Been surprised by the negative reactions to the recent changes. In my opinion, many of them fall under that cateogy of "short term pain for long-term gain".
Think about what we've seen in the last few days/weeks:
Dovovan Fired/ Moorhead hired - nearly universally thought of as a great move. Maybe Donovan got a raw deal, but either way, we now have an OC who will be fully allowed to run his offense. No intrusion from the CEO. Proven leader/ great scheme. May even help Franklin with some in-game strategy that Franklin has (arguably) struggled with the last 2 years.
Shoop Leaves/ Pry replaces him - Shoop was a loss, but he was leaving soon either way. Better to have him gone now, and allow Pry to gain experience in 2016. Could easily end up being an upgrade to have a young vibrant DC.
Hand Leaves - He needed to go. He showed zero improvement in 2 years. Needed a new leader whose philosophy is more in line with Moorhead's.
Geno/Worley/Reeder Transfer (add Akeel, Thomas and whoever else announces) - Geno was a good talent but I would argue Charles and Johnson have higher upside. If he stayed, he would likely be a malcontent in the locker room while taking PT from younger, more talented guys. Worley was never going to play. And Reeder leaving prevents us wasting another year of Bowen and Cooper's eligibility. FWIW I thought Bowen was much quicker to the ball than Reeder, and was disappointed Bowen only saw time on special teams. Next year we have Wartman, Cabinda, Bell, Bowen and Cooper all with experience. We should be fine at LB barring significant injuries.
All things considered, every one of these moves improves our chances of competing with OSU and Michigan in 2017+. They may slightly hurt us in 2016, but we won't be great next year anyway. By 2017, I would argue we wouldn't choose to take back any of them. We will be much better and experienced as a result
Think about what we've seen in the last few days/weeks:
Dovovan Fired/ Moorhead hired - nearly universally thought of as a great move. Maybe Donovan got a raw deal, but either way, we now have an OC who will be fully allowed to run his offense. No intrusion from the CEO. Proven leader/ great scheme. May even help Franklin with some in-game strategy that Franklin has (arguably) struggled with the last 2 years.
Shoop Leaves/ Pry replaces him - Shoop was a loss, but he was leaving soon either way. Better to have him gone now, and allow Pry to gain experience in 2016. Could easily end up being an upgrade to have a young vibrant DC.
Hand Leaves - He needed to go. He showed zero improvement in 2 years. Needed a new leader whose philosophy is more in line with Moorhead's.
Geno/Worley/Reeder Transfer (add Akeel, Thomas and whoever else announces) - Geno was a good talent but I would argue Charles and Johnson have higher upside. If he stayed, he would likely be a malcontent in the locker room while taking PT from younger, more talented guys. Worley was never going to play. And Reeder leaving prevents us wasting another year of Bowen and Cooper's eligibility. FWIW I thought Bowen was much quicker to the ball than Reeder, and was disappointed Bowen only saw time on special teams. Next year we have Wartman, Cabinda, Bell, Bowen and Cooper all with experience. We should be fine at LB barring significant injuries.
All things considered, every one of these moves improves our chances of competing with OSU and Michigan in 2017+. They may slightly hurt us in 2016, but we won't be great next year anyway. By 2017, I would argue we wouldn't choose to take back any of them. We will be much better and experienced as a result
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