Gary Anderson USU parting ways

I know its not BYU news but seriously wtf is going on up in Logan. Their expectations can't be that high can they?



https://twitter.com/DanWolken/status/1325126398411829253?s=19

They are hugely disappointed. He came in after a 10-2 season and went 7-6 and then 0-3 so far.



Their fan board is clamoring for a Jay Hill hire. No word yet on the interim coach or an eventual replacement (of course--too soon).

Things could get ugly for USU...

So Assistant Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Frank Maile is the interim coach. USU announced they will run a national search for a replacement.



This is who KSL.com claims could be candidates:



Jay Hill - Head Coach, Weber State

Ties to Utah State: Played cornerback at Utah from 1998-99, coached college football in the state of Utah since 2001



Hugh Freeze - Head Coach, Liberty University

Ties to Utah State: None



Rich Rodriguez - Former Head Coach, Arizona

Ties to Utah State: None



Jeff Grimes - Offensive Coordinator, BYU

Ties to Utah State: Coached college football in the state of Utah for six seasons



Ed Lamb - Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator, BYU

Ties to Utah State: Played defensive end at BYU from 1994-96, coached college football in the state of Utah for 14 seasons



Robert Anae, Offensive Coordinator, Virginia

Ties to Utah State: play offensive line at BYU from 1981-84, coached college football in the state of Utah for 11 seasons



Morgan Scalley - Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach, Utah

Ties to Utah State: Played defensive back at Utah from 2001-04, coached college football in the state of Utah since 2007



Frank Maile - Interim Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator, Utah State

Ties to Utah State: Played defensive line at Utah State from 2004-07, coached at Utah State for 10 seasons



Rocky Long, Defensive Coordinator, New Mexico

Ties to Utah State: Born in Provo, Utah, served as head coach in Mountain West Conference for 20 seasons



Kelly Poppinga, Linebackers Coach, Virginia

Ties to Utah State: Played linebacker at Utah State from 2003-04 and at BYU from 2005-07, coached at BYU from 2009-15



Jim Harding, Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach, Utah

Ties to Utah State: Coached at Utah since 2014



David Yost, Offensive Coordinator, Texas Tech

Ties to Utah State: Served as Utah State’s Offensive Coordinator from 2017-18



The Athletic also reportedly mentions Aaron Roderick as a candidate but it is behind a paywall so I won't link it.

I'm not sure some of these are realistic. Rocky Long? He is 70 years old and left a HC job to be DC at New Mexico so he wouldn't have the grind of a head coaching job. Hugh Freeze? Just because?



The only ones on the list who actually have a tie to Utah State is Frank Maile, Kelly Poppinga, and David Yost. But is the USU job good enough to pull Poppinga or Yost out of their P5 schools?

Jay Hill makes the most sense. Up and comer who has done great things at Weber State and Weber State isn't playing right now so its an easy hire.

a1247 wrote:

Jay Hill makes the most sense. Up and comer who has done great things at Weber State and Weber State isn't playing right now so its an easy hire.

I would think he's the front runner.



I'm shocked they gave up this fast on Gary Anderson. The guy really climbed the ladder of fame and fell off the other side.

I think Gary has lost the fire. His coaching after leaving Utah State has been lackluster at best.

Utah State partly made the move to fire Gary Anderson because of BYU?


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Story is from the Deseret News: https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/11/9/21557211/why-utah-state-moved-on-from-gary-andersen-aggies-football

I'd be fine if they took Grimes.

snoscythe wrote:

I'd be fine if they took Grimes.

I wouldn't mind another year or two out of Grimes, but I don't see him staying longer than that at BYU.

Grimes has been good for our OL and he is growing as a OC. I want him as long as possible.

scott715 wrote:

Grimes has been good for our OL and he is growing as a OC. I want him as long as possible.

I agree on the OL, but I think the improvement in the offense has more to do with the ascension of Roderick than the growth of Grimes.

I love it how people believe that someone other than the Ocoordinator is responsible for the offenses success. Just like last year when the offense played well, Roderick was calling the plays, when the offense struggled, Grimes was calling the plays. Kind of like in 2010 when the offense was playing well, Doman was calling the plays and when the offense struggled Anae was calling the plays. I would be very disappointed if BYU lets Grimes go for any reason and not just because he is responsible for the best offensive line play (twice) BYU has had since Roger French retired, but he is turning into a very good play caller.

"I would not have come back here to BYU if I didn't love it here ... hopefully I'm here as long as they'll keep me."



@coachgrimey

on his long-term future at BYU.


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Nice quote until a HC offer comes along. Glad that he is happy here.

Now Jason Shelley is dismissed from the team for "violation of team rules".


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I hope Grimes is smart enough to stay away from Logan. That's a place where coaching careers go to die.

frdbtr wrote:

I love it how people believe that someone other than the Ocoordinator is responsible for the offenses success. Just like last year when the offense played well, Roderick was calling the plays, when the offense struggled, Grimes was calling the plays. Kind of like in 2010 when the offense was playing well, Doman was calling the plays and when the offense struggled Anae was calling the plays. I would be very disappointed if BYU lets Grimes go for any reason and not just because he is responsible for the best offensive line play (twice) BYU has had since Roger French retired, but he is turning into a very good play caller.

So, based on your comment, it appears you believe Grimes is putting together the whole playbook and calling all of the plays? Because that is not the case. Aaron Roderick took over play-calling responsibilities for a portion of last season. Kalani has given some, but not all of the play-calling responsibilities to Grimes this year, but Roderick is the passing game coordinator and is responsible for the design of our passing plays. Grimes as OC chooses to call a running-play or passing-play, but when he chooses a passing play, Roderick is picking the specific play, not Grimes.



Based on their tenure at BYU, if forced to allocate credit for the suddenly explosive offense, I would give more credit to the guy who was given added responsibilities between 2019 and 2020, not to the guy who has lost responsibilities between the two seasons.

snoscythe wrote:

I love it how people believe that someone other than the Ocoordinator is responsible for the offenses success. Just like last year when the offense played well, Roderick was calling the plays, when the offense struggled, Grimes was calling the plays. Kind of like in 2010 when the offense was playing well, Doman was calling the plays and when the offense struggled Anae was calling the plays. I would be very disappointed if BYU lets Grimes go for any reason and not just because he is responsible for the best offensive line play (twice) BYU has had since Roger French retired, but he is turning into a very good play caller.

So, based on your comment, it appears you believe Grimes is putting together the whole playbook and calling all of the plays? Because that is not the case. Aaron Roderick took over play-calling responsibilities for a portion of last season. Kalani has given some, but not all of the play-calling responsibilities to Grimes this year, but Roderick is the passing game coordinator and is responsible for the design of our passing plays. Grimes as OC chooses to call a running-play or passing-play, but when he chooses a passing play, Roderick is picking the specific play, not Grimes.



Based on their tenure at BYU, if forced to allocate credit for the suddenly explosive offense, I would give more credit to the guy who was given added responsibilities between 2019 and 2020, not to the guy who has lost responsibilities between the two seasons.

Nope, don't put words in my mouth. You can give credit to whomever you feel like. I am talking about conspiracy theories that have no basis in fact, like when everyone thought Doman was calling plays when the offense was successful in 2010. I listen to the coaches shows. I know who the passing game coordinator is, Grimes even tells the media who suggested specific plays like the onside kick he credited to Ed Lamb. Grimes also admits that the playbook was put together by all the offensive coaches when he first arrived. You in your statement said that if Grimes left, the offense wouldn't miss a beat because Roderick is calling the plays anyway, which is not the case. Grimes calls the plays, Roderick gives his input from the booth just like every other offense in the US. If Grimes left for a head coaching job, I believe our offense would suffer from an Oline perspective, but I believe it would also suffer in overall play calling since Grimes has learned how to be a very good play caller. Have you forgotten that Roderick was fired as the Ocoordinator up at the U because he sucked at play calling? Probably.