Steve Kragthorpe has been hired as LSU's offensive coordinator, sources at the school confirmed...

Steve Kragthorpe has been hired as LSU's offensive coordinator, sources at the school confirmed Thursday.

So much for waiting till signing day...

Also being confirmed through "sources" by Rosetta at the Advoc and Dixon at TSD. Also by "sources" in the Kragthorpe camp through a reporter for The Sporting News.

over 1 year ago PodKATT 21 comments 0 recs |

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Makes it seems like it was Krags all along...

by Nearl on Jan 20, 2011 10:33 AM CST reply actions

meh

LSU - "...the defense you want to be and your girl wants to be with."

by The Bengal on Jan 20, 2011 10:33 AM CST reply actions

Double meh

But maybe he’ll have something to prove after his horrible stay in Louisville.

My thought is there is no excuse for LSU to not field top 50 offenses every year with the talent we have…And to be honest that should really be top 30.

Can Krags light up the score boards or is this Crowton part 2? No reason to worry about it now, we’ll find out labor day weekend!

"I know the quarterback has a strong arm, but...I mean the ball's not gonna outrun ME" --PP7

by LSU Jonno on Jan 20, 2011 12:26 PM CST up reply actions

I have a special place in my heart for Kragthorpe

Since he destroyed Louisville football.

For you all though, this sucks…..

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel, is just a freight train coming your way...
@btcoop71

by btcoop71 on Jan 20, 2011 10:49 AM CST reply actions

So gurus- what should we think?

Surprised Miles decided before signing day. Wonder if a key recruit hinged on it?

Should we be excited about Kragthorpe? Clearly he stunk as a head coach, but he had a lot of success as an OC. Will be a black mark for Miles if he hires a second guy in a row who underperforms after having a questionable of underperforming offenses.

What type of offense does he normally run?

by GeauxTiger on Jan 20, 2011 11:14 AM CST reply actions

Something will be coming from Paul

But Kragthorpe has generally run a one-back, pro-style type of attack that he honed working with guys like Dan Henning and Kevin Gilbride, built around a core group of concepts.

I said it in the coaching hiring guide post, but I like him very much to Chavis. Coach’s coach, somebody with a system that will generally give out a product about as good as the talent that’s input.

Writer (and a handsome one at that),
And the Valley Shook

by Billy Gomila on Jan 20, 2011 11:40 AM CST up reply actions

Not an OC guru....

but I like the hire. I think teams are often trying to “win the press conference” instead of just getting a good coach. Krags is a solid OC whose specialty is QBs, something we need lots of help with. He also has Teas recruiting ties, which doesn’t hurt. It’s not a hire that blows me away, but honestly, this is the kind of guy I wanted. A solid coach.

Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
And The Valley Shook!

by Poseur on Jan 20, 2011 11:50 AM CST up reply actions

Most of the key recruits remaining seem to be on defense

so it seems unlikely that’s the motivation, but you never know.

by Yail Bloor on Jan 20, 2011 1:50 PM CST up reply actions

Damn

I wanted the TCU guy – the previous re-tread didn’t work out too well.

But I guess being a shitty head coach doesn’t mean you aren’t a good coordinator.

by DalTiger on Jan 20, 2011 11:30 AM CST reply actions

Well, some Cardinal fans don't care for him

per this site, but those same folks bemoan Ron Cooper, who is considered a top flight DB’s coach ( hell – just look at our DBs; they are performing extremely well ).

I usually try to take the word from those who have experience with a certain coach, but in all due respect, I think these people are forgetting who they are. I mean, they claim Krag ‘ruined Louisville football’? Really? With an all time record of 449-434-17? Hell, Krag is their 12th coach overall in winning percentage out of 21 @ 0.41667. 10 year coach Howard Schnellenberger has a sub 500 winning percentage and only 7 coaches have over a 500 winning percentage, accounting for 45 of their 92 years of football.

Truth is, Louisville experienced some unnatural success and I think it got to their head a bit. Krag as an OC looks like a solid hire to me.

by Xanathol on Jan 20, 2011 11:59 AM CST reply actions

If he "ruined" Louisville football, what did he do to Tulsa football?

And I’ve had the same thought on UL fans and Ron Cooper. He may be the best DB coach in college football. If they think he’s a joke (and okay, maybe he wasn’t a good head coach there, but he’s not a head coach at LSU), I’d say it says more about their own intelligence level.

Writer (and a handsome one at that),
And the Valley Shook

by Billy Gomila on Jan 20, 2011 12:04 PM CST up reply actions

Well, according to some Cardinal fans...

per this site, they don’t like him, but those same folks bemoan Ron Cooper, who is considered a top flight DB’s coach ( hell – just look at our DBs; they are performing extremely well ).

Truth is, Louisville experienced some unnatural success and I think it got to their head a bit. Krag as an OC looks like a solid hire to me.

by Xanathol on Jan 20, 2011 12:00 PM CST reply actions

Will keep finger crossed and don't necessarily

dislike the hire (felt better about Chavis b.c. of SEC record – detractors notwithstanding) and hate to indulge in psychobable but I can’t imagine this was because of a lack of interest from Fuente. Almost anyone would we very very eager to get their paws on an experienced and very talented offense with a recent history of underperforming. Assuming, arguendo, a huge offensive explosion next year (and lets face it Billy could probably OC this team to a 420 ypg average) the acclaim and opportunities for the new OC are bound to be tremendous. And, at least subconsciously, I’m not sure Miles would be totally OK with this.

He’s already been accused of “winning with Saban’s players” and we can rest assured that with a big offensive year and an SEC (and BCS?) title next year there would be a fair number of Humanoids claiming he won with “Fuente’s offense”.

To be sure he is in a much stronger position today than he was 3 and 1/2 weeks (much less 3 and 1/2 months) ago, but still almost certainly not so strong as the one Mac Brown has in Austin where the situation with Muschamp was not uniformly felicitous.

As I said, this is no reason to despair and may turn out well but we’ll have to keep the excitement on hold for a bit.

by croysolre on Jan 20, 2011 12:17 PM CST reply actions

I'm fairly comfortable saying

This has no relevancy whatsoever.

Remember, a big chunk of the Humanoids blame Miles for the offensive struggles anyway. I doubt — seriously doubt — who would get the credit for an offensive turnaround would factor into the decision for a second.

And something else to remember: Steve Kragthorpe’s only 45 years old. It’s not like he’s this old hand looking to settle down. I’m sure he’d like to be a head coach again and wants to rehab his image here. I have no doubt Miles is aware of that.

Writer (and a handsome one at that),
And the Valley Shook

by Billy Gomila on Jan 20, 2011 12:26 PM CST up reply actions

To me...

Steve Kragthorpe’s only 45 years old. It’s not like he’s this old hand looking to settle down. I’m sure he’d like to be a head coach again and wants to rehab his image here.

This is the most encouraging aspect of this hire. It’s healthy for your coordinators to be offered HC jobs. It means they are doing something right. I think Krags has something to prove. I don’t consider this to be an A+ hire, but there’s a reason I’m not the head coach making the decisions.

"I know the quarterback has a strong arm, but...I mean the ball's not gonna outrun ME" --PP7

by LSU Jonno on Jan 20, 2011 12:30 PM CST up reply actions

co-sign

by Mikeno on Jan 20, 2011 1:46 PM CST up reply actions

And an important and favorable distinction b.w.

the this and the Chavis (Bud Foster/Mickey Andrews/Greg Davis) model* of co-ordinator.

Generally speaking ambition is a very good thing (I think Clausewitz had something to say on the subject) and while I’m sure there are sound football reasons for this a look forward to Paul’s post, Kragthorpe’s ambitions are indeed a good thing and address, at least in part, my BS/speculation above. (I certainly wasn’t suggesting that Les “structured the decision” on this in any explicit way but was merely offering a flimsy conjecture of what might/or might not have been going on somewhere in the back of his mind).

In any case the best thing we can hope for is that 2 to 3 years from now Kragrhorpe in an AQC coach.

And yes that model, as the above examples show can work (well, not so much with GD, obviously) but in most cases lifetime coordinators are such for a reason.

by croysolre on Jan 20, 2011 2:38 PM CST up reply actions

Krag

As someone else put it, so long as he’s not a wizard, too wrapped up in formations to pay attention to detail, I’m happy. No more multiple just to be multiple. I like what I’ve read about his philosophy and I hear he can recruit Texas very well.

by Big McLargeHuge on Jan 20, 2011 1:36 PM CST reply actions

Its not as exciting as Fuente would have been

but let’s keep in mind that he’s not replacing Fuente, he’s replacing Gary Fucking Crowton. Seen in that light, it sounds much more promising. I like the sound of his style of offense, from what I’ve gathered.

by Yail Bloor on Jan 20, 2011 1:50 PM CST reply actions

For what it's worth

he saved Tulsa football. There was serious consideration being given to dropping the program when he was hired. Tulsa hadn’t had a winning season in somehting like 9 years when he go there.
However, he was not even granted an interview for the HC job at Tulsa that recently opened (they promoted from within, maybe as a cost savings measure) and some say he was sorely disappointed.
But he is know as a first class solid guy, although said to not always be cordial with the media.

by bcooper on Jan 20, 2011 2:29 PM CST reply actions

I like this hire.

He got a year out of football. I’m certain that’s plenty of time for him to think about what went wrong at Louisville, and long enough for him to start missing football and get excited about returning to it. Perhaps all he needs is a fresh start. Who’s to say that Kragthorpe is poison? Poison is getting somebody Miles doesn’t get along with because it’s the “hot name” and watching disaster ensue.

If Krag is the one Miles wanted, then we should be happy that we got him.

Jrlz rhymes with Charles.

by Jrlz on Jan 20, 2011 3:28 PM CST reply actions

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