Controlling quality control
posted by LW, Thursday, February 25, 2010
Just got around to reading some of the stuff about Michigan's major violations, and the part that sticks out is a part that everyone else -- including the folks at Clemson -- should be paying close attention to.
The title of "quality control" has become popular in recent years as schools try to find an edge.
Often in so-called big-time intercollegiate athletics, edges are found in loopholes.
Michigan and Alabama might be the most obvious examples of football programs that have found an edge by making large numbers of additions to their staffs, to the point where it sometimes appears the staffs outnumber the teams themselves.
NCAA rules limit college staffs to only nine full-time assistant coaches, and those coaches are prohibited from being present at "voluntary" workouts over the summer.
Alabama's Nick Saban was unencumbered by many restraints as an NFL coach, and he's done his best to find his way around these restraints in his three seasons with the Crimson Tide.
Part of his strategy is adding "quality control" staffers who can do things full-time coaches cannot. Take a look at Alabama's media guide (or their web site) and look at all the different positions and titles that have been concocted. It's amazing.
Same deal at Michigan. And it's part of what brought major violations to Michigan for the first time ever.
Here are some passages in the Detroit Free Press story that provide some details into the NCAA's scrutiny:
The five potential major violations at Michigan carry one overriding theme: that U-M had a system in place that exceeded NCAA limits on how many people could coach, how often they could coach and what they could coach.
The NCAA alleges that U-M's five quality-control staffers essentially acted as extra assistant coaches from the time Rodriguez took over, in January 2008, until September 2009, shortly after the Free Press detailed allegations against the program.
Quality-control staffers are supposed to assist coaches, but are not allowed to work directly with players or perform most traditional coaching duties.
The NCAA allows each school to have one head coach, nine assistant coaches and two graduate assistants. NCAA rules state that "No individual other than coaches ... may participate in any manner in the coaching" of players.
Yet Michigan's quality-control staffers, the NCAA contends, worked with players on skill development in the off-season; illegally worked with players twice a week during supposedly voluntary workout periods; illegally monitored seven-on-seven drills, and sometimes coached players during spring and regular-season football practice and attended meetings with coaches.
Players told the Free Press that under Rodriguez, each quality-control staffer worked with players on the team according to position: Bryan Wright coached running backs. Dan Hott coached defensive linemen. Josh Ison (and Bob McClain before him) coached special teams. Eric Smith coached wide receivers. Adam Braithwaite coached linebackers.
Rodriguez recently promoted Braithwaite to full-time assistant coach. According to the notice of allegations made public Tuesday, shortly after Rodriguez was hired, U-M's compliance staffers "were concerned about the duties and activities of" the quality-control staffers.
In the Ann Arbor News, Jim Donnan gives more insight on the evolution of quality-control personnel.
Most Big Ten schools employ quality-control assistants, though Michigan was the only school with more than two last year.
Donnan said having five quality-control staffers, as Michigan did, does not seem excessive.
“There’s certainly ones with less, that’s for sure, but there’s probably some with more,” he said. “It’s a real fine line between what you can do and can’t do as far as on the field and off the field. I think there (are) some people trying to get an advantage. I’m talking generically here, I’m not talking about Michigan or anybody else. But I don’t really feel like the quality-control issue is one that, based on my going around and watching teams practice, I don’t think anybody tries to take advantage of that.”
Donnan's last point is up for debate, because this quality-control thing has all the appearances of merely the latest frontier in football programs' eternal pursuit of any edge possible.
Clemson's Dabo Swinney is pursuing that edge, as well he should. When he took over in December of 2008, adding quality-control folks was a part of his vision for a major expansion of his support staff.
Swinney wants to play big-boy football, and a big part of that is doing the cutting-edge stuff that other folks are doing.
To be clear: I'm not coming close to saying, or even suggesting, that anything Swinney is doing at Clemson -- or wants to do at Clemson -- even approaches what landed Michigan in hot water.
But this is something I'm sure the administrative folks at Clemson are monitoring. And if they're not, they'd better start. Because in slapping Rich Rodriguez and Michigan with major infractions, the NCAA could be initiating the closing of the latest loophole coaches have exploited.
Come to think of it, maybe this is a good thing for Clemson. This place doesn't have the unlimited funds that are available at, say, Alabama or Michigan. So if the NCAA trains its microscope on the exponential increase of quality-control folks and imposes limits on support staff, maybe it levels the playing field a bit.
Moving right along...
Tough loss for the Tigers last night. Maryland is a good team, but it's hard to stomach losing when you have a 15-point lead in the first half and a 12-point lead after halftime.
Needing at least one win to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, you have to think the pressure increases with tough games remaining against Florida State (road), Georgia Tech (home), and Wake Forest (road).
Sunday's game in Tallahassee is monstrous. Lose that one, and there's a huge mental burden for the home finale against the Yellow Jackets.
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail made the trip College Park and filed this story.
“You’ve got to do what you do on the road very well,” said Clemson coach Oliver Purnell. “In the first half we scored, knocked down 3’s and got happy with that. I thought that’s what happened. We were scoring and leading, but we weren’t digging in defensively and it caught up with us.”
Bart Wright was also there and wrote this piece.
Here's the story from Maryland's side of things, including this quote from Jordan Williams:
"It was crazy. I had never seen them shoot like that before, even in film. They were hitting everything. I said to the team at halftime, I said, 'They're going to start missing threes. They're not really a great three-point shooting team.' We had to know that they were going to start missing them."
According to this story, mop man Greivis Vasquez had some stomach issues before the game.
"He took some stomach medicine," Maryland coach Gary Williams said of Vasquez. "He turned it around in the second half for us. We didn't have much room for error the second half."
Vasquez only shot 5-for-13, but he had 13 assists. He even picked up a mop in the second half and wiped up a wet spot on the floor, eliciting laughter and applause. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt," the senior said.
Virginia Tech gets ripped by 20 at Boston College, and some folks were surprised by that. Me, not so much.
And North Carolina found itself lucky to only lose by 10 to Florida State in Chapel Hill.
Caulton Tudor rips the Heels yet again in this column.
But if the Seminoles and Tar Heels share a lot of common ground, it was difficult to detect Wednesday. While Carolina began by committing turnovers at an alarming rate during the decisive early going, Hamilton’s team quickly carved apart the loose Tar Heel defense to the extent that substitute wingman Deividas Dulkys at times looked like a latter day Larry Bird.
Dulkys finished with 17 points in 22 minutes, while all of Carolina’s reserves combined for 14 points in 56 minutes.
As the losses pile up, you almost start to feel sorry for Roy Williams.
Almost.
And gosh, is there any more obvious evidence of Clemson's curse in Chapel Hill than the fact that the Tigers don't play there this year? They smashed them in Littlejohn, and they'd smash them in the Dean Dome.
Here's the game story from the Tallahassee Democrat.
Gene Sapakoff says Devan Downey will go undrafted in the NBA, and I'm surprised by that. Kid has the goods, short stature and all.
The Knoxville paper gets an interview with Lane Kiffin, who opens up about his hasty departure from Tennessee.
Eventually Kiffin and his immediate family did take off - without David Reaves. Reaves, who was quarterbacks coach and the brother of Kiffin's wife, Layla, told the News Sentinel that he heard of the hiring on television, not from his family.
Moreover, Kiffin did not hire Reaves for a position at USC. He instead hired former Memphis offensive coordinator Clay Helton to handle quarterbacks.
"When you take a job, so many things go into your staff structure and makeup of it (such as) the direction sometimes that an athletic director or president wants you to go as well," Kiffin said. "There are a lot of things that went into that decision that were not based solely on business at all."
LW
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Just got around to reading some of the stuff about Michigan's major violations, and the part that sticks out is a part that everyone else -- including the folks at Clemson -- should be paying close attention to.
The title of "quality control" has become popular in recent years as schools try to find an edge.
Often in so-called big-time intercollegiate athletics, edges are found in loopholes.
Michigan and Alabama might be the most obvious examples of football programs that have found an edge by making large numbers of additions to their staffs, to the point where it sometimes appears the staffs outnumber the teams themselves.
NCAA rules limit college staffs to only nine full-time assistant coaches, and those coaches are prohibited from being present at "voluntary" workouts over the summer.
Alabama's Nick Saban was unencumbered by many restraints as an NFL coach, and he's done his best to find his way around these restraints in his three seasons with the Crimson Tide.
Part of his strategy is adding "quality control" staffers who can do things full-time coaches cannot. Take a look at Alabama's media guide (or their web site) and look at all the different positions and titles that have been concocted. It's amazing.
Same deal at Michigan. And it's part of what brought major violations to Michigan for the first time ever.
Here are some passages in the Detroit Free Press story that provide some details into the NCAA's scrutiny:
The five potential major violations at Michigan carry one overriding theme: that U-M had a system in place that exceeded NCAA limits on how many people could coach, how often they could coach and what they could coach.
The NCAA alleges that U-M's five quality-control staffers essentially acted as extra assistant coaches from the time Rodriguez took over, in January 2008, until September 2009, shortly after the Free Press detailed allegations against the program.
Quality-control staffers are supposed to assist coaches, but are not allowed to work directly with players or perform most traditional coaching duties.
The NCAA allows each school to have one head coach, nine assistant coaches and two graduate assistants. NCAA rules state that "No individual other than coaches ... may participate in any manner in the coaching" of players.
Yet Michigan's quality-control staffers, the NCAA contends, worked with players on skill development in the off-season; illegally worked with players twice a week during supposedly voluntary workout periods; illegally monitored seven-on-seven drills, and sometimes coached players during spring and regular-season football practice and attended meetings with coaches.
Players told the Free Press that under Rodriguez, each quality-control staffer worked with players on the team according to position: Bryan Wright coached running backs. Dan Hott coached defensive linemen. Josh Ison (and Bob McClain before him) coached special teams. Eric Smith coached wide receivers. Adam Braithwaite coached linebackers.
Rodriguez recently promoted Braithwaite to full-time assistant coach. According to the notice of allegations made public Tuesday, shortly after Rodriguez was hired, U-M's compliance staffers "were concerned about the duties and activities of" the quality-control staffers.
In the Ann Arbor News, Jim Donnan gives more insight on the evolution of quality-control personnel.
Most Big Ten schools employ quality-control assistants, though Michigan was the only school with more than two last year.
Donnan said having five quality-control staffers, as Michigan did, does not seem excessive.
“There’s certainly ones with less, that’s for sure, but there’s probably some with more,” he said. “It’s a real fine line between what you can do and can’t do as far as on the field and off the field. I think there (are) some people trying to get an advantage. I’m talking generically here, I’m not talking about Michigan or anybody else. But I don’t really feel like the quality-control issue is one that, based on my going around and watching teams practice, I don’t think anybody tries to take advantage of that.”
Donnan's last point is up for debate, because this quality-control thing has all the appearances of merely the latest frontier in football programs' eternal pursuit of any edge possible.
Clemson's Dabo Swinney is pursuing that edge, as well he should. When he took over in December of 2008, adding quality-control folks was a part of his vision for a major expansion of his support staff.
Swinney wants to play big-boy football, and a big part of that is doing the cutting-edge stuff that other folks are doing.
To be clear: I'm not coming close to saying, or even suggesting, that anything Swinney is doing at Clemson -- or wants to do at Clemson -- even approaches what landed Michigan in hot water.
But this is something I'm sure the administrative folks at Clemson are monitoring. And if they're not, they'd better start. Because in slapping Rich Rodriguez and Michigan with major infractions, the NCAA could be initiating the closing of the latest loophole coaches have exploited.
Come to think of it, maybe this is a good thing for Clemson. This place doesn't have the unlimited funds that are available at, say, Alabama or Michigan. So if the NCAA trains its microscope on the exponential increase of quality-control folks and imposes limits on support staff, maybe it levels the playing field a bit.
Moving right along...
Tough loss for the Tigers last night. Maryland is a good team, but it's hard to stomach losing when you have a 15-point lead in the first half and a 12-point lead after halftime.
Needing at least one win to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, you have to think the pressure increases with tough games remaining against Florida State (road), Georgia Tech (home), and Wake Forest (road).
Sunday's game in Tallahassee is monstrous. Lose that one, and there's a huge mental burden for the home finale against the Yellow Jackets.
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail made the trip College Park and filed this story.
“You’ve got to do what you do on the road very well,” said Clemson coach Oliver Purnell. “In the first half we scored, knocked down 3’s and got happy with that. I thought that’s what happened. We were scoring and leading, but we weren’t digging in defensively and it caught up with us.”
Bart Wright was also there and wrote this piece.
Here's the story from Maryland's side of things, including this quote from Jordan Williams:
"It was crazy. I had never seen them shoot like that before, even in film. They were hitting everything. I said to the team at halftime, I said, 'They're going to start missing threes. They're not really a great three-point shooting team.' We had to know that they were going to start missing them."
According to this story, mop man Greivis Vasquez had some stomach issues before the game.
"He took some stomach medicine," Maryland coach Gary Williams said of Vasquez. "He turned it around in the second half for us. We didn't have much room for error the second half."
Vasquez only shot 5-for-13, but he had 13 assists. He even picked up a mop in the second half and wiped up a wet spot on the floor, eliciting laughter and applause. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt," the senior said.
Virginia Tech gets ripped by 20 at Boston College, and some folks were surprised by that. Me, not so much.
And North Carolina found itself lucky to only lose by 10 to Florida State in Chapel Hill.
Caulton Tudor rips the Heels yet again in this column.
But if the Seminoles and Tar Heels share a lot of common ground, it was difficult to detect Wednesday. While Carolina began by committing turnovers at an alarming rate during the decisive early going, Hamilton’s team quickly carved apart the loose Tar Heel defense to the extent that substitute wingman Deividas Dulkys at times looked like a latter day Larry Bird.
Dulkys finished with 17 points in 22 minutes, while all of Carolina’s reserves combined for 14 points in 56 minutes.
As the losses pile up, you almost start to feel sorry for Roy Williams.
Almost.
And gosh, is there any more obvious evidence of Clemson's curse in Chapel Hill than the fact that the Tigers don't play there this year? They smashed them in Littlejohn, and they'd smash them in the Dean Dome.
Here's the game story from the Tallahassee Democrat.
Gene Sapakoff says Devan Downey will go undrafted in the NBA, and I'm surprised by that. Kid has the goods, short stature and all.
The Knoxville paper gets an interview with Lane Kiffin, who opens up about his hasty departure from Tennessee.
Eventually Kiffin and his immediate family did take off - without David Reaves. Reaves, who was quarterbacks coach and the brother of Kiffin's wife, Layla, told the News Sentinel that he heard of the hiring on television, not from his family.
Moreover, Kiffin did not hire Reaves for a position at USC. He instead hired former Memphis offensive coordinator Clay Helton to handle quarterbacks.
"When you take a job, so many things go into your staff structure and makeup of it (such as) the direction sometimes that an athletic director or president wants you to go as well," Kiffin said. "There are a lot of things that went into that decision that were not based solely on business at all."
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
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