lessons J.B. Grimes learned

[abw0004 10,110]

Every now and then, J.B. Grimes experiences deja vu while out on the practice field.

The veteran offensive line coach, who also spent the 2013-15 seasons at Auburn, will turn to director of football operations Brett Whiteside with a strange yet familiar feeling.

"This is weird, man," Grimes will say. "It's like I never left."

Following two seasons away from Auburn, first at Cincinnati in 2016 and then at UConn last season, Grimes is back on the Plains to once again coach Auburn's offensive line. It's a group that Grimes is plenty familiar with. He coached a handful of them -- including projected starters Marquel Harrell, Mike Horton and Kaleb Kim -- during his first stint with the program, and he helped recruit all but a few of the Tigers' current linemen, with Nick Brahms, Prince Michael Sammons, Kameron Stutts and Jalil Irvin as the exceptions.

For as much as things seem the same for Grimes now that he's back at Auburn, the 41-year coaching veteran enjoyed his two years away, the first of which included coaching with his son Nick in Cincinnati. The adage goes, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks," but during those two seasons away from Auburn, Grimes learned three valuable lessons that he has brought back with him to the Plains.

The first one has as much to do with coaching as it does with communicating.

"I think one of the things that's really, really, really important, and as I've gotten older had become even more prevalent and paramount in my thinking, and that's in dealing with young men, dealing with a different generation of guys," Grimes said. "They don't always trust like I was raised. I was raised to trust people until they prove to me I couldn't trust them. That's not necessarily true in today's world, so what I have to do is not only drive and strain the guys that I'm coaching, but they have to trust me as well.

"It's a fine line between, hey, being that taskmaster that you have to be to be an SEC line-of-scrimmage guy and being a figure that these kids can go to and cry on your shoulder because you've got that and you're dealing with 18-year-old kids that have problems."

 

That line at times became blurred for Grimes as he tried to balance the two, but his year with the Bearcats was particularly helpful in learning to better deal with the newest generation of players. A lot of that was thanks to his son, Nick, who served as Cincinnati's tight ends/H-backs coach that season.

Prior to arriving in Cincinnati, Grimes hadn't lived in the same state, let alone the same city as his son in 13 years. It was a refreshing change that Grimes cherished for their year back together. During that time, Grimes got to experience the birth of his second grandchild. He and his son worked side by side every Monday to develop a run game plan, and Nick often kept his more experienced father in check, so to speak, when that aforementioned line became difficult to distinguish.

"Every once in a while, he'll tell me, 'Hey, old man, tap the brakes,' and that's OK," Grimes said. "That's OK. I can handle that. That's OK. That part of that was really good. I enjoyed that."

Although Grimes learned to sometimes "pump the brakes," there were certain things he wouldn't concede -- and still won't. That's all part of establishing that line of demarcation with his players and making sure they understand what his expectations are.

"The other thing is letting your guys know exactly what's negotiable and what's nonnegotiable," Grimes said. "Then when they know that there's certain things that, hey, I'm not changing them so don't try to change me, I'm not changing; I'm telling you that up front. I think as I've gotten older, if I were to give a young coach advice, it would be that: Find out as early as you possibly can as a young coach, you as a young reporter, find out what you will not bend on, and then let everybody know that this isn't going to change, and if you try to negotiate something that is nonnegotiable, it is not going to go well for you.

"Straight up. The more that you can be straight up with guys and let them know that, the more you can get accomplished."

Auburn's linemen quickly learned that lesson in the spring shortly after Grimes returned. During the team's first scrimmage of spring practices, the offensive line had what Grimes described as 38 "loafs" on 85 snaps -- an unacceptable number for Grimes. That's when Grimes, regarded as a technically sound line coach, realized he had to redefine his players' fundamentals and that, while there was ample talent up front, there was also a lot of work to be done.

 

"That cost everybody in the room immensely," he said. "Ask them. It did not go well for them, but that's part of that non-negotiation that I'm talking about. We've got to get these guys back to playing with an edge, with a physical, nasty effort, edge and don't -- you don't have to take anything from anybody. Last time I checked, you're an SEC football player too, and you got to start acting like it. That's the attitude I want them to take, and that's the attitude we're going to take."

That has begun to stick with Auburn's linemen, who quickly learned the standard their new position coach is holding them to.

"He makes you understand the importance of details, and we do little things every day," Horton said. "It's like certain steps we have to do, and we do that every day. We really see how important that is in everything, in all aspects of the game."

There is one other lesson Grimes learned during his two seasons away from Auburn -- one that ensures that the other two aspects will be effective. For as serious and hard-nosed as Grimes can be, he understands the value of levity when dealing with his players.

"Don't be afraid to laugh," Grimes said. "There's great power in laughter, and having a room where you're sitting there and there's no levity in the room, that ain't going to work. You've got to have laughter. I know my job depends on, and how I feed my family depends on me putting a product out there, but these are still 18-year-old kids. So, you got to have the right amount of taskmaster and levity, in my opinion."

[AUbritt 611]

Great article!

Thanks for posting it.

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

36 minutes ago, AUbritt said:

Great article!

Thanks for posting it.

Good to see you back Britt!

 

[fredst 9,064]

Man...I was hoping “How to be a killer recruiter” was part of that list?

[McLoofus 35,182]

14 minutes ago, fredst said:

Man...I was hoping “How to be a killer recruiter” was part of that list?

[keesler 5,924]

I don't want to be a wet blanket, and I'm really glad JB is back on staff as AU badly needs the fundamentals again, but some folks on this board weren't sad to see him head North a few years ago, I just can't remember why?

[passthebiscuits 6,844]

35 "loafs" in the first 80-some plays...there's the deal right there. Welcome back JBG!

[keesler 5,924]

13 minutes ago, passthebiscuits said:

35 "loafs" in the first 80-some plays...there's the deal right there. Welcome back JBG!

Yep - attention to detail, know your job, play with a sense of urgency, play with an attitude and a mean streak, play with a mental toughness and a desire to dominate the man in front of you.  Sounds like JB's having to change the culture with these young'uns.  Welcome back indeed!

[AURex 1,994]

We are a week away from finding out if those lessons he learned translate into a mean and nasty and competent offensive line that can protect their QB and create holes for their RB. Because if not, that last lesson of laughter will be coming from Seattle.

 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

3 hours ago, keesler said:

I don't want to be a wet blanket, and I'm really glad JB is back on staff as AU badly needs the fundamentals again, but some folks on this board weren't sad to see him head North a few years ago, I just can't remember why?

People are always looking for something better, and sometimes later in life they realize how good they already had it. 

[doc4aday 1,887]

JB is as good as there is when it comes to coaching an offensive line in all aspects of the game.  I am excited to see how the OL does against UW.  I like our chances much better than what Hand would probably had done with getting the OL ready for game 1.  I hope to see some pancakes in game 1 cooked up by JB's troops!

[milehighfan 1,240]

I know there were some on this board who didn't care for Grimes and those on this board who didn't care for Hand. In my less than professional opinion I felt the OL was more physical under Grimes. I hope that trend continues this season.

[boisnumber1 2,818]

On 8/24/2018 at 3:18 PM, passthebiscuits said:

35 "loafs" in the first 80-some plays...there's the deal right there. Welcome back JBG!

Unfortunately, I have no problem believing there were "35 loafs". Hand just didn't get the most out of his players for whatever reason. With the new guys on the line this season, we really couldn't afford for Hand to coach them this year imo. Glad JBG has their attention.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

11 hours ago, boisnumber1 said:

Unfortunately, I have no problem believing there were "35 loafs". Hand just didn't get the most out of his players for whatever reason. With the new guys on the line this season, we really couldn't afford for Hand to coach them this year imo. Glad JBG has their attention.

Hand loafed. I think that attitude was passed down. I realize you have to have one demeanor for recruiting and another for coaching. But you have to be honest with guys coming in and let them know you like them and they are important, but you must also let them know up front you expect them to give their all every play, every practice and every film session. That’s what makes winners. WDE  CJBG

[Kaoz 15]

Best "assistant coach" article that I have read in a long time. I do appreciate that one being posted. 

[tiger78 13]

Anyone that does not think that J.B. Grimes is a better OL coach than Hand is severely deluded. He will have them tough and mentally ready. The question is whether we have the talent and experience level to excel against good teams. How many "loafs" do you think we had against UCF?

 

[WFE12 9,191]

Best quote of all times

 

[doc4aday 1,887]

6 hours ago, tiger78 said:

Anyone that does not think that J.B. Grimes is a better OL coach than Hand is severely deluded. He will have them tough and mentally ready. The question is whether we have the talent and experience level to excel against good teams. How many "loafs" do you think we had against UCF?

 

I would be willing to say there were likely as many loafs as good blocks in that game.