Offensive Staff Turnover?

[CornellUte]

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but with the hiring of Jason Beck as OC, what does that mean for the likes of Harding, Q, Fred, Whitted? I’d assume that Beck would want to bring in his own people, and it’d be a bad indicator of Whitt’s loosening his grip on the offense if Beck was forced to retain certain position coaches on the offensive staff… I’d guess Q, Whitted and Harding go, and Fred stays in some capacity.

[2008 National Champ]

My guess is after this weekend is when we would start seeing movement among position coaches if it’s going to happen. Early signing is done but you still need position coaches recruiting the portal. If you’re going to make a change and your target is on a bowl team now is the time to go get them. If they are on a playoff team, you probably have to wait until their season is done.

Whitt staying signals to me that the only change will be the OC unless one of his position coaches leaves for a better offer. And with how long the staff has been the same, that’s unlikely to happen.

[W16Ute]

I wanted Quinton to be good here, but I’ve lost all faith in him. Him more than anyone. The running back room has been a wreck with constant drama and none of the new people developing. I blamed Tavion but then similar things happened again and again.

This used to be our biggest strength. Obviously I’m not in the locker room so I don’t know exactly why these things are happening but from a fan perspective it’s been a problem. I was/am hoping for a mix up there.

[EagleMountainUte]

I think it is the best indicator that Beck is running the offense. But I could be totally wrong. I have never worked in the business but it makes sense for an OC to bring his own position coaches rather than trust the existing ones adopt your philosophy.
Which is why I continue to believe it is just another Whitt hire.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

It will boil down to which position coach has the most talent and if they can get the players to stay. Our obvious weakness was QB and RB with WR not to far behind. Beck takes care of QBs. RB room a disaster so Ganther is on the hot seat. Keeping Williams is a big deal. If he goes WR coach should be gone too. Whittingham and Harding should stay.

[jshame17]

Really curious on how you think the WR coach should be let go if he loses a player, when his group has had to play with these QBs the past 2 years. I don’t think we can judge his players with the pass game being what it has been.

Also, I can’t understand how Fred and Harding get a pass. Without Kincaid & Kuithe just being special talents, the TEs have underperformed and do not block well.

The only thing consistent about the Oline, is never living up to the hype, poor run blocking and losing 1v1 battles.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Coach McBride was on with Hans and is still connected with the program. He said Harding and Whittingham were untouchable as far as recruiting and being great position coaches. I focused in on the receivers several games to see if they were getting open. Part of the reason Wilson held the ball so long is nobody had separation. The DBs were allowed a lot of contact in the Big12. Williams is a bigger WR and able to fight off the holding and get separation the last couple games. Don’t put all the blame on the QBs.

[jshame17]

Yeah. I also saw WRs wide open and the QB unable to find them or actually make the throw, so that goes both ways.

McBride will never talk bad about any Whittingham, especially publicly, so that means nothing to me.

I’ll listen to players that were actually on the team with Fred and their personal experiences of what they saw.

For additional thoughts, not that it matters, These same players also said that Gary Anderson was one of the best coaches in terms of being able to understand and translate technique into action. His demons just got the best of him.

[UTEopia]

I don’t know what people Beck has. With Bronco also leaving UNM, which of those guys will follow him. Here are the UNM offensive assistants. Are any better then the guys we have. Certainly less experience.

Wide Receivers Coach, Micah Simon
One of the youngest players on staff, Micah Simon comes to New Mexico after just one year as an on-field coach, after he spent the 2023 season as receivers coach at Northern Colorado.

Simon played for BYU in the late 2010s and bounced around NFL and CFL teams after that. He began his coaching career in 2022 at Syracuse as an offensive analyst.

Running Backs Coach, Kirk Garner
Kirk Garner is also relatively new to the coaching profession, spending the last year at East Tennessee State after two years as an offensive quality control coach at Vanderbilt.

Garner got his start in coaching under Mendenhall on the defensive side of the ball at Virginia as a graduate assistant.

Tight Ends Coach, Matt Johns
Matt Johns has been a part of a very creative offensive staff at William & Mary for the last five seasons. There, he held a variety of titles including receivers and tight ends coach, quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

He too was a defensive graduate assistant under Mendenhall at Virginia and he’s forged his own path on the way to New Mexico.

Offensive Line Coach, Famika Anae
An assistant offensive line coach under Mendenhall at both BYU and Virginia, Famika Anae spent the last two years at Campbell University in North Carolina.

Anae has spent time at Texas A&M Commerce and Dixie State between stints with Mendenhall. He’s considered a solid recruiter and brought one of his best offensive linemen with him to Albuquerque.

[//r00t4Utes]

Not that every OC hire is the same, but go look at the other teams in college that hired new OCs.

I personally don’t remember in college OCs changing the offensive coaching staff

[jshame17]

Fred is untouchable and will always have his nepotism position. This is coming directly from former players. There was a reason he was in sales before Whitt gave him a job. He is not a good coach. Personable and people like him, but not a good coach and knows he’s untouchable.

I was really hoping to see a new RB coach and Harding finally told to walk, but as others have said, Beck is a Whitt hire and I’m sure was told that other position coaches are of limits.

[UTEopia]

I think it is typical to bring in some guys familiar with what you do.

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