I know McGee is a close friend of Lovie Smith's. But I still fail to see his rationale behind wanting to go from a job like Louisville to the same job at a program like Illinois. Louisville has a much better chance of success moving forward than Illinois does. But my question is "Is this business as usually for Bobby or will he have some real problems with the timing of this move?" McGee making a move this close to Spring Practice makes it tough for Bobby to have a replacement ready for when practice starts. I know Bobby is the real de facto Offensive Coordinator so I have a hunch that he'll be more hands on this Spring with his Offense and with his Quarterbacks than he would have been otherwise.
Question about Garrick McGee?
- Thread starter SchmidtyNole
- Start date
My impression is that McGee's move was about 2 things, coaching with an old friend in Smith and also getting out of the supposed shadow of Coach Petrino's offensive reputation. Any OC under Petrino is not going to get the credit he may deserve. As far as timing, there is never a good time to lose an OC, but at least it did occur after the bowl game and national signing day, so it's effect is limited.
I think Steelers hit on the rationale for why. I would add that given the fact that Lovie Smith has been more focused on the defense in his career, this offers GM the opportunity to run the whole show on the offensive side of the ball - something that was never going to occur at Louisville.
With Paul Petrino out of the mix - hope that someone who is a top flight recruiter with some read option experience is hired.
With Paul Petrino out of the mix - hope that someone who is a top flight recruiter with some read option experience is hired.
As echoed by above posters,
Garrick gets to run the entire offense. Petrino does it at UofL.
Lovie will run the defense.
Added to coach with his mentor. Any Success and Garrick gets a P5 HC job
or even the NFL.
Very good recruiter and mentor. Good luck to him.
Garrick gets to run the entire offense. Petrino does it at UofL.
Lovie will run the defense.
Added to coach with his mentor. Any Success and Garrick gets a P5 HC job
or even the NFL.
Very good recruiter and mentor. Good luck to him.
I just don't understand why GM would walk away from what he has returning at Louisville, for a multi year rebuild at Illinois. I'm guessing that he and CBP were not seeing eye to eye on some things. The recent coaching turnover has me a bit concerned....
McGee could feel more comfortable and have more responsibility under his old friend Lovie. The salary he is getting tells me they really wanted him.
Judging the depth of loyalty and love from a man to a former mentor - in Garrick's case, be it Lovie or BobbyP - is not going to get accomplished on a college sports message board.
Might as well talk about the weather.
Might as well talk about the weather.
There isn't a profession with the exception of the fast food industry, that has more turnover than coaching. They are all nomads.
The next time ANYTHING gets accomplished on a sports message board will be the first. So, if that is your position we might as well do away with sports message boards.
I contend there has NEVER been a coach "lose his job".
Might be a demotion, or a change of venue, but never fired.
"Accomplish" is hardly a verb I would use about message boards. We might be able to "accomplish" a look at a general opinion enough to draw conclusions about a fan base's mood, but the purpose remains in the realm of ideas.
My issue is over what the speculation consists of.....and its basis. Conclusions drawn about the actual real-life personalities we speak of in here require a bit more rigor than speculations over the hidden agendas this thread has generated.
If he was trying to get out from Bobby's shadow and run the show why didn't he do it at Oklahoma where he would've had MUCH more to work with than he will at Illinois? It could be that he wanted to use Lovie's NFL connections some day but if they fail at Illinois (like I suspect they will) the NFL won't want him no matter who he knows. I'm left thinking he either did it because of his loyalty to Lovie, he had a falling out with Bobby, or he and Petrino had differences in opinion of the direction of the offense.
Bobby seems committed to shifting to a read option offense even at the detriment of the team at times. In Bobby's first year he played Reggie entirely too much when he should've been playing Gardner or Bolin. I think Petrino decided in 2007 when he left for the Falcons with the intention of coaching Michael Vick that he was moving into a different direction with his offensive philosophy. McGee is a pro-style guy so that may have been irreconcilable difference for them.
The Stoops brothers are known for hitching their wagon to hurry up spread offenses. I wonder if McGee was ever Bob Stoops' first choice or if it was Lincoln Riley. It's hard to understand why McGee wouldn't have jumped on that if he was ready for a change
Bobby seems committed to shifting to a read option offense even at the detriment of the team at times. In Bobby's first year he played Reggie entirely too much when he should've been playing Gardner or Bolin. I think Petrino decided in 2007 when he left for the Falcons with the intention of coaching Michael Vick that he was moving into a different direction with his offensive philosophy. McGee is a pro-style guy so that may have been irreconcilable difference for them.
The Stoops brothers are known for hitching their wagon to hurry up spread offenses. I wonder if McGee was ever Bob Stoops' first choice or if it was Lincoln Riley. It's hard to understand why McGee wouldn't have jumped on that if he was ready for a change
I just think the Illinois job is a dead end for Mcgee even with Lovie there. Lovie is a good coach but I've always seen him as more of an NFL guy. Maybe he can adapt to the College game but NFL guys aren't used to the year round recruiting that College has. They're used to relying on their Scouts and GM for personnel decisions. And Illinois is hardly a school with rich Football tradition. The last I remember Illinois being relevant was back in the 90's when they had guys like Jeff George, Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy although they did make a Sugar Bowl appearance back in 2001. But they've had a ton of losing seasons over the years so it's tough for anybody to change that particularly bringing in an NFL guy rather than a guy that is used to the College game.
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$200,000 a year less? The mystery water runs a little deeper, IMO.
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...gee-making-less-illinois-louisville/82249522/
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...gee-making-less-illinois-louisville/82249522/
Pretty sure it was actually a $250,000 pay cut. I think he was making $900,000 and took a cut down to $650,000. Correct?
no one cared that McGee and Thomas left. The only real loss was Buck.
The urge to search out crannies of disrespect in the adult coaches involved says as much about posters as it does about the coaches they dramatically "speculate" on. Some guys apparently need the fuel of drama to get through their day. When Lovie Smith was hired at Illinois, Petrino immediately told his assistants to "make a list" of potential replacements.
What, may I ask, is the take on this if not the lock cinch suspicion of BobbyP's that Lovie would be coming for Garrick? McGee is the completion of this defensive coach's circle - plus he recruits well. Turns out Petrino was correct. He understood the compulsion Lovie offered to Garrick.
That is all worked out pretty wonderfully for us is a tribute to his intuitions. That McGee went to Illinois - no matter the difference at the 1% level of assistant pay - was wholly predictable, even in spite of his prior uncommon loyalty to us.
What, may I ask, is the take on this if not the lock cinch suspicion of BobbyP's that Lovie would be coming for Garrick? McGee is the completion of this defensive coach's circle - plus he recruits well. Turns out Petrino was correct. He understood the compulsion Lovie offered to Garrick.
That is all worked out pretty wonderfully for us is a tribute to his intuitions. That McGee went to Illinois - no matter the difference at the 1% level of assistant pay - was wholly predictable, even in spite of his prior uncommon loyalty to us.
Not sure if getting out from Bobbys shadow is an accurate way to say it. I'm pretty sure that Bobby is a heavy handed task manager and no one escapes his tirades. McGee was simply in a no win situation. For example on this message board, if the offense was clicking, then it had to be Petrino and his offensive genius. If the offense was flat, everyone aid asking the questions who's calling the plays, can't be Bobby, McGee's got to be the blame.
Hell, I have been in a job like that. It wears you down mentally.
Hell, I have been in a job like that. It wears you down mentally.
McGee worked for Bobby at different places - for years. Is someone saying that suddenly he found his second favorite head coach's gnarly and prickly ways all that burdensome??
Get a freaking grip.
You mean the whopping 1 year at the Jaguars and 3 years at Arkansas? Yeah that's a lot of history. Don't be so sensitive.
The CJ article only discusses salary. Perhaps Lovie structured an interesting bonus package, as well. Initial reports were that he was going from an $850000 package at Louisville to $900,000 at Illinois. Maybe the good old CJ doesn't have the full story....
I think McGee "following" Coach Petrino from place to place is a valid and relevant point in this discussion. If McGee initially went to work for Coach Petrino (Jacksonville), then chose to work for him twice more (Arkansas and Louisville), I think that speaks to how comfortable he is working for the man. If not, he had 2 opportunities to say, "thanks, but no thanks". Instead, he said, "sure".
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Steelers,
I can agree with that but we also don't know if there was an impasse or disagreement of how the offense needed to be run going into next year. There seem to be a number of times when the offense wasn't clicking.
I can agree with that but we also don't know if there was an impasse or disagreement of how the offense needed to be run going into next year. There seem to be a number of times when the offense wasn't clicking.
So you believe that hiring Nick Petrino as WR coach was an upgrade over Thomas? A legend in South Florida
People here actually know Thomas. Are you pretending to be naive or is it just natural? He is legendary for getting kicked off broadcasts for breathing hard and loud during team fights on national TV, lol.
Thomas, according to those in the know, was mailing it in for some reason or other. He may have hit a wall with Petrino who is so demanding - that is possible, I guess. If by some chance you think the actual current coach of Louisville's wide receivers - Galloway - was not an upgrade over Lamar Thomas, man, I feel for your ignorance.
Petrino Junior is working with QB's. He has been a GA for at least 2 years under his old man and he is a 3rd generation coach, who talked schematics and team speed with his head coach Dad and his formerly head coach Grandad over dinner for his entire life. The fact that many say he was actually doing Lamar's job as the WR coach should be disturbingly numerous stories for a UK fan, somehow reveling in his unproven coaching glories and stealing him away as you believe you have, lol. Now, he could always get it together at UK - I guess that's always possible, but the WR's at Louisville have already commented on the new drills and the new enthusiasm Galloway with his history of cultivating All Americans has brought. You should check Galloway out some time. See which one you would prefer.
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More like a legend in his own mind. Lamar Thomas carries a big name, but it is fading. I still say that no one cares. In addition to Senore's post, please go look for the recruits Thomas pulled in during his time here. You will find one. Then look at the position he was coaching and you will see several guys who underperformed and dropped balls with regularity. Pretty much anyone who will work more than 40 hours per week without complaining is an improvement. I love average cat fan believing they pulled some huge coup with Thomas. He was not being renewed here and in a year or 2 you will all understand why.
As someone who knows ppl that had a interaction with Lamar Thomas...I am glad he is in Lexington...
As for Galloway....I like the way he developed Kevin White at WVU...Former 2* JuCo to Top 10 NFL Pick and his work with Tavon Austin as well.
Time will tell I'm happy with what we got so far. We got a commitment from a national top 100 player/receiver the other day. I'm sure Thomas was involved
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Glad you are....ppl on this site will tell you I had a issue with LT since January 2014...very happy with Galloway...hope LT matures....I will leave it at that.
Long way to go to turn that commitment into a signature - particularly if OSU offers.
Yup...Urban hasn't offered yet and just a hunch the bigger role in the player recruitment was more likely Vince Marrow...
You assume way too much. His connections are in Florida and evidently they aren't that great.
Marrow was definitely the lead recruiter but our staff recruits every player as a staff. Each assistant is assigned a geographical area, each coach is also heavily involved with recruiting the position that they coach, and to a lesser degree the coordinators recruit their side of the ball. There are 3 coaches recruiting all of our primary targets. Rivals will credit Marrow but Thomas deserves some credit too because guys don't commit without heavily considering their position coach
Maybe someday each coach will be heavily involved in actually coaching the position they are assigned to coach. Till then enjoy your recruiting championships. You Slapdicks eat that stuff up as sport itself. I'll say it again: dumbest fan base in sports, especially football. Lead by Head Moron Jauk
lol...I know how LT recruits players...ppl on this site knows this...warning, don't sell his "virtues" to myself...again, family had dealings with him in January 2014 in that regard...
If that's true - how do they get any OL commits? Schlarman is terrible.
Bottom line is that Stupes and the rest of the yut staff have grossly underperformed in every area except recruiting - which is a complete unknown until you see how those kids perform at the collegiate level. Besides, it does no good to have 4stars if you don't know what to do with them.
