There are a lot of fingers being pointed at Walters for losing. I’m beginning to believe it’s not Walters but rather his assistant coaches that need to be replaced.
Look at recruiting. Usually it is the assistant coach that does the bulk of recruiting. Look at Iowa. Their offensive line coach was the main reason they recruited so many great offensive linemen. Look at Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno. They didn’t recruit anybody. Their assistants did.
Look at strength, conditioning and development. Purdue has been terrible at this for the past 2 decades. Purdue simply doesn’t develop any talent it recruits. Look at WR Moore and George K. Moore’s best season was his freshman year, before Purdue tried to develop him . George K came to Purdue with talent. How much did he elevate his game?
Look at game calling. Our play calling on offense is terrible as are our schemes. Our blocking schemes are terrible. Our defensive schemes are terrible. Is that the fault of the head coach or his coordinators?
I look at Purdue and then I look at Nebraska. Nebraska has been terrible since it joined the Big 10. Why? Because its coaches employed a style of football that never matched the type of player that was a typical Nebraska recruit. Their recruiting base is big slow guys meant for run blocking. They were never meant to be a flashy passing attack. The Florida style doesn’t work in Nebraska.
I look at Lane Kiffin and Monty Kiffin. Who is the better coach? It’s Monty! And he’s basically a super guru assistant coach. Tony Dungy was an awesome assistant coach.
Walters hired a bunch of experienced assistants. Their resumes were good. But their schemes are just not working at Purdue.
My suggestions? Rather than forking out more money for the head coach position, Purdue needs to spend more money and bring in some of the top assistants. They could improve recruiting, better player development and better schemes!
The real problem is not the head coach. It’s the total lack of development of our players! We are not elevating anybody’s game to a higher level.
Look at Card. This is his last year. He was better at Texas than he has been this year. I don’t blame Walters for his regression! I blame our assistant coaches.
I can relate well to track athletes. Usually it’s the head coach that accepts the glory and the blame. But it is the assistant coaches that recruit the players and develop them to do their personal best. And when they do, it’s that assistant coach they thank when they reach that goal.
The head coach builds staff. It’s the staff that builds the team.
