Talking Football Staff

Not much concrete information about Tom O’Brien’s future staff at NC State has made the mainstream media in recent days. Don’t get too exctied, we don’t proclaim to have very much real inside information on the topic, either. We haven’t even heard when you can expect an announcement about the completed staff. But, there are a few things related to the staff that we can quickly highlight:

* The Boston media has reported that most/all of TOB’s staff except for three defensive coaches, inlcuding highly regarded defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani will be joining TOB in Raleigh. You can click on this link for links to biographies of TOB’s staff.

* The more that we DO hear, the more that it sounds as though very few…if any…of the old NC State staff will be retained by O’Brien. This is not totally uncommon in transitions like this, but many Wolfpackers will most definitely quesiton the spurning of recruiting coordinator and well-respected, Curt Cignetti.

* Cignetti has been the architect of the best recruiting classes in NC State history while successfully developing strong ties amongst the high school football community within State’s recruiting footprint. Additionally, Cignetti impressed everyone with whom he came in contact as he (and Dick Portee) held the program together and maintained State’s current recruiting class after Chuck Amato was fired.

* The N&O reports that another former Wolfpack coach, Steve Dunlap has the option to return to West Virginia and coach at Marshall if he so desires.

* One coach that won’t be in Raleigh is Steve Logan. Much to our surprise, Logan really is going to be coaching at Boston College next year as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. (N&O Link) Wow. Must admit that it is pretty surprising that the Eagles could pony up the kind of money that Logan wanted. Logan has been working at 850TheBuzz this year. TheBuzz blogged this entry on Logan.

Steve Logan, the winningest football coach in East Carolina history — and more recently a popular radio personality in the Triangle — has accepted the job of offensive coordinator on Jeff Jagodzinski’s new staff at Boston College.

* Eagle in ATL blogged a great entry on Logan’s offense that included some not-so-exciting comments about NC State’s (probable) new offensive coordinator, Dana Bible.

3. (Logan’s) third and long package calls for deep routes with cuts and comebacks. He even mentions the tradeoff of losing the underneath routes. I think one of the most frustrating things about Bible was the short crossing route on third and long. It is such a low percentage play and put the burden on the WR to run for the first down.

4. His points on coaching QBs at the end. I am glad he realizes that you have to treat a veteran different from a rookie. How many times did Paul Peterson have to plead to open the offense? How come Matt Ryan was not allowed to audible at the line this year? He also clarifies the critical mistakes a QB can make: sacks and not throwing the ball away. Quinton Porter, despite five years with Bible, never let that sink in.

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

General NCS Football

34 Responses to Talking Football Staff

  1. choppack1 01/03/2007 at 6:27 PM #

    I’m more than a little concerned here. The supposed “gem” of the staff is staying in Boston and we get the one under the most fire. Of course, as someone noted on PP, there are very few OC’s who aren’t under fire, but still…

    Hopefully, Cignetti will be given the option of staying. He’s well-regarded in the business and has done a great job holding the class together. Unfortunately, given the tone of above, it sounds like he may be on his way out.

    There’s talk of UVa’s current DC moving w/ TOB – which I think would be a relatively solid hire and something to be excited about.

    Much like Sidney, it appears that this transition won’t be easy. (It should be noted that Sidney walked into a totally situation w/out an army of committed assistants – but that he did a fantastic job hiring them – just that the transition itself was long and painful.)

  2. Sw0rdf1sh 01/03/2007 at 6:38 PM #

    As I’ve been saying since this thing started……Cignetti is key to our recruiting success and Portee is Wolfpack foundation.

    I can understand bringing in new staff/regime, but things that work shouldn’t always be tampered with.

    Plus, I like those guys.

  3. old13 01/03/2007 at 7:26 PM #

    The BEST thing I’ve seen or heard concerning Dana Bible is to wait-and-see. If that’s the best anyone can say about him with all the negative comments around about him, I’m not very comfortable with him at this point. The O (and D) one runs can impact recruiting greatly. I’ve not seen alot of 4- or 5-star players at BC in recent years.

  4. old13 01/03/2007 at 7:26 PM #

    Oh, by the by, . . . Foulup should be fired now!

  5. CaptainCraptacular 01/03/2007 at 8:11 PM #

    I watched about 9 quarters of BC football this year. Without knowing my arse from my elbow re: BC I can offer no cutting, insightful analysis. That said, from my layman’s chair it appeared that BC’s offense was a heck of a lot better than their defense, at least this year. They put points on the board in bunches but had a hard time stopping anyone. So from that perspective: why is Spaziani getting so much more love than Bible?

    Speaking of Spaz, did anyone hear the interview on the field directly following the bowl win over Navy? Reporter: “What does this 10th win mean for BC?” Spaz (paraphrasing): “I’m thrilled for our kids, and I’m just so happy for Tom O’Brien down there in *South Carolina* , with what he was able to accomplish here”. South Carolina? Later on, I took it to mean he was talking about O’Brien’s beach house. But at the time it sure didn’t come across that way on the tube. It sure sounded in the interview as if he didn’t know which school TOB had taken a job at. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt on the beach house, but it was a bit surreal.

    SFN: You missed on this just a little. What Spaz said was something to the effect of “for TOB who is down at his house in SC”. (not exact quote) But, the point is/was that TOB was sitting at his beach house in Charleston during the game and that is what Spaz was referencing.

  6. vtpackfan 01/03/2007 at 8:35 PM #

    I think Coach Spaz is a players coach, and a good motivator. There is nothing negative to report on Bible unless your talking about the local Bean town critics. He’s coached up guys in college from Kramer (NCSU) up to Ryan this past year. He’s got NFL experience (like the one’s UNX has been getting that everyone raves about), and his offenses play well more often then not.

  7. vtpackfan 01/03/2007 at 8:47 PM #

    “I think one of the most frustrating things about Bible was the short crossing route on third and long. It is such a low percentage play and put the burden on the WR to run for the first down.”

    This from the ATL Eagle, or something. Does this person, or group of people understand how playcalling works? No one did run the shallow crossing route on the playground, so it obviously serves no purpose. Actually, Eagle, on third and long many teams bring in extra defenders to protect against the pass. Without a receiver crossing at a short distance there would be nothing to keep the coverage honest, save a Michal Vick or Vince Young QB. If everyone runs deep the coverage is allowed to sag back and very few gaps and seams are available. Poor check downs by the QB or inadequate pass protection cause the ball to be thrown to the “hot route”, or short crossing receiver. Your right to comment that at this point very good things hardly ever happen. Unfortunately a complex series of events took place other than “gosh, I wish our OC didn’t suck!”.

  8. tvp 01/03/2007 at 8:51 PM #

    Eagle in Atlanta is the same guy who wrote the seriously misinformed blog post on AOL Fanhouse about how, among other things, we wouldn’t travel to a bowl if there was a basketball game the same day.

    Like 90% of the BC fans I’ve seen on the internet, he’s lost all rationality concerning their former staff. I wouldn’t take anything he says on the issue seriously.

    As for all the hate on Bible, look at the stats: Best offense in the ACC this year with far from the best talent.

    TOB can hire whomever he wants. He knows what he’s doing.

  9. ncsu96 01/03/2007 at 10:49 PM #

    Captain – TOB was in South Carolina at his house in Charleston at the time of BC’s bowl game…

  10. Gene 01/04/2007 at 6:43 AM #

    Heard somewhere we might pick up some guys, who were interested in BC and lose some guys, formerly committed to NCSU, since CC won’t be retained…

  11. class of 74 01/04/2007 at 6:57 AM #

    Always remember TOB was the OC at UVA for George Welsh for many years before he was BC’s coach. I’ve got to believe he had a lot to say about the offense that was run at BC and he’ll have a lot to do with the one we run here as well. Regardless of who his OC is. His DC is a bigger question now that Spaz is staying at BC.

  12. Dr. BadgerPack 01/04/2007 at 7:47 AM #

    Bible’s offense was unquestionably better than what we threw out on the field, and at this point that is about all that matters.

    I am interested in knowing which measures were used to say BC’s offense was best in the ACC. It was definitely good, surely top half but I seem to recall BC playing in a rediculous number of OTs, so depending on what metric you use to quantify offense it could be skewed. Would love to see how things stack up on a per quarter, or better yet per play run basis and may do that at some point, but not today– might actually be out there somewhere already, if anyone knows kindly point me in the right direction!

  13. Great Dane Guy 01/04/2007 at 8:21 AM #

    Frankly, I’m tired of the Dana Bible crap also. The BC offense has been one of the best in the ACC the past 2 years, and maybe longer than that, I just can’t remember the stats offhand. I’m pretty sure they have averaged over the magical 24 points now for awhile. With an offense like that, and they way our D has been the past 4-5 years, there’s real opportunity to win 10 games. And, didn’t Torry Holt and Koren Robinson make that short crossing route deadly for us? Seems to me that if Dana/ TOB have the receiver talent, it will be a favorite for the Wolfpack nation again. As for BC fans, I agree with whoever commented above that they seem to have lost all rationality with this staff. Along with similar recruiting prowess, they have won 9-10 games for what, 4-5 years now? I’ll freakin’ take it!

  14. wufpaxno1 01/04/2007 at 8:37 AM #

    BC finished second in the league in total offense behind Clemson. Here is a link to the statistical breakdown at the theACC.com:

    http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2006-2007/confldrs.html

    I wouldn’t read too much into what Eagle in ATL posted about Bible. DB has a solid reputation, long standing history, and comes from good blood lines. I probably forgot more about football over breakfast then Eagle in ATL ever knew. It sounds more like left over bitterness and hopeful optimism from a BC fan to me.

  15. kool k 01/04/2007 at 9:06 AM #

    To all my love slaves out there……Thunderlips is here…..in the flesh baby!

    Initial post for me sports fans. I know most of the talk here has been about the offense next season, but I think we are in good hands with the new staff coming in and the talent that is here. Although we lose one of my all time favorites in Leroy, the line play can only improve. The talent in the back field and all the skill positions is fine. Has anyone heard any word on Blackman going pro? That is my biggest worry about the offense and playmaking in general.
    That leads me to my major concern: Is Demario thinking about turning pro? We have a lot of experience and depth coming back overall on defense, but we lose some major contributors. We are going to miss Pat and his ability and leadership more than anything. Throw in Garland, AJ, and Tank, we have some huge shoes to fill. Any word on any of those guys draft projections? I know Pat probably won’t get drafted, but I think he would make a roster if given a shot and ultimately be at least a solid special teams player at the next level.

  16. Dan 01/04/2007 at 9:16 AM #

    Question.

    Was it not Doc Holliday who got the credit for best recruiting classes in NC State history. He was the recruiting coordinator until Urban Meyer snatched him up, right? In fact, wasnt the class of ’06 Cignetti’s first full year as recruiting coordinator? And wasnt that the lowest ranked class since year one under Amato?

    Am I wrong here?

  17. choppack1 01/04/2007 at 9:26 AM #

    Hey – if we can UVa’s offense and QB development that they had under TOB I’ll be happy. Good comments here…I really was hoping we’d get Spaz and keep Cignetti though.

  18. Par Shooter 01/04/2007 at 9:29 AM #

    I believe that Cignetti had the title of “recruiting coordinator” during his entire tenure here while Doc was asst. head coach. That being said, it was no secret that Holliday was our best recruiter (probably one of the best in the country) and that he had a lot to do with our good early classes. I would still think that Cignetti has made enough contacts over the last 7 years to warrant a job with TOB.

    Of the defensive asst’s, I would really like to keep Stroud and Kravitz. It appears that all of TOB’s offensive staff is coming here which would make it hard to find a spot for Cignetti. I think he has always been an offensive guy.

  19. burnbarn 01/04/2007 at 9:39 AM #

    ^^ I have wondered this too Dan.

  20. RedTerror29 01/04/2007 at 10:02 AM #

    In regards to the criticism of Bible’s third down playcalling – BC ranked second in third down efficiency this year. They also had the second least interceptions thrown (behind Wake, who threw the ball far less), which is what a bunch of deep passes on third and long into double coverage will get you.

  21. GoldenChain 01/04/2007 at 10:21 AM #

    Curt Cignetti? Well respected?
    If I am not mistaken (and I’m not) he was also the QB coach that supposedly ‘developed’ Jay Davis. How’d that stroke of genius work out?
    The only interaction I had with him was to suggest that he scout a kid from our area who was a prolific HS QB and he didn’t even both to call the coach. I eventually called CA and they did an obligatory contact. Where is that QB now? He’s Blake’s backup at USC and better than anyone we had this year.

  22. choppack1 01/04/2007 at 10:39 AM #

    GoldenChain – Jay Davis in 2004 was the best playing quarterback we’ve had in the last 3 years…Plus he only had the job for 1 year.

    I haven’t had any personal interactions w/ him to tell whether or not he’s great at his job. However, we got a lot of commits in-state this year – which was a change from the past…

  23. newt 01/04/2007 at 10:52 AM #

    Jr. Matt Ryan somehow managed to be the First Team ALL ACC selection at QB this year.

  24. highonlowe 01/04/2007 at 11:14 AM #

    Not pertinent to the thread but still ACC football related
    Will Orange Bowl save ACC’s BCS bid? @ Sportsbiz

  25. wolfbuff 01/04/2007 at 11:42 AM #

    We’ll be fine with D. Bible as OC. With the talent at the skill positions and lack of depth at OL, a short passing game might be the best we can do in the short term anyway. As for DC, what about Joe Pate? Is he still around? That man could recruit Alabama like nobody’s business and we had some of our better linebacking corps under him.

Leave a Reply