I for one think that the Utah coaches:
Iāll reserve judgement until we see results, but will admit that I have some concerns. Thereās no question at all about the character of these recent hires, as they are both quality people and really define āUtah Manā.
My concern is about their experience at this level. Ellisā only coaching experience is as the D-line coach for the Idaho Vandals. While Q did spend less than a year with the Meyer disaster in the NFL, his only other coaching experience comes at Weber State. These arenāt exactly programs at the same level as Utah. It feels a bit like Whit is hiring friends here, rather than looking for the best talent available.
I hope that the other intangibles they bring offsets their lack of experience at the P5 levelā¦but itās still a concern.
Its seems like their recruiting ability is their #1 priority. At least thatās what Whit said when he brought Shaw in from being a lawyer.
Yeah, my guess is that these hires are more about hiring guys who can recruit using both strong Utah and NFL ties.
Maybe that completely offsets any potential weaknesses as position coaches, I donāt know.
Recruit, fit the culture (which is really important right now). I think bringing in āhome teamā guys is fine for this point and the last couple years of Whittās tenure. We are really close on talent, culture, schemes to something magical, so probably feels itās best to get position coaches he can mold that have league cred.
Kiel McDonald came from Easter Washington and did great. So too did Swan from Weber.
Among other factors, Luther and his wife had a lot of children (many of them adopted) and they bought a huge house in the Detroit area to accommodate everyone. After a housing crash, they were upside down owing far more on the mortgage than the homeās current value.
Hopefully things are getting better for him and his family. Thrilled heās back home at Utah.
Solid hire. A Utah Man so he will be popular with the fan base. Pedigree suggests he can coach. If he can recruit, itās a home run.