So he's 1 for 8 since coming aboard at Iowa? Not that great of an average. I don't mind KOK that much as an OC, but I don't think he's that great with QB's, at least not when he has to handle OC responsibilities as well.
Regardless, cabse5's plan to make Iowa an elite program is completely backwards. He chooses to focus on overhauling the strongest unit (defense), rather than shoring up the weaker one (offense).
I hear you on O'Keefe. Obviously a huge failure when it comes to our quarterbacks.
So McCann became an effective Big Ten quarterback his senior year under O'Keefe, so what? McCann represented what we are only beginning to scratch the surface with in Derby. About 235 pounds packed on that 6'4" frame, cannon arm, runs like a deer...yes, any high school coach in the country could have guided McCann into becoming an effective Big Ten quarterback. Total stud.
And then the next year there was that backup guy, Banks or something, who came from a junior college in Mississippi and after only spending a year or so on campus, went on to finish second for that one award they give to the nation's best player. Obviously O'Keefe lucked into superior talent with that guy, Banks or whatever, because he has gone onto fame and riches as a backup QB in Canada and is now gracing the Arena League with his presence.
Also hard to give O'Keefe credit for Chandler. He came in as a starter after only one year in the program, like Banks, so O'Keefe didn't even have a chance to screw him up either. Not even really a test for our QB coach...not even sure what he was doing while our football team was busy finishing 8th in the country that year.
And the next season, after we simplified the offense by losing our top 5 running backs, what other choice did O'Keefe have but to try to win games by crafting the offense around his QB? I mean, we couldn't run the ball, so it didn't exactly take a genius to tell Drew Tate to pass, right? Good thing none of the other Big Ten coaches read the scouting reports that year either, or they may have forced us to pass even more. O'Keefe would have had a much more difficult task in winning a Big Title if that had been the case.
Finally, this Ricky kid? Was he even all-Big Ten? 25 TDs to 6 interceptions, 3,000 yards, 3 bowl wins...say what you want about stats and having one of the best statistical seasons in 100 years of Iowa football, but I don't believe he made the first or second all-conference teams, did he?
Come on, O'Keefe. And what do stats tell us anyway? They often fluctuate from year to year. Ricky's were far worse as a first year, full-time starter as a junior....can't really see what role O'Keefe would have played in the enormous shift in stats from junior to senior year.
Yep, maybe one of these years we'll find ourselves a QB coach.
