And Now the Defensive Coordinator is Reportedly Gone Too
Source: JMU defensive coordinator Brandon Staley had accepted the DC job at D-III John Carroll University. Announcement expected soon.
— Matt Jones (@MattJones36) February 16, 2015
I was just enjoying a lazy President’s Day morning about to make some coffee when I glanced at Twitter and saw this. I’m stumped. Last year’s co-offensive coordinators Drew Mehringer and Brad Davis jumping to Houston and East Carolina respectively made sense. This one is a bit more perplexing. While I don’t share the opinion, some folks have speculated that the recent departures were about frustration over the lack of an FBS move. Staley leaving to take a job at the D-III level sort of goes against that theory though. John Carroll is a powerful program, but this still looks like a move down on paper. Maybe Staley has other priorities that are motivating him to move on. Or maybe he’s been nudged out the door. In any case, we wish him well. Now we get to see if Withers can work his magic and replace all three coordinators.
At some point you have to wonder if these coaches are jumping ship because of Withers, the administration, other opportunities or some combination of all three. Odd to have an exodus this large at any level.
I think he was nudged… think about this… what were our biggest weaknesses last year? The way the 3-4 defense was implemented and our linebackers… which happens to all report up to Staley. We will be better next year and I guarantee Withers has a few people up his sleeve that can fit the scheme.