Coaching Carousel Thoughts

Most of these thoughts are a bit belated, but here are a few quick hits regarding some of the more recent coaching changes this off season.

Four coaches have already been let go or "allowed to pursue other opportunities" in this off season, so it appears that Tedford wasn't messing around when he said every component of the program was going to be evaluated, and evaluated closely.

Wide Receiver Coach
Out: Kevin Daft
In: Eric Kiesau

I feel bad for Daft. By all accounts, he seems to have been well liked by the players and coaches, and is said to be a quality individual all around.

But he was put in a difficult position of coaching the wide receivers back in 2009, when his background was in playing as and coaching quarterbacks. It was hoped his knowledge of the passing game would help the quarterbacks and wide receivers build a stronger connection, but that would not be the case during his stint as the WR coach.

Despite the emergence of Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen as the Bears' go-to receivers, Cal's passing game regressed to inept levels the past season (174.8 ypg). While much of that falls on the problems at quarterback and o-line, there had been too many dropped passes the few seasons, and no visible improvement in rapport with the receivers and quarterback.

It was simply an experiment that didn't pan out.

I am excited however about the return of Eric Kiesau to the Bears, who served as Cal's WR coach from 2002 to 2005, which also happened to be the best three seasons of passing offense of Tedford's tenure. Kiesau coached up McArthur from underachieving to being the second best receiver in the nation during his 2003 campaign with an amazing 1,504 receiving yards. Walk-ons like Burl Toler and Vinny Strang also became critical components of the passing game.

I don't buy the notion that Tedford is hoping to relive the past instead of trying to move forward and improve his units. Kiesau can coach and knows what's he's doing. He's got a young corps of talent waiting in the wings, and I'm excited to see what pans out. This blogger likes the hire.


Defensive Back Coach
Out: Al Simmons
In: Ashley Ambrose

I thought this was one of the more surprising moves. I fully expected a number of coaches to be on the hot seat this offseason, but I'd be lying if I said I thought Simmons would be one of them.

In my opinion, I thought Simmons had done a solid job with the defensive backs since rejoining the Cal staff and had apparently been a stickler for details and technique.

In an interesting sidenote, the story first broke courtesy of CJ Moncrease's twitter. I'd have liked to have been there when Tedford called in Moncrease to "discuss" Moncrease's decision to make private info public. Simmons re-energized a unit that had previously finished last in the conference in 2007 with just 10 interceptions and 9th in passes defended and broken up, by coaching Cal's secondary to notch 24 interceptions and finish tops in the conference in all three aforementioned categories.

As CGB notes however, those numbers dropped off the following two years:

However, after 2008, those figures dropped to 58 and 56 the next two years--still effective, but the interception totals dropped precipitously (only 20 combined picks those two years). It's possible defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast was displeased by the lack of turnovers forced by his defense (Cal only intercepted nine passes this year, 88th in the country).

Still, the Bears allowed the fewest yards per game through the air in the conference this past season (185.5) and I did think our backfield (when healthy) was one of our strongest units on the team.

Since I don't know what goes on behind closed doors, I can only speculate that both Tedford and Clancy Pendergast felt the time was ripe to go with a change, and pursue a younger coach that might again instill a more aggressive discipline with his unit.

They wasted no time, announcing Ashley Ambrose as Simmons' replacement so this clearly was a situation where they had a coach in mind from the early going.

Ambrose is the second coach to come over from Colorado after Kiesau, having coached the defensive backs for the Buffaloes for one season, and the wide receivers the year prior. He's a 13 year veteran in the NFL, and was the 1996 AFC Defensive Player of the Year. The guy knows how to play, it's still to be seen how well he can coach.

Tedford and Pendergast seem to think the upside is worth the risk however, with Tedford citing Ambrose's level of football experience and his ability to coach that to his players.

The jury is still out on Ambrose in my mind. Like many, I'm hoping Tedford has again struck gold like he did when hiring Tosh Lupoi as his defensive line coach in 2009. Ambrose is clearly experienced at the DB position, and seems like a bright young guy with the potential to really connect with recruits. Also, given that Pendergast is a secondary guy, it appears he's found the coach he'd like to mold and help with as Ambrose continues to develop as a coach.

Also on the way out...
Out: Steve Marshall (Offensive Line Coach)

This was the most obvious move in my mind. Cal's offensive line is nowhere near the quality it had been under Coach Jim Michalczik. While you can't blame all of it on Marshall, given that Coach Michalczik wasn't the best recruiter and the cupboard was a little light upon Marshall's arrival, I can't see how you would justify keeping Marshall around for another few years.

You don't need stats to back up how the Bears have either underachieved with their talent at the offensive line, or how they have missed in their scouting evaluations of talent they thought would be ready to be starters at the division one level. I've also disagreed from the getgo on Marshall's insistence on slimming down his linemen to become more athletic and quicker. I've also felt he waited far too long to push for some personnel changes, and was a bit too indecisive in finding the right spot for certain linemen. (I'm sorry, but Matt Summers-Gavin simply isn't meant to be a tackle.)

I guess you could say the Bears improved marginally from 2009 to 2010 at the offensive line position, but the overall performance was too mediocre and inconsistent to entrust Marshall as the answer for the foreseeable future.

Marshall has since moved on to Colorado, and we're still in the hunt for a few offensive line coaches.

With Tom Cable's firing with "tha Raiduhz," I've heard some grumblings that Coach Michalczik might actually return to the Bears, which I'd wholeheartedly welcome.

I've also heard Nevada's o-line coach Cameron Norcross mentioned, as well as Idaho's Dan Finn. Both seem like strong up and coming coaches, but I can't confirm or deny how serious the interest is in these coaches at this point.

Out: John Krasinski
Another move I was a bit surprised about because A) he seemed to be fairly well regarded by what I had heard, B) was one of the few remaining coaches Tedford brought over from Oregon and C) had a lot of input on the development of the SAHPC.

Shows how little I know. I had heard grumblings about how much weaker our team had been by opposing teams, but I thought that was typical post-game banter. In hindsight, I do think the Bears look as athletic but appear to be lacking in the physical toughness category over the past few seasons.

Krasinki's firing may also do with the fact that he's one of the highest paid coaches on the staff, reportedly making close to 150 K. We're still in a budget crisis, y'see.

Regardless, I wish all the departing coaches the best, regardless of my opinions on their performance. I also have my fingers crossed that the new coaches (whoever they may be) have the best things in store for the Bears.