On Broadway: Staff changes and what they mean
There's a running joke among members of the Lubbock media about Tech football that things are always interesting in December. You might as well set your clock to it.
Mike Leach was fired in December of 09, Tommy Tuberville let James Willis go in December of 10, the Glasgow drama occured in December of 11, Tuberville ducked out in December of 12, Cumbie left in December of 13, and Tech was busy looking for a new DC in December of 14.
Now, the concrete, stone-cold hands of time have thrown their annual banana peel with great glee once again.
Replacing five assistants and a number of your support staff is a tall task, and it means that less than half of your staff will return for another crucial 2016 season where a whole lot of new faces will become stalwarts on both offense and defense.
By now, I think many Red Raider fans just laugh at the change, as the Novocaine effect from the last half decade's drama has many giggling and crying at the same time. However, this change is radically different than changes have been in the past, and here's why:
First, Kliff Kingsbury is still the head coach, and it appears he's really getting into the finer details of fine tuning the program overall with the big cogs and key wheels spinning how he wants them to. David Gibbs is still in charge of the defense and can now execute his vision with his own assistants. His recruiting plan is already clearly in place, too.
Big time programs lose assistants on a regular basis, and they almost always keep on humming as long as the head coach is executing his plan how he wants it. Sure, losing Mike Jinks hurts, as he was a big piece of the team's identity behind the scenes and a leader that helped both the players and Kingsbury - along with his young assistants - really mature and grow into their roles.
At the same time, though, Kingsbury's learned from Jinks in similar ways that he's learned from Gibbs. Both are veteran coaches that understand how to win, and Kliff has grown and become better for learning from both.
The biggest immediate concern for everyone, though, is quite blatantly rooted in recruiting and how that affects both the 2016 and 2017 classes. I think Gibbs and the rest of the staff did a fantastic job of getting out in front of things, letting the commits know what was going on, and then seeing those prospects in person to explain things to them and reassure them of the direction of the program. In fact, it's a near miracle that they've held onto every defensive commit so far. It's flat out impressive, in fact. But it speaks to a plan being in place.
On offense, with Jinks and Chiaverini leaving, both are leaving for big promotions, one at their alma mater and the other for an opportunity as a head coach. Those are positive changes for both guys, and positive change is always generally accepted favorably, as it has been with Tech's offensive commits that Chiav and Jinks were responsible for. In fact, none of the commits have even really batted an eye at the change really other than to be happy and congratulate both coaches.
So far so good, and the Red Raiders incredibly dodged every immediate landmine in their path on the recruiting trail. I think some of that had to do with being able to have Emmett Jones as a true recruiter out on the road, who has done a great job building relationships and relating to prospects.
Now, the next step, more importantly than having a smooth bowl season, is to find the assistants you want and getting those guys. I think you already have one for certain in Emmett Jones, who will take a role as either the RBs or outside WRs coach, but the rest are still very much up in the air.
And that's what will really determine the next step for this program: Can Tech pony up the cash to get the assistants they want to move the program up a peg on the totem pole moving forward?
It's a must.
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Power Rankings: Star Wars movies
With The Force Awakens opening in movie theaters nationwide tonight, I figured I would rank the entire series from my least favorite to most favorite. If you aren't interested in Star Wars then proceed with your NNNNNNEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRDDDDDD commentary. I'm prepared.
6. Attack of the Clones - Many will probably be surprised that I have this dead last, but just listen: The dialogue is even more wooden and painful than that of The Phantom Menace, and the love story between Anakin and Padme is one of the dumbest, creepiest, and most-unbelievable on-screen romances ever spawned. It's just terrible other than the last 25 minutes.
5. The Phantom Menace - "Hey, lets add a bunch of poop and fart jokes, create a character that's imbecile with a racially stereotypical accent, and call him Jar Jar, and make the whole thing about a trade embargo and politics!" - George Lucas on what I can only assume was an LSD fueled writing session.
4. Return of the Jedi - Before you all throw your stones, hear me out: ROTJ began to add in the "kid humor" elements that plagued the prequels, added a last second, thrown in storyline of Luke and Leia being siblings that makes no sense when you look in retrospect, and it features the weakest storyline of the original series by going back to the well with a new Death Star.
3. Revenge of the Sith - Yes, the prequels are universally bombed, and rightfully so, but Revenge is actually a miles-better film than the first two in the trilogy. The action sequences are the best in all of Star Wars, the villains are much better, the stupid jokes are few and far between, and Ewan McGregor finally settles into the character of Obi-Wan. And he's SOOO good as Obi-Wan in this movie. So good.
2. A New Hope - The original that created the entire phenomenon while simultaneously revolutionizing special effects, the summer blockbuster, and journalistic movie coverage. It's a movie that almost anyone can relate to, and it's magical to watch. The characters are great, and they all have developmental arcs.
1. The Empire Strikes Back - Not only the best Star Wars movie ever made, but one of the best movies ever made, period. It's darker tones and character-driven story in the hands of Irvin Kershner in the director's chair really created a much deeper background for all the major characters, fleshed them out, and had some incredible twists and mature themes that both adults and children can understand. It's also briskly paced, and there isn't a single lull in the movie. It's a movie masterpiece, and I love it. The real reason why I love Star Wars so much.
Off The Reservation: The Kyler Murray Saga, and it's likely conclusion
When Kyler Murray signed with A&M last year, everyone in the state of Texas, including myself, was pretty sure that the Aggies had just picked up their next superstar player and likely next big piece towards the promised land. Many will argue that Murray is both the most successful and best quarterback in Texas high school football history, and it's hard to fight that argument.
None of us saw what would come over the last four months, however.
Kevin Murray, Kyler's father, is one of the best Aggie football players in the history of the school. He's akin to Graham Harrell, Kliff, Rodney Allison, and other QBs in Tech's lineage. He's a legend, and everyone figured he would spend a ton of time around the program once Kyler was on campus. That's common, and expected for a guy that is so revered in College Station.
So, when he starts trying to bend the ear of Kevin Sumlin about Kyler, what do you do if your Sumlin? Do you tell a school legend to take a hike? Do you let him run you over? The answer isn't clear, and I can sympathize with Sumlin being in that initial position.
However, for the sake of the program, you have to do what's best for your team on the field. That means you can't make hollow promises or let a player and his dad hold you hostage. The program is always bigger than one player. Always.
Sumlin seemingly alienated both his five star signal callers in the process, and both are now on their way out. So now, things are on full alert in College Station, and fans are gathering into a mob.
The moral of this story is two-fold, in my book: First, you don't make deals with the devil that could backfire on you as a coach, and secondly, you don't walk in and act like you own the place if you're a high school prospect.
Both sides handled the situation terribly, and both are on paths towards their demise if things don't change in a hurry.
