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Thoughts on New FAU OC Brent Dearmon

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Brent Dearmon, formerly of both MTSU and Kansas in the same position, is expected to be announced as the Owls' new offensive coordinator when the staff hiring dust settles. FAU has stated they will only do one release when complete.

At first, I was surprised by this hire, then did the logical thing and commenced a quick dive this evening. Time well spent.

It is arguable that FAU had more talent to work with offensively than MTSU had all year in 2021.

And, that said, here's how Dearmon's offense stacked up against the same competition that the Owls faced output wise:

Head to Head Comparison

FAU vs FIU 52 PTS
MTSU vs FIU 50 PTS
-2

FAU vs UNCC 38
MTSU vs UNCC 39
+1

FAU vs Marshall 13
MTSU vs Marshall 34
+21

FAU vs ODU 16 PTS
MTSU vs ODU 17 PTS
+1

FAU vs WKU 17 PTS
MTSU vs WKU 21 PTS
+4


Comments:

FIU has been our chief rival for years, and the players on both sides know each other on a greater level from previous stops. The fact that he put together a near same performance without that edge, and without the emotional/motivational edge we had was impressive in my mind. WKU put up 34 against the Panthers, and Marshall posted 38.

MTSU faced Charlotte a full month after FAU did, and still put up more points. It's hard to do that when teams have another month to figure out your offensive attack - one which had to overcome much more than we did given QB issues.

Marshall is the BIG win here. Dearmon put together a game plan that saw a major differential in points scored. Did MTSU have that better of a defense than we did? No, they gave up the exact same amount of points (28). Total offensive advantage.

WKU could be a bit skewed given our turnovers and the safety problem. But again, you don't see that from the Blue Raiders and they managed more points overall.

The Kansas situation appears to have been a dumpster fire down the line, and we all know the BIG12 is not the same level of play as C-USA.

When he first took over in 2019 mid-way though the Jayhawk season, and had a signal caller to work with, they posted 31 PTS per game. In 2020, the wheels may have fallen off the bus:

KU’s offense struggled throughout the winless 2020 season, though, never taking off as the Jayhawks dealt with problems at quarterback and along the offensive line, as well as opt outs. - kusports.com

Regardless, he ironically experienced a similar situation this season at MTSU being relegated to drive the ball with a 3rd, and even 4th in our game, string QB. And he got the job done.

Bottom line, we don't have the money to reach much past this hire, but appear to have had enough to lure him away from a winning program this past season - to a better city and better roster to work with.

This is likely one of those "wait and see what happens" scenarios. However, given the obvious performance against the competition that matters (league) I am giving it a thumbs up.
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Fair points Rick. I agree that the lateral move isn’t necessarily a bad one but, I do have very low expectations going into next year. It’s sort of a lame duck year on many fronts. It will be our last year in an inferior conference and I also predict it will be our last year with Taggart at the helm and unfortunately, we’ll be going into the AAC in rebuild mode. Hopefully administration will find a coach that will make it a quick rebuild. I am confident that they will given the ever expanding check book of the athletics dept and Dr. Kelly’s “unbridled ambition” here’s to the last year in the toy car conference with a toy car coach and what I predict will be a 4-8 season! Go Owls! 
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I view it as a risky move for this guy to leave MTSU. I mean, I understand the talent argument. But he is entering a program where the coach is on the hot seat. He could do great, but if the others on the staff and the other areas on the team are not able to get it together to where more W’s are in the record he could be joining Willie in a job search after next season. 
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Honestly I'm mostly frustrated with the way FAU has handled to coaching changes. Leaving Michael Johnson Sr. hanging is a bad look, similar to Miami going behind Diaz's back to get Cristobal, and then firing him once they got the coach they wanted.

Taggart isn't going to be able to hire a really good staff because he's clearly on the hottest going into next year, with an underperforming squad. So the best he can probably do is get somebody to lateral to FAU, or hire somebody who got fired from the same position elsewhere.

Overall though, probably still an upgrade over our offense from last year. And we need a good year going into the AAC.
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David Slavic said

Honestly I'm mostly frustrated with the way FAU has handled to coaching changes. Leaving Michael Johnson Sr. hanging is a bad look, similar to Miami going behind Diaz's back to get Cristobal, and then firing him once they got the coach they wanted.

Taggart isn't going to be able to hire a really good staff because he's clearly on the hottest going into next year, with an underperforming squad. So the best he can probably do is get somebody to lateral to FAU, or hire somebody who got fired from the same position elsewhere.

Overall though, probably still an upgrade over our offense from last year. And we need a good year going into the AAC.
Posted On: Jan 18th 2022, 2:11 PM #406285

At least MTSU improved through the year, we sure did NOT!
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GeorgiaOwl said

David Slavic said

Honestly I'm mostly frustrated with the way FAU has handled to coaching changes. Leaving Michael Johnson Sr. hanging is a bad look, similar to Miami going behind Diaz's back to get Cristobal, and then firing him once they got the coach they wanted.

Taggart isn't going to be able to hire a really good staff because he's clearly on the hottest going into next year, with an underperforming squad. So the best he can probably do is get somebody to lateral to FAU, or hire somebody who got fired from the same position elsewhere.

Overall though, probably still an upgrade over our offense from last year. And we need a good year going into the AAC.
Posted On: Jan 18th 2022, 2:11 PM #406285
At least MTSU improved through the year, we sure did NOT!

Posted On: Jan 18th 2022, 2:40 PM #406286


Yeah seriously. I'll take improvement for sure.
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David Slavic said

Honestly I'm mostly frustrated with the way FAU has handled to coaching changes. Leaving Michael Johnson Sr. hanging is a bad look, similar to Miami going behind Diaz's back to get Cristobal, and then firing him once they got the coach they wanted.

Posted On: Jan 18th 2022, 2:11 PM #406285
Was Michael Johnson Sr. fired?
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No.
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David Slavic said

Honestly I'm mostly frustrated with the way FAU has handled to coaching changes. Leaving Michael Johnson Sr. hanging is a bad look, similar to Miami going behind Diaz's back to get Cristobal, and then firing him once they got the coach they wanted.

Taggart isn't going to be able to hire a really good staff because he's clearly on the hottest going into next year, with an underperforming squad. So the best he can probably do is get somebody to lateral to FAU, or hire somebody who got fired from the same position elsewhere.

Overall though, probably still an upgrade over our offense from last year. And we need a good year going into the AAC.
Posted On: Jan 18th 2022, 2:11 PM #406285

I haven't heard that Michael Johnson was left hanging, but I'm not in the know. I feel like Willie would fire him if he didn't want him there.
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Even at this time of the year position coaches are listening to potential job offerings and it appears that FAU are waiting to see who actually stays and what their roles will be.
FAU football website of coaches has not been updated to remove Mike Stoops or add Brent Dearmon.
Hines Ward WR coach interviewed for the NFL Houston job. Still lots of moving parts here before we know each position coach.
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