesn’t necessarily mean he’s any more or less qualified than a guy at East Popcorn State.

Supposedly Bob wants to go young with this hire to help revitalize the program and bring in someone who, in theory with their relative youth, could better relate to recruits. Those are all things I’m in favor of happening. And I understand that with youth, odds are you’re most likely going to be dealing with some level of inexperience as a result. But it just makes very little sense to me, given what this program appears to need right now, that this is a hire you ‘take a chance’ on. Granted, I’m sure if they were to go with one or more of the inexperienced/small school guys currently being mentioned those doing the hiring wouldn’t feel like they’re taking a chance on the guy/s. They’d obviously be confident they found their guy/s. But it sure seems like a pretty big opportunity to be giving someone at a school like OU who it sure seems an awful lot like you’d be ‘taking a chance’ on.

For whatever it’s worth, I do think Bob has a pretty good idea of what he’s looking for in these hires even though those of us on the outside have no idea at this point what/who that is. And I also think there just talking to a couple different guys right now kind of feeling things out (which means they’ll probably hire someone shortly after I post this only furthering the idea I never have any idea what I’m talking about).

But this stuff is all happening in real time and even though most of what somebody like myself would be offering in something like this is reactionary and mostly guesswork, it’s fun (and by fun I mean bizarre as it’s really something most of us as OU fans haven’t had a chance to experience all that much) to talk about so I figured what’s the real harm in throwing it out there for the group to discuss. And I say that knowing for some this will just read like some idiot, irrational fan ranting and raving about how they think they know more than Bob and what’s best for the program…

…so commence to ripping my argument to shreds and calling me a know-nothing moron!