Age: 54
Experience: 26 years (Air Force, Ohio, Navy, Nevada, Texas A&M, Fresno State)
Normally, this section is filled with accomplishments and what not, but that’s basically boilerplate press release stuff that I am going to skip. Instead, I am going to drop some numbers for you that I found relevant, and give you my conclusions below.
While the data shows he has produced immediate improvement at his Air Force and Ohio stops, I limited the data samples to the last 8 years, partly because A&M seemed most relevant, and partly because the defensive metrics/databases I used didn’t go back much further.
I don’t pretend to be an expert in how it is calculated, but S&P+ is a normalized per play, opponent adjusted metric, set to scale out of 100. Think of it as similar to OPS+ in baseball. Over 100 = really good, 100 = average, below 100 = below average.
Implications of hire:
First things first, yes, this is a tad bit of a disappointment. However, the disappointment with DeRuyter is only a little bit tied in with his results, but moreso due to the type of candidate Cal was rumored to be pursuing -- the possibility of bringing in a young, up and coming, star recruiter versus the reality of hiring a head coach who was just fired from the Mountain West is admittedly a bit of a step down. There’s no getting around it. It is equally unfair as it is unfortunate that we come to view DeRuyter with this lens, seeing as it's not his fault we had these hopes, and I believe -- I hope? -- that in time we will come around to judge him on his own merits, rather than against what we expected we would be getting.
As mentioned, first time head coach Justin Wilcox will be flanked by two experienced coordinators who have served as head coaches of their own, which should provide some valuable guidance and insight as he attempts to mold the program in his own image. That's not the worst route to go, when you have a backup option.
DeRuyter’s background as a recruiter seems pretty checkered, as per this article by Athlon, although he did bring in talent that was comparable to the top of the conference, it seemed that head coach DeRuyter had trouble keeping them there. In the best case scenario, Cal rounds out the staff with a few guys who are notably good, well-connected recruiters, and builds upon the academic and support infrastructures Dykes left, if only to minimize DeRuyter a bit:
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/tim-deruyter-and-fresno-state-were-always-destined-end-here’
In fact, DeRuyter rarely saw even half of his recruiting classes finish their time at Fresno State. When I left the beat, only 57 percent of DeRuyter’s classes were still around. He lost about half the kids from each class, if not more, and those top athletes were replaced by other prospects who weren’t exactly rolling in offers when the Bulldogs came along.
The Lone Star State is another reason DeRuyter finds himself without a job. Fresno State prides itself on being the Valley’s team and that practice disappeared with DeRuyter’s hiring. Fully believing that Texas athletes were superior to any from a different state -- I know this because he told me as much -- DeRuyter focused his recruiting efforts on Texas and pretty much ignored all of the local talent. Valley high school head coaches said they never even saw or heard from DeRuyter until the final year of his coaching tenure, and that was after Bartko took away DeRuyter’s ability to run the recruiting ship by hiring Jimmy Morimoto from UNLV.
Valley kids grew frustrated with Fresno State and several of them went on to be recruited by other Mountain West programs which oversaw their ascendency on the field…
Recruiting under DeRuyter was spotty, at best. Though some tremendously talented players came in, their support system at Fresno State was not set up for these athletes to excel. It’s one thing to recruit athletes with concerns regarding their admission (grades, character questions, behavioral issues, etc.) it’s an entirely different matter to provide these kids with an environment meant to foster change and positive growth. DeRuyter rarely saw players as people and often tossed his players under the bus in press conferences; the surest way to lose your locker room.
However, DeRuyter does have a track record of improving defenses, and has done so immediately at each stop. A glass half full person will hope that his failures at Fresno State were due to him being a better coordinator than head coach – which is entirely possible. A glass half empty person will see his last four years as indicative of a larger failing, although Wilcox working in conjunction might mitigate that to some degree.
Hidden bonus: the DeRuyter hire also serves as an augment to Alexander's, as his background is in safeties and defensive backs, which might alleviate the worry about turning the whole unit over to a coach entering his third full year (and first at the FBS level).
Me? I’m somewhere in the middle on this one. It’s the equivalent of buying low on a coordinator and giving him the chance to rebuild his credibility, even if it isn’t all that sexy to say, and as coordinators go, he might end up being fine. I don’t need an A&M type resurgence from him at all, and that type of jump would be an incredible bonus, should it occur with he and Wilcox at the helm. I have often said this, and I still believe it -- if Baldwin maintains even a similar trajectory for the offense (like, 75% as good), combining that with a decent defense will be enough to win many games; certainly more than we were used to under Dykes.
Experience: 26 years (Air Force, Ohio, Navy, Nevada, Texas A&M, Fresno State)
Normally, this section is filled with accomplishments and what not, but that’s basically boilerplate press release stuff that I am going to skip. Instead, I am going to drop some numbers for you that I found relevant, and give you my conclusions below.
While the data shows he has produced immediate improvement at his Air Force and Ohio stops, I limited the data samples to the last 8 years, partly because A&M seemed most relevant, and partly because the defensive metrics/databases I used didn’t go back much further.
I don’t pretend to be an expert in how it is calculated, but S&P+ is a normalized per play, opponent adjusted metric, set to scale out of 100. Think of it as similar to OPS+ in baseball. Over 100 = really good, 100 = average, below 100 = below average.
Implications of hire:
First things first, yes, this is a tad bit of a disappointment. However, the disappointment with DeRuyter is only a little bit tied in with his results, but moreso due to the type of candidate Cal was rumored to be pursuing -- the possibility of bringing in a young, up and coming, star recruiter versus the reality of hiring a head coach who was just fired from the Mountain West is admittedly a bit of a step down. There’s no getting around it. It is equally unfair as it is unfortunate that we come to view DeRuyter with this lens, seeing as it's not his fault we had these hopes, and I believe -- I hope? -- that in time we will come around to judge him on his own merits, rather than against what we expected we would be getting.
As mentioned, first time head coach Justin Wilcox will be flanked by two experienced coordinators who have served as head coaches of their own, which should provide some valuable guidance and insight as he attempts to mold the program in his own image. That's not the worst route to go, when you have a backup option.
DeRuyter’s background as a recruiter seems pretty checkered, as per this article by Athlon, although he did bring in talent that was comparable to the top of the conference, it seemed that head coach DeRuyter had trouble keeping them there. In the best case scenario, Cal rounds out the staff with a few guys who are notably good, well-connected recruiters, and builds upon the academic and support infrastructures Dykes left, if only to minimize DeRuyter a bit:
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/tim-deruyter-and-fresno-state-were-always-destined-end-here’
In fact, DeRuyter rarely saw even half of his recruiting classes finish their time at Fresno State. When I left the beat, only 57 percent of DeRuyter’s classes were still around. He lost about half the kids from each class, if not more, and those top athletes were replaced by other prospects who weren’t exactly rolling in offers when the Bulldogs came along.
The Lone Star State is another reason DeRuyter finds himself without a job. Fresno State prides itself on being the Valley’s team and that practice disappeared with DeRuyter’s hiring. Fully believing that Texas athletes were superior to any from a different state -- I know this because he told me as much -- DeRuyter focused his recruiting efforts on Texas and pretty much ignored all of the local talent. Valley high school head coaches said they never even saw or heard from DeRuyter until the final year of his coaching tenure, and that was after Bartko took away DeRuyter’s ability to run the recruiting ship by hiring Jimmy Morimoto from UNLV.
Valley kids grew frustrated with Fresno State and several of them went on to be recruited by other Mountain West programs which oversaw their ascendency on the field…
Recruiting under DeRuyter was spotty, at best. Though some tremendously talented players came in, their support system at Fresno State was not set up for these athletes to excel. It’s one thing to recruit athletes with concerns regarding their admission (grades, character questions, behavioral issues, etc.) it’s an entirely different matter to provide these kids with an environment meant to foster change and positive growth. DeRuyter rarely saw players as people and often tossed his players under the bus in press conferences; the surest way to lose your locker room.
However, DeRuyter does have a track record of improving defenses, and has done so immediately at each stop. A glass half full person will hope that his failures at Fresno State were due to him being a better coordinator than head coach – which is entirely possible. A glass half empty person will see his last four years as indicative of a larger failing, although Wilcox working in conjunction might mitigate that to some degree.
Hidden bonus: the DeRuyter hire also serves as an augment to Alexander's, as his background is in safeties and defensive backs, which might alleviate the worry about turning the whole unit over to a coach entering his third full year (and first at the FBS level).
Me? I’m somewhere in the middle on this one. It’s the equivalent of buying low on a coordinator and giving him the chance to rebuild his credibility, even if it isn’t all that sexy to say, and as coordinators go, he might end up being fine. I don’t need an A&M type resurgence from him at all, and that type of jump would be an incredible bonus, should it occur with he and Wilcox at the helm. I have often said this, and I still believe it -- if Baldwin maintains even a similar trajectory for the offense (like, 75% as good), combining that with a decent defense will be enough to win many games; certainly more than we were used to under Dykes.
