Assuming Utah really did go after Rich Rod for OC,

[Larry B]

Where does that leave things with Harding? Although I have been hoping for a better hire than Harding, I figured it was only a matter of time before he was named OC.

Now that it looks like Whitt tried to go outside of his bubble, does Harding feel a little slighted? You’ve got to imagine he feels like he deserves the job.

I’m afraid we’ll go after some bigger names, only to come up empty handed, leaving Harding as an afterthought. Then how many years does Harding stick around?

Now that it’s known that we went after RR, Harding may not (or should not) be an option.

[Utah]

When it comes to potentially losing a damn good OL coach for a complete mystery at OC, yeah, you have to take Harding’s feelings into account.

If it comes down to BJ (or some other non-previous-P5-who was successful OC) as OC and Harding quitting or Harding as OC and a different QB coach, I take Harding 100% of the time.
And if you want Boise’s OC or BJ or someone similar to that, then be prepared to lose Harding. If that OC enough of a slam dunk to lose a known quantity? I dunno.

Look at Harding’s resume from his point of view:
When he was co-OC, the run game was incredible. When he “helped” Taylor, the run game took off. He’s shown twice that he can get you 9+ wins running the ball.

How many OC’s have done that at the P5 level? How many OC’s were that successful over the area they were in charge of?

If you make Harding the OC, you know you will run for 200 yards a game and win 9+ games.

And you want to bring in someone unproven?

That’s a tough pill to swallow if I’m Harding.

[UteThunder]

I think you might be overstating Harding’s influence on the running game just a bit.

When Harding was Co-OC, he had two NFL RBs (Booker & Williams) along with several NFL OL he inherited. Of course we were going to have a good running game.

This year, he once again had an NFL RB and the only real changes that he made were to run the ball more and cut back on the RPO element of the run game. 

**Notice what happened to the run game when the NFL RB went out with injury**

Shyne did have an awesome game against Oregon who has a terrible defense but his rushing totals took a sharp nosedive against Colorado(55 yds), BYU(47 yds), & Washington(37 yds). If Harding was a running game guru, I would think he could get our backup who is a former starter a bit closer to 100 yards/game.

[palos_verdes_ute]

Isn’t Rich Rod the new OC at ole miss now?

[Onlyu]

If it’s Harding you’ll also see a passing game coordinator hired. Harding is a proven O-Line coach, proven talent developer, proven run game coordinator and proven recruiter. Not a proven OC. That said, I’m not sure Harding is the right guy. You’re absolutely correct in the assumption that he might feel slighted and leave…we’ll see.

[SalUteopia]

I feel that Utah has done enough (top 25 rank in 4/5 years) to warrant going after a bigger name.
Things are shaping up nicely to have a special 2019. You don’t want to squander this opportunity. A proven name gives us the best chance to have an immediate impact. This is not about an individual’s coaching aspirations; this is about doing what’s best for the program.
If I’m Harding, I’d be disappointed but I won’t feel slighted. No shame in losing to a better candidate.

[Central Coast Ute]

I just saw that the Falcons let Sarkisian go. I wonder if Whitt will give him a call. Although the SEC is paying coordinators almost as much as Whitt is getting paid so I don’t see him coming here either.

[SalUteopia]

FWIW, @belli1976 mentioned yesterday that he had heard Sark’s name but to not get your hopes up.

[Central Coast Ute]

My hopes aren’t up. I doubt Utah will pay him what he could get somewhere else.

[Dante Guardi]

lets go after sark. Him and the falcons parted ways today.

[Anonymous]

I’ve learned to not try to anticipate the decisions that coaches make. They don’t always make sense. That said, I love Harding and hope that he stays. I think he’d do well as the OC provided that Kyle hires a coach for QBs who would also be the passing game coordinator. I could see Harding as HC in the not too distant future.

[UteThunder]

Harding as head coach? That’s a hard pass.

[Central Coast Ute]

He might get a shot somewhere. Personally I think he keeps trying g to go NFL route as an Oline coach.

[UteThunder]

If Harding goes on to anything better than what he has been at Utah, I will be very surprised.

[Anonymous]

I really like Harding. I think he’s a good (possibly great) coach. His players like and respect him, and he puts guys into the NFL.

[UteThunder]

Yeah, he puts guys into the NFL alright . . . guys who were already here when Harding got here and probably would have made the league anyway. Bolles is the only guy Harding recruited and put in the NFL and Harding had about as much influence on Bolles making the NFL as you and I did. You can’t even give Harding credit for recruiting Bolles, his wife is the one who persuaded him to pick Utah.

[noneyadb]

Look up Utah’s o-line rankings. He’s far from “good”

[Author]

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