Why is Montgomery the OC? And will he be back?

[KansasTiger 3,261]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i understand the frustration. but when you put out a thread where you say you still support the team and get laughed at it is pretty bad. i mean showing support during a tough time is bad?

This feels like a misrepresentation of that thread. No one is laughing at people supporting the team. People are frustrated with others who refuse to acknowledge what's happening, and the other side is aggravated that too many people are so negative. You can do both. Too many fans on here think supporting the team can't come in the form of pointing out truthful flaws that need to be corrected. Growing up for me, that was the foundation for supporting something or someone.

Ripping the team with malice is another thing. But I have only seen small pockets of that so far.

Edited October 24, 2023 by KansasTiger

[e808 3,166]

6 hours ago, AU-24 said:

Look at who he’s chasing in recruiting. The man just can’t be in two places at the same time. Not that I don’t totally get what you’re saying, but 2 to 3 years from now, I don’t think anyone will mind.

Again, I totally get what you’re saying, but it is, what it is. We’re simply not going to catch the turds, Thuga and LSU in recruiting if he doesn’t do what he’s doing.

I get recruit is very important. I hope it was just taken out of text. I just feel u owe it to the kids who are wearing orange and blue now ur best. Understandable there are talent flaws but offensively it should look better than this. Let’s see what happens Saturday. 33 points was put up last year with only three days to prepare 

Edited October 24, 2023 by e808

[I_M4_AU 8,978]

31 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

If he did and saw Tulsa consistently with one of the bottom 1/4 offenses in the country over the past 6 years and thought "I can turn the offense over to him" well, that just was extremely bad judgment. 

 

Do you have a better reason the season has gone off the rails, or are you just complaining?  I stated early on it was just speculation; what is your speculation?

[W.E.D 11,071]

1 hour ago, I_M4_AU said:

Do you have a better reason the season has gone off the rails, or are you just complaining?  I stated early on it was just speculation; what is your speculation?

I'm just speculating like you.

I think we have too many cooks in the kitchen.  Hugh wants to be involved (takes credit for fade, extra involvement in Robby 13 package) but doesn't know terminology enough.  Seems like a bad move especially if everyone will be learning new terminology next year.

[KillenTime 127]

12 hours ago, CCTAU said:

He only brought that up once. He hasn’t mentioned which plays he has called since. Tough to hang onto that one for 6 games…

He does it all the time.  "The defense played well and that is where I spent my time last week.  I will spend more time on the offense next week"  crap like that all the time.  Blaming players that have been successful at other places.  The offense is dysfunctional and he is on the sideline holding the offensive play sheet speaking into the headset and looking at the play sheet before every play call.  

[aubiefifty 18,302]

 

theathletic.com

 

Why Tulsa fired football coach Philip Montgomery and what’s next

Chris Vannini, Bruce Feldman

~3 minutes

---

Tulsa fired head football coach Philip Montgomery, the school announced Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:

• Montgomery had a 43-53 record in eight seasons at Tulsa.
• The Golden Hurricane won their final two games against South Florida and Houston to finish the season at 5-7.
• The 50-year-old was the second-longest tenured coach in the AAC.

Backstory

Montgomery’s exit comes as the Golden Hurricane are set to finish with a losing record for the fourth time in the past six seasons.

The former Baylor offensive coordinator led the program to a 10-win season in just his second year at the helm in 2016, but went 9-27 between 2017-2019. Tulsa ended its three-year bowl skid in 2020 while reaching its first-ever AAC Championship and won the Myrtle Beach Bowl over Old Dominion last year before starting 2022 3-7, including 1-5 in AAC play.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, one that affects a number of individuals and is never easy for anyone involved,” athletic director Rick Dickson said in a release. “Philip’s dedication to our student-athletes is unquestioned and we thank him for his tireless efforts in leading our young men. He has represented TU with class and character. We appreciate Philip’s commitment to The University of Tulsa, our football program and the Tulsa community.”

Why did Tulsa make this move?

Fans felt the program had become a bit stale. The Golden Hurricane had reached consecutive bowl games, but the school only gave Montgomery short extensions in recent years, not committing to him for the long-term. With the AAC losing three schools and adding six for next season — and several of those new additions changing coaches — Tulsa doesn’t want to fall behind at this pivotal moment. It’s a private school with one of the smallest enrollments in FBS, making it a unique place in the landscape.

Potential candidates to keep an eye on include Incarnate Word head coach G.J. Kinne (a former Tulsa QB), former Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente and Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom, among others. — Vannini

 

[Viper 3,537]

14 hours ago, AURex said:

I'm wondering why Freeze hired Montgomery to begin with.

Careful. I asked why he hired a guy Tulsa fired and was lambasted without substance. Just trust Freeze and wait and see was the narrative.

Yet here we are with the most inept, confused and unprepared offense I’ve ever seen. Never thought it could get worse post-potato. 

I truly believe Freeze is wrapped up in recruiting…and running this offense is a distant, distant 2nd on his priority list.

[AUAlumnTN 211]

The read I get is that HF has essentially outsourced the lion’s share of gameday preparation, game-planning, and coaching to his coordinators and is focusing 80-90% of his energy on recruiting. I don’t think that’s the worst idea given the state of the roster but A. The offense in particular’s performance all but guarantees he’s looking for a new OC and maybe a position coach or two this offseason, B. puts enormous pressure on this incoming recruiting class to be very very good, very very fast, and C. depending on how the rest of this season shakes out, potentially gives him precious little goodwill amongst the fanbase and power brokers. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off. 

[aucanucktiger 1,896]

If you've listened to Hugh's post game comments this season (and assume video backs him up) there are a dozen HUGE offensive plays at critical times that were perfectly called and utterly botched by our QBs. First play vs ole miss e.g., our QB ran the wrong play when intended play would have gone 50+ yds. Against UGa our WR was wide open for probable TD on a wheel route but missed by our other QB. Those are two TDs in two 1 TD losses, just for starters. These are BOTH veteran QBs (yes Robbie was given 250 pass attempts last season alone). Freeze & Monty have a right to expect more from these QBs.

[woodford 3,751]

1 hour ago, Viper said:

Careful. I asked why he hired a guy Tulsa fired and was lambasted without substance. Just trust Freeze and wait and see was the narrative.

Yet here we are with the most inept, confused and unprepared offense I’ve ever seen. Never thought it could get worse post-potato. 

I truly believe Freeze is wrapped up in recruiting…and running this offense is a distant, distant 2nd on his priority list.

That's a big gamble. I don't think that's why we lost to Georgia but it probably explains the butt whoppin in BR and not being able to figure out last week to beat OM. 

It's frustrating but if they finish 7-5 and get to a bowl and maybe get that 8th win AND we finish with a top 10-12 class with another big flip I honestly won't care if he put recruiting first this year because it will be an investment that will pay off down the road. That's a big IF though.

Time will tell.

[WillMunny 1,589]

Just a casual fan's opinion: No way an OC can return after the year our offense has had, unless we make big turnaround.

Maybe we will have an offensive outburst against Bama, win the game, and give Montgomery a 7-year contract extension with a $50 million buyout.

[Viper 3,537]

3 hours ago, woodford said:

That's a big gamble. I don't think that's why we lost to Georgia but it probably explains the butt whoppin in BR and not being able to figure out last week to beat OM. 

It's frustrating but if they finish 7-5 and get to a bowl and maybe get that 8th win AND we finish with a top 10-12 class with another big flip I honestly won't care if he put recruiting first this year because it will be an investment that will pay off down the road. That's a big IF though.

Time will tell.

That sums up what I’m saying. I’ve always considered Freeze to be Gus Lite. Even still, his offenses have never been this inept. He obviously really means what he says…too much talent gap, so in other words, why invest too much valuable time coaching this offense when it can be spent on the future instead?

And as I’ve stated here before, coaches are some of the best salesman on the planet, so his sales pitch will be “We need you to make Auburn great again.” I’m good with that, as long as the offense shows major progression next season. If Thorne and Ashford are still being shuffled next season with little to no improvement, Freeze may end up an analyst in Tuscaloser.

[Chaotic_zx 1,070]

I do think it is important to remember how this started out. Freeze had other candidates in mind. With how he spoke on the matter(paraphrasing: he's good outside the redzone and I'm good in the redzone), there was clear indications that he wanted Phil Longo. Longo somehow ended up at Wisconsin which is ranked 64th in offense(AU is 101) as of right now. So I don't know that we'd see marked improvement over what we've seen. 

 

That being said, I personally don't think Montgomery MUST be fired. He is scheming bad WRs open. Neither of the QBs can get the ball there. The line has some culpability in it was well. As Freeze said, there was a long 50+ yard run that was left on the field due to a bad read. So I am saying that there is room for improvement but the players aren't making the plays. Montgomery is likely out after the year. I just don't think it is fair to lay the blame at his feet. Players make plays. If players don't make plays, replace them with players that will. I think that is Freeze's strategy. 

[JuscAUse! 1,688]

17 hours ago, e808 said:

This is what I have an issue with. Regardless if u need talent there is still a responsibility to those young men in the locker room. It’s game day the coach should be locked in. Just my half a cent opinion 

The point totally overlooked in this quote is that it's ON GAME DAY. Coach Dye used to say that the hay was in the barn by Thursday. So I guess he was either negligent or all the preparation for game day was done well before Saturday morning. I guess it's up to us to figure out which we believe. I'll err on the side of HF for now. 

[AURex 2,262]

There's the old notion that you can win with less talent -- you get your 3 star guys and "coach 'em up" and you scheme to the advantage of the players you've got, and you win even if the other team has more talented players. It's the old "coach 'em up" idea.

Well, the theory sorta ignores that programs with a lot of talent can also "coach 'em up" so you aren't going to win those games. The games you win are against the programs with equal or lesser talent that don't "coach 'em up" as good as you do --- or the rare cases like A&M where the talent is overwhelming, but they coach 'em down.

What I'm hearing in this thread is that a lot of you are of the opinion that Montgomery is not only working with less talent than some of our SEC opponents, but he (and his assistants) are not coaching up the skill players we have and not scheming to the advantage of the skill players we have.

Personally, I hope CHF can find a better OC for next season -- to go along with the somewhat improved talent he's recruiting and able to get through the portal. Who would that new OC be? I dunno. That's a different thread! hahaha

 

[sevenlee36 1,728]

Depend how bad Hugh needs a scapegoat 

[AU-24 3,130]

9 hours ago, e808 said:

I get recruit is very important. I hope it was just taken out of text. I just feel u owe it to the kids who are wearing orange and blue now ur best. Understandable there are talent flaws but offensively it should look better than this. Let’s see what happens Saturday. 33 points was put up last year with only three days to prepare 

All true!

[icanthearyou 4,468]

12 hours ago, GAAubie said:

We have a LOT of malcontent fans that will NEVER be happy! Recliner experts that will bitch and find fault about EVERYTHING!

Looking at another fabulous trip to the Birmingham Bowl tends to do that to you.

[CCTAU 3,594]

10 hours ago, KillenTime said:

He does it all the time.  "The defense played well and that is where I spent my time last week.  I will spend more time on the offense next week"  crap like that all the time.  Blaming players that have been successful at other places.  The offense is dysfunctional and he is on the sideline holding the offensive play sheet speaking into the headset and looking at the play sheet before every play call.  

Moving the goalposts, huh?  None of that applies to the post that he keeps bringing up specific plays he called more than that one time.

 

[gabo4au 244]

15 hours ago, AURex said:

There's the old notion that you can win with less talent -- you get your 3 star guys and "coach 'em up" and you scheme to the advantage of the players you've got, and you win even if the other team has more talented players. It's the old "coach 'em up" idea.

Well, the theory sorta ignores that programs with a lot of talent can also "coach 'em up" so you aren't going to win those games. The games you win are against the programs with equal or lesser talent that don't "coach 'em up" as good as you do --- or the rare cases like A&M where the talent is overwhelming, but they coach 'em down.

What I'm hearing in this thread is that a lot of you are of the opinion that Montgomery is not only working with less talent than some of our SEC opponents, but he (and his assistants) are not coaching up the skill players we have and not scheming to the advantage of the skill players we have.

Personally, I hope CHF can find a better OC for next season -- to go along with the somewhat improved talent he's recruiting and able to get through the portal. Who would that new OC be? I dunno. That's a different thread! hahaha

 

I believe the old "coach 'em up" mantra is total BS.

I can't name even one school that's had mediocre recruiting that has consistently been a top team. I'm hard pressed to name a team with mediocre recruiting that has even had one great season.

The teams that are consistently in the top 5 in recruiting, are the teams that compete for it all every year. Which makes me wonder if AU can ever be that. With NIL, consistent top 5 recruiting generally means top 5 NIL money. This whole uncapped, unrestricted, no holds barred NIL business just isn't good for the game overall. It really has the potential to reduce College FB down to about 10 or less teams that have a chance. Hopefully there will be some rules around it eventually.

[KillenTime 127]

13 hours ago, CCTAU said:

Moving the goalposts, huh?  None of that applies to the post that he keeps bringing up specific plays he called more than that one time.

 

Taking credit for the good and blaming the bad on somebody else.  Seems relevant to me. 

[Hank2020 3,381]

On 10/24/2023 at 10:37 AM, e808 said:

I get recruit is very important. I hope it was just taken out of text. I just feel u owe it to the kids who are wearing orange and blue now ur best. Understandable there are talent flaws but offensively it should look better than this. Let’s see what happens Saturday. 33 points was put up last year with only three days to prepare 

If you think we should match 2022 offense total why wouldn’t we match the defensive total also (they score 39)?

[e808 3,166]

10 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

If you think we should match 2022 offense total why wouldn’t we match the defensive total also (they score 39)?

Does Montgomery coach the offense or the defense. I could have sworn it was the offense. The defense is a completely different topic.

[Hank2020 3,381]

34 minutes ago, e808 said:

Does Montgomery coach the offense or the defense. I could have sworn it was the offense. The defense is a completely different topic.

If you assume offense should match 2022 why wouldn’t you assume defense would also. Actually makes no sense to me to bring in 2022 game at all for either side (offense or defense).

[Dwayne Pride 379]

4 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

If you assume offense should match 2022 why wouldn’t you assume defense would also. Actually makes no sense to me to bring in 2022 game at all for either side (offense or defense).

Stop using logic.  It makes some people nervous.