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YOUR BALANCE
Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized
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Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized


Jan 13, 2021, 3:52 PM

here, but never Dabo?

I think we have one of the best, if not the best, coaching staff in college football. But I also understand that these men aren't perfect, they make mistakes, and they should be held accountable for the results.

With that said, within the last week I have read posts criticizing Tony Elliott, Brent Venables, Mickey Conn, Robbie Caldwell, Todd Bates, and Mike Reed. These are multiple posts made by multiple TigerNet members, suggesting that these coaches are not doing a good job and questioning their abilities. Some posts have suggested that one or more of these coaches be replaced.

All of that is fine, and to be expected after a loss. But interestingly, Dabo is almost never the target of criticism. I find that fascinating since he is the head coach, the one who hired all of these assistant coaches, and the one who is ultimately responsible for our play on the field.

And no, I'm not suggesting we complain about Dabo. It's just an interesting phenomenon I've noticed, and one which I wouldn't expect in any other situation aside from Clemson football.

Carry on...

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall


Re: Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized


Jan 13, 2021, 3:59 PM

Goes with the territory. From my experience it seems like the fans of successful teams hone in on one particular assistant and throw fiery darts at him.

Back in the 90's when FSU was in the middle of the dynasty, but had only won one national championship, Mark Richt was the whipping boy.

I talked to a friend of mine at the time who was a big UGA fan, and fairly large donor booster. At that time, before Richt took the job, their target was Joe Kines, DC.

At Florida nobody would dare criticize Spurrier, so the targeted Charlie Strong.

Seems like Tony Elliott is the guy at Clemson.

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It was our strength and conditioning coach who was blamed


Jan 13, 2021, 4:06 PM

for years, probably due to the fact that our spread offenses weren't considered as "tough" as the option-oriented offenses we ran previously. Then we started winning more, partly because our offense evolved into an effective one rather than three yards and a cloud of dust, keep-away approach. Then the targets of criticism changed to others.

Interestingly, that S&C coach is still on our staff, and highly regarded.

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall


Jack Hines took some HEAT


Jan 14, 2021, 10:56 AM

he straight sucked it up




:)

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null


Ahh, that's right! Jack Hines.


Jan 14, 2021, 4:38 PM

I had not thought about him in a while.

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall


Re: Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized


Jan 13, 2021, 4:04 PM

That's a good point. But I think Dabo fosters that level of focus on his assistants. In an interview this year, Dabo said he gives his coordinators freedom to go "get their man." But that once they bring them in "they own that decision." He even said, "don't come to me and tell me you no longer want your guy that you fought to get." Instead he requires his coaches to fix the issue.

Maybe we could also argue that Dabo's biggest mistake is that he gives them too much rope.??

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..:: ru4god2 ::..


Interesting point, I had not considered that.


Jan 13, 2021, 4:12 PM

I figured that Dabo has been so successful, that for many fans he is of off-limits when it comes to fans holding him accountable. We see the same with Danny Ford, to this day.

It's sort of a hero worship, where objectivity goes out the window and they can do no wrong. If something isn't working, it couldn't possibly be the head coach's fault, it must be an assistant coach.

On the flip side, when coaches don't exceed the win threshold, you can count on fans to be critical with regularity (e.g., Ken Hatfield, Tommy Bowden).

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall


We also have to be objective. We are winning our conference


Jan 15, 2021, 8:27 AM

every year.
-We are in the top 10 in recruiting, top 4 in rankings every year.
-We have been invited to the College Football Playoff darn near every year its been implemented.
-We have been somewhat one of the most successful teams in the CFP other than say Alabama (but we own the head to head in championships games with them.)
-We've had an unreal ability to stay together for a long while as coaches.
-Great student athlete ambassadors of the game.
-Not alot of shenanigans or trouble from student athletes.
-Our administration is behind football.
-Our AD seems to be competent.
-We are Elite in football and it doesn't look like its changing any time soon.

I mean.... what are we complaining about again....

I'm pretty sure the right man is in charge of our program. He's allowed and is deserved of some slack every now and again. Every time we've had a problem in any part of our program Dabo has fixed it. So... i'm not going to complain or have any hint of distrust toward Coach Swinney. We can always go back to the previous 20 years before him .That's really easy to do. Its why 98% of the other teams in the NCAA do it every year just like Clemson used to.

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Re: Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized


Jan 13, 2021, 4:07 PM

I think it has a lot to do with the overall success of the program under Debo’s leadership. His teams have excelled on the field, off the field, in the classroom, and he has proven to be a great recruiter. However that doesn’t mean we should ignore areas that could possibly be even better. When you come in 3rd in a race, you don’t need a new car or driver, but may need to tweak the engine for more speed. That’s especially true considering you’ve finished 2nd, 1st, 4th, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in your last six races.

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I think you're right.


Jan 13, 2021, 4:19 PM

I don't expect anyone to call for Dabo's head (nor should they!). It's just interesting that he is never considered to be part of the problem when things don't go well, or seemingly held responsible when we lose.

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall


frankly, criticizing the assistants is criticizing Dabo


Jan 13, 2021, 5:17 PM

people (and we all know ZERO about this) dig into being critical about everything as that is what we're good at obviously. "Dabo is great, but he needs a new !"

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“poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”


They don’t criticize Dabo but many love to give him


Jan 13, 2021, 5:22 PM

advice that Dabo will never hear or listen to even.

I’’m sure he has his own methods for evaluating his assistants.

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Re: Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized


Jan 13, 2021, 5:33 PM

Because people love to think they know more than the next guy. Criticize the results not the people unless you are in their shoes.

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Re: Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized


Jan 13, 2021, 5:36 PM

Dabo is the field general. His captains and lieutenants are closer to where the battles are being won and lost. When you see a group of safeties that keep making the same mistakes I think it’s reasonable to assume Dabo saw it and told Coach Conn to fix it. If Dabo was a head coach that didn’t see it or was unwilling to challenge his coaches to improve he would be a 500 win% coach that got shown the door years ago. He isn’t and his team success isolates him from tactical criticisms. I reserve my criticism towards Dabo to strategic issues such as poor roster management, poor character assessments etc. Frankly he’s done a pretty good job so criticisms are few and far between.

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Re: Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized


Jan 13, 2021, 10:34 PM

You make a point, intended or not, we now have more coaches and less talent and performance in the secondary in 2020.

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Still trying to decide if this is some kind of veiled...


Jan 13, 2021, 8:49 PM

...defense of the many negative HC Brownell posts over the last couple of years. If so, the differences based on actual results are obvious and don't even warrant discussion. If not, it occurs to me that Dabo has built up enough capital based on 12 outstanding years that criticism of him from supporters of the program are understandably muted. 10 straight 10 win seasons. Two National Championships. A total program that is the envy of most around the country. It's really not difficult from my perspective.

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"When I was 6 my Mother let me have a kitten. It died. Don't send prayers, a TU is better." - tugalooriver circa 2022


So in your world, success means immunity from responsibility and criticism.


Jan 13, 2021, 9:37 PM

Got it.

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall


No such thing as a perfect team. the only people complaining


Jan 15, 2021, 8:32 AM

about that are those that expect a perfect team. You should be well versed in this Judge. The amount of times you've had to come to Brownell's defense. IS it simply that you are just a contrarian by nature?

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Tnet used up all the Dabo criticisms when he was hired


Jan 13, 2021, 9:40 PM

:) really sad to go back to that time

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Yeah, that 2010 season was really rough.


Jan 14, 2021, 4:39 PM

I'm glad he had a plan and believed in himself, when not many other people did.

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall


Trying to put some perspective where


Jan 14, 2021, 10:38 AM

we are currently I took a quick glance at the basketball final fours . It is the Holy Grail of the sport they say. Besides UCLA, it seems Connecticut is the only team with more than final 6 consecutive final 4 appearances. They have 7 .Not there, UNC, DUKE, KY, Kansas. There may be some others but I didn't look much deeper. We have been to 6 in a row. It is natural for all of us to speculate and gripe. That's why this board exists. My hope is that we keep it going. It is fun to be a contender. It is nice when the sports media can't blow us off. Great time to be a Tiger.

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Re: Why is it that so many assistant coaches get criticized


Jan 14, 2021, 11:06 AM

Every single time somebody suggests that maybe we should look at another coach for a particular position they are criticizing Dabo without saying his name.


Everybody knows Dabo is in charge of hiring the best coaches he can find.

When the issue is player performance, the assistant coach in charge of that players gets the criticism.

When the issue is playcalling, the coach calling the plays gets the criticism (except when it's Dabo/Streeter calling plays and people still complain about Elliott's playcalling).

If those assistant coaches are getting complained about and people are suggesting that we need somebody new, then people are criticizing Dabo for not doing the job of finding the best coaches for every position in the program.

I think the difference in your mind is that when people criticize and assistant, they call for their job to be gone.

Nobody is going to call for Dabo's job to be on the line for good reason as you have already said.

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Because people doing the criticizing don’t know what the f*** they’re talking about***


Jan 14, 2021, 4:53 PM



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Never? I read some posts about Dabo giving the Buckeyes too


Jan 14, 2021, 6:38 PM

much bulletin board material that weren’t that flattering.

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