I honestly don’t know much about Garrett, but this hiring feels underwhelming. That is no surprise. The only recent coach I’ve been excited about was Brennan, and that’s because he had a reputation as a recruiter. Recruiting fires up the fanbase, but it doesn’t fire up Riley. He’s content with the “coach ’em up” philosophy, though I feel that only goes so far. Riley’s career performance backs up this statement. He can never “get over the hump”, as they say, and this is due to (a) his bone head decisions/management at times and (b) personnel. Is John Garrett such a good coach that he’ll turn 2 and 3 star guys into elite players? What in his history suggests this? The “In Riley we trust” mantra is full force today. On the surface this looks like another hire from Riley’s good ol’ boy network.
I’d rather have seen Brennan move to OC, then hire a TE/WR coach who can recruit. We lost Hayward. Langsdorf was an okay recruiter, and Cav might be gone. Rumors are that Brennan is talking with other teams and is upset he didn’t get this job. Who is left on this staff that can recruit?
Maybe Garrett will turn out to be good. But to the bigger point: does this program/head coach ever make a splash or statement? The fanbase is dead, and this is supposed to get us excited? I realize that’s not why you hire a coach, but there were more intriguing options out there that would provide a good coach, recruiting, and either a big name or intriguing up and comer.