The Heaps-Doman Communication Breakdown

I'm sorry to bring this up. I know that, since it appeared in the Harmon article, it got discussed a fair amount, but that thread ended up focusing on the bizarre "a member of Nelson's family, oops, I mean a teammate's family, oops, I mean a member of Nelson's non-immediate family" story.



According to Harmon, Heaps and Doman "barely exchanged words" after the third game of the season. If true (big if), I find this really troubling. Here's why.



- Heaps remained the starter for the following two games. If we assume he communicated regularly with Doman during the first three games, we might finally have a plausible explanation for his in-season regression. Make no mistake, he was a subpar QB in those first three games (PERs of 116.33, 98.51, 107.84), but was mind-shatteringly abysmal in those last two (74.04 and 79.95).



- On top of that, failing to communicate with your starting QB is just plain irresponsible for an offensive coordinator, especially if you are also the QB coach. As I said earlier, I can imagine a scenario where Doman just had too much on his plate and was spending more time with the o-line, RBs, and receiving corps, or maybe he was redesigning the playbook. I don't know. But it makes no sense that Doman, who has a professional obligation to ensure BYU wins football games, would cease communication with the single-most important member of this offense.



I guess my questions would be -



- Did this really occur, and if so, to what degree was Doman "hardly speaking" to Heaps?



- What was the impetus behind the breakdown? Did Heaps stop talking to Doman out of protest? Did Doman childishly stop talking to Heaps out of protest? (I support Doman, but if this was the case I'm not sure I want that kind of guy on our coaching staff.) Was Doman just busy? Was Heaps announcing his intention to transfer as early as Utah?



- Even as a Team Riley guy, I start finding myself thinking in a conspiratorial manner - did Doman want Nelson as his QB after Utah? Was Doman TRYING to make Heaps fail? Is that why Doman was so enthusiastic to give Nelson the starting job after USU? I don't believe any of that, but frankly, I'm having a hard time making sense of anything in this story.



During the realignment talks, somebody pointed out that the nice thing about trashing BYU in the press is that you know that BYU is rarely going to step up and offer their side of the story. I wish they would here. Harmon's article basically accused the BYU coaching staff of major neglect. I'm stuck between the gut reactions of "I can't believe a grown adult, much less a BYU coach, would do that to his own team," and "I generally trust Dick Harmon."

I find that Harmon article shockingly one sided coming from a guy that is obviously BYU blue(harmon). It is almost like he went to Heaps family and got all his info from them and then went to press. Especially since we immediately found major discrepencies in his accusations towards Nelson's family.



Edit: Doman is a pretty forthcoming guy. I would bet if a member of the media put a microphone in his face and asked a direct question, you would get a direct answer and I would guess it would shed a bunch of light on this question.

If the article is to be believed, this hardly speaking occurred when Doman went up into the booth.



Could that mean that whatever source was feeding Harmon the nonsense about Riley Nelson's family (who ended up not even being at the game) booing Brooke, is also the source for this and they are just blowing out of proportion the fact that Doman went up to the booth when Heaps wanted him on the sideline with him?

I sent an email to Dick Harmon about this, mentioning how it wasn't fair that Riley's family was dragged into this based on just hearsay, and that they were at the high school game in Logan. Amazingly, he responded to my email in less than an hour, which is pretty impressive for a journalist, normally when I write to columnists I don't get a response.



Anyway, Dicks' comments:



"Hypercoug, thanks for your feedback.

Fact is, members of the Nelson family were at the BYU game, identified by people sitting around them. If Keith Nelson, the father, had been at the game, instead of Logan, he is a classy man and would have been stunned and stopped what happened. This situation was witnessed by many in the stands. It was awkward, inappropriate, personal and insulting. Reporting this incident is not based on hearsay, as you insinuated. This anecdote is representative of the fabric of the Heaps situation at BYU and editors at our paper believed it fit in context.

Sincerely,

Dick Harmon"

I doubt the communication went cold. What I could see happening is the abrupt end to the buddy-buddy stuff and pal-ing around during breakout sessions and practices.



I know, based on conversations with a former teammate and close friend of Doman's, that as recently as late August Doman was 100% Jake Heaps biggest cheerleader and supporter. The teammate essentially said he was a Nelson guy until he talked to Doman, and Doman's enthusiasm for Heaps converted him to Heaps. That's how high Doman was on Heaps.

I can settle this for all of you. Its a much easier way to see the world when anyone deigns such complexities for simple minded folk who think the world is either blue or white.

Its all Jakes fault!!! He's a quitter--that proves everything! He sees the world, along with his family in a very skewed, Jake-centric way (which actually probably is very true.)

How could Riley or his family ever do anything remotely questionable???? It just simply could not happen to our chosen hero.

I told this forum that Jake was the suckiest suck that ever sucked. you just never wanted to believe it.

dmcougar wrote:
I can settle this for all of you. Its a much easier way to see the world when anyone deigns such complexities for simple minded folk who think the world is either blue or white.

Its all Jakes fault!!! He's a quitter--that proves everything! He sees the world, along with his family in a very skewed, Jake-centric way (which actually probably is very true.)

How could Riley or his family ever do anything remotely questionable???? It just simply could not happen to our chosen hero.

I told this forum that Jake was the suckiest suck that ever sucked. you just never wanted to believe it.

Wow your negative. :bug:

dmcougar wrote:
I can settle this for all of you. Its a much easier way to see the world when anyone deigns such complexities for simple minded folk who think the world is either blue or white.

Its all Jakes fault!!! He's a quitter--that proves everything! He sees the world, along with his family in a very skewed, Jake-centric way (which actually probably is very true.)

How could Riley or his family ever do anything remotely questionable???? It just simply could not happen to our chosen hero.

I told this forum that Jake was the suckiest suck that ever sucked. you just never wanted to believe it.

With all due respect, dmcougar, I've rarely seen a bigger rift between between accusation and actual behavior. Nobody's pushing the conversation into "Heaps = quitter?" territory more than you are.



I'm a pro-Riley guy, and the whole purpose of this thread is that Harmon's article contained a detail that, if true, makes me believe that Jake DEFINITELY got the shaft on at least one level. I think most of us are capable of opinions more nuanced than "I LUV NELSON, OMG HEAPS SUX."

hypercoug wrote:
I sent an email to Dick Harmon about this, mentioning how it wasn't fair that Riley's family was dragged into this based on just hearsay, and that they were at the high school game in Logan. Amazingly, he responded to my email in less than an hour, which is pretty impressive for a journalist, normally when I write to columnists I don't get a response.



Anyway, Dicks' comments:



"Hypercoug, thanks for your feedback.

Fact is, members of the Nelson family were at the BYU game, identified by people sitting around them. If Keith Nelson, the father, had been at the game, instead of Logan, he is a classy man and would have been stunned and stopped what happened. This situation was witnessed by many in the stands. It was awkward, inappropriate, personal and insulting. Reporting this incident is not based on hearsay, as you insinuated. This anecdote is representative of the fabric of the Heaps situation at BYU and editors at our paper believed it fit in context.

Sincerely,

Dick Harmon"

One thing I like about Harmon is he is a stand up guy. It doesn't surprise me that he would answer you, quickly and honestly.

Cougarclaw theory:



There's a vicious rumor that Heaps knew he was transferring for months but out of respect for the coaches and team he kept it to himself until an appropriate time to reveal it. Kudos for trying to be sensitive to the team who has done a lot for Heaps. I also read on rumorboard that one player said he knew heaps was transferring for four weeks now. if a player knew, It's probably not a stretch to say the coaches knew earlier. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the coaches knew mid-way through the season that Heaps was gone. How about they knew right around the time that Doman stopped speaking to Heaps. Doman was Heaps' biggest cheerleader, mentor and #1 reason for coming to BYU. And now we hear they aren't speaking? Something big happened. Remember that Heaps was asked directly a few weeks ago about transferring and didn't deny it. Sort of said "not the time for that now"



Again, not a stretch for Doman to feel like Heaps didn't give him enough time and to feel betrayed and frustrated by a premature evaluation of his abilities. I can imagine Doman being furious at Heaps' lack of patience with his own OC struggles and giving up before Doman started to figure it out. Heaps had already turned Doman down, so Doman might have been done with him.



I can also imagine Bronco being the one who doesn't take Heaps leaving personally and says we're going to make leaving the best experience you ever had. I'll talk you up, grant your transfer since this is a life decision you're making and I'm all about helping folks develop. And that includes giving him starts over James Lark.



I suspect Heaps leaving hurt Doman professionally and personally and that they both knew it for months. it also explains the "weight" on heaps shoulders per his most recent transfer comments.

frdbtr wrote:

I sent an email to Dick Harmon about this, mentioning how it wasn't fair that Riley's family was dragged into this based on just hearsay, and that they were at the high school game in Logan. Amazingly, he responded to my email in less than an hour, which is pretty impressive for a journalist, normally when I write to columnists I don't get a response.



Anyway, Dicks' comments:



"Hypercoug, thanks for your feedback.

Fact is, members of the Nelson family were at the BYU game, identified by people sitting around them. If Keith Nelson, the father, had been at the game, instead of Logan, he is a classy man and would have been stunned and stopped what happened. This situation was witnessed by many in the stands. It was awkward, inappropriate, personal and insulting. Reporting this incident is not based on hearsay, as you insinuated. This anecdote is representative of the fabric of the Heaps situation at BYU and editors at our paper believed it fit in context.

Sincerely,

Dick Harmon"

One thing I like about Harmon is he is a stand up guy. It doesn't surprise me that he would answer you, quickly and honestly.

I'm glad he did, too, and I'll take it at face value. The story's kind of a non-starter, for me. Yeah, it's awful behavior on Nelson's family, but I've always sort of assumed that athletes, their families and their spouses have to deal with heckling all the time. It's a shame that it happened in a home game, though, but it would bother me if Heaps and his family took a non-parental, possibly-underaged member of Riley's family to be the spokesperson of what BYU thought of them. Besides, I'm sure Heaps has had more accolades heaped on him in the last five years than most of us have had in our whole lives. Criticism, even the tasteless type, helps build resolve and character when it comes from people you shouldn't care less about.



Has anyone considered the angle that the family was Aggie fans? Totally within the realm of possibility. Nelson's family swings more that way. (mostly TIC)

No one will ever hear the true story. Each side will be very careful and calculating when it comes to this situation. There are some problems here, and both sides are to blame. I wish Jake only success, as it will also bring light to the church, and hope he can become the player that he wants to be.

CougarClaw wrote:
Cougarclaw theory:



There's a vicious rumor that Heaps knew he was transferring for months but out of respect for the coaches and team he kept it to himself until an appropriate time to reveal it. Kudos for trying to be sensitive to the team who has done a lot for Heaps. I also read on rumorboard that one player said he knew heaps was transferring for four weeks now. if a player knew, It's probably not a stretch to say the coaches knew earlier. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the coaches knew mid-way through the season that Heaps was gone. How about they knew right around the time that Doman stopped speaking to Heaps. Doman was Heaps' biggest cheerleader, mentor and #1 reason for coming to BYU. And now we hear they aren't speaking? Something big happened. Remember that Heaps was asked directly a few weeks ago about transferring and didn't deny it. Sort of said "not the time for that now"



Again, not a stretch for Doman to feel like Heaps didn't give him enough time and to feel betrayed and frustrated by a premature evaluation of his abilities. I can imagine Doman being furious at Heaps' lack of patience with his own OC struggles and giving up before Doman started to figure it out. Heaps had already turned Doman down, so Doman might have been done with him.



I can also imagine Bronco being the one who doesn't take Heaps leaving personally and says we're going to make leaving the best experience you ever had. I'll talk you up, grant your transfer since this is a life decision you're making and I'm all about helping folks develop. And that includes giving him starts over James Lark.



I suspect Heaps leaving hurt Doman professionally and personally and that they both knew it for months. it also explains the "weight" on heaps shoulders per his most recent transfer comments.

I was claiming Jake would transfer right after he got pulled in the USU game. Maybe we didn't know it, but we all knew it.



If that crap went down like Harmon indicated, I could see how that could play significantly in an already explosive situation. Let's see my OC likes athletic QB's and I'm not, I get my butt benched against USU AND my wife gets piled on...yeah, I'm outta here.

Maybe someone can answer this for me. I don't understand why, knowing that he was going to transfer, would Heaps be given reps and back-up duty in lieu of Lark to the degree that he was. I can understand letting him start against NMSU and play immediate back up against Idaho as Lark doesn't have a lot of game-time experience, but if he was really gone, Lark ought to have been given the majority of the back-up reps, such as against Hawaii. Classy to let Heaps remain part of the team and get minutes and all that, but hopefully it won't have slowed Lark's progress.



And I agree with mgdhunter. Ultimately it would be great to see Heaps succeed in college and the NFL. Always great to have a good LDS kid in the public eye, much like Collie was before getting hurt with Indianapolis.

Maybe someone can answer this for me. I don't understand why, knowing that he was going to transfer, would Heaps be given reps and back-up duty in lieu of Lark to the degree that he was. I can understand letting him start against NMSU and play immediate back up against Idaho as Lark doesn't have a lot of game-time experience, but if he was really gone, Lark ought to have been given the majority of the back-up reps, such as against Hawaii. Classy to let Heaps remain part of the team and get minutes and all that, but hopefully it won't have slowed Lark's progress.

Maybe Doman and Mendenhall were trying to convince Heaps to stay. Maybe they thought if they still gave him live reps and he had success that it would help him build rapport with his teammates and convince him to stick around. I truly believe that Doman and Mendenhall wanted Jake to stay, to succeed, and to reach his full potential.

NebraskaCoug wrote:

Maybe someone can answer this for me. I don't understand why, knowing that he was going to transfer, would Heaps be given reps and back-up duty in lieu of Lark to the degree that he was. I can understand letting him start against NMSU and play immediate back up against Idaho as Lark doesn't have a lot of game-time experience, but if he was really gone, Lark ought to have been given the majority of the back-up reps, such as against Hawaii. Classy to let Heaps remain part of the team and get minutes and all that, but hopefully it won't have slowed Lark's progress.

Maybe Doman and Mendenhall were trying to convince Heaps to stay. Maybe they thought if they still gave him live reps and he had success that it would help him build rapport with his teammates and convince him to stick around. I truly believe that Doman and Mendenhall wanted Jake to stay, to succeed, and to reach his full potential.

This. And also the coaches likely believed the Nelson>Heaps>Lark. Playing Heaps give the team a better chance to win.

First of all, it was an immediate member of RIley's family. Not his parents. It happened. It lacked class. But it can not be blamed on RIley, unless he helped foster that attitude in the family member, which we will never know. Regardless, it was bush league. Women and sports don't mix sometimes, I guess. Too emotional.



Next, the main reason Jake is transferring and that he and Doman barely spoke is because there was a major falling out (read:Argument) between player and coach. Yelling, etc. It had to do with scheme. This is not Doman's first rodeo with QB issues and player fights (Bower). He is a competitor and a fiery guy. I love that about him too. But, he might have been a bit sensitive to a QB making some suggestions. Things happened, and here we are. Jake was not feeling it from his coaches at BYU, and wanted to start over. Sitting was clearly not the main issue, because he is sitting next year somewhere else.



Doman is going through a major learning curve this year. On play calling and scheme, and on handling players. Being an OC/QB coach is tougher than just being a QB coach. Takes more time, and QBs get less hands on due to your job. Fact is, he stunk at his job early in the year. His offense stalled, his QB struggled, his Oline was garbage, and he got little results from his RBs. BYU was bad on offense. Until we changed things up at QB and scheme.

Lawboy,



If Doman and Heaps had issues, where did it show up on field and when? Why not same situation with Riley? They are both competitors, fiery, and prone to speak their mind in heat of battle. Are you suggesting Heaps was less teachable, more opinionated, thin skinned, etc. Than Riley? Furthermore, are you also insinuating a dedicated QB coach instead of dual duties for Doman going forward?



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byucougar1 wrote:



If Doman and Heaps had issues, where did it show up on field and when? Why not same situation with Riley? They are both competitors, fiery, and prone to speak their mind in heat of battle. Are you suggesting Heaps was less teachable, more opinionated, thin skinned, etc. Than Riley? Furthermore, are you also insinuating a dedicated QB coach instead of dual duties for Doman going forward?

I think things started to sour after Utah, but got the worst of it was after UCF. Then USU happened, and here we are.



I am not assigning blame. Heaps and Doman were tight, and then some things happened.



As to the QB Coach, I think BYU is a school that could benefit from it, yes. Mainly for the back-up QBs, who get little to no focus from the staff, but also because we demand so much from a BYU QB. They need more mentoring.

Lawboy wrote:
First of all, it was an immediate member of RIley's family. Not his parents. It happened. It lacked class. But it can not be blamed on RIley, unless he helped foster that attitude in the family member, which we will never know. Regardless, it was bush league. Women and sports don't mix sometimes, I guess. Too emotional.



Next, the main reason Jake is transferring and that he and Doman barely spoke is because there was a major falling out (read:Argument) between player and coach. Yelling, etc. It had to do with scheme. This is not Doman's first rodeo with QB issues and player fights (Bower). He is a competitor and a fiery guy. I love that about him too. But, he might have been a bit sensitive to a QB making some suggestions. Things happened, and here we are. Jake was not feeling it from his coaches at BYU, and wanted to start over. Sitting was clearly not the main issue, because he is sitting next year somewhere else.



Doman is going through a major learning curve this year. On play calling and scheme, and on handling players. Being an OC/QB coach is tougher than just being a QB coach. Takes more time, and QBs get less hands on due to your job. Fact is, he stunk at his job early in the year. His offense stalled, his QB struggled, his Oline was garbage, and he got little results from his RBs. BYU was bad on offense. Until we changed things up at QB and scheme.

If what you say is true, Heaps is more thin skinned then I thought. He is transferring because his coach yelled at him? Come on, if he thinks it is going to get easier somewhere else he should have another think coming. Coaches yell at players all the time, most of them do it with a lot of profanity. I am hoping that Doman wouldn't do that but I am not naive either. You get over it and try harder. No matter what Doman was calling early in the year it didn't work with Heaps. The offense didn't start working until Nelson started playing and it wasn't because Doman finally started calling the right plays all the time (though that surely helped). Nelson was executing what was called at a higher level and it worked.