Paging Mike Corey.
Any additional info on Marion Hobby, who appears to be the final hire to Coach Cutcliffe's new staff? Just saw it in the n&o this AM.
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Paging Mike Corey.
Any additional info on Marion Hobby, who appears to be the final hire to Coach Cutcliffe's new staff? Just saw it in the n&o this AM.
Marion Hobby -- spent the last two years as defensive line coach of the New Orleans Saints.
His hire has two aspects in common with Cutcliffe's earlier staff hires:
-- He was with Coach Cut at Ole Miss (seven of the nine assistants were at Ole Miss).
-- He left a secure, well-paying job to come to Duke ... I mention this because that is one sign that things are going to be different here. We've had coaches with good resumes before (for instance, Peter Vass and John Gutekunst this year), but they almost always were coaches without jobs looking for work.
This staff includes two coaches straight from the NFL (plus two more with NFL experience), two guys from Tennessee and another guy from Alabama. The only coaches who were without jobs before being hired by Cutcliffe were Jim Collins, who spent more than 20 years with Spurrier at Duke, Florida and the Redskins, and Scottie Montgomery, who was hired off Roof's staff.
I think it's a heck of a staff. For those concerned with all the Ole Miss ties, consider that this was basically the staff that went 44-29 in six seasons in Oxford and won an SEC West title. It's only the second time in 50 years that Duke has hired an intact staff -- Goldsmith brought most of his Rice staff with him in 1994 and they led Duke to eight wins and a bowl game. It was the disintegration of that staff (especially the departures of OC Mike Heimedinger to the NFL and DC Craig Bohl to his alma mater, Nebraska) that had a lot to do with Duke's subsiquent travails.
BTW, I understand today is Cutcliffe's first big recruiting weekend. I don't know who he has on campus, but apparently it's an important weekend.
Cutcliffe's brought in a great one in Hobby, but I will defer to others when talking about Hobby's past successes, as I am admittedly unfamiliar.
I think, however, that Olympic Fan's point that Hobby left a secure, well-paying NFL job for DUKE is indicative of the kind of hire this is for the Blue Devils. Hobby's a rising star.
And yes, this is an absolutely massive recruiting weekend for Duke. Four-star quarterback Renfree is the biggest name visiting, but not necessarily the biggest talent--though he may very well be.
Huge weekend for Duke football.
Hey Mike and everyone else in the know, do you know which football recruits will be at the UVA game Sunday? We'd like to make our recruits feel at home.
Do the kids, er, recruits, get to stay until Monday so they can go to bball game on Sunday night?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Corey
Being a Saints fan, I can say with some authority that they have a terrible defense, especially this past season. Maybe Marion Hobby's defensive schemes are better suited for the college game. Didn't Bunting or Torbsuh come from N.O.? We know how that went.
Relative,
Would love to hear more of your thoughts on the Saints' defense.
Here's hoping the DLine was at least well-coached. Can't imagine Cutcliffe would bring someone in that wasn't up to his standards.
Regardless, Hobby will be in charge of a lot of talent on the DLine. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the DL will be our strongest position this fall.
I'll cut him some slack because the biggest achilles heel for NO was the secondary, they always gave up big plays. I don't remember too many games where they gave up huge running plays, but I think they were average at stopping the run and not remarkable in rushing the passer. Like I said, his defensive schemes maybe better suited for the college game.