USMA Head coach change??

Wondering how they are dealing with severance, didn't he have 3 years left under contract?
 
Is it a non-negotiable requirement for the new coach to have a West Point connection - either as a former player or coach?
 
Is it a non-negotiable requirement for the new coach to have a West Point connection - either as a former player or coach?

I have never seeing anything saying that. However, it is important to have an understanding of the option offense, and there aren't that many schools out there who run it, so most people being considered will have ties to a service academy somewhere along the line
 
Hire a normal coach and get rid of the old fashioned option offense. 99% of teams don't run just the option. The offensive style is boring and although it gets you 317 rushing yards a game it does not win you games. Go to a traditional offensive, maybe the spread. It is simple to learn, there are many variations and it is no huddle. You can still include the read option and option in your offense, but not every play haha
 
Hire a normal coach and get rid of the old fashioned option offense. 99% of teams don't run just the option. The offensive style is boring and although it gets you 317 rushing yards a game it does not win you games. Go to a traditional offensive, maybe the spread. It is simple to learn, there are many variations and it is no huddle. You can still include the read option and option in your offense, but not every play haha

Go with that.... Who says you have to run an option offense? You run with whatever talent you have have, that's a basic premise of any coaching. Coach with what you've got not just what you know. Most importantly, whatever they do, get a real football coach in there!
 
Hire a normal coach and get rid of the old fashioned option offense. 99% of teams don't run just the option. The offensive style is boring and although it gets you 317 rushing yards a game it does not win you games. Go to a traditional offensive, maybe the spread. It is simple to learn, there are many variations and it is no huddle. You can still include the read option and option in your offense, but not every play haha

Army actually tried the pro style offense from 2000-2007 while Todd Berry (& later Bobby Ross) was HC. They went something like 17-76 in that span, setting the record for the most losses in a college football season by going 0-13 one year. Navy, on the other hand, hired Paul Johnson (who put the triple option back in place) after going 1-20 in 2000-2001, and have since averaged 8-9 wins a season . All with the triple option offense.

I'm not a football guru but it's been said numerous times that the triple option offense is the only thing that can be run successfully at a service academy, because none of them are going to be able to recruit the athletes they need to have a successful pro style offense.
 
Here is the thing though....

The spread is different from a pro style offense. Yes there is way more passing, but it is VERY SIMPLE. A&M/Oregon runs this style of offense. A pro style offense is what Penn State runs and when run correctly it is amazing, but it is very complicated with all the different schemes associated with it. I personally feel the spread is the perfect balance, but I'm unfortunately not paid the big bucks!
 
The spread fails to do one important thing that an option-based offense does for service academy football teams: keep your defense off of the field.

Those who say you can't win with the option are wrong.

Those who say it is a boring offense need to put the video game controller down and watch some actual football. :)

Also, the option is a much more "traditional" offense than the spread.
 
SAs -- all of them -- suffer from 3 things when it comes to D1 football: size, skill and speed.

Let's face it . . . 99% of really good (read 4* and 5* recruits) won't go to a SA for any number of reasons. These include (but aren't limited to): not smart enough; want a chance to go pro; don't want service commitment; don't want military lifestyle; don't want to HAVE to graduate in 4 yrs.

Given lack of speed, size and skill (compared to big-time D1 schools) -- and especially passing skill at the QB position, your best chance to win is to run the option effectively AND play teams in the bottom of D1. USNA may not see the same success when it moves into a division next year.

The option disguises a poor-passing quarterback, receivers who lack speed to get open and/or beat their man downfield, and an O-line that lacks size. And, since most D1 teams don't play it, they don't practice vs. it most of the year, and you hope that they won't be disciplined enough to beat it. You also hope that, by using the ball control of this offense, you keep your defense -- which also suffers as compared to big-time D1 schools -- off the field.

USAFA plays a mixed pro-set and option (or appeared to in the few games I watched). Didn't go so well for them this year.

I think USMA's football issues are more complex than their coach or their system The option is their best bet from a football standpoint.
 
SAs -- all of them -- suffer from 3 things when it comes to D1 football: size, skill and speed.

Let's face it . . . 99% of really good (read 4* and 5* recruits) won't go to a SA for any number of reasons. These include (but aren't limited to): not smart enough; want a chance to go pro; don't want service commitment; don't want military lifestyle; don't want to HAVE to graduate in 4 yrs.

Given lack of speed, size and skill (compared to big-time D1 schools) -- and especially passing skill at the QB position, your best chance to win is to run the option effectively AND play teams in the bottom of D1. USNA may not see the same success when it moves into a division next year.

The option disguises a poor-passing quarterback, receivers who lack speed to get open and/or beat their man downfield, and an O-line that lacks size. And, since most D1 teams don't play it, they don't practice vs. it most of the year, and you hope that they won't be disciplined enough to beat it. You also hope that, by using the ball control of this offense, you keep your defense -- which also suffers as compared to big-time D1 schools -- off the field.

USAFA plays a mixed pro-set and option (or appeared to in the few games I watched). Didn't go so well for them this year.

I think USMA's football issues are more complex than their coach or their system The option is their best bet from a football standpoint.

+1

The option is the great equalizer. It is interesting to watch opponents who play Navy the second and third times slowly adapt with both the discipline and techniques necessary to stop it. There seem to be more and more teams who cannot compete for top notch players going to it. Tune in to the Division II national championship this weekend. Little Lenoir Rhyne University runs it better than Navy.
 
Here is the thing though....

The spread is different from a pro style offense. Yes there is way more passing, but it is VERY SIMPLE. A&M/Oregon runs this style of offense. A pro style offense is what Penn State runs and when run correctly it is amazing, but it is very complicated with all the different schemes associated with it. I personally feel the spread is the perfect balance, but I'm unfortunately not paid the big bucks!

The Academies do not have the quarterbacks or the receivers necessary to run the spread like Oregon and A&M.

Now, if you wanted to run the option out of the spread (i.e- the Pistol Spread Option), that's a different story.
 
Personal opinion: I think that a big part USMA's problems over the last 10+ years (at least when it comes to defeating the other SA's) have to do with the wars we've been involved in and less to do with the coach. Of all the top athletes that are interested in going to an SA, less are going to choose to go to the one that is going to send them to a combat zone after graduation. I think once we wind down overseas you may see USMA resurge.
 
Of all the top athletes that are interested in going to an SA, less are going to choose to go to the one that is going to send them to a combat zone after graduation. I think once we wind down overseas you may see USMA resurge.
The argument has been made many times on this forum that recruited IC athletes bring something to the military in addition/other than just good GPAs and SAT/ACT scores. If you are correct in your opinion then the USMA may soon find a resurgence of IC athletes that would not have chosen the USMA if they were going to be expected to fight a war. Let's hope the US doesn't need them to lead men into combat during their 5 years of obligatory military service.
 
Let's hope the US doesn't need them to lead men into combat during their 5 years of obligatory military service.
Don't think so. What brings someone to a SA, what keeps them there, and their motivation upon graduation are three separate entities. A disproportionally high percentage of USNA IC athletes opt for SEALS, EOD, USMC, and Aviation. The football team and USMC especially. I doubt if this was their mindset when they originally signed on the dotted line.

The poster who brought up the weight differential actually may be on to something. While the option somewhat negates the advantages of big linemen, USNA is in fact bigger. They all arrived under the limit, even those from NAPS. While at USNA, somehow they are given the opportunity to get bigger than their WP counterparts. Schedule? Summer training? Better weight focused coaching? I have no idea. Then, of course, they have to get back down to standards by graduation. I understand this is even a bigger problem for the winter sports such as wrestling.
 
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