19 replies to this topic

[BRAWNDO]

Would have been nice for him to return to Buffalo

Pro Football Weekly ‏@ProFootballWkly
RT @RAIDERS: Bobby April joins Raiders as Special Teams Coordinator.

[Captain Hindsight]

How will we survive?

[habes1280]

It would have been really nice.  I loved Bobby April, and it would be hard to argue with the output of our special teams under his leadership.  But it would have been difficult, I'd think, to bring him back to Buffalo.  There seemed to be a bit of acrimony when he left.

[Why So Serious?]

John Harbaugh went from Special Teams coach to Head Coach.
With a strong DC I can see Bobby April being a HC.
Call me crazy. I don't care that's my imo.

Edited by Why So Serious?, 19 January 2013 - 09:00 PM.

[habes1280]

Why So Serious?, on 19 January 2013 - 08:59 PM, said:

John Harbaugh went from Special Teams coach to Head Coach.
With a strong DC I can see Bobby April being a HC.
Call me crazy. I don't care that's my imo.

And so, in a roundabout way, did Marv Levy.  And I completely agree with you about Bobby April.

[Dadonkadonk]

I don't understand the Bobby April can be a HC thought/posts?  What makes you think he can manage an entire roster?  That he can handle in game decisions?  That he can evaluate talent and assist in draft selections and player development?  I can't say if he can or can not do any of these things.  He excelled as a ST's coach in a different era.  Gone are the wedges and the wedge busters and the kickoff from the 30 yard line.  I can not even be sure he is a competent ST's coach anymore.  He did not get the job in Buffalo and he is not so greatly respected around the league that he got an interview for another HC spot.  Maybe he is just a very good ST's coach.

[Chris in Syracuse]

He was a good ST coach.  He was passed over for Perry Fewell.  That says something.  He is not even the best candidate to be interim HC on a really bad team.  Why do we think he is HC material now?

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Chris in Syracuse, on 19 January 2013 - 10:41 PM, said:

He was a good ST coach.  He was passed over for Perry Fewell.  That says something.  He is not even the best candidate to be interim HC on a really bad team.  Why do we think he is HC material now?

Of course, this is according to the judgment of the aforementioned really bad team.

[habes1280]

I'm not sure that being passed over for the interim head coach position (after being named the Assistant Head Coach to keep him from being poached) says much at all, particularly when the Bills braintrust at the time (Russ Brandon) was in over its head and grasping for staws.  They took a chance on Perry Fewell-- who they also didn't retain at the end of the season-- went 3-5 for the remainder of the season, and cleaned house.  It was a mess, and I'm not sure it was a fair measure of either man (Fewell as a head coach, and Bobby April as a potential one).

Look, I'm not saying that Bobby April is or will be successful head coach material; I'm just saying he's an interesting prospect, and someone I could see manning the helm at some point in the future.  What I don't understand is how his abilities as a coordinator-- to build successful schemes around his personnel, to gameplan and attack opposing teams, to make in-game decisions and adjustments, to be responsive to ongoing trends in packages and approaches league-wide, and to motivate and coach the players in his unit-- is any less credible than any other coordinator.  As a Bill, he was the NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year twice in four seasons.  And while hiring special teams coordinators is certainly a non-standard practice, their success rate as head coaches doesn't compare unfavorably with the success rates of any other big-named coordinators on either side of the ball (nor, for that matter, does it compare unfavorably with head coaches drawn in from the collegiate ranks).

The ability to learn, adapt, scheme and collaborate doesn't seem limited to offensive or defensive minded coaches or coordinators, nor does the ability to work with the scouting department to assess talent (whether that be NFL Player Personnel or draft prospects).

So Dadonkadonk (great name, by the way), might be right: April might just be, or might formerly have been, a great special teams coach (Philly hasn't done so hot these past two years).  I just disagree that as such, we should be rejecting him as a legitimate HC prospect on those grounds alone.

[Coach Tuesday]

He keeps latching onto coaching staffs in peril.  I don't get it.  He'll be looking for a job again next year when Dennis Allen gets fired.

[eball]

The Bobby April worship around here gets sickening at times.  While the Bills' ST units were stellar under his watch, the units at his other NFL stops have been pedestrian at best.  So is he the fantastic coach we had in Buffalo, or the so-so coach in St. Louis before, and Philly after?

Special teams are a fickle mistress, my friends.  So many variables.

[dave mcbride]

eball, on 20 January 2013 - 08:25 AM, said:

The Bobby April worship around here gets sickening at times.  While the Bills' ST units were stellar under his watch, the units at his other NFL stops have been pedestrian at best.  So is he the fantastic coach we had in Buffalo, or the so-so coach in St. Louis before, and Philly after?

Special teams are a fickle mistress, my friends.  So many variables.

Especially when the rules are constantly changing..

[Nanker]

dave mcbride, on 20 January 2013 - 08:48 AM, said:

Especially when the rules are constantly changing..

And outlawing the three man wedge was April's undoing - just as it has been for other ST coaches.

The interesting thing about STs is that the coach gets to work with players on O and on D. I think that gives them a bit of a leg up as far as mastering the art of being a HC. That said, I think many if not most ST coaches have little or no desire to become a HC. April is one that did/does.

[machine gun kelly]

April didn't forget how to coach just due to the changes to the game.  I'm not sure about a HC position.  I wish him well.

[Mr. WEO]

Dadonkadonk, on 19 January 2013 - 09:48 PM, said:

I don't understand the Bobby April can be a HC thought/posts?  What makes you think he can manage an entire roster?  That he can handle in game decisions?  That he can evaluate talent and assist in draft selections and player development?  I can't say if he can or can not do any of these things.  He excelled as a ST's coach in a different era.  Gone are the wedges and the wedge busters and the kickoff from the 30 yard line.  I can not even be sure he is a competent ST's coach anymore.  He did not get the job in Buffalo and he is not so greatly respected around the league that he got an interview for another HC spot.  Maybe he is just a very good ST's coach.

I agree with this.  ST coach is what it is.  Drawing a line from April to Harbaugh is meaningless.

[CardinalScotts]

Eagles special teams sucked last year at or near the league low in every category and I know he can coach- so those who rip on the Bills hire of Danny Crossman because the Lions sucked on special teams take a look at the Eagles. Good players = good coach Bad players = bad coach. I didn't like Chan's use of CJ Spiller but we sit on here and complain how bad our wideouts are and the quarterback play with three starting lineman most of the season yet whine why Chan can score more. You can't have it both ways either it's short on coaching or short on players. Although I like the direction the Bills are taking we are short on players.

[Marv's Neighbor]

Coach Tuesday, on 20 January 2013 - 08:23 AM, said:

He keeps latching onto coaching staffs in peril.  I don't get it.  He'll be looking for a job again next year when Dennis Allen gets fired.

I wonder if he had any expectations of the HC job in Philadelphia, and did he leave there the same way he left Buffalo?

[billsoverdue]

eball, on 20 January 2013 - 08:25 AM, said:

The Bobby April worship around here gets sickening at times.  While the Bills' ST units were stellar under his watch, the units at his other NFL stops have been pedestrian at best.  So is he the fantastic coach we had in Buffalo, or the so-so coach in St. Louis before, and Philly after?

Special teams are a fickle mistress, my friends.  So many variables.

This

I wonder how many would have preferred April over Marrone.

[Nanker]

Few if any. IMHO.

[Captain Hindsight]

Chris in Syracuse, on 19 January 2013 - 10:41 PM, said:

He was a good ST coach.  He was passed over for Perry Fewell.  That says something.  He is not even the best candidate to be interim HC on a really bad team.  Why do we think he is HC material now?

Me thinks alot of teams do this to fulfill the rooney rule requirement