And, like it or not, or even fair or not, that raises legitimate questions as to whether Pruitt himself knows what he wants...and which could explain why he’s having a hard time finding it...and others might be hesitant in promising to deliver it. Whatever “it” is.
I wont be as good as 38 but better than 8. Probably lands us in the 5 win range again. Even if the D improves.
I don’t disagree with your reasoning, here. But if this turns out to be true, and Pruitt spends 6-8 weeks of prime recruiting season on an OC “search”, only to turn around and name a guy who’s been on staff the whole time - it’s impossible to defend allegations / public sentiment that he only did so after striking out on everyone else. And that will look like both the symptoms of a coach still very much learning on the job, and at least somewhat badly on Pruitt. Hiring Osovet will almost be the worst of all scenarios - an egregiously extensive search that appears to publicly lack direction, which ends in failure, and a coach being forced to retreat to Option QQ. Here’s what I think (Am clinging to? Hope?)... There’s likely a perfectly good reason, perhaps many, as to why Pruitt hasn’t made an OC hire yet, and which lie beyond beyond the knowledge and imagination of anyone but himself and a few very tight-lipped others. Might be a homerun. Could be a dud. Might be Sark, someone we’ve never heard of, or someone on staff. He may be focused on recruiting, and where he’s honestly killing it right now, and with seemingly no ill-effects of the vacant OC gig. And make no mistake - if we want don’t dramatically increase the talent on this team, from top to bottom and across the board, it won’t make one hot damn if Pruitt were to hire Sean Peyton as OC. He may be waiting on the word of the new OC and/or other coaches they want to come with him, or they could be negotiating, waiting to be fired, etc. He may need to shuffle multiple people around on his staff, and fears that doing so might disrupt this current class and/or other high-profile / big-need ‘cruits, and can’t / doesn’t want to make those moves before they’re comfortable with them, or possibly even after NSD. We’ve had such indefensibly terrible coaching, and for such a grotesque period of time, as to make fans understandably leery of this coach, any coaching search and both anything that looks even potentially troublesome or possibly indicative of incompetence. I get it, also wish that he’d made a hire a long time ago, and am frustrated that he hasn’t - but we have to trust that he is doing the most he can to make the best possible hire, and that it’ll take however long it takes. We can and will judge him on the hire, and the process he took in achieving it, but that can’t be reasonably done prior to his making it. It will no more matter that it took him 8 weeks to hire a homerun, than hiring a dud in two days would have saved him. My $.02, likely in a rare and fleeting moment of clarity.
Fulmer can do whatever he wants, NCAA recruiting rules don't apply to administrators. Shelton Felton has taken Helton's spot on the recruiting trail.
I said when Helton left, that naming Osovet and Friend co-offensive coordinatiors was the most likely outcome. Hope that I’m wrong.
Neither do I. I just wish it would have happened sooner if it’s actually going to be the end game here. A dude making 4 million dollars a year ought to be able to concentrate on more than one task, even if that task is probably the most important one. Of course, I’m looking at it from 200 miles away as opposed to Pruitt himself who is living this shit 18 plus hours a day 7 days a week. I also get what Tenny says about getting the talent in and how if that doesn’t happen, who the OC is doesn’t matter. It’s all a complete picture though and if (and I say IF because again, I don’t know what all Pruitt does from day to day...) he’s laser focused on recruiting at the expense of the other parts of his job that “aren’t as important” I have a bit of a problem with that.
I think had it happened that way within a week of Helton leaving it would have helped from the stance you feel very comfortable and confident in him handling the job. A month and a half later it looks like your stumbled and staggered around and he was the last resort. Big picture, I think he has a high ceiling but its a gamble.
The sticker for me (and hopefully I’m on to something here...) is how this absolutely has NOT affected recruiting whatsoever... to me, this would either mean recruits don’t give as much weight to who the coordinators are (as opposed to who their position coach would be) or.... We already have our guy and are waiting (for whatever reason) to announce. That would also explain Pruitt’s flippant responses whenever he’s asked about it.
Other than short term recruiting, announcing Osovet, Larry the Cable Guy, or Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds makes no difference if the offense looks good. Win 8, 9, 10 games next year with the O rolling up point against the opponents it should, and who was hired as OC when will become a distant memory.
