I was thinking about the various aspects of being a head coach and for kicks and giggles decided to grade Coach Whitt across each these categories:
Recruiting: B+ (Recruiting has been pretty solid under Whitt, and it’s certainly on an upward trajectory. The only knock would be securing more of the top local talent and perhaps landing a few more elite athletes at the skill positions. If he can do that, we can break into the Top 25 recruiting rankings, perhaps even top 20.)
Developing Talent: A (It’s hard to argue Whitt’s track record of getting talent into the NFL, and many of the guys he’s gotten to the league were not heavily recruited, but received exceptional talent development while at Utah)
Game Planning: B+ (Overall Whitt seems to have a good game plan heading into most games. Of course, players don’t always execute the game plan the way it was designed but I try not to let that impact this grade. That said, there always seems to be a game or two where we we’re not prepared. Our games against Rich Rod (up until last season) are a good example. Last year the Oregon game was a good example—neither side of the football looked prepared with a good game plan.
Game Management / In-Game Adjustments: B+ (There’s room for Whitt to improve here, as we’ve seen him lose several games by becoming too conservative on offense too early in the game. Hopefully having Taylor on the staff will help with game management. I’ve also found myself banging my head a few times when watching our 2-minute offense. But, he’s also won his fair share of games through playing the percentages well.
Team Discipline & Managing Off-the-Field Issues: A- (All things considered, Whitt runs a very clean football program. There are a few minor issues each year but he does a great job of addressing them quickly. He also seems to apply the right amount of discipline…not too little and not too much. The only knock I would have is some seasons seem to be plagued with far too many unsportsmanlike conduct penalties…that’s not an off-the-field issue per se but can reflect some poor player discipline at times.
Media & Fan Relations: A (You never have to worry about Whitt saying something embarrassing when talking to the media. He provides a great interview and although he’s closed off a lot of media access to practice, it’s hard to fault his rationale for doing so.)
When considering each of these areas, it was pretty eye opening for me to see what a great head coach we have in place.
How would you grade him in these areas?
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