Tulsa’s disastrous 2-10 American Athletic Conference debut ended as the program’s worst showing since 2002 when the Golden Hurricane went 1-11 in the now defunct (in football) Western Athletic Conference.
Tulsa alumnus Bill Blankenship was fired the Monday after his team fell at home in the season finale to East Carolina. Blankenship compiled a 24-27 record and went bowl-less his last two years. Ever since Todd Graham resurrected the ‘Hurricane football program by implementing an explosive offensive attack, Tulsa fans no longer accept losing seasons and struggling offenses.
Now, fans are hoping new head coach Philip Montgomery can perform another program resurrection in the same vein as Todd Graham’s turnaround. For the former Baylor offensive coordinator to have immediate success in 2015, Tulsa must first check-off a few items on its offseason to-do list.
There’s much to mend for a team coming off a 10 loss season, but here are a few of the major points that need to be addressed leading up to next season.
1. Get to Know New Head Coach Philip Montgomery
It’s safe to say the AAC won the “Offensive-Coordinator to Head Coach” sweepstakes with the additions of former OCs Chad Morris (SMU), Tom Herman (Houston), and Philip Montgomery (Tulsa) as the leagues’ three new head coaches.
Montgomery, like the other two former OCs, was hired to rejuvenate energy into a program that was running on fumes the last few seasons. Gobs of points, big numbers, and up-tempo football were game day fixtures at Tulsa during the highly successful Todd Graham era, but became less prominent during Bill Blankenship’s’ disappointing tenure as Tulsa’s head coach.
The Golden Hurricane averaged over 500 yards of total offense in every season of the Graham era. They never averaged over 457 yards while Blankenship was head coach, and had a horrific showing in 2013 averaging 356 yards. Montgomery’s “highly offensive” mind should flip the script on a unit that was highly inconsistent in 2014. The former Baylor assistant had coached under Baylor’s Art Briles since 2003, when Briles was at Houston. Montgomery’s explosive spread attack helped the once lousy Baylor Bears win back-to-back Big 12 titles for the first time in program history.
Montgomery will have his nose in the defensive side of the ball, rest assured, but the Tulsa turnaround starts on the offensive side. Buying into Montgomery’s system won’t be difficult for Tulsa players, knowing he’s been highly successful at each of his stops as a coach. How quickly players familiarize themselves with Montgomery’s system will dictate how many steps forward the ‘Hurricane take in 2015.
2. Hit the Reset Button on Defense
A familiar face, or at least a familiar name, will be guiding Tulsa’s defense into the Philip Montgomery era.
Tulsa hired former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bill Young on Thursday to revive a putrid unit that finished near the bottom 100 in the FBS in every major defensive category. Although younger Tulsa fans and current students probably aren’t familiar with Young, he’s certainly familiar with Tulsa, having already served as the school’s D-coordinator from 1983-1984.
Young needs to do more than just fix a unit that allowed 39.3 points and 486.8 yards per game in ’14 — he needs to hit the reset button. The defense was supposed to be Tulsa’s strong suit leading into ’14 with nine returning starters. It was anything but.
Young’s hiring is questionable because of his recent lack of success at Oklahoma State. Young stepped down as the Cowboys D-coordinator in 2012 after his unit finished 82nd nationally in total defense. Young’s ties to the state of Oklahoma and the recruiting hot-bed of Texas should aid Montgomery with recruiting the southwest region for undervalued defensive prospects.
Tulsa returns six players on defense in ’15 who started the season finale against East Carolina. Returning six starters to a defense known for allowing big plays to even the most pedestrian of offenses may not be a good thing. More than likely, Young will begin the defensive reset by having an open competition for starting positions during Spring practice.
3. Make QB Dane Evans Earn the Starting Job
Rising junior Dane Evans started all 12 games at quarterback for the Golden Hurricane in 2014; a season removed from playing musical chairs at the position with back-up Joseph Calcagni.
Evans finished third in the AAC this season in passing (3,102 yards), second in passing yards per game (258.5), and third in touchdown passes (23). Evans believes will significantly improve those numbers now that offensive-minded Philip Montgomery is leading Tulsa’s program.
“It’s a great hire for me and a great hire for the offense,” Evans told Tulsa World.
Montgomery is certainly a great hire for a Tulsa program that was predicated on explosive offenses for so many years, but Evans could find himself at some point in the offseason not receiving very much attention from coach Montgomery.
As good as Evans played at times in ’14, his negative play had an even greater influence on the Golden Hurricane’s inconsistent offense. Evans threw an AAC-worst 17 interceptions (tossed an INT in eight of 12 games) and had the seventh-worse passer efficiency rating (120.88) among the AAC’s other starting QBs. He also had the second-most pass attempts among league quarterbacks, but still averaged less than 300 yards passing per game.
With 6-foot-4, 205 pound, Arkansas native Will Hefley and four-star Texas product Chad President joining Tulsa’s program for the fall, Evans has no choice but to improve during Spring drills to secure his starting position for the another year.
President flipped from Baylor to Tulsa after Montgomery, who recruited him, took the head coaching position at Tulsa. The 6-foot-3, 195 pounder, is the No.9 dual threat QB prospect in the 2015 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com. President will immediately challenge Evans in the Spring as an early enrollee.
If Evans has a poor offseason, look for Montgomery to go with one of the freshman gun-slingers as he begins grooming the program’s QB of the future.
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