JB Grimes hired as new OL coach

[TitanTiger 21,219]

Sorry but there is plenty of reason to be skeptical of this hire. Being unemployed two of the last 4 years and the only job he got during the other two years was Kansas and Arkansas State. He apparently cant recruit either based on what some people are saying on other boards

I've asked you multiple times what your expertise on offensive line coaching is. It's one thing to be a little skeptical or say this isn't a "boom" hire or whatever. But you're on record saying it's a horrible hire and that he's probably one of the bottom 5 OL coaches out there. That's a whole other argument that requires more ammo than you've put forth so far.

Put up or shut up.

[WarEagle1983 2,190]

Sorry, but this is absolutely a horrible hire. This guy was the offensive line coach at Moo State under Sly Croom and their offensive line was a disaster. This guy is worse than Grimes and Hugh Nall in my opinion

Moo State had a pretty solid rushing attack under Croom, also the number of QB sacks went from 36 before he got there, to 29, to 20. So at least there is improvement in that category.

No they did not. Moo State was last in rushing offense among SEC schools in 2006 and 2008 and 10th in 2007

Prior to his time with the Jayhawks, Grimes spent five seasons (2004-08) as the offensive line coach at Mississippi State. In his inaugural season MSU rushed for 1,744 yards, the most at the school in four years. Behind his offensive line Mississippi State produced three seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher.

MSU under Croom had no players on offense. They never had a decent QB. There were way more problems than the best O-line coach could have solved.

You don't have to do cartwheels, but don't come in here being a sourpuss over half-assed facts.

So what? Tre Mason had a thousand yards rushing this year. Would you say our line was good? I would not. Most teams have a thousand yards rusher now a days. They were still last in rushing in 2006 and 2008 and 10th in 2007

Valid point

[AUbritt 611]

Sorry, but this is absolutely a horrible hire. This guy was the offensive line coach at Moo State under Sly Croom and their offensive line was a disaster. This guy is worse than Grimes and Hugh Nall in my opinion

+1. Were starting to turn into the Arky St. of the SEC. Was hoping for Hand. J.B. def. seems like the 2nd choice. The OL is a hard area to judge until you see it on the field. I don't quite understand swapping one Grimes for another one when the one we had resume was much better. JB's list of schools is nice but the years he coached at them doesn't stand out. Much like the DL..the OL was man handled at the line of scrimmage. Gus can draw up all the plays he wants but if the OL doesn't take care of business up front...it will not mean much. Time will tell i guess.

It's worse than that!

Look at his hires so far:

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee -- too young to hold the clip board, plus he coached at ArkyState.

Co-defensive coordinators Ellis Johnson and Charlie Harbison -- one was out of work and is too old, the other is nicknamed 'Cheese', for crying out loud! Oh, and as if I need to say it, there's no such thing as co-coordinators! That's just a recipe for disaster!

Now JB Grimes as O-line coach!!! Unemployable Beamer reject with ties to, you guessed it, ArkyState!!!!!

Oh, and Rocker? Pipedream!!!!!

Garner? Can you say 'probation'?!!!!!!

Gus Bus is a total train wreck!!!!!!!

[WarEagle1983 2,190]

Meh hire at best.

I'd like to remind everyone that Malzahn has a whopping 1 year of HC experience at a mid-major. He absolutely has not proven that he knows how to build an SEC level staff. For it to take this long to hire a guy that was on his staff at Arkansas State doesn't exactly signal "first choice, home-run" hire.

+1. Safe 2nd choice pick.

[Strychnine 1,808]

It's worse than that!

Look at his hires so far:

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee -- too young to hold the clip board, plus he coached at ArkyState.

Co-defensive coordinators Ellis Johnson and Charlie Harbison -- one was out of work and is too old, the other is nicknamed 'Cheese', for crying out loud! Oh, and as if I need to say it, there's no such thing as co-coordinators! That's just a recipe for disaster!

Now JB Grimes as O-line coach!!! Unemployable Beamer reject with ties to, you guessed it, ArkyState!!!!!

Oh, and Rocker? Pipedream!!!!!

Garner? Can you say 'probation'?!!!!!!

Gus Bus is a total train wreck!!!!!!!

Good news: the world ends tomorrow.

[TitanTiger 21,219]

Sorry, but this is absolutely a horrible hire. This guy was the offensive line coach at Moo State under Sly Croom and their offensive line was a disaster. This guy is worse than Grimes and Hugh Nall in my opinion

So coaching four years under Beamer at Va Tech means nothing?

Ignore him. He will hate anything Gus does

Well I think it's a hire that makes very good sense but IMO yes, coaching under the perenially overrated Frank Beamer, especially almost 20 years ago when Va Tech was in the Big Least is not an impressive resume point. We played arguably our sloppiest game of 2004 in the bowl against Va Tech and still beat one of Beamer's best teams.

If it's not really a done deal might this impact Westerman staying?

You have got to be kidding. Va Tech's football history was spotty at best. They'd gone to about 3 or 4 bowls in their entire history. They'd never won more than 9 games (and the one season that officially shows 10 wins was due to a Temple forfeit...Temple won that game on the field). Since Beamer, VT has been a regular contender for conference titles both in the Big East and ACC and has been in the national title hunt multiple times. Since Beamer took over they've won 10 or more games 13 times and 11 or more 6 times.

That said, Westerman's gone.

[mustache eagle 2,453]

Yet he pulled in Ellis Johnson and Harbison who I don't think were in his coaching circle.

Johnson was unemployed and Auburn was about as good a job-offer as he was going to get. Gus didn't exactly pull anyone away from a top-tier program with that one. Harbison was brought in by Johnson, and his seat was starting to get a bit warm over at Clemson.

Sorry Petrino didn't get the job. That is just how it goes sometime.

dude! Your doing it again ... You gotta let the petrino stuff go. One person made a comment and now this is your THiRD anti-petrino post and I haven't gotten through the thread ...

[AUbritt 611]

It's worse than that!

Look at his hires so far:

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee -- too young to hold the clip board, plus he coached at ArkyState.

Co-defensive coordinators Ellis Johnson and Charlie Harbison -- one was out of work and is too old, the other is nicknamed 'Cheese', for crying out loud! Oh, and as if I need to say it, there's no such thing as co-coordinators! That's just a recipe for disaster!

Now JB Grimes as O-line coach!!! Unemployable Beamer reject with ties to, you guessed it, ArkyState!!!!!

Oh, and Rocker? Pipedream!!!!!

Garner? Can you say 'probation'?!!!!!!

Gus Bus is a total train wreck!!!!!!!

Good news: the world ends tomorrow.

At least that will save us the embarrassment of being turned down by Rocker!!!!

By the way, I do hope everyone realizes I'm being sarcastic. Just showing how easy it is to pump doom and gloom.

[AUpreacherman22 3,945]

Im fine with being the Arky St of the SEC. They were conference champions last year!!!!

[AUcivE09 582]

AU can use a little old school IMO. Being 30 doesnt give me much insight to "old school" but I see these coaches demanding respect more than becoming buddy buddy with the players. JB obviously did a good job working with CGM this past season and that is good enough for me. Gus is obviously going to do things his way - he appears to be owning the team and has HIS coordinators who are hiring guys THEY can work with. I like that method. We do not have to have a great recruiter at every position to bring down talent at that area. Troop had defensive guys committed to him.......why? IDK but I am sure Pelton and Thigpen thanked him. Gus, Johnson, and Harbinson can recruit plus we have not even filled our staff out. I realize Kansas was a disaster with him there, but would you blame last season on xGrimes? Good Hire

[WarEagle1983 2,190]

Might not be. Could be "second choice, solid hire." Maybe he was waiting for Hand to make up his mind. Or maybe there are more pieces to the puzzle. If you take a guy with the reputation of being a better teacher than recruiter in one spot, you need to perhaps grab a better recruiter in another slot. So waiting on this hire could have to do with knowing what you're getting in other spots.

All I can say is that when he was hired I was told that Malzahn's greatest weakness was the fact that he had very few contacts developed among the coaching circle and that he was overly loyal to his small circle of coaches that he knows. JB Grimes was specifically mentioned as a guy that Gus would look to bring when he should be setting the bar much higher. Auburn is giving him more than enough money to assemble a top-level SEC staff...for him to have been hired weeks ago and to name Grimes today confirms the realistic worry that I had about Malzahn. Grimes does absolutely nothing for me.

Does seem like he has a small circle...just by the realistic options he has had for different position coaches. Coaches on his list that are not contacts appear to be guys that have an Auburn connection as a coach or player. Shall see how it all pans out.

[oxford tiger12 0]

Sorry, but this is absolutely a horrible hire. This guy was the offensive line coach at Moo State under Sly Croom and their offensive line was a disaster. This guy is worse than Grimes and Hugh Nall in my opinion

+1. Were starting to turn into the Arky St. of the SEC. Was hoping for Hand. J.B. def. seems like the 2nd choice. The OL is a hard area to judge until you see it on the field. I don't quite understand swapping one Grimes for another one when the one we had resume was much better. JB's list of schools is nice but the years he coached at them doesn't stand out. Much like the DL..the OL was man handled at the line of scrimmage. Gus can draw up all the plays he wants but if the OL doesn't take care of business up front...it will not mean much. Time will tell i guess.

It's worse than that!

Look at his hires so far:

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee -- too young to hold the clip board, plus he coached at ArkyState.

Co-defensive coordinators Ellis Johnson and Charlie Harbison -- one was out of work and is too old, the other is nicknamed 'Cheese', for crying out loud! Oh, and as if I need to say it, there's no such thing as co-coordinators! That's just a recipe for disaster!

Now JB Grimes as O-line coach!!! Unemployable Beamer reject with ties to, you guessed it, ArkyState!!!!!

Oh, and Rocker? Pipedream!!!!!

Garner? Can you say 'probation'?!!!!!!

Gus Bus is a total train wreck!!!!!!!

You might be trying to be sarcastic, but the only proven coach Gus has hired at this point is EJ. With the way the rest of search for assistant coaches has gone, I now fully expect Garner and Tracy Rocker to turn down Gus' overtures and for him to hire coaches nobody has ever heard of or that stunk at other schools

[AcUmen 243]

Seems to be a solid hire. Seasoned...experienced...journeyman coach....probably past the point in his career where he aspires to be a head coach or OC so that can lead to stability..Got to trust Gus to blend together a good staff. Welcome Coach JB Grimes!

^^ This. I think people underestimate how important staff continuity is. I am ready for some career assistant coaches. I am tired of the assistant revolving door we had under Tubs and Chiz. So far the only person on staff we have to worry about leaving would be Lashlee, but he's still a good number of years away from being offered a HC position (he has to prove himself in the SEC first). Grimes, Johnson (and probably Harbison) aren't going anywhere.

[AUbritt 611]

Sorry, but this is absolutely a horrible hire. This guy was the offensive line coach at Moo State under Sly Croom and their offensive line was a disaster. This guy is worse than Grimes and Hugh Nall in my opinion

+1. Were starting to turn into the Arky St. of the SEC. Was hoping for Hand. J.B. def. seems like the 2nd choice. The OL is a hard area to judge until you see it on the field. I don't quite understand swapping one Grimes for another one when the one we had resume was much better. JB's list of schools is nice but the years he coached at them doesn't stand out. Much like the DL..the OL was man handled at the line of scrimmage. Gus can draw up all the plays he wants but if the OL doesn't take care of business up front...it will not mean much. Time will tell i guess.

It's worse than that!

Look at his hires so far:

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee -- too young to hold the clip board, plus he coached at ArkyState.

Co-defensive coordinators Ellis Johnson and Charlie Harbison -- one was out of work and is too old, the other is nicknamed 'Cheese', for crying out loud! Oh, and as if I need to say it, there's no such thing as co-coordinators! That's just a recipe for disaster!

Now JB Grimes as O-line coach!!! Unemployable Beamer reject with ties to, you guessed it, ArkyState!!!!!

Oh, and Rocker? Pipedream!!!!!

Garner? Can you say 'probation'?!!!!!!

Gus Bus is a total train wreck!!!!!!!

You might be trying to be sarcastic, but the only proven coach Gus has hired at this point is EJ. With the way the rest of search for assistant coaches has gone, I now fully expect Garner and Tracy Rocker to turn down Gus' overtures and for him to hire coaches nobody has ever heard of or that stunk at other schools

Right there with you, man!!! Auburn will be embarrassed yet again!!! Garner is playing us like a fiddle, just like Dameyune Craig!! Will we ever learn?!!! And Rocker? Why on earth would he leave the pros to come back to Auburn?!!!! Insane. Sun Belt Conference, here we come!!!!!

[AUcivE09 582]

It is probably worth noting that, in some cases, great assistant coaches aspiring for HC gigs probably want to coach under a guy with more experience. This is Gus' second year as a HC. Success and winning on the big stage will do wonders for attracting fans, recruits, and coaches. I am not jumping up and down for this hire as a fan, but as I said before - it worked with him and Gus last season. Let's see how it works with better talent. Gus has won everywhere he has been so far. This is BY FAR his biggest challenge given our past season and the schedule we have - but I have no reason to doubt him so far.

[AUTigers001 0]

the sky is falling... the sky is falling...

Maybe the guy will teach our line a little something about blocking. Would anybody like it if that happened? sheesh...

[WarTim 3,524]

"Oh Ye of Little Faith"...............

Just a quick reminder. The NFL Championship Trophy is named after some guy named Lombardi.

He started out as a HS BASKETBALL coach and an asst Football coach.............

Get a grip and WAR DAMN EAGLE ! ! !

and pass the tylenol.................

[TidePride50 3]

I know you guys could careless what I think about your OLine coach but I do have some insight. I am a high school OLine coach in Mississippi and I regularly attended MSUs coaches clinics while he was the OLine coach and I absolutely loved the guy. I know his resume the last few years isn't great but this guy knows his stuff when it comes to offensive line. Sometimes its not what you are running, but the players you have running it and without a doubt AU will have the most talented guys he's probably ever coached. I think he'll do a great job on the field. I have no idea about recruiting.

[plainsman04 0]

_{He proved to Gus that he can effectivley teach his offense. That alone makes it a good hire. War Damn.}

[WarEagle1983 2,190]

Sorry, but this is absolutely a horrible hire. This guy was the offensive line coach at Moo State under Sly Croom and their offensive line was a disaster. This guy is worse than Grimes and Hugh Nall in my opinion

+1. Were starting to turn into the Arky St. of the SEC. Was hoping for Hand. J.B. def. seems like the 2nd choice. The OL is a hard area to judge until you see it on the field. I don't quite understand swapping one Grimes for another one when the one we had resume was much better. JB's list of schools is nice but the years he coached at them doesn't stand out. Much like the DL..the OL was man handled at the line of scrimmage. Gus can draw up all the plays he wants but if the OL doesn't take care of business up front...it will not mean much. Time will tell i guess.

It's worse than that!

Look at his hires so far:

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee -- too young to hold the clip board, plus he coached at ArkyState.

Co-defensive coordinators Ellis Johnson and Charlie Harbison -- one was out of work and is too old, the other is nicknamed 'Cheese', for crying out loud! Oh, and as if I need to say it, there's no such thing as co-coordinators! That's just a recipe for disaster!

Now JB Grimes as O-line coach!!! Unemployable Beamer reject with ties to, you guessed it, ArkyState!!!!!

Oh, and Rocker? Pipedream!!!!!

Garner? Can you say 'probation'?!!!!!!

Gus Bus is a total train wreck!!!!!!!

When you put like that...meh. IDK. Just VERY skeptical at this point about the entire situation.

[AUcivE09 582]

I know you guys could careless what I think about your OLine coach but I do have some insight. I am a high school OLine coach in Mississippi and I regularly attended MSUs coaches clinics while he was the OLine coach and I absolutely loved the guy. I know his resume the last few years isn't great but this guy knows his stuff when it comes to offensive line. Sometimes its not what you are running, but the players you have running it and without a doubt AU will have the most talented guys he's probably ever coached. I think he'll do a great job on the field. I have no idea about recruiting.

It's good to hear a little insight on the guy. Thanks

[FHeal 4]

Yes, in the depth's of football withdrawal... I've managed to get/read/digest this thread in it's entirety, as it has so far unfolded.... in order while developing.

And simple herding instinct in it's finest this has been, one loon (oops lone) voice after an other, then another. One guy laments a guy who's making way more in 1 year, than he'll make in 5, as being a looser for not working a year in between. Sounds like a winner to me... show me the money and give me a year to enjoy in between. Think I've seen a new career path, I want to be the program fixer. Work a year or two to help a program in need, and then head for hills of happiness in between. Hallelujah !!!. Maybe that's a bit of an over simplification, but his progress has been in steps going up the ladder (from:http://www.hailstate...0&ATCLID=931606)

Playing Career

- Played four years (1973-76) at Henderson [AR] State

- Helped his team to a 40-6 record and a berth in the 1974 NAIA Championship Game

Coaching Career

- 1977: Nashville [AR] HS

- 1978: Des Arc [AR] HS

- 1979-80: Offensive Line Coach, Northeast Louisiana University

- 1981-82: Grad. Asst./Offensive Line, University of Arkansas

- 1983: Delta State University

- 1984: University of Missouri

- 1985-88: Offensive Line Coach, Northeast Louisiana University

- 1989-92: Offensive Line Coach, University of Arkansas

- 1993-97: Offensive Line Coach, Virginia Tech University

- 1998-02: Offensive Line Coach, Texas A&M University

- 2003: Asst. Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach, East Carolina University

- 2004-present: Offensive Line Coach, Mississippi State University

Notable

Has coached 29 years, 27 of them on the collegiate level ... Associated with teams that have won five conference championships and earned 14 bowl berths ... Helped guide Northeast La. to the 1987 Division I-AA national championship ... Was on the Texas A&M staff that led the Aggies to the Big XII title and 1999 Sugar Bowl.

And then another loon flys (oops lone voice.... that's repeated... till echo'ed throughout chambers of vacuous cyberspace) and he quips. not a Top-5, not a Top-5, oh no not a top-5. Like that oh-no bird. You know the one with 2 inch legs and 4 inch balls, as he lands ...oh no-- OH - NO!! We keep hearing some fear of not landing a top-5 coach. Well - sorry to break it for you, but at the moment we are not really a top-5 team. A top-5 place to be... maybe. A top-5 in the not so distant past... most definitely. A top-5 class.... perhaps. Yes - Gus went there, he said what we all wanted to hear. That's part of what coaches do, they say the right thing to the right people, and sometimes they (might) stretch what's true a wee-bit for the good of all. Truthfully guys, come one now, how many teams are there ? And how many coaches on a team? And how many programs called top twenty? Enough that any top-5 tends to get spread pretty thin, simple law of supply and demand. I just hope this hire is one of the top-5 fit's for Our/Gus's planned system.

What amazes me more, is how a critter like a Tiger... a most feared and single of solitary hunter. Well known more for its' Pride, stealth, and cunning than for really being in one. Can be more like a pack critter, one that get's lead around most of it's day by another. Enough that someone might think, that perhaps a few male elephants have broken or slipped free from their matriarchal apron strings. Do we not think each for himself any longer?

A rather simple read on J.B. Grimes from the Kansas Jayhawks bio - http://www.kuathleti...rimes_jb00.html

[TigerNBham 3]

_{He proved to Gus that he can effectivley teach his offense. That alone makes it a good hire. War Damn.}

This says it all. Read and comprehend.

[TitanTiger 21,219]

Folks, virtually no one goes out and hires a full staff of proven studs. No one.

From Nick Saban's first staff in 2007 at Alabama:

OC - Major Applewhite - had one year as an OC under his belt, at Rice. Before that, one year as a QB coach at Syracuse.

DL - Bo Davis - served as the assistant S&C coach at LSU under Saban and had one year as DL coach with the Dolphins under Saban.

OL - Joe Pendry - he had plenty of experience, but given some people's issues with gaps in employment, he was unemployed from 2000-2005, then had one year as the Texans OL coach before Saban hired him.

And this was from someone who had far more years of experience and contacts to draw from.

Give it a rest.

[AcUmen 243]

Folks, Chizik hired a bunch of all-star coaches and look where that got us 2 of his 4 years. Van Gorder is one of the most respected DC's out there (just ask any coach and look at his resume). The defense was one of the worst in AU history. Is it fair to totally blame it on BVG? Probably not, but having him on staff certainly wasn't some magic pill. CSL was a respected up and coming OC and he fielded one of the worst offenses in AU history. I think Chizik only had 3 coaches on his staff that ever lived up to their potential as coaches (Gus, Rocker, Boulware). Two of those three left pretty quick. I think the problem on that staff started at the top with Chiz as he was the common denominator in all that. This goes to show how important the HC is, no matter who is on staff.

You can't just throw together a bunch of random all-stars and always expect it to work. We, as fans, have a tendency to look at this from 30,000 feet. None of us are there on the ground and we don't understand the human dynamics of it all. Coaches are people and have their own personalities and experiences. For example, it would make no sense for Gus to hire an all-star OC that runs the I-formation and is on a totally different page.

Gus has made it clear he wants people on the same page. He will find the best possible people who understand what it is he wants to do and who will all pull in the same direction. I think it should be obvious to all of us here now that Chizik had far too many cooks in the kitchen on his staff.