it's pretty obvious watching the presser
by Jay 
, San Diego, Friday, February 13, 2009, 12:55 (6087 days ago)
that Charlie really loved being in the booth. When he recounts the Allen screen pass for a touchdown against Hawaii his face just lights up. "You could see it before the ball was snapped!"
who was in the press box last year?
by Spesh 
, Los Angeles, Friday, February 13, 2009, 16:24 (6087 days ago) @ Jay
Was it Haywood or Powlus?
I enjoyed listening to that section of the presser. Weis talked about how it's easy for an OC to call plays from the field if he has someone in the press box giving him information. "Run this, run this, run this." He cited Jeff Davidson (now a HC, right?) being that guy when Charlie was the OC for the Pats.
It sounded - in a way - that Charlie wasn't getting that last year when he was calling plays from the field down the stretch.
Makes me wonder if losing Vaas was bigger than we realized? And if Charlie's not upstairs, does he have someone whom he can trust to feed him info-- what he needs?
Haywood & Tenuta were in the box
by Jay , San Diego, Saturday, February 14, 2009, 09:28 (6086 days ago) @ Spesh
Powlus was on the sideline. I forget who signaled in the offensive plays with Haywood up in the booth (he had done it for the first 3 years) -- it might have been Ron.
He's a scheme wonk.
by ReginaldVelJohnson , Friday, February 13, 2009, 13:00 (6087 days ago) @ Jay
He knows that, we know that. Of course, tradition dictates that the HC is on the sideline, and there is obviously reason for that. Perhaps trying to force himself into that mold has actually been negative for the overall success of his tenure. At this point, he really has nothing to lose. Better to say "F it, I'm doing what I'm comfortable with." And really, the idea of a head coach being up and away from the action isn't an outlandish concept in other sports.
He was on the sidelines long before he became a head coach.
I think he's comfortable there too. I think, watching his press conference, he seems to acknowledge that it's easier to call a game from the booth. However, it's better as a HC to be on the sideline. It'll be interesting to see how it works out. Paterno was in the booth last year for Penn State, and they seemed to have a pretty good season, so I don't see why it couldn't work.
Good point.
by ReginaldVelJohnson , Friday, February 13, 2009, 15:29 (6087 days ago) @ tex29
I think his real problem is that he has a hard time balancing the his desire to focus on offense with fulfilling other HC duties. It's clear he really enjoys getting lost in the strategy/schematics of offense and because of that, i think it's very possible that he doesn't pay enough attention to the motivation and overall management of the team on game day.
Being on the sideline as an OC is fine, because you can still focus all your energy on the offense. However, as a HC/OC on the field, you don't have that luxury. Being in the box would allow him to delegate more of those tasks he either doesn't enjoy or isn't as effective at. Ultimately, I hope he figures out what works best for him, the staff, and most importantly the team. Re-evaluating what is "standard" practice isn't necessarily a bad thing.