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Mickey Mental Head Coach
- Thread starter Chex
- Start date
Tube Socks
Active member
It concerns me that he is so new to the team and to the west, and that after one year our top two QBs are transferring. On the other hand, Coach Hill trusted him with the offense enough to hire him,. Hopefully this ends up being a great hire. I hope he can keep the rest of the coaching staff and players intact.
Chex said:
:thumb: Agree, maybe Coach Hill was doing some proactive thinking when he hired Mental as OC earlier. Hope it proves positive for the program. Kind of telling reading in between the lines, the FBS coaches mentioned didn't apply or if they did the thought of a short term stepping stone came to mind. :clap:
Good Luck HC Mental :thumb:
I also am not a fan of hiring a coach to “keep the recruiting class together.” It sounds great in theory, but if you have to take a hit to one recruiting class to get the right long-term fit then you have to make that sacrifice. What percentage of that recruiting class will even last 4 years anyways? I hope Mental earned the job on merit alone. Given the candidates listed in Hein’s article, there may not have been any no-brainer candidates.
Chex
Active member
The Dan said:
To me it seems more comparable to if the Wildcats hired Phil Beckner for basketball coach if Rahe had left during his peak. I think Beckner was a big reason for the success with defense.
Mental immediately gave the offense a boost without having his players in place. I think Barron has been adequate, but it will be interesting to see how his offense does in the upcoming years with his style of QB…which I imagine will be a running threat. I think it is going to get up to where Hill had the defense. Now just hope the defense doesn’t tail off.
SWeberCat02
Active member
The Dan said:
It's different imo. Basketball has been stagnant at best for a long time. I thought a complete shift was needed. Not the case with football.
SWeberCat02 said:
This...sans Duft's perfect record in Lolgan.
Personally, I know other guys were approached, but for one reason or another it didn't work out. Mental then became the best option. I'm happy for Mental and feel somewhat optimistic with the hire. He desperately needs to keep a number of guys who are on staff together. Myers being the top guy in my opinion.
Pros:
1. He is a good recruiter.
2. He should be able to keep the majority of Hill's staff together.
3. He took the offense to a level we haven't seen since 2017 or even 2008.
4. He is a good coach and knows the game.
5. He has been a HC in the past and was extremely successful at his previous school.
Cons:
1. He isn't from Utah and doesn't have the connection with high school coaches (but his staff does) that Hill did. Does he understand how to recruit and keep missionary kids? Utah/Idaho/GREEN JELLO Belt culture is a major factor behind team success and continuity.
2. Defense???? I'm not sure who should become the DC, but without Hill the team needs one guy running the show. He needs to decide between Duffy and Dale or go with somebody new. There is an open spot right now.
3. Special teams could go backwards. HOWEVER, there are coaches on staff who learned from Hill and can take that role on. I'm not sure we go backwards here as long as the staff stays together (which I believe was major reason behind Mental's hire).
4. Is he ready to be a DI HC? Will he command respect from the current coaches?
5. Charisma? I don't know...However, Hill's approach was incredible. He is such a positive, charismatic guy. Hard to follow him.
Meh! Same old. Curious as to what the players think about this. Me? Not so much. Hope he’s the guy but with almost no instate history as the new head coach it leaves a lot to be desired. hill has been recruiting Utah his entire life. Mental just 1 year. I’ll give him a chance but feel there were better choices. Lamb. Duff …Hope this isn’t Jody sears all over again.I just can’t take it if all Hill has built we’re to crash in 1 or 2 seasons.
Wait a second here… Mental (I love saying that, “Mental” is good shlt) proved he can guide an O at a high level. It’s the defensive coordinator that is the issue.
Coach Hill wasn’t hired at BYU to coach offense. There’s a reason Taron Johnson and Jonah Williams are in the NFL, Hill was a defensive guru. Heckard is entering the draft and no doubt he will be drafted.
Plus special teams. Weber had superior special teams under Hill. It wasn’t a fluke. Hill’s fingerprints were all over that.
So, the question isn’t whether or not Mental can coach an offense, but can he hire talent to compete for a national championship?
That. Is. The. QUESTION!
Coach Hill wasn’t hired at BYU to coach offense. There’s a reason Taron Johnson and Jonah Williams are in the NFL, Hill was a defensive guru. Heckard is entering the draft and no doubt he will be drafted.
Plus special teams. Weber had superior special teams under Hill. It wasn’t a fluke. Hill’s fingerprints were all over that.
So, the question isn’t whether or not Mental can coach an offense, but can he hire talent to compete for a national championship?
That. Is. The. QUESTION!
oldrunner
Active member
What you are saying here isn't true at all. Hill hadn't been the DC for the past few years. Grant Duff and Joe Dale have been acting as co-defensive coordinators and the majority of the position coaches have been around for several years as well. That side of the ball should be as good as ever. The question is if he will keep them both as is or reassign one of them to coordinate something else like special teams or offense. It's obvious that he will be hiring at least one new coach. To me, the question is will he promote from within for his OC and hire a position coach or vise versa. Also, who of our guys will be assigned STs or will it be spread out.CrazyJ said:
oldrunner
Active member
''Skyler Ridley is in his seventh season with the Weber State football program and his fourth year as an assistant coach with the Wildcats. After three years as a graduate assistant coach, Ridley was named an assistant coach in March 2019 and coached the tight ends for three seasons. Prior to the 2021 season, he was also named the Special Teams Coordinator. In 2022, he began coaching the wide receivers. "
To me, a guy like Skyler could certainly be promoted to OC and keep the special teams assignments as well. There may be others on this staff as well. If one of them were to be promoted, we would be looking for a position coach. Most likely on the offensive side of the ball, but who knows. That's why the HC gets the big bucks. :lol:
To me, a guy like Skyler could certainly be promoted to OC and keep the special teams assignments as well. There may be others on this staff as well. If one of them were to be promoted, we would be looking for a position coach. Most likely on the offensive side of the ball, but who knows. That's why the HC gets the big bucks. :lol:
GoCatsGo!!!
Active member
wildog said:
Are you for real right now???? Yeah Hill has been here his whole life coaching and recruiting; guess what we won EXACTLY 0 national titles!!! If you’re fine being good but never getting over the hump and winning the big one please join Hill and Sitake over at byWHO!!! Hill was great at defense and NOTHING when it came to offense. Maybe just maybe Mental can keep the coaches in place to keep the D and ST playing well and elevate our offense to where Jay never came close to getting it!! If we’re being honest this year the offense outperformed the D which is Jay’s forte so there is that. It might not work out but Mental is a far superior coach to Sears and that shouldn’t even be up for debate. Utah people need wake up and see other schools winning are doing so by recruiting wide swaths of the country and not just Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. Utah kids and missionaries alone won’t win national titles!!!
The 6 interviewees were:
-Mental
-Brent Myers
-Joe Dale
-Minnesota-Duluth coach Curt Wiese
-Illinois Offensive Analyst Courtney Messingham
-Matt Hammer
The 3 external candidates have me scratching my head, to say the least. Those were the 3 best external candidates? Seriously?
-Mental
-Brent Myers
-Joe Dale
-Minnesota-Duluth coach Curt Wiese
-Illinois Offensive Analyst Courtney Messingham
-Matt Hammer
The 3 external candidates have me scratching my head, to say the least. Those were the 3 best external candidates? Seriously?
talhadfoursteals
Active member
Colton Swan was offered the job. He declined it. Mental was the next best option, with Myers staying as Associate HC.
Chex
Active member
The Dan said:
I’m surprised Eric Price wasn’t interviewed and most surprised that Matt Hammer was interviewed after his stint as OC? Maybe that was a courtesy, I’m hoping?
Oh well, just glad they hired Mental. I think we will see some big talent at the QB position that Hill never had, with the exception of Cantwell. I think he is going to keep the success going, and I like that he may have some Midwest connections for recruiting. It was unrealistic to think Colton Swan would leave the U of U given where the program is at and given Whittingham might be retiring in the near future.
We’ll see how it plays out, but glad we aren’t seeing Matt Hammer 3.0.
