Since the Cats have two offensive positions to fill I thought it might be beneficial to throw some additional names out there to discuss.
Guys with ties to the West Coast system..
Jon Embree; 49ers tight ends coach: He's about the same age as Klieman and Mess. He coached two of the best tight ends in NFL history in Tony Gonzalez (w/Chiefs) and George Kittle. When this offense is at its best it is working through the TE. Most of his career is linked to the pros. He doesn't have much coordinating experience so perhaps he's just content in his positional role. He's from California and played his college ball in Boulder and spent some time coaching for the Bufs as well.
Randy Hedberg:
Surprised we don't hear more about this guy. His reputation is larger than Fargo as he's now coached 3 NFL QBs while in Fargo. He's in his mid-60's, so maybe he's comfortable where he's at? Maybe CK asked him to come aboard in 19 and Hedberg declined? Maybe CK didn't want to completely deplete the staff of his friends up there? In any case he'd be a sure thing to improve the QB play immediately. I don't know his chops as a recruiter but you'd think recruits would come based on his reputation alone. He doesn't have a ton of coordinating experience so you might be taking a bit of a risk in giving him the OC job outright. Perhaps co-OC and link him with another one of these other names.
Former head coaches / Guys with ties to TX recruiting..
David Beaty:
His resume is pretty impressive even considering his time at KU (when he almost won in manhattan in his final year). His still very young and has a reputation as an offensive guy. His name was officially cleared by the NCAA about 2 months ago for the stain KU tried to attach to him -- turns out it blew up right in their face (Long & Miles); so he's good to start coaching again. Sometimes you see guys take some time off coaching and come back with fresh perspectives. I would think he would be anxious to get back into coaching and especially hungry to pound KU for what they pulled on him. I'm thinking he could be a strong candidate for the WR position job and maybe even a co-OC.
Matt Wells:
A fair amount of ink has been spilled on his name already. Probably a 1 or 2 year deal if he's Klieman's guy. If he is the guy at OC, I would expect CK to pair him with a younger name on this list as the OC in training.
Darrell Wyatt:
A couple things I like about him, first, he's a former Cat WR. If I remember right, he played JUCO ball and finished his career in the late 80's (pre-Snyder). He spent a lot of time coaching in the Big 12 (OU in their glory Stoops days of White, etc.). He also spent some time as UT recruiting coordinator. I don't think he would be a candidate for the OC job as I don't think he has a ton of experience with that. But certainly is qualified for the WR job. He's currently employed by UCF under Gus Malzahn. He's a holdover from the previous UCF staff. It could be difficult to pull him away from Orlando, where he's about to be back in the Big 12, but I believe we could pay him a bit more and perhaps lure him with a little extra bling on his job title. I think it's somewhat rare to have holdovers between staff's. Perhaps the covid year made it easier for Gus to hang onto him and maybe plans for more turnover now (although maybe it already would have taken place)?
Young guys with ties regional recruiting ties..
Nathan Scheelhause:
We're all tired of getting our asses kicked by the clones in recruiting. Here's a sure-fire way to help turn the tide with the former Rockhurst QB. ISU has been seriously disappointing on the field so you'd want to vet that and make sure he isn't the problem when it comes to coaching, but I don't think RBs/WRs have been their problem. I wouldn't give him the OC job outright. I would see about giving him a promotion to co-OC and see about tying him to one of these older more experienced guys for at least a year or two. His reputation as an up-and-comer is a concern to lose him down the road, say when the Illini job opens up (where he QB'd in college), or when Campbell leaves ISU. So that is a concern.
Ryan Held:
I don't know much about him. I've heard some mixed reports that he's a great recruiter to overrated. He was just let go by Frost up north. He wouldn't be a candidate for the OC job but a positional job.
Guys with ties to the West Coast system..
Jon Embree; 49ers tight ends coach: He's about the same age as Klieman and Mess. He coached two of the best tight ends in NFL history in Tony Gonzalez (w/Chiefs) and George Kittle. When this offense is at its best it is working through the TE. Most of his career is linked to the pros. He doesn't have much coordinating experience so perhaps he's just content in his positional role. He's from California and played his college ball in Boulder and spent some time coaching for the Bufs as well.
Randy Hedberg:
Surprised we don't hear more about this guy. His reputation is larger than Fargo as he's now coached 3 NFL QBs while in Fargo. He's in his mid-60's, so maybe he's comfortable where he's at? Maybe CK asked him to come aboard in 19 and Hedberg declined? Maybe CK didn't want to completely deplete the staff of his friends up there? In any case he'd be a sure thing to improve the QB play immediately. I don't know his chops as a recruiter but you'd think recruits would come based on his reputation alone. He doesn't have a ton of coordinating experience so you might be taking a bit of a risk in giving him the OC job outright. Perhaps co-OC and link him with another one of these other names.
Former head coaches / Guys with ties to TX recruiting..
David Beaty:
His resume is pretty impressive even considering his time at KU (when he almost won in manhattan in his final year). His still very young and has a reputation as an offensive guy. His name was officially cleared by the NCAA about 2 months ago for the stain KU tried to attach to him -- turns out it blew up right in their face (Long & Miles); so he's good to start coaching again. Sometimes you see guys take some time off coaching and come back with fresh perspectives. I would think he would be anxious to get back into coaching and especially hungry to pound KU for what they pulled on him. I'm thinking he could be a strong candidate for the WR position job and maybe even a co-OC.
Matt Wells:
A fair amount of ink has been spilled on his name already. Probably a 1 or 2 year deal if he's Klieman's guy. If he is the guy at OC, I would expect CK to pair him with a younger name on this list as the OC in training.
Darrell Wyatt:
A couple things I like about him, first, he's a former Cat WR. If I remember right, he played JUCO ball and finished his career in the late 80's (pre-Snyder). He spent a lot of time coaching in the Big 12 (OU in their glory Stoops days of White, etc.). He also spent some time as UT recruiting coordinator. I don't think he would be a candidate for the OC job as I don't think he has a ton of experience with that. But certainly is qualified for the WR job. He's currently employed by UCF under Gus Malzahn. He's a holdover from the previous UCF staff. It could be difficult to pull him away from Orlando, where he's about to be back in the Big 12, but I believe we could pay him a bit more and perhaps lure him with a little extra bling on his job title. I think it's somewhat rare to have holdovers between staff's. Perhaps the covid year made it easier for Gus to hang onto him and maybe plans for more turnover now (although maybe it already would have taken place)?
Young guys with ties regional recruiting ties..
Nathan Scheelhause:
We're all tired of getting our asses kicked by the clones in recruiting. Here's a sure-fire way to help turn the tide with the former Rockhurst QB. ISU has been seriously disappointing on the field so you'd want to vet that and make sure he isn't the problem when it comes to coaching, but I don't think RBs/WRs have been their problem. I wouldn't give him the OC job outright. I would see about giving him a promotion to co-OC and see about tying him to one of these older more experienced guys for at least a year or two. His reputation as an up-and-comer is a concern to lose him down the road, say when the Illini job opens up (where he QB'd in college), or when Campbell leaves ISU. So that is a concern.
Ryan Held:
I don't know much about him. I've heard some mixed reports that he's a great recruiter to overrated. He was just let go by Frost up north. He wouldn't be a candidate for the OC job but a positional job.
