Home Football I Figured Out Gary Andersen

I Figured Out Gary Andersen

84

A comment of mine from the prior thread. GA is more a puzzle/complex human than Riley, but I think this sums him up:

GA needs an OC and a QB. Then he needs bodies in the trenches and depth everywhere. Is it his fault? Yes. He let too many guys walk for being weaklings who couldn’t take his mindset, and now he’s left with nothing. He burned bridges when he claims to care about the kids. What he cares about his winning and thinks he can abuse/will people into doing that with tough love and discipline, and he can’t. Some players respond to other methods. He can’t see this, and so now he’s dug his own grave. We’ll see if he digs out of it.

Definitely showed his warts. He’s a flawed coach, and now we know what WI fans were yapping about when they warned us.

I think GA gets off on that moment when a program flips and he’s constantly chasing the rush of that moment. To him that’s nirvana. It’s like a playboy who’s 60 and still constantly chasing tail. The rush of the chase never gets old for some.

84 COMMENTS

    • That he wasn’t a good coach and had baggage (figured they just loved Alvarez).

      I’m not bailing on GA yet. I do see the warts mentioned above, and really one has to question if those things I listed are even flaws or not. You can argue validly that they aren’t.

    • He tried to recruit a due threat qb and failed because he couldn’t get one academically eligible for UW (not a low bar but still you would need to go full retard not to get in on scholarship). Then failed to understand how to win given this minor set back even though a fool proof 20 year method was in front of him. He burned bridges in state with regards to recruiting by snubbing some of our best line talent and then he pouted his way out of the state to a shitty oregon team that he thought recruits would follow him to. Dude was a fucking joke from day one, Barry just gave Chryst a few years to think about the position before bailing on the pitt shit show.

  1. The massive crap today was as stinky as some of Riley’s worst. Not impressed by GA. Odds we may need to cut bait after Year 3 are 50+% when you realize this team will continue to lose all its Pac-12 games by 10-30 points. Don’t believe GA will get a Pac-12 win for the 2nd straight year. 0-18 folks. That easily bears even the ineptitude of Jon Embree let alone a slumping Riley. Going to look increasingly apparent that OSU hired the wrong guy. Beau Baldwin or Brian Harsin would both have been far better choices.

    • Who knows yet? If we hired Baldwin and had similar struggles, we’d be asking why the hell we hired an FCS guy from EWU like Paul Wulff was, when we could have had a proven coach in Gary Andersen.

      • That assumes we’d have the same struggles. Was Andersen really that much more proven than Baldwin?

        Having more opportunities doesn’t mean proven, he won a single WAC title and took over a team coming off 3 consecutive Rose Bowls (granted 2012 wasn’t overly impressive) and essentially maintained the program.

        Baldwin could very well have done the same at Utah State and Wisconsin he just hasn’t gotten the opportunity. What we do know is that he has won 71% of his games and a national title at EWU (Wulf won 57% and the program is at 56% historically for reference); he also took Central Washington to the division 2 playoffs in his only season there. Baldwin has proven himself as much as he can given his opportunities. We simply don’t know what he’d do at OSU just as we don’t really know what Andersen will do.

        I prefer his background as an offensive coach and the fact that he is younger and seems more energetic to me but the point is both are risks; every hire is.

        OSU took what appeared to be the safer option, doesn’t automatically make it the better option.

          • You are correct. It all comes down to who you think is better. No doubt about that.

            I don’t agree with many that discount Baldwin simply because he is an FCS coach though. A quality coach is a quality coach.

            Now, its in the eye of the beholder beyond that. I didn’t know much about Andersen when he was hired but wanted an offensive minded coach so he had that strike against him in my view, what he has done since coming here hasn’t endeared him to me.

            I would have rather hired Baldwin then and still prefer him now. That is just this asshole on the internets opinion though.

          • Fair to say we’re all underwhelmed with Andersen so far. I’m not ready to bail yet, though. It sucks, but the turnaround will take time.

    • Beau Baldwin always intrigued me, could he be a winner in the pac 12? I know he beats teams from it on the reg but could he sustain that week in week out?

    • Such BS from impatient fans who think turning around a program takes virtually no time at all. Ironic that it comes after a beatdown by a team that OSU and its fans should look to for a road map to prosperity. Mike Macintyre was 2-25 in the conference his first three years! Now he’s got one of the hottest teams in the Pac12 half way through his fourth year!. Anderson’s barely half way through his 2nd season – give him time! Sit tight for 3 years and see what happens in the fall of 2018. That season will tell you if he’s done his job or not…

  2. Quacks down 20-37 to the pirate. I wonder if I should have Helfrich with jam, cinnamon Helfrich, or French Helfrich for breakfast tomorrow morning.

  3. It’s kind of cool to see the buffs and cougs doing well. Despite what Oregon fans say, those two teams have some of the most tortured fanbases, not the one in Eugene

  4. So I was welding all day so I haven’t seen anything, but one simple question comes to mind…

    … where the hell is Marcus Mcmaryion? He’s been the 2nd string quarterback for a year, he’s taken plenty of snaps with the ones and he was good enough to damn near beat hole last year. Why the fuck would you play a walkon freshman that doesn’t know the play book and has no practice time or chemistry? Is it because he was a Simple Jack recruit?

    • Seriously some baffling shit going on with the QB situation.. Honestly Seth was better than this too and at least he gave the offense an identity.. This offensive product we get now is unwatchable

    • This ^

      His practice stats are a smaller sample, but nearly always better.

      I think ga is too sold on a certain “leadership” profile at qb, rather than a capability and leadership combo.

    • We don’t have a passing play over 50 yards this year. We’re near dead last in 10+ yarders. Garretson can’t make those throws. McM can.

      And for that matter, del rio has better rushing stats this year before he got hurt. So not mobile? I don’t get it. His qb rating is way better than what we got, I accept our o line is weak, but I think GA has some strategy issues.

  5. I’m not saying I’m not frustrated either. Believe me I’m just as irritated and angry as everyone else. This rebuild wasn’t gonna happen overnight. Contrary to another’s opinion nor don’t think GA’s shit smells like roses and unicorn ice cream either. But the fact remains there is not a whole lot of PAC caliber talent on this roster. The upperclassmen are a lost cause. There’s younger players that could develop into PAC-12 talent with experience and coaching. You can’t expect those guys to come in and dominate. As I’ve stated, patience and stay the course. Rome wasn’t built in a day and this thing isn’t going to be either. How did Leach’s first few seasons in Pullman go? I get it. We’re not seeing improvement. So let’s shit can a guy and his staff 1/3 of the way into his second season? Brilliant logic.

    I’ve already stated what I see. That’s opinion. Just as everyone else has theirs. Can we wait to see if these next two recruiting classes improve the talent with the VFC expansion? Some of you are impossible and seem unwilling to give the guy a chance. 16 games? That’s it? Really? This isn’t USC. Washington. Ohio St. Alabama. It’s fucking Corvallis. Think about it!

    • I don’t think anyone expected an over night rebuild.

      But expecting better than 0-10 with an average margin of loss of close to 30 is asking for too much.

      As to Leach’s first seasons in Pullman since you brought it up? He managed to go 4-5 in the conference and to a Bowl game in year 2. They slid back to 2-7 in conference in year 3 but no 0-9 season much less 10 straight PAC losses by close to 30 points on average.

      • I’d also like to point out that no one (that I have seen) has called to fire him now. I said I’d consider it at the end of the season if it continues which is not an absurd idea. If he goes 3-21 (0-18) over 2 years discussing the possibility of firing him makes perfect sense at that time.

      • Yes I remember that awesome New Mexico bowl where they coug’d against CSU at the end. Leach has also lost the last two years to an fcs opponent. i guess Leach doesn’t have warts either. I’ll be fair though. If the Beavs are a no show, get blown out by Cal and aren’t competitive? I’ll say you’re right………

        I’m calling it tonight. Beavs give GA his first PAC win against Cal next Saturday night

        • Never said Leach didn’t have warts. This isn’t about Leach. I wouldn’t want Leach as coach either. You tried to justify GA’s start by bringing Leach up so I responded.

          I hope you are right about next Saturday, I really truly do.

          • Listen, I am not trying to belittle you or anyone else. you are just as entitled to your opinion as anyone else here. I see things one way, you see them another. We’re all Beav fans and we’re all fucking frustrated as shit. I hate seeing this because I have followed an over matched Beav’s team more often than not since 1987. It sucks. But it is what it is right now. Unlike last year at some point it is going to click for some (not all) of these student athletes. I have not been impressed with Cal at all this year. Their defense is just as awful. A night game with a full student section cheering just might be the recipe this team needs.

            Speaking of Leach if you watched the Oregon game tonight, how many yards did they run for and how many rushing TD’s? When was the last time WSU did that under Leach? They recognized what Oregon’s weakness on D was and exploited it. All fucking night. This from the Air raid offense???? They used the run to set up the pass. But besides a decent O line they also have a pretty good QB in Luke Falk.

        • They better, the ducks are also looking very beatable but the civil war is a long ways off. What about Stanford? Are they going to implode or is Washington that good?

      • Colorado was 1-20 in MacIntyre’s first 21 conference games.

        It sucks for those of us who watch even when the team sucks, but it just takes time when you do a complete rebuild. Definitely too soon to give up.

        • That simply isn’t an apples to apples comparison. No matter how many times you try to make it one, it isn’t.

          And even if it was, and even if Colorado turns into a power beginning now, how many other times have rebuilds started out that bad and turned around under the same coach? I bet is a very small number. Probably easily counted using 1 hand.

          • Because Colorado’s program was in far worse shape for several years when Mac took the job.

            But like I said, even if it were a fair comparison, and even if Colorado is legitimate, can you name any other rebuilds that started that bad and found success with the same coach?

            Even 1? I can’t think of any.

          • Riley left a bare cupboard, even for his own systems. Then they switched to a new offense and defense, and some players even left the program.

            You have to give them time to restock the shelves, install their players and systems.

            It sucks as a fan. It’s terrible. It’s true we won’t know if this is working out for a while still.

            You really can’t fire coaches every two years if it’s not working out.

          • Agreed but you can if its obvious it won’t work out. You think WSU is glad it gave Wulf 4 years? Even continuing the Colorado comparison. Jon Embree got 2 years, think Colorado wishes they’d have given him 2 more instead of hiring MacIntyre?

            Sometimes its clear its not the right fit very quickly.

            That is what you have to decide. Frankly I already think its obvious.

            But since I know he will likely get not just 3 but 4 years I have to hope I am wrong.

          • GA will very likely be good. He’s been good everywhere he’s been.

            Everything I wrote about him is true. He gets off on these rebuilds and he’s chasing that ah-ha moment. So, he’ll get it. But in the meantime it’s really going to suck, and much of that is his own doing with the “my way or the highway” attitude. I get he’s trying to toughen up Happy Jack’s recruits, but sometimes you need those bodies (depth, etc that we’re dealing with now) and the bridges aren’t worth burning. It’s fine if he wants to do it that way, but it’s going to give him added heat because it basically gives him zero chance to win. They had walk-ons trying out just a few months ago because they lack bodies. It’s bad.

            Anyway, he will win by year four. If not I’d be shocked. But this year might be the low point and brutal the rest of the way.

            If he does fail it will be because he can’t find a QB. Willard looks like a dud (very low completion % — this has to stop).

          • I think you are making a pretty strong statement based on 6 years as a head coach.

            Not to continue the Colorado comparisons but since people want it to be the same:

            Dan Hawkins had nothing but success till he got to Colorado and he failed miserably when he got there.

            I think you may be overrating Andersen’s fairly short track record.

        • If we are comparing this to Colorado’s rebuild, we have to keep in mind their rebuild took 10 years. That means that GA is our Dan Hawkins…

  6. Oregon has more talent on the defensive side of the ball but statistically is just as bad as the Beavs are. Perspective

    • Perspective is everything . I don’t get what goes on at Oregon, USC and LSU ( to a point) they all have good talent but the wins seem to evade them. Is the coaching that bad?

  7. Calling it “abuse” and that GA can’t see how the players are responding to him is some large hyperbole, unless you happen to have very inside information. It’s actually pretty basic, there’s not much talent on the team.

  8. By the numbers article from Gina…………….

    3.3: Oregon State completed 13 of 32 passes for 105 yards with Darell Garretson and Conor Blount. Their 3.3 yards per attempt was the lowest total the team has seen since a loss at Arizona on Oct. 10, 2015 (2.8).

    Yes, a lot of that is on the QB. Some if it is on the O line as well. If you can’t hit the deep pass downfield the defense doesn’t have to respect it and loads the box to stop the run and cover the short passes. At some point someone HAS to complete one of those. Both positions need to step the fuck up.

    555: Colorado tallied 555 total yards Saturday, the seventh time over the past two seasons the Beavers have given up at least 500 yards.

    Two fold. If the offense can’t get first downs to sustain drives, the defense (which already isn’t very good) is on the field longer. And eventually they fall behind by double digits and it turns into a ginormous clusterfuck. We’ve seen it several times. Beavs have a nice opening drive for a TD or respond to an opponents opening drive with a TD only to peter out and not do jack shit the rest of the first half???? This is my biggest question of why. How many of those 555 were in the first half? Did anyone else hear the stat that Colorado had not gone 3 and out on their opening possession yet this season. Today that happened. By a much maligned beav D. But then the rest of the first half happened.

    169: Colorado leading receiver Shay Fields had seven catches for 169 yards and three touchdowns. He had two catches for nine yards in the second half.

    Two of those catches were on Colorado’s first two TD’s where Fields was so open he could have ordered from the fast food line on his way to the end zone and slammed a Big Mac meal on the way. It was that bad by the OSU safeties.

    Minus-2: Oregon State lost the turnover battle 2-0 due to Blount’s two interceptions. It was the first time this season the Beavers did not force a turnover.

    When you get zero pressure on the opposing QB and he has all day to throw or the running back is free after the LOS, bad things happen. Not much of a surprise here. OSU was overmatched up front most of the game.

    12: The loss moved the Oregon State losing streak in Pac-12 matchups to 12 games. The Beavers have lost 22 of their last 24 conference games dating back to 2013.

    Riley isn’t immortal or without conviction here either. Last great win I remember was beating ASU 35-27 almost two years ago. And that game ASU had a chance to win until a late interception returned for a TD put the Beavs up by 8.

    http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2016/10/oregon_state_crushed_by_colora.html#incart_big-photo

    Right now it would not surprise me to see Colorado win the south. Time for the Beavs to flip the script next Saturday night and beat Cal.

    • I heard Parker say that if Colorado had scored a TD on their last drive of the first half, they would have gone over 400 yards of offense, they settled for a long FG so it was at least around 360 or so. They’ve almost given up 800 yards of 1st half offense in their last two games.

  9. And one more positive. The special teams play has been pretty good. Much better than what we saw from a Bruce Read coached ST

  10. I really appreciate all the comments and opinions from everyone here tonight. Yes, we are all Beaver fans here. Curious did anyone check the co-offensive coordinators for Louisville tonight? Also good Qb’s can hide a teams weakness. Do we have any QB’s on our radar now? Besides our one commit?

  11. We just need to be thrown some bones to accept this rebuild. Win a Pac game or two per year during the rebuild and we can stomach the long road. But 0 for the conference is brutal and makes people want to bail. I get it. It’s hard. Maybe everyone should tune out for 2 years.

  12. Since I asked the question about teams that have had miserable 2 year runs to open a coaches tenure I figured I’d do some research on recent teams that are at least somewhat similar to Oregon State (not a power school) that have succeeded (basically won a conference title or made a major Bowl).

    Baylor was 8-16 (3-13) in Briles first 2 years
    Kansas State was 6-16 (2-12 including 0-7 year 1) in Snyder’s first 2 years

    Those are the closest I could find that started off roughly where I think Andersen will be at the end of 2016 that succeeded. All the others I thought of did far better in years 1 and 2. Guess we will find out if Andersen can be another.

    Note: Both had winning records in year 3 so I still don’t think you have to give him 4 years.

    • I think they brought their pull-ups; not quite fully potty trained, and you can take a shit in your pants and leave it there all day if you want.

      • Indeed – and the article I referenced said pretty much what your previous post stated.
        BB shouldn’t/couldn’t go directly into a HC position @ an FBS school.

      • Wouldn’t this be evidence that he is a good recruiter? It’s not like Cheney is a destination and those kids do have other options.

  13. Good conversation between youngorst and whiskey. I think any win-loss comparisons for Andersen and previous rebuilds (Col, Cal, Wazzu, UW, Ariz) should take into account the turnover of those programs at the same time.
    You guys commented at the time that OSU is getting left behind when the Pac 12 network deal came in and all of the schools upgraded coaches. The 2013 season was the anomaly that put OSU 4 years behind the progress of the other schools that were changing coaches as well. We saw the decline coming because there was no more margin for a mediocre coach to coast through a soft conference schedule. I don’t know if the beavs can win another game this year, but I would rather give him time and see how it shakes out without comparing to other win/loss totals that may not tell the true context of the situation.

    • Okay, so in what timeline should we expect a Pac-12 win? Or a bowl game? Or a season where we compete for a conference title? I can accept an extended timeline, but I want it clear when certain milestones need to be met, and if those milestones aren’t met, the coach needs to be fired. Results are all that matter

    • ohiobeav’s comment about the “2013 anomaly” is the most astute observation made on this site in the last 24 hours, though I think he meant the 2012 season when the Beavs started 6-0. If you take that season out of the equation, you see the ineluctable slide downward from 2009; what I called the Dee Andros glide path in the previous thread, taking Prothro’s high standard of performance and gradually diminishing it; just what Riley did to Erickson’s legacy.

  14. I generally agree Andersen needs more time. The argument by youngorst that at least by the end of next year one would know enough about Andersen to retain him or fire him is interesting and very plausible and something the AD is going to have to deal with.

    One thing of importance in the longer term, regarding retaining Andersen and the next hire, is how the AD goes about the decision process. They should have clear criteria for what they want from a coach, and use that to evaluate Andersen’s progress, or if necessary, his predecessor.

    If I remember, they lucked into the Andersen hire, calling Wisconsin for insight on another candidate. Andersen volunteered his interest, he wasn’t being pursued by OSU and many got excited because Andersen had won at a nationally recognized program in Wisconsin. Even if it was with someone else’s players, it wasn’t the kind of hire OSU or anybody expected. Thereafter, “Why would he choose to go to Corvallis?” questions followed, echoing just about everybody else’s assessment that OSU couldn’t lure a big time coach. Dennis Erickson too was an anomoly, fresh off his Seattle Seahawks firing, though he later claims to have regretted leaving OSU.

    Many of us, including me, thought the change in coaching would be good for an additional win. But there is a serious lack of talent that was underappreciated.

    For this year, I think seeing flashes of potential and increasing consistency for young talent will be important for gauging progress. Is for example, Pierce playing better? Shemar Smith? Does a unit in addition to special teams start playing well?

    Then next year are there signs of results, conference wins? Then Andersen can likely be judged fairly, and another AD will have to make an important decision.

  15. Imo expecting OSU to be a perennial contender is sheer folly. Every now and then perhaps but that’s only when everything falls into place, the ball bounces our way and the stars are in proper alignment.

    The demographics of the Corvallis area and the nearness of Eugene are two major problems. If OSU expanded Reser to 80K and put a winning team on the field could they consistently fill the stadium with just the people that live in the local area? No.

    How many of the people that live locally can afford season tickets?

    When I lived in the area it seemed that OSU was very happy to have the people in the region dependent on OSU for their jobs so things were done to keep the area the way it was. At that time OSU was not involved in doing anything that would encourage OSU grads to startup a company in the area and Corvallis didn’t do anything to help either (zoning laws, etc.).

    Anyway, the surrounding population is too poor and too small to support a big time college football program and currently phil’s boys are putting on good enough of a show that the folks who can afford the cost of being a fan are drawn to the ‘ucks. Who in their right mind wants to root for a perennial door mat? Besides me that is.

    So I have no problem with expecting the coach to do the very best he can, especially considering how much money they make, but imo, “the best they can” does not mean a team that can keep up with the teams that are located in the large population areas and have huge resources to draw upon.

    We can keep digging and fighting but the odds are stacked against us. So quit whining and let’s deal with what we’ve got. But that doesn’t mean I’m saying give the coaches a free ride like so many of us did with that ass hole Riley. Keep expecting/demanding them to do the best they can.

  16. In thinking about some of the truly awful Power 5 programs of recent vintage like CU or Wazzu in the P-12, the valley can last about three to four years. Given scholarship parity, the abundance of great athletes and innovative coaches, in my mind if it lasts longer than that, then a program has problems. And I’m talking about being mostly non-competitive week in and week out, not being average, which is really what most programs are and what the Beavs were.

    The one Power 5 school that just can’t seem to turn it around is Kansas, the last time they won more than 3 games was the ’09 season. Given that KU keeps changing head coaches and they are going on seven years, I think you have to give GA at least four years, right?

      • They were good in the mid-2000’s, but I guess Mangino was off the rails in his treatment of the players. KU has not come close to recovering since their last bowl game in 2008. It’s actually getting rarer to be completely non-competitive which is what the Beavs have become, that’s why it’s a little concerning. Even bad teams have enough difference makers to pull off upsets here or there. As of now, the Beavs do not.

  17. Crazy question:
    When punting, why not just try drilling one of the opposing players with the ball, hoping it bounces off him, and can get recovered by your players? Sort of the Mr. Deeds tennis strategy but the punting version.

  18. Goe is so excited he’ll need to change his pants. Cites OSU as the reason ucks fans should not jump to replace Helf.

    And a couple snippets from Eggers: “the length of time — measurable by a sun dial — Montez had to throw in the pocket. ” juxtaposed with a quote from Clune, ” (Montez) did a great job under pressure finding guys who were deep and keeping plays going. “

    Pressure?? Clune must have been thinking of the big picture (backup QB, big crowd, expectations) and not the specifics of dealing with a D-line which failed to get even one sack.

  19. QB quandry:

    Garretson?
    Blount?
    McMaryion?
    Moran?
    or even Collins?

    So far, where they’ve played Collins has not been electrifying. Of course nothing has been this season except Bolden’s run-backs.

  20. Back to the topic of rebuilds, depth and experience seem to be a large part of the equation, it’s worth noting that the Buffs now have one of the most experienced teams while the Beavs one of the least experienced. Little of that can be blamed on a coach with less than 2 years in a program. Still, never expected what we saw in Boulder.

    And depth?……….this from Eggers, “Beaver coaches fear Lauina and Irvine will be lost for a major portion of the season.”

    • That’s part of the rub, no? What kind of strategy is it to run-off/alienate so many players if you cannot replace them? O line excepted of course. All the qb transfers were red flags IMHO, given the (lack) of effectiveness on offense. It’s a tin message GA is playing. He’s not a hand holder and no one expects him to, but I think the players need to know through his interviews that at least baby steps are happening. I think morale has become a problem.

    • The cupboard is pretty fucking bare. The defensive line is atrocious. Riley jumped ship because he knew he was fucked with no talent and the fans were already getting restless. This is going to take a couple more years but I don’t see how giving up on Anderson fixes anything. Give him some time. He’s still way better than milquetoast. And fuck Ken Goe.

      • And it got barer due to the transition management. As long as this is a critical blog of beaver athletics, I’m going to offer (hopefully constructive) criticism (with a dash of sarcasm). But you’re right, I mean the flexbone. Nobody runs wishbone anymore. The arguments are thus:
        1) Anderson is a defensive guy; his best recruits are likely on that side of the ball. Option offenses are supposed to be equalizers, able to play effectively with inferior athletes (I’m not sure anyone really denies our recruiting disadvantage in the league).
        2) flexbone eats clock; rests the d and deprives high powered o’s of time.
        3) everybody knew how to defend the wishbone when pettibone was here. Defending the flexbone will be fairly unique against the d’s we’ll play. Mix in a set of qb’s that can make downfield completions (and a regular proportion of passes when desirable) and you really spread the field and have the possibility to make come from behind victories.
        4) recruiting advantage for this type of offense, maybe?

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