TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards: New OC Shannon Dawson is a Mark Stoops Kind of Guy

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Posted by eleem (Member # 884) on 01-14-2015, 03:46 PM:

Since the announcement of Dawson’s hire a month ago, many people have asked me what I thought of Kentucky’s new offensive coordinator. Simply reading a resume isn’t enough to judge somebody, pausing my opinions until after the interview. I’m glad I did, because this morning’s introductory press conference was the perfect surprise Slamma Jamma to start off the Spring semester.

There are almost too many reasons to be excited for the hire, but here are a few…

He has an awesome Louisiana accent

He wasn’t shy to start the press conference, letting everyone know that he wants to beat his hometown team, LSU.

He’s a Hal Mumme guy

Dawson got his start in coaching with Mumme in 2002. It wasn’t easy for the kid who’s father was an administrator at the school. As Kyle Tucker chronicled, Hal forced him to do the types of jobs that are usually reserved for the managers at the bottom of the pecking order. At the end of the day, he never gave up, appreciating everything Hal did for him, “He made it tough, which I think he should because you need earn your stripes. You’ve gotta earn your place.”

The offensive depth chart, including the QBs, is wide open

“We’re going to be wide open,” were his exact words. He has yet to watch film from last year or really meet the team, other than in passing following a meeting, but has been encouraged by the changes happening at UK.

His father is a motivational speaker

I guess you could say that motivating young people is something he hangs his hat on. What he’s learned from his father has transformed him into a better coach. You can’t really detail how exactly it works in a press conference setting, but he did say, “[You] Figure out where their right button is and push it.”

He’s buds with Neal Brown

Neal was actually one of the few people he talked to about the UK job during the interview process. Friends under the same coaching tree, their discussion was more about the people at UK than the X’s and O’s. Neal told him, “You’re going to love it.”

He recruits areas where UK gets their best players

At West Virginia, one of his primary areas was in Ohio, UK’s latest gold mine for top talent. “There’s a lot of carryover between my last job and this job in recruiting areas. I’m not saying we beat you guys a lot,” he joked. “But there was a lot of crossover.”

Before WVU, he developed relationships in the South, from Texas to Florida. An area he emphasized a few times was the Mississippi Junior Colleges, exactly where the Cats found immediate playmakers in Za’Darius Smith and A.J. Stamps.

Dawson’s offense works off of opponents’ defenses

I am not in Mark Stoops’ mind, but if I could guesstimate a reason Dawson got the job, this is it. He was often asked by the media, “How much are you going to run it? Is this really going to be an Air Raid? etc.” To answer all of the questions about his offense, he turned to defense.

1. You can’t throw it 80-90% of the time against these kind of SEC pass rushers – you can’t keep your QBs healthy.

2. They were most efficient throwing the ball when running the ball regularly; it kept defenses guessing.

3. His evolution of the Air Raid offense is different, because defenses are different: bigger, faster and stronger.

Stoops didn’t tell Dawson, “I want you to be physical and run the ball.” It has been a part of his evolution that was added to his WVU offense three years ago that caused their numbers spike immediately. He’s a reactor that wants to keep defensive coordinators guessing, something Stoops absolutely HATES to game-plan against.

Simply put, the man oozes swag

Knowing the tumultous history of Kentucky football as a man that grew up with the SEC, he was asked, “Why do you think you can succeed here, now?”

Without flinching, he immediately responded, “Because I think I can succeed anywhere.”

If the mic wasn’t on a stand, he would have dropped it.

Link

Posted by Green-Bean (Member # 13551) on 01-14-2015, 03:59 PM:

HAL MUMME TYPE OF GUY IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME HAL WAS A GENIUS ON OFFESIVE PLAY CALLING. IMO

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 01-14-2015, 09:51 PM:

I agree, if Hal would've found him a fantastic defensive coordinator, Hal could have made some serious noise !

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 01-14-2015, 10:32 PM:

I think he will make Kentucky a lot of fun and exciting to watch and that puts people in the stands. We have to talented quarterbacks and running backs so hopefully he can use them in his plans.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 01-15-2015, 06:13 AM:

Fast break on the grid iron is what Mumme called his style of football!

Posted by boomdaddy (Member # 2644) on 01-15-2015, 01:36 PM:

Mumme was a great offensive mind. He was a terrible HC, but i would take him as an offensive coordinator in a heart beat. He skewed the recruiting by carrying 3 times the receivers that teams normally have. He had a long time friend who had no talent as his DC. And, he wasn't a big details guy. All three of those things meant he was destined for short term success and long term failure at a D1 program. But, he brought excitement to the program, short term.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 01-15-2015, 01:57 PM:

I think Mike Leach our offensive coordinator when Mumme was at Kentucky had a "lot" to do with the Air Raid offense and still throws the ball a lot at Washington State where he is currently their Head coach.