Another series? Surely you jest. I jest not, because it’s not even March and I need the crutch of a series to avoid the burden of multiple ideas over the coming months. Believe it or not, I have things to do and now Con Air is on and I have to go now bye.
Anyway, you may recall a version of this that I did with players, which may be brought back to life depending on how lean it gets between now and August. The coaches’ version promises to be a little meatier due to a decent amount of information available, meaning I probably won’t find myself on a Lambuth message board reading about a guy who transferred to Auburn to be a walk-on (note: RIP Lambuth football; I could end up there if Hugh Freeze is selected).
If you recall or have no idea what I’m talking about, the way the players’ version worked is I randomly chose a number and team, then looked up info that player to help you learn a little about that player should he wind up on your television during the season. I’m doing something similar for the coaches, as I’ve assigned numbers to each coaching position (1 for head coach, 2 for offensive coordinator, etc), and will randomly select the team.
This should prove to be quite educational and a close look at overly positive biographies on schools’ websites and Wikipedia pages. First up is Adam Henry, wide receivers coach at LSU.
Name: Adam Henry
Position: Wide receivers coach
Salary: $300,000/year
Alma Mater: McNeese State ’98
Experience: McNeese State 1997-2006 (wide receivers coach ’97-’05, offensive coordinator ’06)
Oakland Raiders 2007-2011 (offensive quality control ’07-’08, tight ends ’09-’11)
LSU 2012 (wide receivers)
Background: The first thing that jumps out to me is that Henry was coaching wide receivers at McNeese State before he graduated from McNeese State. Chalk it up to Louisiana state law that there are no state laws.
He actually finished playing football at McNeese State in 1993, but did not get his degree, then spent three years playing with the Saints before returning to the opposite-of-scenic home of McNeese State, Lake Charles, Louisiana.
While teaching release techniques and proper route-running to Cowboy wide receivers, he earned his degree, which shows tremendous dedication on his part and that McNeese State is student friendly enough that you can hold down a demanding job like college football assistant and complete classes in a passing fashion.
What he brings to the table: According to Les Miles, “Adam is a very talented coach. He’s a tremendous teacher on the field and he comes to us with a very strong background having spent five years in the NFL with the Raiders and another 10 years at the collegiate level at McNeese.
“He has shown the ability to teach and instruct at the very highest levels of the game. We are excited about what he brings to the staff. He’s going to give us a youthful energy that will help us continue to develop our receivers.”
I’d also like to add that, as a Raiders coach for five seasons, he’s seen dysfunction at its highest level, so when dysfunction strikes LSU’s offense, and it will, he’ll be somewhat of an anchor in that hellstorm of chaos.
What he needs to get out of his players in 2013: Unfortunately, his hands are kind of tied here, as his guys rely on Zach Mettenberger to get them the ball. But, it’s important that he teach them to not look so disappointed when Mettenberger overthrows them on what would be a sure touchdown catch, as it might drive Mettenberger’s confidence levels into the low negative-900% range.
Most importantly, he needs to concentrate on his guys perfecting their ability to run block, especially when running backs not named Jeremy Hill are in the game because they did not average 10.3 yards a carry on 12 carries in the final game of the year.
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