I don't know about you, but I enjoyed the 20 days between the announcement of Steve Sarkisian as the head coach at Texas and the news breaking late Friday night that Montana State head coach Jeff Choate would represent the 10th and final member of the on-field coaching staff.
Inside the belly of this wonderful beast were rumors/reports/meltdowns along the way:
* Mike Stoops as defensive coordinator? Wut?
* Will Muschamp turns the job down?
* Jeff Banks is joining the staff!
* (five minutes later) Jeff Banks isn't joining the staff!
* Barry Odom?
* Hey, who is Zach Arnett? Wait Zach Barnett is reporting on Zach Arnett? How are we supposed to keep this straight? What did Arnett wear on his visit with LSU?
* Drink when you hear Jimmy Sexton's name!
* IS THAT DAN QUINN'S MUSIC!
* Oh, hey, Dan Quinn is the new defensive coordinator in Dallas. Good times.
* We'll know something after the bowl game.
* He must be waiting on Pete Golding.
* Hmmm, he must still be waiting on Pete Golding.
* He's offered Golding!
* Wait, where did Lanning come from?
* Arnett, again? You do know he wore a suit to the LSU visit.
* Jeff Banks is joining the staff!
* Who is the Pole Assassin?
* How in the hell do you say Kwiatkowski?
* IS THAT MIKE STOOPS' MUSIC!
* Internet meltdown
* I guess that's not Mike Stoops' music.
* The new linebackers coach almost got the Boise State job!
* The end.
Honestly, I'm almost out of breath from the cliff-notes version. That Orangebloods coaching thread didn't come close to two million views because of a mere 24-25 updates. No sir!
As hard as it is to say goodbye to yesterday, we must move along from the speculation phase of this process to the evaluation side of the proceedings.
It's time to talk about the new staff... all of it.
Did Sarkisian do enough? Is this an all-star staff? How does this rank with the best coaching staffs we've seen since the arrival of Mack Brown in 1998?
I'm going to get into all of that, but before we can dive into what I hope is the best coach-by-coach breakdown you'll see in the next 60 minutes, these 1-10 scales are dedicated to former head coach Tom Herman, who may or may not have hated my usage of scales with everything that I do.
The Ketchum 10-point Coaching Grading Scale
10 - Elite of the elite of the elite.
9 - Nearly nationally elite.
8 - Ranks as one of the best in the Big 12 at his position
7 - Damn Good
6 - Slightly Better Than Average
5 - Bang Average
4 - Slightly Below Average
3 - Poor
2 - Damn Poor
1 - Close your eyes and imagine the worst of Orangebloods
The Ketchum 10-point Recruiting Ability Grading Scale
10 - Elite of the elite of the elite. Has "Rainmaker" printed on his business card.
9 - Nearly nationally elite. A constant threat for a Rivals Top 25 Recruiter spot
8 - Ranks as one of the best in the Big 12 at his position. Has the ability to be the lead recruiter for a 5-star.
7 - Damn Good. Has displayed the ability to land national Top 250 players on a regular basis.
6 - Slightly Better Than Average. Sometimes lands a very good prospect, but is never really involved with elite prospects.
5 - Bang Average.
4 - Slightly Below Average. Deep down you know your school is wasting its time if he's on the recruiting trail with a high-level prospect
3 - Poor. Is kind of known as a f-up.
2 - Doesn't even try.
1 - Mike Leach.
NR: Impossible to gauge
No. 2 - Let's start with the offensive side of the ball ...
The Texas offense is uniquely built with what feels like six coaches when you consider the true impact that Sarkisian will make on that side of the ball. Unlike Charlie Strong or Tom Herman, the strength of the offensive staff won't be determined by the chops of a play-caller inside the assistants on staff, since Sarkisian is clearly in charge of the all-important in-game direction.
Quarterbacks Coach (A.J. Milwee)
Coaching Grade: 7.5
Breakdown: Milwee is a difficult guy to rank because his only two seasons of major college football coaching experience have come as an analyst at Alabama. At some point we have to say that two years at College Football's Coaching Death Star have to account for more than two years as a quarterbacks coach at... say... Texas Tech (no offense to Texas Tech). Also, the fact that he had been an offensive coordinator at Akron for the six seasons prior to his two years at Alabama is nothing to sneeze at because that represents significant experience.
The single best fact about Milwee I can find as a coach: In his only season as a pure quarterbacks coach with non-coordinator duties at Akron, Milwee's pupil Dalton Williams’ set school records for touchdown passes (25) and pass completions (326-for-522), while his 3,387 passing yards ranked as the third-most in a season in school history.
Recruiting Grade: NR
Breakdown: I hate to chicken out and not dish out a grade, but Milwee has never been involved in a major recruitment of a major college prospect, at least not as a lead recruiter at a power five program. Milwee arrives as a total wild-card in this phase of the job.
In Sark's words: "My right-hand guy".
Final thought: The importance of Sarkisian having a cohesive offensive staff is critical, which makes Milwee a much-needed comfort hire for the new head coach. If Sarkisian is going to call him an extension of his football coaching soul, then I'm going to trust that it was imperative that he take Arkansas State's new offensive coordinator away from them. This first season in Austin feels like the biggest task of his entire career thus far, which is why he took the gig.
Running Backs Coach (Stan Drayton)
Coaching Grade: 9.5
Breakdown: We can talk about running back rotations all we want to, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a running backs coach anywhere in the nation with a better 25-year resume. This is a guy that helped launch the careers of monsters like Brian Westbrook and Zeke Elliott, while coaching a host of other future NFL running backs. Meanwhile, he's also had success in a two-year stint in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. He's got rings, superstars and longevity under his belt.
The single best fact about Drayton I can find as a coach: Zeke Elliott gave him the best endorsement of a running backs coach I think I've ever read when he said, "“He was hard on me since I got on campus and he’s really the biggest reason why I’m here today and I’m the back I am today. He made sure when I learned this position that I learned it thoroughly, that I learned not just what I do but what the guys around me do. That made me understand the game so much better. He taught me how to anticipate instead of just going off of reactions and going off of instincts. That made me play faster and made me into a great player.”
Recruiting Grade: 8
Breakdown: I don't know that I personally think of Drayton as a nationally elite recruiter; he's almost into double digits in his career when it comes to landing national top 25-100 prospects as a lead recruiter. On top of landing Bijan Robinson (the highest-rated recruit of his career), it seems like every running back in the 2020 and 2021 class has raved about him as a recruiter.
Final thought: If Drayton had been hired from another staff instead of being retained from Tom Herman's staff, I think Texas fans would be talking about him as a 9.0 or 10.0 type of hire. He is the best running backs coach in the Big 12.
Wide Receivers Coach (Andre Coleman)
Coaching Grade: 7.5
Breakdown: It says something that Bill Snyder, Tom Herman, Sarkisian and his players all seem to swear by him. I'm not quite ready to put him on the level of the best coaches at his position in the country because his career resume doesn't quite scream that, but I get the sense that almost every team in the Big 12 would probably swap the guy they have for him if they could.
The single best fact about Coleman I can find as a coach: He's scored in a Super Bowl as a player, developed Tyler Lockett into one of the best offensive players in the history of Kansas State and has offensive coordinator experience on his resume at the Big 12 level.
Recruiting Grade: 6.5
Breakdown: The commitment of Armani Winfield a few weeks ago is an eye-opener and reveals that this number might be too low. There's just not a big enough track record of success to say he's "damn good" at this point if we're keeping it real, although I certainly leave open the possibility that he can get there.
Final thought: There's a lot of pressure on Coleman to start producing as an elite level coach and recruiter on this coaching staff. At some point, we have to stop name-dropping Tyler Lockett, and he'll need to start consistently winning major recruiting battles. It hasn't happened yet.
Tight Ends/Special Teams Coordinator (Jeff Banks)
Coaching Grade: 9.0
Breakdown: As a tight ends coach, he helped develop Irv Smith into one of the best tight ends in college football and a future NFL player. As a special teams coordinator, he's emerged as one of the very elite of the elite in the entire country, with a track record of success that goes beyond his time at Alabama.
The single best fact about Banks I can find as a coach: His special teams at Alabama and Texas A&M were ranked among the nation's top 10 in virtually every special teams category at some point and time. Punting.... returns... coverage... his units have been great at all of it.
Recruiting Grade: 10.0
Breakdown: Not only can you send this guy after any big-time kid in the country and take it to the bank that he will give you a chance, Banks has a diverse track record of success. Part of that resume includes making it rain for Alabama inside the state of Texas in recent years in a way that will make Texas fans blush.
Final thought: Jeff Banks is one of the best coaches in the country when you consider his skills as both a coach and recruiter.
Offensive Line/Quarterbacks Coach (Kyle Flood)
Coaching Grade: 9.0
Breakdown: On top of coaching up the offensive line for one of the best two-year offenses in the history of college football at Alabama, this is a coach that has NFL experience and was a former head coach at a major conference program. He's among the elite of the elite in the country at what he does.
The single best fact about Flood I can find as a coach: He actually had a winning record as a head coach at Rutgers, won nine games in his first season and won a bowl game in the program's first season in the Big 10. That feels Herculean.
Recruiting Grade: 8.5
Breakdown: His track record is somewhat limited at the highest levels, but the Alabama folks swear by him as a guy that can absolutely get it done. Might not have been the lead recruiter for ALL of the bad-ass offensive line recruits that Alabama has signed in the last couple of years, but he gets credit, nonetheless. Also, they don't give assistant coaches a bump up to head coach unless they can significantly recruit, so keep that in mind when you ask yourself whether he can do it outside of Nick Saban's umbrella.
Final thought: He's in competition with OU's Bill Bedenbaugh for the title of best OL coach in the Big 12.
No. 3 - Moving on to the defensive side of the ball ...
Defensive Line (Bo Davis)
Coaching Grade: 8.5
Breakdown: His resume over the last decade includes winning a national championship at Alabama, four seasons in the NFL, one season of success at UTSA and three years under Mack Brown at Texas. Along the way, he;'s coached up a string of All-Americans at multiple locations and helped the Lions rank in the top half of the NFL in sacks and rushing yards allowed per carry in all three seasons he was there.
The single best fact about Davis I can find as a coach: In his one season at UTSA, the team ranked fifth nationally in total defense (287.8 ypg), eighth in scoring defense (17.0 ppg) and 22nd in rushing defense (127.7 ypg), while his pupil Marcus Davenport was the Conference USA Player of the Year.
Recruiting Grade: 8.5
Breakdown: Like several other coaches on this staff, Davis is a coach that has landed multiple five-stars as a lead recruiter, and he has a slew of national top 100 prospects under his belt as well. You can send Davis into almost any state, and he'll give you a big chance with the players he's recruiting.
Final thought: Davis IS the best and most successful defensive line in the Big 12. No one else has a resume of success that comes within a 10-foot pole of his.
Linebackers/Co-Defensive Coordinator (Jeff Choate)
Coaching Grade: 9.0
Breakdown: Choate has been racking up success as a defensive coach for more than a decade at an elite level, which eventually led to him getting a chance as a head coach at the FBS level with Montana State. He’s known for developing players at every spot he lands.
The single best fact about Choate I can find as a coach: Nearly landing the Boise State head coaching job this month says all you need to know about how his work at Montana State has been perceived in Big Sky country.
Recruiting Grade: 6.5
Breakdown: Choate is known as a plus-recruiter as a head coach at Montana State, but his work as a recruiter at the major college level is limited, and he's only been the lead recruiter on one four-star in his career as an assistant coach. A little like Milwee from the offensive side of the ball, we'll know a lot more about his ability as a recruiter in the next 12 months. There are reasons to be very optimistic.
Final thought: Choate might be my favorite hire on the entire staff just because Sarkisian took a head coach that was getting better head coaching looks and turned him into a position coach. Personally, I think Choate ranks as one of the best position coaches in the entire Big 12.
Linebackers/Defensive Coordinator (Pete Kwiatkowski)
Coaching Grade: 9.5
Breakdown: Has been perhaps the most successful defensive coordinator/mind on the West Coast since Pete Carroll left USC (seriously, think about it). Known as the key piece to a Washington defense that made its name in the last decade on the defensive side of the ball.
The single best fact about Kwiatkowski I can find as a coach: Not only helped lead Washington to the playoffs in 2016, but when the Huskies faced Alabama in the Final Four, its defense delivered one of the best defensive performances in the playoff era by limiting the Tide to two touchdowns and a field goal.
Recruiting Grade: 6.5
Breakdown: While he isn't known for being a dynamic recruiter, he has landed a number of four-star level prospects during his time as an assistant coach at Washington.
Final thought: The most important hire that Sarkisian has made, Kwiatkowski gives the Longhorns a proven defensive wizard with a track record of shutting down dynamic offenses.
Defensive backs (Terry Joseph)
Coaching Grade: 8.0
Breakdown: Has really emerged in the last few seasons as one of the better defensive backs coaches in the country when you look at the work he did at Notre Dame. Jobs at Notre Dame, North Carolina, Texas A&M and Nebraska speak to how he's viewed around the nation at his position.
The single best fact about Joseph I can find as a coach: While helping lead Notre Dame into the playoffs this season with an excellent secondary, his star pupil Kyle Hamilton emerged into a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award.
Recruiting Grade: 7.5
Breakdown: Joseph made his name in this industry as a recruiter at Texas A&M when he was the lead recruiter in a heavily contested battle for five-star Louisiana receiver Speedy Noil. You don’t win a recruitment like that on accident. Over the course of his career, he's mostly been very solid but not totally spectacular.
Final thought: Joseph ranks as one of the best defensive back coaches in the Big 12, but there's still another step he can take at Texas that would move him into the elite of the elite category.
Safeties (Blake Gideon)
Coaching Grade: 7.0
Breakdown: In a very short amount of time, Gideon has emerged as one of the best under-35 coaches in all of college football. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Major Applewhite when he returned to Texas with a resume that was short on years but very high on promise.
The single best fact about Gideon I can find as a coach: In one season at Houston, his special teams ranked first in the nation in both blocked punts (five) and blocked kicks (six), while leading the AAC in kick return defense (17.6) and net punting (43.6).
Recruiting Grade: 6.5
Breakdown: This grade might prove to be too low, but he just hasn't had a chance in his young career to cut his teeth in a way that would truly give him a reputation. That's about to change.
Final thought: There seems to be no doubt that Gideon is a bit of an emerging star as a young coach, but how bright a star remains unknown. If he emerges as a threat in recruiting, this might be remembered as one of the sneaky great hires that Sarkisian made in this initial staff. If he doesn't emerge as an impact recruiter, there will probably be grumbles. I honestly don't expect many grumbles.
No. 4 - Uncle Ketch (Texas City Boys) ...
In light of Suchomel getting hung up on by former Tennessee (and possible future Texas) running back Eric Gray, I thought I would share a story from my early days in the industry.
Back in January 1998, one of the things that we used to do when I was the producer at KEYE-TV in Austin was take a camera to the hotel where recruits were taking their official visits and we'd get an on-camera interview from them when they were getting ready to check out.
It was something that John Mackovic's staff strongly endorsed, but it turned out to be something that Mack Brown did not.
Well, on this particular weekend very early in the Brown tenure, I arranged with Texas City defensive back Ervis Hill to do an interview with him on the Sunday morning of his visit. After meeting him in the hotel lobby, he told me that we'd do the interview after he had a chance to go back up to his room for something.
So, we waited. And waited. And waited.
I ended up calling up to his room to see what was going on, and he answered to tell me that he would be right down.
Moments later, hotel security showed up and basically threw us out of the hotel because someone had called them and claimed that we were harassing them.
A few days later, I reached Hill on the phone and asked what happened, and he pinned it all on one of the other Texas City teammates that had visited that weekend (four total). It was the last hotel stakeout we were ever allowed to do while I was at KEYE.
No. 5 - Five Guys I'd Absolutely target in the Portal if I'm Sarkisian...
1. I think I've already made it clear that I'm coo-coo for CoCo Puffs over Georgia Southern linebacker Reynard Ellis.
2. I'd want this Tennessee linebacker as well.
3. Give me all the Tennessee players, including Jahmir Johnson, who could start at four different positions on the line.
4. I'll take a flyer on this Villanova star that wants to increase his NFL profile.
5. I know Sarkisian thinks the Longhorns have a million receivers, but they need proven playmakers that can take those screens and do something with them. I think Ricky Smalling would be dynamite under Sarkisian.
No. 6 - Show Her The Money!!!
Usually, when we talk about Texas athletes having an opportunity to maximize their earning value off of their names and likeness, the focus is on the male athletes in football and basketball.
Yet, when I came across the Instagram page of Texas women's track star Tara Davis, I noticed that she has 135,000 followers. 135,000!
To put that inspective, Sam Ehlinger is the most famous Texas football player of the last decade, and he has 147,000 followers on Instagram. Bijan Robinson has less than 50,000. Steve Sarkisian has 20,400.
Honestly, I have no idea if Davis has the highest Instagram followers count or not; she's just the account I came across this weekend after her successful weekend on the track. Something tells me we have all underestimated the earnings potential of the women in major college athletics.
She's very quietly a powerhouse!
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) That feels almost impossible to expect.
(Sell) I think Meyer will have the Jags in the playoffs within two or three years. I can't quite say I believe the same thing about Sarkisian and Texas.
(Buy) He's going to get at least one, I think. Confirmation bias?
(Sell) Whatchu talkin bout, Willis?
(Buy) Absolutely.
(Sell) I don't think the rotation will be an issue at all.
(Buy) I don't know if he keeps the job, but I think he starts week one.
(Buy) I can't see Herman and Meyer ever hugging it out.
(Buy) Big-time.
(Buy) Did you mean > 50?
No. 8 - Scattershooting on the world of sports...
... You can't do anything but give it up to Tom Brady for going into Green Bay and beating Aaron Rodgers for a trip to his 10th Super Bowl appearance. TEN! Joe Montana is generally considered the competition for the title of best NFL quarterback of all-time, and he went to four. Brady has been to twice as many Super Bowls as the 49ers of the 80s and 90s combined!
... Rodgers was better than Brady, but he didn't have the fourth-quarter magic. To the victor goes the spoils, and I'd be upset at my head coach and defensive coordinator tonight. I'd be livid.
... Green Bay was never getting that ball back once it settled for a field goal before the two-minute warning, rather than go for the touchdown on fourth down. Tom Brady was never giving that ball back.
... It was a justifiable pass interference that was called on the game's deciding play. It was probably holding instead of pass interference, but it was a stone-cold penalty.
... Rest in peace, Hank Aaron. I feel like I missed something special by not catching you in your prime. I was born about 10 years too late.
... As soon as Dustin Poirier took Conor McGregor's leg away from him in the middle of the second round, the main event of UFC 257 was over. That's a huge win for Poirier, but a world class-level fighter in his prime doesn't get wiped out with such a by-the-book performance like that. McGregor is just a guy in that sport right now, closer to being Cowboy Cerrone than the type of fighter that needs to be messing with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
... Ahem...
... That was my first time seeing Michael Chandler and I'm down for round two ASAP.
... It feels like a million years ago that Kobe Bryant died in that helicopter accident, which speaks to how surreal 2020 was in totality. I still can't process that it happened
... The Milwaukee Bucks drafted Jabari Parker over Joel Embiid back in 2014. Thank you, God.
... Liverpool owner John Henry is literally risking tens of millions in Champions League revenue because he won't shell out money for a rental or anything else for the middle of a depleted defense? We literally ran out a non-Premier League level player in a cup game against Manchester United on Sunday, and he probably got lucky that he only got burned once for a goal. Ugh.
... Baylor might legit win a national championship in men's basketball this year. If you haven't seen the Bears play, you need to know they are GOOD. A Gonzaga match-up in the Tournament would be an amazingly good basketball game.
... Big win in Ames this weekend for the women's basketball team. I can't say that I've done more than scoreboard watch with this team so far this season, but it's clear they are playing good basketball, and with a stretch of five consecutive games against unranked teams coming up before a battle against Baylor in Waco, this team has a chance to build some real momentum in the next two weeks.
No. 9 - The List: Queen ...
A friend of mine made the case this week that catching Freddie Mercury with Queen in their prime would make for the single-best concert any of us could attend if we were in a world where we could take the time machine forward or backward to any concert of our choosing in a non-pandemic world.
That discussion inspired me to update my Top 10 Queen list. It feels like the No.1 song simply isn't open for debate. Beyond that? Yeah, I expect some disagreement.
Also, I have lost an hour of my life in the last year watching reaction videos of Queen on Youtube.
Here we go....
10. Crazy Little Thing Called Love - A throwback to the 50s that makes me move every time I hear it.
9. Under Pressure - It feels like history would suggest this song has to be on here somewhere.
8. Get Down, Make Love - A personal favorite I had to make room for on the list.
7. Another One Bites The Dust - It's Freddie in full on alpha-male toughness. That base line.
6. Don't Stop Me Now - Over the years, I've really come around on this track. It wasn't on my previous Top 10 list about five years ago.
5. Somebody to Love - So good. I'm open to the idea that I have underrated this song by a couple of spots.
4. We Will Rock You - Arguably the greatest sports arena anthem song of them all.
3. Fat Bottomed Girls - With all due respect to the No. 1 song, this is as quintessential of a Queen song as any.
2. We Are The Champions - Has a special place in my heart because of its place at the end of Revenge of the Nerds.
1. Bohemian Rhapsody - Slam dunk choice for the top spot. It's the song if aliens came down from outer space and asked about their fellow alien, Freddie Mercury.
No. 10 - And Finally ...
Only 594 days until Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide come to DKR. Just in case you were wondering...
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