Thursday, April 26, 2007

Bicknell back at BC

That was quick. Jack (Jr.) is back. Less than a week after the departure of Jim Turner, BC hired his replacement in Jack Bicknell Jr. Bicknell leaves Texas Tech after a few months as their Offensive Line Coach. In addition to the O-Line job, Jags and BC gave him an Assistant Head Coach title. This is a very good hire. Even with talk of Alex Gibbs in the mix, I think this was the best way to go. Gibbs would have been a temporary solution at best. Now they get a more predictable, stable hire and can still have Gibbs continue his consulting. When the staff was first announced, I broke down each guy (and the Turner stuff proved prescient, i.e.: tough working with Jags, no BCS experience). Here is my breakdown of Bicknell Jr. and an updated "what I like and what I worry about."

Offensive Line Coach: Jack Bicknell Jr.
What he brings to the table: Experience and perspective as a former head coach, cutting edge offense philosophy from La. Tech and Texas Tech's pass happy spreads, familiarity with BC, a unique perspective on what it is like as the Head Coach at BC, and southeast and Texas recruiting ties.
Connection to Jags: None that I know of, but his brother Bob coached with Siravo and Day on Al Golden's staff at Temple.
Connection to BC: Grad and son of former BC Coach Jack Bicknell
Question mark: No obvious one. He'll have to adjust to being staff again, but he's already gone through that at Texas Tech the past few months. After Turner problems, there is also the question of how he will work in Jags' area of expertise.
Overall assessment: This is an upgrade to the staff. He fills one of Turner's roles as a former player, yet also brings experience to a staff that is still somewhat green to this level of competition. Plus giving him the Assistant Coach title and hiring him away from another BCS school proves that BC is paying top dollar for coaching talent.

What I like about the whole staff -- revised
1. A good balance of experience and new guys. You now have two former head coaches and Spaz, who has been an interim at BC. That helps offset Siravo, Day and Comissiong all making big leaps in their respective careers. We also maintain our "BC Guy" quota.

What I worry about -- revised
1. The Tower of Babel on Offense. I am not worried about Bicknell and Jags getting along and seeing a Turner Part II. Having gone through it, I hope and presume that both were candid with each other in the process and will have a good working relationship. My one smallish concern is too many different schools of thought on the offensive side. You’ve guys who’ve worked pass happy, to the conventional, to spread options and Alex Gibbs showing up periodically to share his wisdom. Logan and Jags get the final say, but I hope they can incorporate the best of everyone’s influences in one direction and don’t have five guys going 20 different ways.

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