New DC: Jim O'Neil

[NJCat]

Bump......

Several people seemed to like the hiring back in the day. @Sheffielder raised a concern, while DaCat and PURPLE Book Cat liked it. Interesting to see the early opinions......it puts FALSE to the notion that nobody liked the hire when it was announced.......

 

[phatcat]

I, for one, can't say I was against it, because the amount I know about the NFL you can fit in your hat.

 

[TheC]

I, for one, can't say I was against it, because the amount I know about the NFL you can fit in your hat.

And I'm not even wearing a hat

 

[DaCat]

Bump......

Several people seemed to like the hiring back in the day. @Sheffielder raised a concern, while DaCat and PURPLE Book Cat liked it. Interesting to see the early opinions......it puts FALSE to the notion that nobody liked the hire when it was announced.......

The hire seemed to make sense at the time, especially if he were going to retain much of Hank's defense with only a few tweaks. I first started getting concerned when O'Neil was interviewed before the first game and he said the defense was 25% the same and 75% new. That was when I had a W-T-F moment. Little did I know there were many more to come in this young season.

 

[TheC]

The hire seemed to make sense at the time, especially if he were going to retain much of Hank's defense with only a few tweaks. I first started getting concerned when O'Neil was interviewed before the first game and he said the defense was 25% the same and 75% new. That was when I had a W-T-F moment. Little did I know there were many more to come in this young season.

I'm guessing not tackling is part of the 75% that is new.

 

[phatcat]

I'm guessing not tackling is part of the 75% that is new.

Actually, it's more general than that - don't come in contact with the ball carrier. /s

 

[DarthCat]

The hire seemed to make sense at the time, especially if he were going to retain much of Hank's defense with only a few tweaks. I first started getting concerned when O'Neil was interviewed before the first game and he said the defense was 25% the same and 75% new. That was when I had a W-T-F moment. Little did I know there were many more to come in this young season.

This was mine as well. This and the elbow I thought was cheap. This comment made me dig deeper into his background, which is when I was, “Heeeeeeey, wait a minute here,” and worried that the expectation within the program seemed to be that someone who NEVER had been part of a winning team as a position coach nor coordinator in their career, and didn’t have a history of success anywhere, was suddenly going to find that success here. It just didn’t seem likely to me.

I worried about a slowly degrading defense over several years, however, thinking the team would be able to take advantage of experience and a really weak schedule to be alright this season. Never did I expect someone would come in who would be able to crater the best unit of a top 10 team the year before as spectacularly as he has.

 

[mountaindrew]

Only....and I mean only,,,,,on an NU board. Preach it brother.

On a related subject. Who took Highlights of Astronomy in Tech Aud?

Yup. Loved that class. One of my few "easy" classes at NU, and got me excited about astronomy, which I still am. It was not with Hynek... I took it in 82 or 83, just after his time I think. Can't remember the prof's name. But he was the chair of the department I think.

 

[IGNORE2]

Yup. Loved that class. One of my few "easy" classes at NU, and got me excited about astronomy, which I still am. It was not with Hynek... I took it in 82 or 83, just after his time I think. Can't remember the prof's name. But he was the chair of the department I think.

Took my puppy to that class once. It barked, I scurried out, about half the girls followed me…or the puppy…

 

[peatymeanis]

This was mine as well. This and the elbow I thought was cheap. This comment made me dig deeper into his background, which is when I was, “Heeeeeeey, wait a minute here,” and worried that the expectation within the program seemed to be that someone who NEVER had been part of a winning team as a position coach nor coordinator in their career, and didn’t have a history of success anywhere, was suddenly going to find that success here. It just didn’t seem likely to me.

I worried about a slowly degrading defense over several years, however, thinking the team would be able to take advantage of experience and a really weak schedule to be alright this season. Never did I expect someone would come in who would be able to crater the best unit of a top 10 team the year before as spectacularly as he has.

Just goes to show you can do anything if you put your mind to it. Should we fail, let’s all fail upwards the way that JON has done for the last few years.

 

[hdhntr1]

I don't mean to pick on you specifically, but I hate this metaphor. Meteors don't rise. They are rocks that fall from space and either burn up in the atmosphere or crash spectacularly into the earth. I don't understand where the term "meteoric rise" came from.

Actually turned out to be more prophetic than you thought

 

[hdhntr1]

Took my puppy to that class once. It barked, I scurried out, about half the girls followed me…or the puppy…

The puppy

 

[hdhntr1]

Bump......

Several people seemed to like the hiring back in the day. @Sheffielder raised a concern, while DaCat and PURPLE Book Cat liked it. Interesting to see the early opinions......it puts FALSE to the notion that nobody liked the hire when it was announced.......

I don't think I knew enough to have an opinion back then

 

[freewillie07]

I HATE that I was the OP on this.

 

[zeek55]

Bump......

Several people seemed to like the hiring back in the day. @Sheffielder raised a concern, while DaCat and PURPLE Book Cat liked it. Interesting to see the early opinions......it puts FALSE to the notion that nobody liked the hire when it was announced.......

I see this more or less as people understanding the hire with the hope that he'd simply continue Hank's defense. I wouldn't say "liked" in the sense that Bajakian's hire from BC was seen as a coup.

The JON hire was not seen that way; like we'd grabbed somebody good from another program/team.

As soon as we started to hear that 75% of the defense was different and that he was installing his own scheme... that's when red flags started to get raised.

Our performance against Michigan State (especially early) was clearly problematic, and then the first half of Duke and Nebraska happened.

Even with a small sample, the evidence is clear.

 

[CatManTrue]

I questioned the hire on The Rock and if Fitz actually interviewed him and was mocked openly.

I saw enough in the first half against MSU to know he was in over his head. Awful hire.

 

[jjjjjjj]

Just goes to show you can do anything if you put your mind to it. Should we fail, let’s all fail upwards the way that JON has done for the last few years.

So wait — is failing upwards the same as a meteoric rise? Or is that when the meteor crashes to earth, or …. Sorry, I’m confused.

 

[peatymeanis]

So wait — is failing upwards the same as a meteoric rise? Or is that when the meteor crashes to earth, or …. Sorry, I’m confused.

Failing upwards is getting paid millions of dollars to not work. Sometimes by multiple organizations at once. That’s the opposite of a meteor crash in my opinion

 

[phatcat]

Failing upwards is getting paid millions of dollars to not work. Sometimes by multiple organizations at once. That’s the opposite of a meteor crash in my opinion

I've always wanted that to happen to me. Closest I got was getting RIF'd and a decent severance last year during the pandemic and finding a job immediately. Wasn't worth the stress, though, and definitely wasn't millions.

 

[NUCat320]

The thing I like the most about this hire is the diverse background of O'Neil. He's worked with a vast number of coaches and different systems, in different roles from position coach to two gigs as DC. My main concern is that he is relatively young and might get antsy for the NFL after a few successful seasons at NU.

Send him to the NFL!!

 

[EvanstonCat]

Spot on. This guy was a DC in the NFL at 36. Even in an era where young head coaches and coordinators are becoming more the norm, this guy’s career has been on a pretty meteoric rise. He must be pretty impressive. Having said that, I have rarely heard his name and I follow the NFL very closely. The first time I heard his name was a few years ago when Fitz was filling Jerry Brown’s spot as DB coach and his name came up. I am confident Fitz realizes the importance of this hire and believe Fitz has hired him in the belief that he can continue and build on the standard of excellence established by Hank.

These posts have aged well

 

[corbi296]

These posts have aged well

LOL, yes I appropriately gave FItz the benefit of the doubt even though I found it odd I’d never heard of the guy. Obviously that trust was misplaced as FItz badly screwed the pooch with the O’Neil hire. I don’t think Fitz will make that same mistake twice.

 

[EvanstonCat]

I don't mean to pick on you specifically, but I hate this metaphor. Meteors don't rise. They are rocks that fall from space and either burn up in the atmosphere or crash spectacularly into the earth. I don't understand where the term "meteoric rise" came from.

In retrospect, meteoric was the correct analogy, but you were right. Metoers don't rise. His career has been a meteor crash and an extinction event, at least in the context of our once vaunted defense that ruled the land. Gone like the dinos.

 

[EvanstonCat]

LOL, yes I appropriately gave FItz the benefit of the doubt even though I found it odd I’d never heard of the guy. Obviously that trust was misplaced as FItz badly screwed the pooch with the O’Neil hire. I don’t think Fitz will make that same mistake twice.

What do you mean? When it's come to hiring coordinators, he's made mistakes 3x already:

McCall
Bajakian
ONeill

They all sucked and shitty offenses or defenses have become our norm under these bums.

 

[corbi296]

What do you mean? When it's come to hiring coordinators, he's made mistakes 3x already:

McCall
Bajakian
ONeill

They all sucked and shitty offenses or defenses have become our norm under these bums.

LOL, football is a lost cause for you. Your time will be better served worrying about what Xi Jinping will do next. I’d be worried if I were you.

 

[phatcat]

LOL, yes I appropriately gave FItz the benefit of the doubt even though I found it odd I’d never heard of the guy. Obviously that trust was misplaced as FItz badly screwed the pooch with the O’Neil hire. I don’t think Fitz will make that same mistake twice.

Corbi, he makes the same mistake every day he keeps JON

 

[ashley0623]

He's only 42 now and he got his first DC gig at age 36, so he's was on the fast track.

Here is a podcast interview with him last year, he definitely knows what he's talking about.

View embedded media

Jim O’Neil sounds like a whiz in this interview. He might just need more time.

 

[stpaulcat]

Jim O’Neil sounds like a whiz in this interview. He might just need more time.

To do what, figure out how to scheme a defense? In the meantime, how many more explosion plays given up for losses? Some people talk, others do.

 

[IGNORE2]

These posts have aged well

As most of his do… McCall much?

 

[IGNORE2]

LOL, yes I appropriately gave FItz the benefit of the doubt even though I found it odd I’d never heard of the guy. Obviously that trust was misplaced as FItz badly screwed the pooch with the O’Neil hire. I don’t think Fitz will make that same mistake twice.

Cushing? Springer? And possibly quite a few current position coaches…

 

[phatcat]

Cushing? Springer? And possibly quite a few current position coaches…

Anderson has turned out to be all hat/no cattle as well

 

[ohiovalleycat]

I didn't have an opinion on the Jim O'Neil hire, but I remember thinking Hankwitz was going to be hard to replace (no duh) but I also had hoped to get an experienced defensive coordinator or a fired head coach who had a successful defensive coordination experience - my thinking on a fire head coach was/is that they got their experience doing the Head Coach thing out of their system so maybe they would be satisfied going back to Defensive Coordinator for the long-term.

 

[Eurocat]

My only question then and now, is why we didn't hire some guy who would keep the Hankwitz system - exactly as is - in place? It was working pretty well!

Of course the most logical guy would have been Randy Bates, but I can see him wanting to stay in Pittsburgh. Why would he make essentially a lateral move back to Evanston? But was there really nobody else? No other assistant, maybe even going all the way back to Hankwitz TexasAM days who could say "Just give me the keys and I'll keep this baby running"? No-one else on staff who had been there (or at NU) a while and "got it"?

If it ain't broke.......

 

[phatcat]

My only question then and now, is why we didn't hire some guy who would keep the Hankwitz system - exactly as is - in place? It was working pretty well!

Of course the most logical guy would have been Randy Bates, but I can see him wanting to stay in Pittsburgh. Why would he make essentially a lateral move back to Evanston? But was there really nobody else? No other assistant, maybe even going all the way back to Hankwitz TexasAM days who could say "Just give me the keys and I'll keep this baby running"? No-one else on staff who had been there (or at NU) a while and "got it"?

If it ain't broke.......

Ferentz was smart enough to hire a new DC with the same last name (Parker). But he went full nepotism hiring an OC with his last name.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Ferentz was smart enough to hire a new DC with the same last name (Parker). But he went full nepotism hiring an OC with his last name.

Sometimes the family member is qualified. They grow up learning the family trade.

(I'm not saying that Ferentz is an instance of this.)

 

[kaTNap]

My only question then and now, is why we didn't hire some guy who would keep the Hankwitz system - exactly as is - in place? It was working pretty well!

It would seem logical that, if your group is very skilled at some core competency (e.g., you lead the B1G in scoring defense in 2020) you promote from within (or hire a recent high-level alumnus, e.g., a Randy Bates) to keep that core competency intact.

 

[EvanstonCat]

It would seem logical that, if your group is very skilled at some core competency (e.g., you lead the B1G in scoring defense in 2020) you promote from within (or hire a recent high-level alumnus, e.g., a Randy Bates) to keep that core competency intact.

That’s what I never understood. It wasn’t broke. Why did we change it?

Yet, the offense is broken, and we don’t do anything to fix it.

Don’t make sense God gave a mule.

 

[EvanstonCat]

LOL, football is a lost cause for you. Your time will be better served worrying about what Xi Jinping will do next. I’d be worried if I were you.

LOL. Football is a lost cause for me.

Right.

McCall much?

 

[CatManTrue]

That’s what I never understood. It wasn’t broke. Why did we change it?

Yet, the offense is broken, and we don’t do anything to fix it.

Don’t make sense God gave a mule.

Did you watch the Maryland game?

Our offense did pretty well with Sully (a mobile QB). We were in position to win the game.

You’ll find no argument from me in questioning why we changed the defense. I am befuddled as well… except that we couldn’t quite get over the hump against OSU. But, I think that had more to do with talent than scheme.