LeVar Woods Interviews with Bucs

Gander Hawk said:
Are you sure this is true?
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When this first came out, there was a thread about it and I did some looking and found these ass't head coaches at D1 schools.

5 RB coaches
1 OL coach
1 TE coach
1 CB coach
2 LB coaches
1 safeties coach
1 strength coach
1 run game coordinator
Jim Harbaugh's 84 year old dad (yes, I'm serious)
 
I'm hoping this is just for the experience. I hope this isn't something that KF has somehow slighted him. Most of the coaches seem to have a fairly good opinion of KF and it appears he does what he can to get them raises and etc.

Woods' name has been a hot topic the last couple years, and rightfully so. Could it be that he is happy where he is at and is very happy where he is at? Of course, that can change very quickly. Regardless of what happens, Woods, has been an asset for the program and I believe some day he will be a head coach somewhere (hopefully Iowa).
 
I know no one will agree with this take or theory but here goes. Brian was the assistant HC - he was also the OC, but more than anything, he was the assistant HC. The other loudest voice in the program. He didn't have the title and good lord would Kirk or anyone NOT tell the public that because holy shit, imagine the uproar. But they all knew. So he was OC by title and that's where he focused, but he was really the assistant HC. Like, IMO, that title and job didn't just APPEAR, and Kirk didn't wake up and say, hey, ya know what, we need an assistant HC now that Brian is gone. I think Kirk was more concerned about filling the vacant assistant HC position as he was filling the OC, hence why it took longer and hence why it didn't seem like a priority and it doesn't seem like Kirk is all "hey, we're going to change who we are" - again, because they all work in concert and the offense and defense is ultimately ran by 1 guy who is the only one who has any sort of autonomy within the organization. I don't buy that he gave the Assistant HC title to Wallace just to keep him either. I think there was a void there that needed filled after Brian walked out the door.

Just my opinion and also ANOTHER reason why I really haven't cared one way or the other who the OC was. I don't think we see much change as far as how things are ran on the offense side of things. Seriously, put a headset on a Golden Retriever and save the program a mill and a half.
 
HawkPowerlifter said:
Maybe he is just testing the waters. I have heard he is very rooted in Iowa City, and he is a family man. People professionally test the waters all the time. Isn't his son, a potential Iowa recruiting target too?

Unless something has happened behind closed doors, I would be shocked to see him leave. His name has been and will be brought up for a lot of positions. Let's hope we can keep Woods around. A great coach.

One thing I'm curious about, has Woods had the opportunity to gain experience running offenses? I know he played defense at Iowa and coached tight ends, and now is with special teams. Just curious if his familiarity or potential lack of could be holding him back from advancement.

Granted, if Woods would become a head coach, he could hire an OC of his choosing and allow them to run the show. That does happen EXCEPT AT IOWA, but I guess it was just a question I have wondered about for a while.
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There I edited and corrected your comment.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Yea, kind of a head scratcher. One would think the Assistant Head Coach would be an individual who is qualified to possibly take the job if needed or next in line. Not sure that is the case with this bump up. I have nothing against Wallace and he very well may be on that path, but does he have even one head coaching job t any level of football? Seems weird for a Div 1 program and what program hires a head coach with absolutely no HC experience? Lavar doesn't either, but at least he's been in a coordinator role.
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“what program hires a head coach with absolutely no HC experience?”

Well it worked well for Iowa when hiring their last OC/ quarterback coach. (sarcasm meter pushing way into the red).
 
HawkPowerlifter said:
I'm hoping this is just for the experience. I hope this isn't something that KF has somehow slighted him. Most of the coaches seem to have a fairly good opinion of KF and it appears he does what he can to get them raises and etc.

Woods' name has been a hot topic the last couple years, and rightfully so. Could it be that he is happy where he is at and is very happy where he is at? Of course, that can change very quickly. Regardless of what happens, Woods, has been an asset for the program and I believe some day he will be a head coach somewhere (hopefully Iowa).
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“ Most of the coaches seem to have a fairly good opinion of KF and it appears he does what he can to get them raises and etc.”

What do you expect the coaches under Kirk to say publicly? Do you expect them to go on record and say “Kirk is a piece of shit” for this reason and that reason? That is the death penalty for anyone in coaching to do that. Not only for the current coaching staff you are under but for any future coaching staff you apply for.
 
Be aware. KF has more connections than you can even imagine. He also is widely admired, other than by a few HN posters. I learned years ago, as a “buck stops here” adminstrator, that if you try to control the entire organization, you are doomed to failure. Your skill must be to identify whom in your wheel house can be trusted. If you cannot accomplish this decision successfully, you are not worth your pay grade. And, at the end of the day, if your trust in a colleague is not successful, you meed to bow out gracefully. The buck really does stop with you, my friend. Grow up and deal with it.
 
Well, Tampa Bay hired someone other than Woods. For the time being, Lavar is still with us. The this whole new title for Wallace has me perplexed. When KF was asked about it, he really didn't even know and stated that he had never had one before.

I'm not sure if it was to get more money for Wallace or what. And like many have stated "Is Woods upset regarding this new title?" Obviously there is a lot of conversations we know nothing about. It's KF's show and anyone who has been in leadership, can relate you cannot make everyone happy, and some will find other places of employment if unhappy. Guess we will see.
 
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Wallace already had the special title of co-defensive coordinator. And he got the big raise to presumably match offers he got (or might get) to become DC at schools like Minnesota. So Wallace would have been squared away as is.

If Kirk wanted to put more on Woods' plate and help grow his profile (like he did with Wallace and the co-coordinator title), he would have given him the associate head coach title and related duties. So Kirk must think Wallace is further down the head coach path than Woods. Not hard to see how that would be extremely disappointing to Woods and leave him with the feeling that he needed to expand his profile somewhere other than Iowa.

Now maybe Kirk is right and Wallace is closer to being a head coach than Woods.

But I'd also point out that the two folks Kirk has most empowered in his program over his 25 year run are also the only two instances in which the university had to step in and terminate someone from his staff.

Hopefully the third time an assistant has been elevated to this kind of level within his program will not end as poorly. I don't think it will, but I'm also not ready to give Kirk the benefit of the doubt that giving Wallace this role instead of Woods is the right call.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
Wallace already had the special title of co-defensive coordinator. And he got the big raise to presumably match offers he got (or might get) to become DC at schools like Minnesota. So Wallace would have been squared away as is.

If Kirk wanted to put more on Woods' plate and help grow his profile (like he did with Wallace and the co-coordinator title), he would have given him the associate head coach title and related duties. So Kirk must think Wallace is further down the head coach path than Woods. Not hard to see how that would be extremely disappointing to Woods and leave him with the feeling that he needed to expand his profile somewhere other than Iowa.

Now maybe Kirk is right and Wallace is closer to being a head coach than Woods.

But I'd also point out that the two folks Kirk has most empowered in his program over his 25 year run are also the only two instances in which the university had to step in and terminate someone from his staff.

Hopefully the third time an assistant has been elevated to this kind of level within his program will not end as poorly. I don't think it will, but I'm also not ready to give Kirk the benefit of the doubt that giving Wallace this role instead of Woods is the right call.
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Yeah Wallace was being sought after the last couple yrs by others I think... He's damn good at what he does both with LBs defense in general and recruiting that KF made the calculated decision to do what he thought he could to keep him around. Sounded like other BIG schools woulda entertained making him their DC. Picking Wallace over Woods is prioritizing his value to the D compared to Woods and the special teams.

Imagine turning down a DC job to stay a LB coach... Well he's probably done that and now KF slapped him with a fancy new title and raise and that's kinda how the game is played. Iowa's lucky to keep a guy like that. What Wallace allows Parker to do is really focus his time on the back end of the D with the secondary which is his bread and butter. Bell of course kills it on the Dline. They have a hell of a thing going with that defense and KF is smart enough to know keeping those guys should be priority number 1 for him. Wallace has a lot to do with it.
 
It dawned on me that the Iowa beat writers don't have their finger on the pulse of the staff as much as it appears. All this time they talked about LaVar but were caught flat footed when Seth got his recongnition. Sometimes they say things as if they were fact but their just repeating each others' opinioins.

The most recent example is that they'ere all so confident that Bud will be the next WR coach. Seems to me that the OC is going to decide that. If it was Bud, they'd probably have named him by now...but looks like there is a process here. And they don't have any more idea than we do
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Yeah Wallace was being sought after the last couple yrs by others I think... He's damn good at what he does both with LBs defense in general and recruiting that KF made the calculated decision to do what he thought he could to keep him around. Sounded like other BIG schools woulda entertained making him their DC. Picking Wallace over Woods is prioritizing his value to the D compared to Woods and the special teams.

Imagine turning down a DC job to stay a LB coach... Well he's probably done that and now KF slapped him with a fancy new title and raise and that's kinda how the game is played. Iowa's lucky to keep a guy like that. What Wallace allows Parker to do is really focus his time on the back end of the D with the secondary which is his bread and butter. Bell of course kills it on the Dline. They have a hell of a thing going with that defense and KF is smart enough to know keeping those guys should be priority number 1 for him. Wallace has a lot to do with it.
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But he wasn't just a linebackers coach. He had already been elevated to assistant D coordinator, and now is also making $1M. That showed how much value he had to the program. The money shows the priority for Kirk, which is all good.

Is he better head coaching material at this stage than Woods? Who the hell knows. I do know that there is no one on the staff that recruits and their families rave about more than Woods. And that his transformation of Iowa's special teams has absolutely been a game changer.

And that the last two times Kirk empowered assistants to this same kind of level, they absolutely were the wrong calls.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
But he wasn't just a linebackers coach. He had already been elevated to assistant D coordinator, and now is also making $1M. That showed how much value he had to the program. The money shows the priority for Kirk, which is all good.

Is he better head coaching material at this stage than Woods? Who the hell knows. I do know that there is no one on the staff that recruits and their families rave about more than Woods. And that his transformation of Iowa's special teams has absolutely been a game changer.

And that the last two times Kirk empowered assistants to this same kind of level, they absolutely were the wrong calls.
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From where I sit assistant HC or not it doesn't matter. What matters is keeping that defensive staff as in tact as it can be. KF is way more worried about the immediate future of the program then long term (now that his kid is out of the picture for sure this is the case) How stupid would KF have to be to not do everything he could to keep Wallace. If it wouldn't have been enough and he left to be a DC somewhere else then so be it more power to him. But thankfully for KF Wallace is cool with staying and the new title and $ sure doesn't hurt.

If say Woods left he'd have been an easier to replace piece is probably how he'd look at it. Right or wrong time is what always tells.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
From where I sit assistant HC or not it doesn't matter. What matters is keeping that defensive staff as in tact as it can be. KF is way more worried about the immediate future of the program then long term (now that his kid is out of the picture for sure this is the case) How stupid would KF have to be to not do everything he could to keep Wallace. If it wouldn't have been enough and he left to be a DC somewhere else then so be it more power to him. But thankfully for KF Wallace is cool with staying and the new title and $ sure doesn't hurt.

If say Woods left he'd have been an easier to replace piece is probably how he'd look at it. Right or wrong time is what always tells.
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My comeback to that is I think $1M as an assistant D coordinator was enough to keep Wallace at Iowa. At that point, if he wanted to be a head DC somewhere I think he'd do it, regardless of the assistant HC title.

And from afar, it has seemed like Woods has been ready and wanting more for awhile.

Here's another thing I don't love. Kirk has had 4 OCs and 2 DCs. And now an assistant head coach. And at one time, he said Doyle was the most important/powerful person in the whole organization (with Kirk being the one who empowered him).

So he's 8 for 8 for placing white guys in the most important spots on his staff. (The strength coach position has been far diminished since Doyle left, and I don't think most consider special teams coordinator on the same level as the others, it certainly isn't as a springboard to other opportunities).

That's a really poor track record after 25 years. Once Kirk didn't hire a black guy as OC, I think it made even more sense for him to elevate Woods to a more entrusted position that would lend itself to more opportunities.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
My comeback to that is I think $1M as an assistant D coordinator was enough to keep Wallace at Iowa. At that point, if he wanted to be a head DC somewhere I think he'd do it, regardless of the assistant HC title.

And from afar, it has seemed like Woods has been ready and wanting more for awhile.

Here's another thing I don't love. Kirk has had 4 OCs and 2 DCs. And now an assistant head coach. And at one time, he said Doyle was the most important/powerful person in the whole organization (with Kirk being the one who empowered him).

So he's 8 for 8 for placing white guys in the most important spots on his staff. (The strength coach position has been far diminished since Doyle left, and I don't think most consider special teams coordinator on the same level as the others, it certainly isn't as a springboard to other opportunities).

That's a really poor track record after 25 years. Once Kirk didn't hire a black guy as OC, I think it made even more sense for him to elevate Woods to a more entrusted position that would lend itself to more opportunities.
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Perhaps yeah KF just clearly made his choice of Wallace being a really highly thought of part of the program he didn't want to leave. The $ and the new title were just his way of trying to do everything he could to keep him. If that's one present too many so be it.

Braithwaite is black you do know that right? He was #2 behind Doyle for a long time. Just because he's not prominently spoken about publicly in ways Doyle was doesn't make him any less integral to the program. Iowa still is and always will be a developmental program and Braithwaite has had that chair since Doyle left. He's done a great job outside of the Oline. That's not all on him but I'd say the Olines lack of success does have shared blame.

KF currently has Betts, Hodge, Bell Braithewaite and Woods on staff . I don't think the diversity issue is one to be brought up here. I really don't. The main staffing issue I have with KF atm is Budmayr. He really shouldn't be the WR coach and it sounds like he's going to get it. When Marvin McNutt is just up the road and would bend over backwards for the gig it just doesn't make a ton of sense keep Budmayr around at all.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Perhaps yeah KF just clearly made his choice of Wallace being a really highly thought of part of the program he didn't want to leave. The $ and the new title were just his way of trying to do everything he could to keep him. If that's one present too many so be it.

Braithwaite is black you do know that right? He was #2 behind Doyle for a long time. Just because he's not prominently spoken about publicly in ways Doyle was doesn't make him any less integral to the program. Iowa still is and always will be a developmental program and Braithwaite has had that chair since Doyle left. He's done a great job outside of the Oline. That's not all on him but I'd say the Olines lack of success does have shared blame.

KF currently has Betts, Hodge, Bell Braithewaite and Woods on staff . I don't think the diversity issue is one to be brought up here. I really don't. The main staffing issue I have with KF atm is Budmayr. He really shouldn't be the WR coach and it sounds like he's going to get it. When Marvin McNutt is just up the road and would bend over backwards for the gig it just doesn't make a ton of sense keep Budmayr around at all.
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I know Braithwaite is black - and that's why I called out that the position has been far diminished in power since Doyle was fired. Probably for the best. Doyle was Kirk's right hand man and by all accounts, the most influential and powerful person on the staff. Braithwaite's role isn't anything close to that.

I think Kirk has improved in recent years in hiring black coaches. That's commendable. But the fact remains that he hasn't hired or promoted a black coach for his most important positions, the spots that can be leveraged into better opportunities down the road. And he doesn't have a great track record in the couple folks he has trusted the very most.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
I know Braithwaite is black - and that's why I called out that the position has been far diminished in power since Doyle was fired. Probably for the best. Doyle was Kirk's right hand man and by all accounts, the most influential and powerful person on the staff. Braithwaite's role isn't anything close to that.

I think Kirk has improved in recent years in hiring black coaches. That's commendable. But the fact remains that he hasn't hired or promoted a black coach for his most important positions, the spots that can be leveraged into better opportunities down the road. And he doesn't have a great track record in the couple folks he has trusted the very most.
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Gotcha I see what you mean now. I disagree though with that assertion. I think Braithwaite has no less of a role it's just not being put out there publicly as much for whatever reasons. That's probably more of a media thing if you ask me then a role thing amongst the staff.

Iowa hasn't had had prominent roles to be had lately though. Parker has been there forever as DC and besides that his kid was OC for 7 yrs prior. Letting go of Copeland was almost as overdue as letting BF go was. I'd be all about replacing him with McNutt and not Budmayr. I have a feeling we have common ground on that. I just couldn't tell you what all minority OC candidates were even on the table for replacing BF with were.
 
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