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Shaw was an offensive guy. And Stanford is at great risk of losing both coordinators to head coaching jobs.

There's a fired defensive-minded head coach other there somewhere that will fit well at SC. Or go back to the NFL... I bet Rex Ryan will be looking soon...

I was just joking about Shaw, but I sure wouldn't mind having him as a new HC (or OC). But it looks as tho Haden has given Kiff Jr his support for now, and I'm thinking he gets to ride out the recruiting restriction wave; at which point his performance may be revisited.

But if I could get a Christmas wish list for new SC HC's, high on that list would be Gary Patterson and Mike Gundy. Don't know if you could pry them loose from TCU and Okie St but I like 'em.

With Patterson it's all about Defense; with Gundy he has a high powered O that would fit well in the PAC. Maybe Troy could get them as co-Head Coaches, GP could double as the DC and Gundy as the OC. Wow, I like it!

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 02:10 PM ET  11.30 by GrandTheftHarley

El Paso Times now floating the idea that USC may be invited to the Sun Bowl. Your thoughts?

Lose that and more than a DC will be needed in Tojanland.

Latest spin has Monte buggin' out for an NFL gig.

QUOTE(#5):

Originally posted 02:36 PM ET  11.30 by Tin Man

Latest spin has Monte buggin' out for an NFL gig.

Isn't Monte like 72 years old? Maybe he's really retiring.

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 02:55 PM ET  11.30 by Orac

Isn't Monte like 72 years old? Maybe he's really retiring.

I heard he was headed to the NFL also. Not sure why though, at his age. With the Tampa-2 his legacy as a DC is secure, and I sure hope he doesn't actually need the money.

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 02:10 PM ET  11.30 by GrandTheftHarley

El Paso Times now floating the idea that USC may be invited to the Sun Bowl. Your thoughts?

Not sure of the pecking order, but as the PAC's #5, the Sun Bowl sounds about right.

QUOTE(#4):

Originally posted 02:28 PM ET  11.30 by Armpit

Lose that and more than a DC will be needed in Tojanland.

USC has a penchant for letting down in lesser bowl games. They do have room for improvement.... In FBS they're only second in penalties and fifth in turnovers.

QUOTE(#5):

Originally posted 02:36 PM ET  11.30 by Tin Man

Latest spin has Monte buggin' out for an NFL gig.

Not sure what his problem was, but some guys just have trouble communicating with teenagers. Maybe Monte longs to talk football with other professionals.

In all honesty, I don't think Monte helped USC's defense much during his tenure. Certainly not as much as I assumed he would, given his reputation.

The defense took a decided step backward when Nick Holt left after '08, and Monte's defenses weren't even as good as Seto's.

I think the best I can say in Monte's defense is that he managed incremental year over year improvements from the disastrous '10 defense he inherited.

year - DC - average points per game allowed
2012 - Monte - 21.3
2011 - Monte - 23.6
2010 - Ogre - 26.7
2009 - Seto - 19.8
2008 - Holt - 9.0
2007 - Holt - 16.0
2006 - Holt - 15.2

By way of comparison, here is what Kelley and his DC (Bob diaco) accomplished over the past two seasons at Notre Dame:
year - DC - average points per game allowed
2012 - Diaco - 10.3
2011 - Diaco - 20.7

Going further, I think Monte's whole strategy was flawed. He tried to build a defense to stop Oregon (a reasonable goal), but his approach was to favor speed over size. The idea being that fast LBs could keep up with guys like De'Anthony Thomas once they got loose in the secondary. Hold him to a 5 yard gain instead of a 25 yard gain.

Stanford showed that a much better approach is to not let the Ducks get loose in the first place: control the line of scrimmage and stop the runner at the point of attack.

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 02:10 PM ET  11.30 by GrandTheftHarley

El Paso Times now floating the idea that USC may be invited to the Sun Bowl. Your thoughts?

Sun Bowl is cool, New Years Eve vs ACC; not a conference you see them play often.

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 02:55 PM ET  11.30 by Orac

Isn't Monte like 72 years old? Maybe he's really retiring.

What I read said he was headed back to the NFL, but I don't remember if it was a quote or where it came from.

QUOTE(#9):

Originally posted 06:43 PM ET  11.30 by Tribute to Troy

USC has a penchant for letting down in lesser bowl games. They do have room for improvement.... In FBS they're only second in penalties and fifth in turnovers.

They won their last bowl game, and it was a minor bowl (2009 Emerald bowl beat BC 24-13). Haven't lost but one bowl game since 2002, but it was a doozy.

But I know what you mean, pre Pete C it seems like they went, and lost, the Holiday bowl almost every year.

QUOTE(#12):

Originally posted 07:37 PM ET  11.30 by UB bulls

Going further, I think Monte's whole strategy was flawed. He tried to build a defense to stop Oregon (a reasonable goal), but his approach was to favor speed over size. The idea being that fast LBs could keep up with guys like De'Anthony Thomas once they got loose in the secondary. Hold him to a 5 yard gain instead of a 25 yard gain.Stanford showed that a much better approach is to not let the Ducks get loose in the first place: control the line of scrimmage and stop the runner at the point of attack.

I agree with all you said, but it did seem like the D was playing better towards the end of last year. Also, the philosophy against O seemed to work last year for 3 qtrs, till they wore down.

There was the extenuating circumstance of depth issues during his time at Troy, and the lack of tackling in practice was real evident in games. Stanford also showed that to beat O you have to tackle well in space. Hell, this year Troy couldn't even tackle in a crowd.