Rumored Staff Changes?

My phone charger broke so I was without phone access all yesterday, so I dont know if this was discussed on the board yet, but the rumors before the game (as we were hiding from the torrential downpour) was that leading up to the game Kalani made 3 impactful changes after Toledo and USF losses, all of which seem to have come true.



1) Kalani was taking over the defense.

2) Grimes was going to be responsible for the offensive line only, and playcalling was to be assigned to someone else (supposedly Arod)

3) The defense was going back to a 4-3 base.



Multiple evidences supported this as the game played out.

1) The defense played aggressive. They played man on the corners (with bump coverage throughout the night) and blitzed most of the night. They played with urgency and though they weren't perfect (missed a lot of tackles, dropped a few INTs that were gimmes, got stuffed on blitzes, etc) they played with a hunger I haven't seen since for a few weeks.

2) This was not a Grimes called or lead offense. Grimes was on the field, not in the booth, and Grimes' offense is much different than the one we saw last night. This was a fast paced, one-cut, quick throw offense. Grimes playcalls tend to be a little more "cute" and esoteric. This was functional. The Boise D was overcommiting, so we exploited it with cutbacks all night. It was fantastic.

3) That happened.



I'll have more I'm sure, but I liked what I saw. Boise is overrated (I think they are a top 30 team, but not a top 15 team). That was a huge win. Good job boys!

I watched the last half of the 3rd quarter and the 4th only.



I was surprised to see Grimes on the sidelines.

I heard Kalani talking about Grimes being on the field but it had nothing to do with him not calling plays.

a1247 wrote:

I heard Kalani talking about Grimes being on the field but it had nothing to do with him not calling plays.

What was the given reason?

Brayden Green wrote:

My phone charger broke so I was without phone access all yesterday, so I dont know if this was discussed on the board yet, but the rumors before the game (as we were hiding from the torrential downpour) was that leading up to the game Kalani made 3 impactful changes after Toledo and USF losses, all of which seem to have come true.



1) Kalani was taking over the defense.

2) Grimes was going to be responsible for the offensive line only, and playcalling was to be assigned to someone else (supposedly Arod)

3) The defense was going back to a 4-3 base.

Kalani Sitaki thus far hasn't noted any changes in assignment specifically, but it does seem like that is what happened. I would give him credit for not being foolish enough to keep going down the same road when it wasn't working no matter who changed up the offense/defense. Jay Drew will fetter out what happened.

mtnradio wrote:

I heard Kalani talking about Grimes being on the field but it had nothing to do with him not calling plays.

What was the given reason?

I didnt pay close enough attention to what was being said. I do recall him saying something about it being easier to communicate face to face with the QB instead of over the phone.

Anae called plays from the sidelines, he felt it gave him a better opportunity to interact with the players and correct issues that were going on. I'm not sure if Grimes was calling plays or not, I could see either way. The defense was clearly very different, different scheme, different play calls, different level of aggression - until the 4th quarter, at which time they reverted to the drop 8 into soft zone and rush 3 and quickly nearly gave up the game.



I did hear one of the players said that this last week was the first time they have had actual physical, hard practices all year. And I think that had a huge affect on the team.

This sounds a lot like back in 2010 when everyone was claiming that Doman was calling the plays when the offense looked good and that Anae was calling the plays when the offense looked bad. I don't buy it.

frdbtr wrote:

This sounds a lot like back in 2010 when everyone was claiming that Doman was calling the plays when the offense looked good and that Anae was calling the plays when the offense looked bad. I don't buy it.

It looked to me that Tuiaki was calling the plays when they showed him on TV. We all might want to believe Kalani made a change but I think that's all just wishful thinking.

a1247 wrote:

This sounds a lot like back in 2010 when everyone was claiming that Doman was calling the plays when the offense looked good and that Anae was calling the plays when the offense looked bad. I don't buy it.

It looked to me that Tuiaki was calling the plays when they showed him on TV. We all might want to believe Kalani made a change but I think that's all just wishful thinking.

There were 3 people signaling defensive plays in from the sidelines, Kalani, Tuiaki, and Gray? Kalani said there was a more collaborative approach.

hawkwing wrote:

Anae called plays from the sidelines, he felt it gave him a better opportunity to interact with the players and correct issues that were going on. I'm not sure if Grimes was calling plays or not, I could see either way. The defense was clearly very different, different scheme, different play calls, different level of aggression - until the 4th quarter, at which time they reverted to the drop 8 into soft zone and rush 3 and quickly nearly gave up the game.



I did hear one of the players said that this last week was the first time they have had actual physical, hard practices all year. And I think that had a huge affect on the team.

And all of the trick plays were brought in this week too.



I think that - if not entirely - Arod and Kalani are having huge input to the playcalling and overall design.



I like it. I like it a lot.

I wouldn't necessarily chalk up the trick plays and aggressiveness to Arod. Grimes used to work for Les Miles, and some of that stuff looked like textbook Les Miles. The TD pass on 4th and 1 is as Mad Hattery as you can get! I mean, no, we didn't fake a field goal, but....maybe we should have? :)



Here's some examples of Les Miles' playcalling, and some of them are very similar to what we just saw:



https://bleacherreport.com/articles/511592-lsu-football-les-miles-10-most-gutsy-play-calls

redneckjedi wrote:

I wouldn't necessarily chalk up the trick plays and aggressiveness to Arod. Grimes used to work for Les Miles, and some of that stuff looked like textbook Les Miles. The TD pass on 4th and 1 is as Mad Hattery as you can get! I mean, no, we didn't fake a field goal, but....maybe we should have? :)



Here's some examples of Les Miles' playcalling, and some of them are very similar to what we just saw:



https://bleacherreport.com/articles/511592-lsu-football-les-miles-10-most-gutsy-play-calls

If A-Rod was making play calls, which I believe he was in the second half, he would have been calling the plays from Grimes' playbook, so the similarity to Miles' plays wouldn't really tell us anything. A-Rod was calling plays from the playbook, not creating new plays on the fly.

Yeah, not saying there are different playbooks or plays. I'm talking about the aggressive decisions that fly in the face of conventional, conservative wisdom, like throwing on 4th and 1 or a double reverse flea flicker out of nowhere.