Tuiaki needs to be replaced.

Tuiaki has lost us more games over the years then any other factor since Kalani was hired. His defenses don't know how to get off the field on 3rd down and if they do get the stop on 3rd down, they usually give up so many yards on 3rd that the 4th down conversion is inevitable. I am convinced that BYU would be undefeated today if it weren't for the defense. I know that Hall didn't play a lights out game against Boise State and that we had 3 really bad fumbles but every one of the scoring drives that BSU got in that loss were long time eating drives that had multiple 3rd and longs (with the exception of the fumble drives). Same story against USF and USU which kept both of those teams in a game BYU should have blown out. Against Baylor, they had 2 3 and out's all game the only other stops were on the 4th down right before half and the interception in the end zone which was a long time consuming drive. If you look at Baylors other drive charts, they kept the ball away from BYU for long time consuming drives that ended up being TD's. If we had a defense that could give the ball back to our offense on a consistent basis, we win the last 2 games, even with the 3 turnovers in the BSU game, I'm convinced of it.

If we had a defense that could get off the field and give themselves a break it would be nice. defensive Guys must be gassed by the end of the game.

I think most BYU fans, at least those who follow things closely enough and have seen enough games, would agree Tuiaki needs to go. He may occasionally have a good game here or there but, overall, he just doesn't cut it. And he definitely won't once we go to the Big 12. The question is, how long does Sitake allow personal loyalties to procrastinate doing it?



But it's more than that. People have made a good point that BYU, especially when it does go to the Big 12, needs to get deeper. Our #1s can hold up against most teams but, if they go down, it's a big drop off. And with a tough schedule, you will see diminishing returns throughout the season.



Lastly, the coaches need to get better at game time adjustments. This is something I've been saying since the Bronco years. It's one of the most valuable abilities a coaching staff can have.

Sitaki and Tuiaki are best friends. If he was not replaced the year Detmer was fired, it ain't gonna happen now.

I honestly believe that the talent level is pretty even between BYU and Bailor so it was the coaching that won/lost this game. Tuiaki was bad, but we also just found out that Grimes > Arod. Maybe we should give Grimes more credit for our previous offenses than most of us did.

We lost this game not because we were out coached but because Baylor won both sides of the line of scrimmage. Coaches adjusted to stop the run. It didn’t help. Coaches tried to run the ball. It didn’t help. Coaches tried to pressure the QB. It didn’t help. Our linemen lost the battle on both sides. If you want Tuiaki fired you should also want Rodderick fired because our offense could sustain no drives, letting the D have a rest. 17 points and one TD in garbage time is not going to do it either. Baylor was the better team. P. S. I’m a broken record but we really really miss Pili.

So how badly do you want Tuiaki replaced? What if it means Sitake has to go to?



I'm not saying I want Sitake gone, I'm just curious as to how badly some people Tuiaki gone.

I think Tuiaki is working with what he's got, but the product on the field isn't getting it done. It's fine when you're playing USU or USF to get a lead and then hold on, but good teams do just what BSU and Baylor did, score, and get BYU's offense off the field (and create turnovers).



tuiaki got to change something. A loss this week would be a bit concerning.

My thinking is that this game exposed how much we miss three people: Jeff Grimes, Eric Mateos, and Khyris Tonga.



Grimes and Mateos had our O-line running like a machine last year, no matter who was in. We've been pretty good so far this season, but when we're down two starters like against Baylor, we have zero run game and a whole bunch of sacks and pressure, including that critical strip sack. This may be my own personal folly, but if I were Tom Holmoe I would have paid those men whatever it took to get them to stay.



When you have a monster like Khyris Tonga clogging up the line, eating 2-3 blocks per play, and still making tackles, getting sacks, applying QB pressure, and blowing up rushing lanes, you can play max coverage and not get destroyed in the run game. I feel like 2nd-half ASU and 2nd-half USF figured this out, but either 1) shot themselves in the foot or 2) didn't have enough time to finish the comeback using the rush. Boise I think knew what they were doing from the beginning - 29 pass to 45 rush - but we've got enough of a talent edge that it didn't show until the turnovers happened. Baylor was more of the same - 28 pass to 47 rush - but they're a better team with a better line (and line coaches!) and really made us pay for trying the bend-don't-break and poor tackling/angles.



I'm not sure if Tuiaki needs to go or not. The Utah game showed he can put together a beautiful game plan, but I do question whether he can adapt once it's clear the opponent has identified a weakness. I remember games where Bronco was forced to play with 2 d-lineman, and went full Sun Tsu with alignments I've never seen before to turn things back to his advantage. I miss that. There were very few games where I felt like Bronco wouldn't come up with an answer on defense.



There's the argument that the offense needs to help give the defense a rest, and that's true, but the defense can give itself a rest with a 3-and-out, too. Might have to take some risks to get it, but that might be the momentum shift you need to win the game.

redneckjedi wrote:
I'm not sure if Tuiaki needs to go or not. The Utah game showed he can put together a beautiful game plan, but I do question whether he can adapt once it's clear the opponent has identified a weakness. I remember games where Bronco was forced to play with 2 d-lineman, and went full Sun Tsu with alignments I've never seen before to turn things back to his advantage. I miss that. There were very few games where I felt like Bronco wouldn't come up with an answer on defense.

I agree with that. As big a critic as I was of Bronco as a HC in the later years, he usually had a great defense. I wish we still had him as DC. Those kind of coaching moves you're talking about, when have we ever seen that from Tuiaki?

KingCoug wrote:

I'm not sure if Tuiaki needs to go or not. The Utah game showed he can put together a beautiful game plan, but I do question whether he can adapt once it's clear the opponent has identified a weakness. I remember games where Bronco was forced to play with 2 d-lineman, and went full Sun Tsu with alignments I've never seen before to turn things back to his advantage. I miss that. There were very few games where I felt like Bronco wouldn't come up with an answer on defense.

I agree with that. As big a critic as I was of Bronco as a HC in the later years, he usually had a great defense. I wish we still had him as DC. Those kind of coaching moves you're talking about, when have we ever seen that from Tuiaki?

We've seen adjustments game to game (Utah game being a good example) but VERY little in game adjustments. Or so it seems to this fan.

One theory I've heard was that Kalani personally created the Utah game plan, implemented it, and coached it. I don't believe in these kinds of theories, like the rumors floating around that AROD coached all of the good offensive games and Grimes game planned and coached all the bad offensive games. But people have been saying that's what the staff around the edges of the football team have said.

BoiseBYU wrote:

We lost this game not because we were out coached but because Baylor won both sides of the line of scrimmage. Coaches adjusted to stop the run. It didn’t help. Coaches tried to run the ball. It didn’t help. Coaches tried to pressure the QB. It didn’t help. Our linemen lost the battle on both sides. If you want Tuiaki fired you should also want Rodderick fired because our offense could sustain no drives, letting the D have a rest. 17 points and one TD in garbage time is not going to do it either. Baylor was the better team. P. S. I’m a broken record but we really really miss Pili.

See that is what I can't understand. Was this guy a 1 man wrecking crew? Since the very play he went out Tuiaki stopped calling an aggressive defense.

BroncoBot wrote:

I think Tuiaki is working with what he's got, but the product on the field isn't getting it done. It's fine when you're playing USU or USF to get a lead and then hold on, but good teams do just what BSU and Baylor did, score, and get BYU's offense off the field (and create turnovers).



tuiaki got to change something. A loss this week would be a bit concerning.

I don't see BYU winning any of the rest of our power 5 opponents they way the defense is currently playing. Washington State is no slouch even though they lost to USU, Virginia is leading the NCAA in passing yards. USC may be in disarray but I can't discount them either.

hawkwing wrote:

One theory I've heard was that Kalani personally created the Utah game plan, implemented it, and coached it. I don't believe in these kinds of theories, like the rumors floating around that AROD coached all of the good offensive games and Grimes game planned and coached all the bad offensive games. But people have been saying that's what the staff around the edges of the football team have said.

I bought into those conspiracy theories when they were floating around during the Doman vs Anae rumors back in 2010. No more, last years offense was Grimes, this years offense is Arod. Tuiaki owns the defense when they are good (ala Utah), and when they are bad (ala Baylor). I gave him credit for the aggressive Utah defense and he deserves the blame for the defense since Pili went out in the second half of ASU. My problem with him is as soon as he loses an integral part of his plan (ala Pili) he goes back to his comfort zone which is dropping 8 80% of the time. I'm sick of it. We need a coach who can figure out how to use the guys we have to get teams off the freaking field. Bronco dealt with injuries on the defense his entire time at BYU and his defenses were always good. The only exceptions to that were when he turned the Dcoordinator duties over to others in 2010 and 2014.

byufan4ever wrote:

So how badly do you want Tuiaki replaced? What if it means Sitake has to go to?



I'm not saying I want Sitake gone, I'm just curious as to how badly some people Tuiaki gone.

So to quote myself, how badly do you people want Tuiaki gone? I honestly believe Tuiaki only leaves if Sitake does...

byufan4ever wrote:

So how badly do you want Tuiaki replaced? What if it means Sitake has to go to?



I'm not saying I want Sitake gone, I'm just curious as to how badly some people Tuiaki gone.

So to quote myself, how badly do you people want Tuiaki gone? I honestly believe Tuiaki only leaves if Sitake does...

Is Sitake worth keeping around IF tuiaki is the reason the defense can't get stops and Sitake won't let him go? Last year schedule was a huge boon to Sitake's resume, was it a fluke year with a weak schedule? Are we willing to keep Sitake around cause he's a nice guy who recruits well but loses to most p5s? I haven't made up my mind at this point. Just some questions I've been mulling.



We've got a few years to find out. I don't think BYU will fire him.

If he can get better recruits with the BIG12 name, it will cover some of our D problems in the future. Stay the course for now. Homoe is on the inside, he know if Tuiaki is the problem.

BroncoBot wrote:

redneckjedi wrote:
I'm not sure if Tuiaki needs to go or not. The Utah game showed he can put together a beautiful game plan, but I do question whether he can adapt once it's clear the opponent has identified a weakness. I remember games where Bronco was forced to play with 2 d-lineman, and went full Sun Tsu with alignments I've never seen before to turn things back to his advantage. I miss that. There were very few games where I felt like Bronco wouldn't come up with an answer on defense.

I agree with that. As big a critic as I was of Bronco as a HC in the later years, he usually had a great defense. I wish we still had him as DC. Those kind of coaching moves you're talking about, when have we ever seen that from Tuiaki?

We've seen adjustments game to game (Utah game being a good example) but VERY little in game adjustments. Or so it seems to this fan.

That's what I'm talking about - in game adjustments. Neither this coaching staff, or Bronco's, are/were particularly good at them.