Our coaching history?

[former_d1]

Someone tell me the coaching history here at tech. If someone could fill me in on the present offensive system, where it came from and the coaches that have just used the system that was in place.

Seems there was a coach here at Tech that moved on to the Bears offensive coordinator and the coaches after that have used his system. How long have the present set of coaches been here?

Also, did the ball just bounce our way all last year for us to win the wac or are we just not playing as good as we did last year?

[former_d1]

Some has to have an idea, come on.

[T_Won]

In 1992, we had one of the Top 5 defenses in the country (statistically). We went 6-5 with a very tough schedule. We lost 13-0 to eventual national champion Alabama. It was very frustrating to have such a good defense, but not be able to score any points.

In 1993 and 1994, our defense started slumping and the offense still sucked. I believe we went 3-8 in 1993 and 2-9 in 1994. We were at the bottom of the nation in total offense (statistically). We were very unimiganitive. We would run the ball on 1st and 2nd down and throw an incompletion on 3rd down. We averaged about 9 points a game.

We hired Gary Crowton in 1995 as offensive coordiantor. In his first year, we went 5-6 and he turned that offense from dead last, to around #50 or so.

Joe Raymond Peace was fired in 95 and Crowton was named head coach for the 96 season.

We went 6-5 in 96 and the offense continued to improve. 1997 was the break-out year. We beat California in Shreveport 41-34. We beat Alabama in Tuskaloosa 26-20. We had a rookie QB named Tim Rattay who was lighting up defenses. We led the nation in total offense. We had a running back that consistently rushed for 100 yards and we threw all over the place---including alot to All-American tight end Josh Bradley.

In 1998, we hung 590 yards on Nebraska in the air in the season opener. Our star receiver was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft (13 overall). The defense began to suffer though. We had now come a complete 180 from 6 years ago as our offense was now in the top 5 in the country, but our defense was close to last (statistically).

Crowton went on to the NFL in 1999 and our offensive line coach, Jack Bicknell, III took over the reigns. The so-called Offensive Coordiantor, Clint Congue, was disgusted at the naming of Bicknell as head coach, so he left Tech to be the head coach at a Division II school. Many believe that Rattay called the plays in 1999 as the offense continued on destroying defenses through the air and Crowton and Conque were gone.

In 2000 we brought in a young coach from Hofstra named Rob Spence to be co-offensive coordinator, along with Conroy Hines. The offense suffered and many believe it was because of the play of our rookie QB. That QB got hurt in game 4 and we pulled the redshirt off of Luke McCown and he excelled in the system

In 2001, Spence left for Toledo and Conroy Hines was the sole offensive coordinator. The offense performed well last year and Tech set a school record of 6 straight games with 40 or more points. Toledo was one of the top 10 offensive programs in the nation, along with Tech.

This year, the wheels have fallen off. In the game before last, we were kept out of the end zone for the first time since Crowton came on board. Conroy Hines is still the offensive coordinator and Luke McCown is still the QB. Your guess is as good as mine as to what happened!

[EJ]

Gary Crowton was hired by Tech as the offensive coordinator (OC) under Joe Raymond Peace in 1995. After a 5-6 season in 1995 season, Peace was fired and Crowton was promoted to head coach beginning in 1996.

At the end on the 1998 season, Crowton left Tech to be the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. He is now the heas coach at BYU (he is originally from Utah and played QB at BYU).

Prior to the 1999 season and after a series of interviews with various assistants of major programs, Jack Bicknell was promoted to head coach and Clint Conque became the offensive coordinator. That was 1999, which was Tim Rattay's senior year and the year we beat Alabama as they went on to win the SEC.

Apparently Clint Conque did not like being an assistant coach and left to be the head coach at Central Arkansas Univ (Div 2).

For the 2000 season, Conroy Hines and Rob Spence were made CO-offensive coordinators. Rob Spence left after the 2000 season to become the OC at Toledo and Conroy Hines was now the OC for the 2001 season. This is his second year as OC.

It was Gary Crowton's offensive system that we adopted and have somewhat continued to run. However, where Crowton and Conque/Rattay were able to use the system to score at will while running many multiple sets, our current system seems to be a very basic, conservative, and predictable form of the original offense introduced by Crowton.

Hope that helps.

[LBP]

Crowton played QB at Colorado State. We are still using Crowton's offense. Crowton threw nothing but dink passes and never threw downfield. Crowton's offense is one of the reasons where we are today, in the crapper. Everyone on our coaching staff that believes in Crowton's system has got to go. We should run an offense like we did during the 90 Indy bowl season, that offense was much better than Crowton's.

[Soonerdawg]

Oh, how I long for the ignore feature.

[ARKDAWG02]

LBP, I remember sitting in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock in 1997 and watching Tech pass Arkansas crazy all night long. We threw so many deep passes I lost count. Connected on a couple but just missed several times. We threw all over the field. It was a great offensive showing that resulted in everything but enough points to win the game. I just didn't see the dinks you are talking about as dominating our play calling.

[Soonerdawg]

AD, I also remember how wide open a tightend was to win the California game, and there was nothing dinky about that pass.

[former_d1]

Thanks for the replies. I have followed the win-loss from afar (saint louis, mo), so all this helps.

[Junkyard Dawg]

I was also at that Arkansas game in 97. Edwards dropped 2 deep posts that both would have been TD's.
There's nothing wrong with Crowton's offense. He passes short alot yes, but those short passes are equivialent to runs. The core idea is actually pretty good, it's just a running play that starts outside in the flat instead of in the backfield, therefore, you take the defensive line and most of the LB's out of the equation. If you get around 1 or 2 CB's, you've broken a big gain. But Crowton also went downfield as much as he threw short passes. That's what kept the dinks working, and what let Rattay lead the nation for 2+ years in offensive production.
The problem is we are not running Crowton's offense nad have not since Tim left. We are running a watered down, simpler scheme with less formations, less plays, and smaller, less talented recievers that is a grotesque corruption of the offense feared by ALL I-A defenses. The current play callers do not have the wherewithall the adapt the playbook to make it work, nor do they have the ability to properly design a gameplan that will progress throughout the game. All they can do is try to fool teams with trickery, and it ain't working.
The key to Crowton's offense was not simply a good quarterback, but a good quarterback with the right recievers. Why do you think he liked the big guys like Jordon and Cangealosi? They caught some passes, but they were the main blockers for the Edwards type guy on the dinks. Now we have all little quick Edwards type guys, and they get nowhere.
We do need to make a change in offensive schemes. Looking at the athletes we have, we need to take up a traditional offense for the rest of the year. Joe Smith is averaging 5 yards a carry running of tackle and on draws. For goodness sake, give him a lead blocker and a TE and he will win games for us all by himself, let him rest every 3rd series and put Ralph Davis (since we wasted his red shirt, idiots!!) in. Let Harris and Curry run deep crossing routes and send Norwood across the middle and on out routes. I really think we could score 35 a game the rest of the season easy.
Crowton's offense sucks you say? I say, only if you try to kill the goose that laid the golden egg by doing what worked in 97-98 over and over and over again. In martial arts, there is a counter strike for every strike; if you protect your head and your midsection, then your groin is wide open. The same is true in football - If your defense stops one thing, then something else is open, always. We are not calling the right counterstrikes, but our opponents are.
That's why we've score only 7 points in all our losses after halftime. and this can even go back a few games into last year. Something must change. We should take a lesson from A&M. Look at what they did after a change!!!

[ARKDAWG02]

Excellent post JYD. I hope these 2 weeks off will give our coaches and players a chance to get ready to play the second half of the season.

[LBP]

This is the nicest way that I can say this. Anyone who thinks that a screen pass is equal to run is a moron. I explained this in another thread, so I don't need to say it all over again. Crowton thinks that a screen pass and a running play are the same, he is a moron, and those are some of the reasons that he has never beaten a ranked opponent or a BCS team with a winning record.

[T_Won]

I guess you consider a toss sweep a pass play? The only difference in a wide receiver screen and a toss sweep is that the toss is a little farther and it is going to a receiver instead of a back. It is very a high percentage pass designed to gain 5 or 6 yards with the possibility of going the distance.

Look around the nation and watch the teams play. Find one team (besides Rice, Navy, Army, Nebraska, and Air Force) that don't throw wide receiver screens or screens to the running back. Watch Fresno State, Boise State, Hawaii, Texas Tech, BYU, Clemson, Marshall, and Purdue. Notice where these teams rank in total offense. Hell, even Joe Pa is doing it now!

It is not the plays, it is when they are being called and how often they are being called.