John Neal, Oregon’s DB coach for 14 years: “I think Kellen Moore is smarter than me”

[ShortRound]

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Then again, we are talking about Oregon.

 

[dwreck27]

Judging by some of the terrible decisions some coaches make its a reminder that most of these dudes teach P.E classes in middle school

 

[Tangle_Foot]

My only concern is that he be smarter than the defensive coordinator he faces on Sunday

 

[cheftjpeck]

“Smarter” ? In what sense ? Many could be smarter but does that mean they can call plays ? Sometimes they might overthink and become too cute ..,smarter doesn’t mean knowing how to devise plays that utilize your players strengths .. I’m one who hopes for the best ... who wishes that we may have discovered the next great flavor of the month who can really hit the ground running .. more importantly .. I’m not as much looking for innovation that changes it out of the gate as much as someone who can adjust when plans are failing .. it’s awesome if we show some new wrinkles .. I’m all for that’s but it’s more important we have someone who knows when to make adjustments... hoping for nothing but the best ...

 

[Vinnie2u]

Garrett is pretty smart too.. maybe he should become a theoretical Physicist.

 

[cowboyblue22]

wow bythe time the hype machine gets done they are going to have moore as the smartest coach to ever coach in the nfl

 

[ItzKelz]

wow bythe time the hype machine gets done they are going to have moore as the smartest coach to ever coach in the nfl

The hype machine for Kellen started when he was 5. We just didnt care at that time.

 

[KingintheNorth]

I've met and spoke with Coach Neal several times. In fact, just saw him last weekend at a coaching clinic in Phoenix. He's a very likable, entertaining speaker. He (repeatedly) tells a story on how when he was interviewing with Nick Saban, they got into a spirited debate, with each claiming they were the "best DB coach in the country". He's a defensive analyst for UAB, who statistically had one of the best defenses in the country last year. At Oregon, he coached guys like Patrick Chung, Jairus Byrd, and Terrance Mitchell.

I can completely picture him saying this. However, before Fan Boys run with this as some sort of validation for Kellen Moore, realize that he said he thought this from observing Kellen on film, not actually talking to him. I think too many people are falling in love with the idea of Kellen Moore. There is little evidence, if any, that he is ready and worthy of being a NFL offensive coordinator at this stage in his carrier.

 

[Valkyr]

Stephen Hawking came back from the dead just to say Kellen Moore is smarter than him

 

[links18]

And Garrett went to Princeton.

 

[_sturt_]

And Garrett went to Princeton.

^^^This^^^

Look, I think we ALL hope that this works out or we wouldn't be Cowboys fans.

But conventional wisdom became conventional wisdom on the basis of history. Maybe we can agree, at least, that the 30 year-old edition of Kellen Moore is not likely to be a better OC than the 31 year-old edition, and certainly not better than the 35 or 40 year-old edition. Experience matters.

Circling back to the post above from links18, the hope here is that the Princeton-educated, and fairly experienced head coach is going to be so involved with the offense that, between the two of them, it proves to be a success like couldn't be anticipated.

 

[DOUBLE WING]

The similarities between the rise of Jason Garrett and Kellen Moore really are striking.

Undertalented overachievers who are easily likeable. Everyone around them remarks about how “smart” they are and how “that kid is gonna be a coach one day” and it gets repeated enough over the years that everyone starts believing it. And the result is they get thrust into a position that they are neither prepared for, nor have they proven they are qualified for.

 

[cowboyec]

hope he's a good'n.

 

[Asklesko]

By golly K Moore sounds TOO smart. Are we sure such intelligence is safe for our squad?

 

[DallasEast]

Garrett is pretty smart too.. maybe he should become a theoretical Physicist.

And have him end up with Amy Farrar Fowler? Why would you want to do that to her?

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

People who can’t play, coach. And people who can’t coach, coach DBs.

 

[Plumfool]

At least the man’s personal opinion is based on actually meeting and speaking to KM.

 

[KingintheNorth]

People who can’t play, coach. And people who can’t coach, coach DBs.

Seriously?

Arguably the top NFL coach (Belichick) and college coach (Saban) consider DB's as their specialty. Personally, I think it's one of the hardest position to coach, as well as DB's being one of the most athletic positions in all of sports. So many coverages, reads, and techniques involved.

I think WRs are the easiest position to coach. At least technically, because dealing with diva WRs might require a psychology degree.

 

[Tommy]

People who can’t play, coach. And people who can’t coach, coach DBs.

And people that can’t coach DB’s hang out on Internet forums and pretend to know.