Who will guide CB Jordan Poyer into the NFL?
Fans are wringing their hands over the possible hiring of the new DB coach Rod Perry by Oregon State football coach Mike Riley.
Read the comments on the first blog post on him. Concern continued on the second blog post.
Perry is a 22-year veteran of coaching in the NFL, and is connected to Riley from when he coached under Riley with the San Diego Chargers (1997-2001).
Criticism comes from the lack of coaching at the college level, which means no recruiting experience.
And there’s the age factor. College coaches have been infused with youth recently to relate to the younger players. They are flashier in style and approach.
Perry, 58, is a contemporary of Riley, a 37-year coaching veteran.
However, there are positives that comes with this hire. Perry knows how to coach the intricate NFL style defense that the Beavers employ.
Former coach Keith Heyward coached for seven years, two as a GA, with OSU being the highest level. Perry played in the NFL and Heyward in the CFL. It’s safe to say Perry knows more about playing and coaching DBs than Heyward.
Heyward was hired to coach CBs, and then the safeties were added last year. Over time last season more of the safety coaching went to GA Mitch Meeuwsen in his first year as a coach.
Riley said he wanted a great coach first, then a recruiter. He may have seen a coaching deficiency in the secondary. Maybe that’s why he didn’t come across upset when Heyward left at such a crucial juncture in the recruiting schedule.
“In this hire the priority is what they can do in coaching,” Riley said a week ago. “Then, how they can aid in recruiting, how they fit in with the staff and if they buy into the philosophy of what we are trying to do.”
As for Perry’s recruiting, Riley plans to place him in the vast L.A./Orange County area with WR Brent Brennan. In reality, there are four coaches who work the L.A. basin with DC Mark Banker in the north and DL coach Joe Seumalo to the east.
Brennan, known as a strong, young recruiter, will be able to help Perry along early until he gets in his rhythm.
And Perry’s NFL credentials will resonate well with athletes in that area. Their parents may remember him from his days with the Rams.
So what does Perry bring to the Beavers?
The know-how to make the DBs on the roster the best they can be in the NFL system OSU uses, and a background recruits can respect.
At this point with Perry not having even coached a practice or a game, Riley looks to be have made a solid move in trying to hire him.
We’ll see by next week if he accepts. And if not, we’ll, we can restart this discussion when Option No. 2 is revealed.
21 comments
Evan says:
Feb 10, 2012
The guy did coach a super bowl winning team… in terms of recruiting, the recruits like to hear how they can make it to the next level. With the buzz around Mora coming in to UCLA with no college experience, I don’t expect Perry to have any issues as a DB coach.
mike says:
Feb 10, 2012
My first gripe is the amateurish way this is being handled. From the leaks earlier in the week about the potential hire to the delays in getting him signed, on to the staff and introduced to the public.
Granted that this isn’t national security, but you already have a fan base that is one foot into the precipice after the last two seasons.
Time for professionalism, competitive advantage wherever it can be found, and then some damn good football.
Let’s go. Go beavs.
bbb says:
Feb 10, 2012
some logic to it. agree. or we could scrap the nfl style d and get a simpler game plan and a coach who can get higher end players to impliment a simpler game plan.
bad players + intricate NFL style defense that the Beavers employ = “IT IS ANOTHER (INSERT OPPONENTS NAME) FIRST DOWN!”.
RICK says:
Feb 10, 2012
bbb needs to lighten up. If everyone was so negative about anything that happens @ Oregon State, we might as well pack it in. Riley built this program into a winner twice. He took over and built up a team that Erickson got the plaudits for, then ran it into the ground. Riley once again built it back up. Yes, the past 2 years have been tough. But if you pay attention to what’s going on, building a strong offensive line, getting a coach that can teach technique for db’s, the future is bright. So sit back and root your team and leave the negative comments to yourselves. GO BEAVERS!!!!!!!!!
Jack says:
Feb 10, 2012
I’m not sure the incorrect sideswipe at DE makes your argument valid.
Wait…
Nope. It doesn’t.
In fact, you introduce an opportunity for others to knock over your fallacy with ease. Be happy with what we have. But don’t revise the past just so you can be happy with what we have.
Dexter says:
Feb 10, 2012
Dum Dum…you give me gum gum?
BeaverDon says:
Feb 10, 2012
DE ran it into the ground? Really. Didn’t I watch him coach in the only BCS Bowl the Beavers have EVEN gone to? Didn’t he take a team the lost the Oahu Bowl to a BCS Bowl by being willing to recruit JC players?
Jack says:
Feb 10, 2012
If we’re only going to have three defensive coaches, then it stands to reason that we should get someone who can handle the whole back side of the defense rather than another project who would take time and resources to develop.
I think Riley gets kudos for having the vision to go big on this hire. Perry has the credentials to be a co-DC at the least. And he may be a de facto one if given the freedom to run his personnel from day one.
I don’t know if he’s the optimal hire. And I wonder about his enthusiasm about recruiting. But he is a much bigger presence than any who have filled that position in a long time. And I think his demonstrated teaching abilities show a capacity to learn what we think might be deficiencies on the run.
It may not be the splash hire some wanted. But it is still a splash hire.
BeaverDon says:
Feb 10, 2012
Is the NFL style of football really the way to go? The Ducks have stopped the NFL style and won 3 straight Pac-10/12 titles. The game use to be ’3 yards and cloud of dust’, that type of football would not win today.
Perry sounds like a good hire for all the reasons Cliff gives. I am not sure the NFL style will be a winner for the Beavers
Cliff Kirkpatrick says:
Feb 10, 2012
The NFL style is what Riley knows. If it’s determined that’s not the style to use, then a new coach is needed.
tim318 says:
Feb 13, 2012
And that could be his “blind-spot”. The NFL-style and college-style are quite different. Why do so few former college coaches perform well in the NFL (Tom Coughlin and Jim Harbaugh are exceptions)?
FAUBeav says:
Feb 10, 2012
For you “fans” that are NOW griping about the NFL style offensive that we run, if you want a new coach and new system, start saving up money to buyout Riley’s contract. In fact, sell you house and pool up that money to buyout the contract. Otherwise, stop whining. Just because the ducks are so successful, doesn’t mean every team is jumping to the spread. I don’t see USC, Alabama, or other schools ditching their pro style formations? The reality is those teams have better players (regardless of the system)
Yes, these past few years have really been hard to deal with. Winning will solve everything. Additionally donate more money to OSU and go to games. Our stadium looks PATHETIC when we can’t sell out little Reser for televised games like Stanford. How would a coaching staff entice athletes to come to OSU when the stadium is hardly 3/4 full?
Stop the whining and step your game up alumni/fans.
chris says:
Feb 10, 2012
Ok, they can pay Perry $200K a year, but Heyward was one of a handful of the lowest paid Pac 12 assistants at $100K a year.
I am lost. Maybe had Riley paid Heyward $200K a year he wouldn’t have left and taken some top notch guys out of contention.
I don’t understand Riley. I don’t.
Nothing against Perry, heck bring him in – maybe even can Banker and bring in Perry. But this salary differential is just puzzling to me.
JuneauJim says:
Feb 10, 2012
Twenty-two years of NFL coaching experience is worth more than 2 years as a Graduate Assistant, one year at Cal SLO, and 4 at OSU.
Chris says:
Feb 11, 2012
Maybe that’s true. But Heyward was one of the lowest paid in the Pac 12. Perry also has pretty much zero recruiting experience.
Rick says:
Feb 10, 2012
I don’t see how this ISN’T a great hire for the Beavs, if it indeed comes through. We don’t exactly have upper-tier coaching talent clamoring for a chance to come work for us right now. If he’s got NFL experience, and appears to be a good fit to Riley’s system, then this may just be the answer to prayers. Not that we’ve needed them the last couple of seasons or anything.
dunerat says:
Feb 10, 2012
I think Perry will be Great Coach and a better Coach than Heyward. But the fact of the matter is we still run a Pro style Defense. We play college Spread Teams not pro Teams. I think he will be a great coach no matter what we run. And still might not make us better. Kudo’s for the hire. More changes may need to come. Also Riley didn’t complete the turn around his first stint. He had nothing to turn around on his second hiring. Now he has a chance to turn around what he UNTURNED.
Beavs Believe says:
Feb 11, 2012
Yea, you’re right… for a stretch there we were the second winningest program in the PAC-10, but that’s not a turn around. We were awesome before MR, remember? Wait, what?
OSU4Life says:
Feb 10, 2012
I think Rod Perry is an excellent hire for OSU! Say what you will about his age, his experience speaks volumes. Go look at the coaching staffs in the SEC, age isn’t a priority, experience is! Traditionally, even when OSU had an outstanding defense, they were not very good defending the pass. They were highly ranked both nationally and in conference against the run, but they were mediocre at best defending the pass. OSU can use all of the help they can get defending the pass, and getting the defense off the field on 3rd downs! Recruiting more speed would help too, but solid technique and being smart can go a long way too. OSU will improve against the pass with Rod Perry coaching the DB’s.
reserrodent says:
Feb 11, 2012
I think Beaver Don should make the hire, he always has known better than the head coach at OSU about, well, everything?
OS_Beaver says:
Feb 12, 2012
Beat the Huskies! We need to win to have reasonable odds of making the NIT.
Oregon State vs. Washington Preview:
http://beaverbyte.com