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New Offensive Coordinator - Austin Davis


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52 minutes ago, 80Tiger said:

Ok. Here goes. While this guy may turn out to be a great OC, what in his past indicates that he is qualified to be OC at a major P5 school. He has been an NFL QB coach for one year and an assistant QB coach for one year. Has he ever developed a game plan? Called any plays whatsoever? Adjust on the fly during a game? Yes Carroll and Wilson gave him great accolades but Russel Wilson has been a great QB a long time. To say he had any hand in Wilson’s development as a great QB would be a stretch. Someone said it earlier but this board sounds like when Lofler was hired and many said he would be a good OC because he coached Tom Brady. I feel like it is another hire that requires on the job training. 

Flame away but I think many there are looking through orange and blue glasses.  And if my concerns prove unfounded I will gladly come back here next fall and say I was wrong. 

I honestly don't get it either, especially after seeing almost ever other candidate dragged on this board. It's a huge jump for a guy with his resume. 

But I'm going to assume the many people on here who know more about football than me are correct. I do see there is the potential for a huge upside.

More than anything, I'm excited that this means Harsin is clearly running the offense. Let's see what he's got. 

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So does today's developments give credibility to the rumors that the Nix family was the one floating Dilly for the OC vacancy, despite him seemingly being a super random and weird pairing with Harsin?

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1 hour ago, cbo said:

I honestly don't get it either, especially after seeing almost ever other candidate dragged on this board. It's a huge jump for a guy with his resume. 

But I'm going to assume the many people on here who know more about football than me are correct. I do see there is the potential for a huge upside.

More than anything, I'm excited that this means Harsin is clearly running the offense. Let's see what he's got. 

There is definitely a lot of risk with the hire.

But with Harsin being the defacto OC and Davis learning for a year or so before calling plays, it provides room for growth. Lanning was the best coordinator in the country and was a position coach for 3 years, only 1 in the SEC, years before becoming DC.

Seeing the NFL go younger. Kellen Moore on a similar track record, there are a lot of ppl (myself included) buying into that mindset. We could all be completely wrong.

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I like the hire. As I said before, probably the best OC choice in AU in the last 30 years. I know some will say Gus was, but Gus was a gimmick and after coaches caught on then they pretty much shut him down and he had no backup. 🤔

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5 hours ago, 80Tiger said:

Ok. Here goes. While this guy may turn out to be a great OC, what in his past indicates that he is qualified to be OC at a major P5 school. He has been an NFL QB coach for one year and an assistant QB coach for one year. Has he ever developed a game plan? Called any plays whatsoever? Adjust on the fly during a game? Yes Carroll and Wilson gave him great accolades but Russel Wilson has been a great QB a long time. To say he had any hand in Wilson’s development as a great QB would be a stretch. Someone said it earlier but this board sounds like when Lofler was hired and many said he would be a good OC because he coached Tom Brady. I feel like it is another hire that requires on the job training. 

Flame away but I think many there are looking through orange and blue glasses.  And if my concerns prove unfounded I will gladly come back here next fall and say I was wrong. 

Is this a slam dunk, take it to the bank kind of hire? Absolutely not.

To me, this is hire is one based on potential and a demonstration of getting an entire staff from HC on down pulling in the same direction and focused on the same vision. It also adds another POV in the coaching meetings/staff discussions. I like the hire for the message it sends and the potential for the program as a whole.

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3 hours ago, W.E.D said:

There is definitely a lot of risk with the hire.

But with Harsin being the defacto OC and Davis learning for a year or so before calling plays, it provides room for growth. Lanning was the best coordinator in the country and was a position coach for 3 years, only 1 in the SEC, years before becoming DC.

Seeing the NFL go younger. Kellen Moore on a similar track record, there are a lot of ppl (myself included) buying into that mindset. We could all be completely wrong.

Concurred.

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On 12/18/2021 at 8:44 PM, bigbird said:

I love the coaching Talent CBH is able to bring in.  Eason, Davis, all the former coordinators, there's a reason they're coming. Like some of the recruits have said, "they're building something different at Auburn"

People who know, know, and people that don't know, wonder why the people that know are so high on Harsin.

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12 minutes ago, Didba said:

People who know, know, and people that don't know, wonder why the people that know are so high on Harsin.

Is Harsin "The Guy"? It's too early to say. However, all signs are pointing towards likely/probable if AU people give him enough time, space, and money to operate. We're probably in for a bit of a rough go next season and AL.com will be in full throat feeding the loudmouthed Negabarners.

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Count me as another who doesn't get it. 

This guy has virtually no experience and no track record of running any sort of offense. He also hasn't recruited. 

Across the board, we have more of a project staff at this point than even with Malzahn. Hope all that risk ultimately pays off. 

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7 hours ago, Didba said:

People who know, know, and people that don't know, wonder why the people that know are so high on Harsin.

Oh I get it now. You guys know more than everyone else so do not question anything.

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I think that when you look at us moving into next year this hire makes sense. We need someone to develop a quarterback more than we need a play caller. We have 3 quarterbacks right now with very little actual game experience. We may pick up a veteran QB in the portal, but if not we really need someone who can develop. Even if we do get a QB with experience we don't know if they will necessarily fit our system and will still need someone to help them fit.

It does make me a little uncomfortable to see us get an OC who doesn't have play calling experience, but I can get behind this hire. Hopefully Davis can get us through this QB competition and get us a strong leader for next year. 

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13 hours ago, cbo said:

I honestly don't get it either, especially after seeing almost ever other candidate dragged on this board. It's a huge jump for a guy with his resume. 

But I'm going to assume the many people on here who know more about football than me are correct. I do see there is the potential for a huge upside.

More than anything, I'm excited that this means Harsin is clearly running the offense. Let's see what he's got. 

People seem to be worried about AD’s lack of experience and that’s valid especially when it comes to calling plays. However, the head coach has well over a decade of play calling experience. Love the hire. I’m excited. If I’m wrong then I’m wrong. 

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36 minutes ago, ChristoThor said:

I think that when you look at us moving into next year this hire makes sense. We need someone to develop a quarterback more than we need a play caller. We have 3 quarterbacks right now with very little actual game experience. We may pick up a veteran QB in the portal, but if not we really need someone who can develop. Even if we do get a QB with experience we don't know if they will necessarily fit our system and will still need someone to help them fit.

It does make me a little uncomfortable to see us get an OC who doesn't have play calling experience, but I can get behind this hire. Hopefully Davis can get us through this QB competition and get us a strong leader for next year. 

This staff has a couple of people already with play calling experience so like you I agree a QB developer is key.  The gamble at this point is whether he will be a great recruiter.  On one side you have the group who say he has never recruited so he will suck at it, and the other side is he is young has NFL experience and those two factors will make players want to play for him hoping he can get them to the NFL.  Both are legitimate points during the interview process Harsin had to decide if he had the makings of a great recruiter I am assuming that Harsin believes he will be a great recruiter. 

Yes it is a risk but I think it will prove to be a good risk but only time will tell.

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8 hours ago, selias said:

Is Harsin "The Guy"? It's too early to say. However, all signs are pointing towards likely/probable if AU people give him enough time, space, and money to operate. We're probably in for a bit of a rough go next season and AL.com will be in full throat feeding the loudmouthed Negabarners.

What signs are pointing towards him being the guy?

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2 hours ago, 80Tiger said:

Oh I get it now. You guys know more than everyone else so do not question anything.

JMO, and I don't want to put words in his mouth, but all I believe he was saying is that some are a little more experienced in seeing the smaller patterns of improvement that have historically paid dividends. Kinda like seeing the pebble as opposed to the ripples.

Everyone sees the tsunami coming, but very few initially know about the underwater earthquake/eruption.  Those that are familiar or work in that field can usually see the signs before the wave hits.

 

As far as not questioning goes, I'll say it this way...My dad always had a great saying when growing up, "Trust, but verify"

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For folks who say "he has never recruited" think for a moment about what recruiting is.   Recruiting is connecting with people.  Recruiting is developing relationships.   Recruiting is communicating a message and a vision.   These are all skills everyone of us, and Davis, have used before.   Recruiting isn't some abject skill that can only be mastered after practicing "it" for years.   Look at what Nick Eason just accomplished despite having never "recruited" before.  

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I'm fine with the hire. Kind of exciting to get fresh, young blood in. 

As for inexperience, well Harsin IS experienced and so I'm sure he did a full vetting process with Davis and + Harsin knows for his own sake he needs to bring in a good hire here. I'll trust that he knows what he's doing here.  

 

 

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3 hours ago, aucom96 said:

Count me as another who doesn't get it. 

This guy has virtually no experience and no track record of running any sort of offense. He also hasn't recruited. 

Across the board, we have more of a project staff at this point than even with Malzahn. Hope all that risk ultimately pays off. 

Joe Brady’s experience before arriving at LSU was an analyst with the Saints, GA at Penn State, and LB coach at William and Mary.

And before anyone says “it was Ensminger”, LSU’s offense was complete trash before and after Brady left and looked very different while Brady was there, and now Brady is one of the hottest names that circulates for OC vacancies. 

I love the hire, and Harsin has shown he is a fantastic OC and play caller, so I think in that aspect this is a great pairing. 

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4 minutes ago, AEAugirl said:

Joe Brady’s experience before arriving at LSU was an analyst with the Saints, GA at Penn State, and LB coach at William and Mary.

And before anyone says “it was Ensminger”, LSU’s offense was complete trash before and after Brady left and looked very different while Brady was there, and now Brady is one of the hottest names that circulates for OC vacancies. 

I love the hire, and Harsin has shown he is a fantastic OC and play caller, so I think in that aspect this is a great pairing. 

I get that there is potential  upside, but it still feels like when we hired Dilly and Gus was "making the calls" a few years ago. 

Brady also benefitted from having a highly talented roster and QB. 

I hope it all works, but everything with this staff to date is based on speculation and high risk, not results. The concern with me is if all of this long-range potential has enough time to actually pay off. Before NIL I would have said no, but we may be easing back into a middle-of-the-road direction which would produce more patience than the PTB traditionally have had. We will see. 

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5 minutes ago, aucom96 said:

I get that there is potential  upside, but it still feels like when we hired Dilly and Gus was "making the calls" a few years ago. 

They have completely different career paths tho.  Dilly was a coach for 2 season at memphis before coming here and absolutely zero playing career.

Davis played 4 years in college, then 7 years in the NFL as a back up QB before transitioning to an on the field coach. Back up QBs in the NFL do a lot.  The amount of experience is pretty stark.

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1 hour ago, bigbird said:

As far as not questioning goes, I'll say it this way...My dad always had a great saying when growing up, "Trust, but verify"

Wait….your Dad was Ronald Reagan?

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1 hour ago, bigbird said:

As far as not questioning goes, I'll say it this way...My dad always had a great saying when growing up, "Trust, but verify"

Hey Bird, I didn't know President Reagan had a child that was an Auburn fan 😎

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1 hour ago, CoffeeTiger said:

I'm fine with the hire. Kind of exciting to get fresh, young blood in. 

As for inexperience, well Harsin IS experienced and so I'm sure he did a full vetting process with Davis and + Harsin knows for his own sake he needs to bring in a good hire here. I'll trust that he knows what he's doing here.  

 

 

I believe he made a great judgement on Coach Eason (no recruiting experience) which has paid dividends in this present recruiting cycle. I definitely trust his (Harsin) judgement.

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17 hours ago, 80Tiger said:

Ok. Here goes. While this guy may turn out to be a great OC, what in his past indicates that he is qualified to be OC at a major P5 school. He has been an NFL QB coach for one year and an assistant QB coach for one year. Has he ever developed a game plan? Called any plays whatsoever? Adjust on the fly during a game? Yes Carroll and Wilson gave him great accolades but Russel Wilson has been a great QB a long time. To say he had any hand in Wilson’s development as a great QB would be a stretch. Someone said it earlier but this board sounds like when Lofler was hired and many said he would be a good OC because he coached Tom Brady. I feel like it is another hire that requires on the job training. 

Flame away but I think many there are looking through orange and blue glasses.  And if my concerns prove unfounded I will gladly come back here next fall and say I was wrong. 

I think the philosophy here is to focus on the QB coach side of the equation, not the OC role.

QB coaching has been a notorious weak spot for Auburn for a long time. And it is not a strong point for many college programs.

The OC side is something that can be developed over time. I would add, all NFL QBs are a very different animal than most college QBs. Remember the Jon Gruden interview with Cam Newton in 2011? NFL QBs have to read defenses. They have to be able to change the play via audible based on a pre-snap read. They have to be able to determine where a passing play will go after the snap based on a read progression.

In many college systems, an offensive assistant in the press box reads the defense and calls the change, then another assistant signals in the change, then the QB audibles the change. In most college offenses, the passing read progression is much less complicated than the NFL. Art Briles had passing plays that had no reads and no progression. They were architected to get one receiver open, and if the play wasn't there, the QB either had to throw the ball away or run it. He had others that were built with only one read to one side of the field, and the WRs on the other side ran at half speed to preserve their breath, so they could run plays at pace.

All of this suggests that an NFL QB coach, with recent experience as an NFL QB, has a lot of experience as a student of the game, and has significantly involvement with the game plan and play calling, both as a player and a coach.

I think we will see some different things next year, and expect Harsin to be doing most of the play calling early. Over time, I expect this will shift to Davis.

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