Duane Akina & The DBs

MOAR DEATH EWOK!

When he recruited Foster and Palmer, Akina made it known privately that he viewed them as future nickel backs. Now they’re starting.

Which reminds me: Damn, wouldn’t Colt McCoy make a great backup QB?

I don’t see how Akina stays at UT if he loses the DC gig. He’s not going back to just coaching secondary. He’s taking his “I crap Thorpe Awards” record to another school where he thinks he’ll be able to move up the ladder. Personal pride, career opportunities, etc.

I think that if career opportunities were that important to him, he would have bolted before now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the demotion back to DBs, since it most likely will not come with a pay cut.

He still makes a buttload of money, lives in Austin and picks up lots of ladies with that stache! He should try working in the cubicle 40+ hours a week.

Agreed with Woody.

It is either keep Akina as DC, which obviously isn’t an option, or remove him entirely from the staff.

It’s not just Akina, Duff and Davis though. Our staff generally sucks top to bottom, particularly at the top but there is plenty of blame to spread at the position coach level.

In fact, almost everyone associated with the football program from Cleve Bryant to Fat Dog to Greg Davis to Bill Little to Duane Akina should be excised.

Woody, you’re right if it were you or me, but I actually have to agree with BigSatan. This isn’t exactly a staff of go-getters. They’ve got a pretty good thing going in Austin. Being busted down the ladder doesn’t really phase you if you’re still making great dough, get a fat retirement, enjoy stability, and can coach elite level talent.
 
And he’ll probably still keep the DC title for $$ purposes and appearance sake.

The DBs and LBs have looked lost and confused all season. That 44 yard wheel route to Goodson was exhibit A.

Everyone stands around watching the QB as a player in the other team’s uni goes streaking by. Not a single defensive player turns his head to pick him up. All 3 LBs stay home waiting for……(still trying to figure this out)

Most of this staff is just waiting for a piece of Sun City real estate to open up close enough to the golf course.
Then they’ll havea reason for leaving Mack’s warm sunny front porch.

Interesting questions Scipio.

In fairness, Akina deserves kudos for also developing (or further developing) guys like Jammer, Babers, Vasher, and Ced Griffin.

Re recruiting, and as odd as this sounds, Akina is not solely responsible for the DB hits/misses since the primary recruiting areas are divided by geography not position. That said, Joseph and Henry were both Akina recruits and they have to lay at his feet.

I have a hard time laying scheme-based unit blame on the position coach unless it involves personnel decisions. In my book, Akina gets a pass on that under Chizik.

This year conversely, he should take full blame for that failure.

So, in essence, I am OK with Akina “only being” the DB coach, but I assume he won’t accept that. Fine, hit the road jack. We can find another.

Akina as the DC has got to go. Larry MacDuff earning a paycheck as an LB or a ST coach borders on grand larceny.

All that said, I doubt either happens.

Bragg:
 
“Re recruiting, and as odd as this sounds, Akina is not solely responsible for the DB hits/misses since the primary recruiting areas are divided by geography not position.”
 
No, ultimately it’s on Mack. But position coaches have final say (or an extremely strong voice) on guys they’ll be coaching, irrespective of geographical assignment.

His hit rate is not bad, but it is the overall quantity, so that is as much about other positions taking up roster spots with worthless players IMO.

I’m on record favoring Akina returning to coaching the DB position skills and bringing in a competent DC. I wasn’t aware Akina was struggling with unit concepts but that would explain why our NFL talent appeared to play so poorly at UT. Mack has the final say on who gets offered the limited scholarships. I don’t know why the above mentioned standout DBs chose other schools but I bet somebody else does.

Agree on lack of development of DB’s into a cohesive, effective unit. When you rank somewhere in the triple digits two years running in pass defense, I’m looking at the secondary coach for justification. Blame it on lack of pass rush or poor LBer play if you wish, but Akina should be the primary one to be held accountable (if we did that anymore, that is).

Scipio,

Outstanding post. I do not follow recruiting very closely outside of the offensive skill positions so I found your Akina-era recap particularly astonishing.

Regarding Drew Kelson, is there any objective explanation as to why one of the ‘05 defense’s brightest young stars completely vanished from our secondary, even prior to this year’s injury?

Also, I know the coachspeak re: Kelson has often centered on his “struggles in practice”. Considering our defense almost never practices in full pads, are we supposed to believe that he does a poor job of lifting his hands in the air after pursuing a ball carrier wearing a t-shirt and shorts??

What about Curtis Brown?

As if often noted, the entire staff needs to quit using Texas Football as their sole source of information on high school kids. No one who actually watched Marcus Griffin in high school would ever have suggested he could start for Sam Houston, much less Texas.

Marcus was a walk on so after watching him in high school, our staff didn’t think he could start at Texas either. He did some things after he got on the 40 acres that changed their mind. What that is, I have no idea.

Crown & Coke:
 
Apparently, Kelson doesn’t move that well laterally. I have so little trust for the acumen of some members of this staff that I wonder if that’s the case. It’s not like we set up safeties to thrive in the Akina abortion unless they’re Michael Huff supermen who can run 4.3, have incredible change of direction, and are fearless in run support. Hint: if only Superman can make your system work, your system fucking sucks.
 
Drew:
 
What about him?

I went to Texas. My daddy went to Texas. My daddy’s daddy went to Texas. Texas is better. Texas is “9-3 is rock bottom, 8-4 and you step down.” Mack could be stepping down next year.

One trait in a coach is that his team, unit, or the players he is directly responsible for become better. It doesn’t take years to see improvement. It might take time to get to where said coach wants his charges to be playing at, but improvement shows early returns.
     Aaron Ross won the Thorpe on the worst Texas secondary in terms of stats in history. That lasted of course one year, but that was like Paul Horning winning the Heisman.
     As Scipo pointed out Akina has failed at recruiting his position for years. Add to it his comments that none of the veteran LB’s had done anything to warrant benching some here want this idiot to return in any shape, form, or fashion?
     Lastly, his input into hiring McDuff is a solid reason to release him to bigger and better opportunities that we all hear he has each year. Just as we here about Greg Davis when we all know it simply is not true.
     Least we forget, what exactly does Bruce Chambers draw a paycheck for? This staff is littered with fat, lazy, overpaid coaches who simply are getting their asses handed to them on game days and in recruiting. The later is what Brown has to be superior in on the field to stand a chance of winning due to being such a poor game day coach.

Regarding recruiting of DBs, for years we were stacked in the secondary. Thus, making it difficult to attract 4&5 star guys and commit scholarships there.

13ev0:
 
Oh, that explains it.

Very interesting discussion that adds needed nuance to the the usual “hater” v. “pumper” shoutfest. It isn’t as simple as Coach X is an idiot or not. How is he at the identifiable aspects of his job?

Scipio’s categories (relating to players and basic skill-building, teaching cohesive schemes to a group, identifying and recruiting talent) might well apply to most other assistants on the staff as well, with modifications by position. By most accounts, for example, GD is better at relating to and developing QB’s (most of whom speak well of him also) than with scheming and play-calling for the larger group.

If that is so, then this may be another example of organizations taking their cues from the top. Have we assembled a staff of mini-Macks long on relating to players and developing basic individual position skills but lacking in strategic acumen and teaching group-level cohesiveness (not to mention accountability)?

Nauf Side!!

Tarell shoulda got dem boiz to come with him.

Holla!

hopeful:
 
That’s a really thoughtful post. I’d like to think about it a bit.

“Oh, that explains it.”

Looking at 2005, when we awarded 1 recruit a scholarship, it does. And do you really believe Yabouty comes to Texas to back up Huff, Griffins, Brown, Ross, Kelson (the #1 Safety recruit in 2004)?

I’m all for firing Akina during the 3rd Quarter of A&M even, but I think you’re stretching if you believe we haven’t recruited secondary in past years. You can’t jam pack each class with secondary players (Like we did last year). Recruiting hasn’t been the problem.

Scip,

Oh, and I missed your post saying we should allow OU to recruit Joseph, Henry & Bobby Tatum (I’m bluffing, I have no idea if you were the seer).

The handling (or, to be correct, mis-handling) of Drew Kelson is one of the worst job of coaching I’ve ever seen.

I will not be at all surprised if he pulls a Marcus Wilkins on us.

Coaches have said – literally – for 4 years that Kelson didn’t have the ‘hips’ to play DB for them.

I look at what we’ve fielded at times and unless the kid’s got a set of implanted titaniums and requires a walker he should have been out on the fucking field. Just a complete mystery.

Blaming lack of recruiting because player A or B was here is total BS. Florida, tOSU, USC, LSU, reload every year! WTF are we doing, recruiting 5-9 dbs and walk ons…Hell im not even sure it would make a difference, we rank 103 national against the pass, and made A&M look like Tech. Wake up, highway partrol dude needs to go and if Mack gets in the way can his candy ass too! What is Mack’s record vs our rivals anyway???
OU……..3-6
A&M…….7-3
Arkansas..2-2(?)* Im not sure on this one…
Anyway, our overal record before MB got here against these schools was much better than .500, Just embarrising we’ve accepted this BS to continue.
Who is McDuff? and what does he do?

Ya, I remember how poor his hips looked when he locked down reggie bush in ’05

This staff has cost Drew about 20 million dollars. Half of their paychecks ought to be sent to his home address.

Kelson’s hips also looked incredibly gay when he pummeled the ball loose from Justin Zwick to preserve the tOSU victory.

“Hint: if only Superman can make your system work, your system fucking sucks.”
ie. vince young – greg davis

Akina needs to move on.

I think Mack should hire Tim Nunez to take over in the secondary.

Akina’s greatest coaching feats were performed under Reese, teaching exclusively man coverage to NFL-type players Jammer and Vasher, and Babers (borderline NFL).

He had a good secondary with 3 1st rounders, 1 2nd rounder, and 1 5th rounder whose character dropped his draft stock. Of course, USC’s 1st-2nd rounders made them look like buffoons.

I hate the guy.