KAUFMAN SPEAKS | Texas Tech's new defensive coordinator Art Kaufman spoke with LAJ's Don Williams and with Double-T 104.3's Chris Level and Aaron Dickens. Obviously, one is in print and one is just audio.

We'll tackle the LAJ stuff first, and Kaufman said that this wasn't about X's and O's:

Kaufman said he and Tuberville didn’t have to talk much about Xs and Os because they’ve worked together before and share identical philosophies.

"He said, ‘Let’s do the same things we’ve done before,’" Kaufman said. "He didn’t have to tell me what he wanted. I know what he’s all about. He knows what I’m all about (as far as) our beliefs and thoughts and that kind of stuff.

"I think the priorites are, hey, we’re going to be fundamentally sound, be able to get lined up and keep them playing hard."

This is seemingly the thing that bothered me the most about what happened last year, or at least this is part of it. I think that I'm in the minority, but I do think that the talent on the defensive side of the field wasn't spectacular, or it was young, and I also think that there was a disconnect between what the staff was wanting to implement and what happened on the field. There were so many miscues, which at times, I think it's incredibly hard for fans, because we don't know what the call is, to determine if the problem was the player being lined up in the wrong spot or the player was just man-handled by the offensive line.

I know that the part about not speaking about specifics will bother some folks, but it doesn't bother me. In fact, during the radio interview, Kaufman said that defensive line coach Terry Price and defensive backs coach John Lovett already know the terminology, so that's not going to be an issue or an excuse. Last year, obviously, Glasgow was the only person that new the terminology going into the season and into spring practices and that, perhaps, ended up being a lot of pressure on Glasgow to teach a new system to a new staff.

The one thing I do like is that, at least for me, this is all I want to see:

"I don’t really know what they’ve ranked or what they’ve done," Kaufman said Wednesday, the day after he was hired to be the Red Raiders’ fourth defensive coordinator in four years. "I knew they went to a bowl game two years ago, and this year they didn’t. The main thing is, we’re going to play confident, know what to do, play hard and be fundamentally sound."

Yes, I really just want to see a defense that is fundamentally sound. That's all.

Also on the radio, he talked about having a scheme that is adaptable to multiple personnel looks and that's the thing that he liked about it, which was that it could bend and twist to do what he wanted to do. Recruiting will be the #1 priority, but he doesn't have to put in something new since everyone is familiar with the scheme. Kaufman doesn't have much of a feel for the personnel on the team, but that will come and I think that's going to be one of the bigger things that Kaufman will have to do, which is maybe figure out where some guys need to play as I think the defensive line really needs to be re-worked.

Either way, I do think and hope that this is easier for the team and staff to teach this system. I feel bad for the players having to go through four systems in four years, but I'm hoping that the familiarity with what Tuberville, Kaufman, Price and Lovett bring to the table will have a calming effect on the team. That's my hope.

FOSTER READY TO PLAY | RRS.com's Mike Graham writes that Texas Tech signee WR/RB Sadale Foster is preparing to arrive in Lubbock. Foster does confirm, which is what I sorta expected, that Foster will see some snaps at running back:

"We've talked about me playing running back," Foster said. "They've talked to me about playing several positions. We've talked about me working out at the running back position as well as other positions. I'm happy to help there if I can."

The article states that RB Kenny Williams is the only healthy starting running back, but I guess I'd also add RB Ben McRoy as a healthy option, but ideally, RB Ronnie Daniels gets his act together to give some nice depth and Foster would then be able to focus on being a returner and inside receiver.

I also liked how Foster is excited about the academic opportunities that he'll have at Texas Tech:

"I'm really excited to start the academic thing," Foster said. "A big thing that sold me on Tech was the academics and we didn't get that kind of support at my school. Yeah, I'm excited to start the academic part of it. I love football, but I'm here to be a student as much as an athlete. Really excited about classes."

I like that.

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There have been so many things that have happened, off the field with the program, I wanted to try to do a post that I felt like could represent what I'm thinking happened with the situation regarding the mutual agreement of DC Chad Glasgow and Texas Tech to part ways, but I needed some time to try to figure out how I wanted to proceed. This is that post.

I also wanted to preface this post by saying that these are all of my thoughts and since we only have two things that we know, that Feldman tweeted that Glasgow had been fired and that JUCO CB Kasseim Everett said that he tried to call Glasgow but that Glasgow's phone was disconnected, I could write "I think" before everything, but please assume that everything should read with the idea that these are my thoughts. And I realize that this is a very speculative post and I don't do many truly speculative posts, but there's so much information that we don't know about the situation, so we're left to guess.

Timing

The timing of this thing was thrown all askew when CBS Sports Bruce Feldman tweeted on December 20, 2011 that Texas Tech had fired Glasgow:

"Just heard that Tommy Tuberville has fired Texas Tech DC Chad Glasgow. That's fourth assistant to go this offseason there."

At this point was mostly likely having discussions about terminating Glasgow, or did in fact tell Glasgow that he was terminated. Either way, Texas Tech was in a lose-lose situation because if Texas Tech did nothing or issued a no comment, then the natural reaction was that something was afoot. The other option was to make a comment, which is what Texas Tech did through Blayne Beal:

"I have confirmed that," Beal said, "and I will even confirm that he will not be fired. He has not been fired, and he has not resigned."

Technically, all of this is and was true at the time. Technically. There were most likely some details that needed to be worked out in regards to a possible buyout or negotiations. When attorneys get involved, and most likely were involved, then these sorts of things take time.

Again, I don't know what could have been said to make this situation any better because once Feldman let the cat out of the bag, I think we all knew that the writing was on the wall and it was just a matter of timing.

The Rumors

This is where things get murky and ugly. Let me be clear: I don't know what happened. I'm not saying that anything is fact or fiction or anything like that. I don't know what happened and most likely, neither do you. The rumors started the national signing day for JUCO players, December 21, 2011. One day after Feldman broke the news. You can read my summation of some of the rumors here and you can also read them from this comment. From what I could tell, the fine folks at DTN didn't say that any of this was fact, it was all very much, "this is what I heard," or, "this was posted on another site". If some of you took it as fact, then that's your right, but for me, this was just additional information that may have been right or wrong.

It's a safe bet to think perhaps Glasgow wasn't pleased with something, most likely the recent hires that had been made and that it may have been a revelation to Glasgow that Tuberville had made the decision that the defense would be reverting back to the 4-3, rather than the 4-2-5 defense that Glasgow was employed to run. If I were Glasgow I wouldn't want to be in charge of a defense that I didn't feel comfortable running. You can make your own decision about how Glawgow should have reacted, but the only confirmation that we have that Texas Tech will be running the 4-3 is from some of the JUCO commits. Either way, Tuberville hired a new offensive line coach that isn't a "spread" guru and we haven't heard a peep out of offensive coordinator Neal Brown. Perhaps it's just a difference in their personalities, but it's not as if there are ton of schools that are running the 4-2-5 so Tuberville's coaching pool was somewhat limited, which again may be an issue with Tuberville making an attempt at something innovative that has backfired on him.

So, you have to take those rumors with the idea that they may be true and they may be completely made up. I get the feeling that there were some bad feelings between Tuberville and Glasgow and that it truly was a mutual agreement that they should not work together. What happened in between could be anything from the two things linked above, to the very real possibility that Tuberville told recruits that Texas Tech would be switching to the 4-3 before telling Glasgow, that Glasgow heard it from the JUCO players and may have told Everett's dad what happened, i.e., "Well, some JUCO players told me that we're switching to the 4-3, before Tuberville even informed me, and if you're looking for some reassurance from me as to whether or not what's happening or whether or not I'll be the defensive coordinator next year, then I may not be the person that can do that." That's not be bad-mouthing, but it may be telling the truth. It very well could have been that simple and something like that could have been turned into, "Glasgow was bad-mouthing Texas Tech". Alternately, Glasgow could very well have been defaming Texas Tech and Tuberville, we just don't know at this point.

A Disconnected Phone

Same thing applies to Kasseim Everett. You take his comments for what they are worth. They may be true, they may not be true. Per Sooner Nation, Everett announced his intention to go to Texas Tech at the signing ceremony, and even put on the hat. Afterwards, OU coaches Bob Stoops and Willie Martinez contacted Everett and told him that he made the wrong decision (which makes me wonder how they knew that he didn't actually sign the LOI, which would seemingly make Everett off-limits, but I don't know) and then Everett apparently tried to call Glasgow, but his phone had been disconnected. Everett said that his father had a relationship with Glasgow and there are rumors (see above) that Glasgow bad-mouthed Texas Tech to Everett's father. There is nothing in the Sooner Nation article that says that Everett's father and Glasgow didn't talk. It just says that when Everett tried to contact Glasgow that Glasgow's phone had been disconnected.

I have not listened to this intereview, but on December 22, 2011, Texas Tech defensive end's coach Robert Prunty was on the Williams and Hyatt Show (sorry Hyatt, I don't sign up for any subscription based stuff!) and Prunty said that he talked with Everett 5 minutes before he signed. I don't think that Prunty is lying.

What I think happened is that the coaching world is a small one, and that Stoops and Martinez probably knew that Glasgow was either gone or close to being gone in some form or fashion and that they told Everett, sure, you just talked with Prunty, but your defensive coordinator is about to be let go. Try calling him. I don't fault Stoops or Martinez for doing this, especially because Everett hadn't signed on the dotted line. It ain't over til he's signed.

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I don't have a lot of time this morning. Certainly not enough time to address all of the things going on in my head in regards to the initial Twitter from CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman who reported that defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow had been fired, then the Twitter response from Texas Tech's Blayne Beal saying that Glasgow was not fired and will not be fired. I think I'm becoming more and more suspicious as time wears on, but I do believe there's a reason why this report was reported yesterday, which is the day before JUCO players can sign. It's the same reason why the somewhat caustic contract situation with Oklahoma St. and Mike Gundy has been so public the last couple of days. Someone, I don't know who, is looking to gain an advantage.

The other big question, which is if Glasgow is or will be fired and I don't have a clue. LAJ's Don Williams wrote an article last night summarizing the above and also saying that some of the Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. players that would sign today said that Texas Tech would be running the 4-3 next year. I don't know who said it in the comments, but it was something to the effect of that Glasgow may still be employed, but he's no longer the defensive coordinator. FootballScoop had these two tidbits yesterday and I've put them in what I think is chronological order:

Texas Tech: Multiple sources telling us of an assistant leaving Tech. We are in the process of confirming. Would be very surprising to us unless he has something excellent lined up.

Texas Tech: Bruce Feldman just reported that Tommy Tuberville has released defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow. We were told a slightly different version; but regardless it looks like Glasgow will be moving on. Bright young coach.

This makes me think that there was some smoke there, but Glasgow may have been told recently , that Texas Tech would be returning to what Tuberville knew the best, and it's also not a surprise that new secondary coach John Lovett was recently the defensive coordinator at Miami two years ago, which also ran the 4-3, and that Glasgow had a choice: play along and run the 4-3 or find another job. Complete conjecture on my part, but there's too much smoke to ignore.

I have no doubt that if it turns out that it's true, that Glasgow is still the defensive coordinator, I am sure that Tuberville will say that the 4-3 and the 4-2-5 are essentially the same defense, that this is a natural progression and that Glasgow is fine with doing this. The first part of this is true in that I do think that the transition will be relatively easy and it may be the same defense, especially if Terrance Bullitt plays linebacker, but Glasgow may be the defensive coordinator in title only. This will be the fourth defensive scheme (4-3 to 3-4 to 4-2-5 to 4-3) this team will employ in as many years. That's not good and it's the exact opposite of consistency

In other football news, it appears that Tuberville has hired Texas A&M Offensive line coach Jim Turner. You can read Turner's biography on the TAMU website. Turner has essentially been an offensive line coach since the 2004 season, at Delaware and moved to Boston College before going to TAMU in 2008. Turner has worked with Sherman and although Sherman doesn't run the spread, Turner has experience with multiple offensive sets, from 10 personnel to 22 personnel, much like the Ole Miss candidate. I'm happy with this hire, especially considering how the offensive line performed for TAMU over the course of the last few years, a top 20 rushing offense and the line that gave up the fewest sacks in the nation.

This is DTN's highly anticipated and greatly scrutinized positional review and preview. Comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated in the comments.

WHO IS GONE

You could say that Texas Tech loses three starters, maybe four. The fact that we never once complained about a snap tells you something about the importance of Smitherman and the job he did deep-snapping. Edwards is a big loss and his presence will be missed on the left side next year. Keown was solid as well and despite the fact that Oklahoma St. said he was giving away plays he played on two knees that needed surgery after the end of the season. Just can't imagine a guy that is injured would be giving away plays. Okafor was replaced by the end of the year by McDaniel, which is maybe why his brother switched commitments or knew that former OL coach Matt Moore was no longer going to be his coach, may be an indication. Either way, this was the one position going into 2011 that I was most concerned about in 2012 because of the talent that would be lost. The offensive line is going to need to be re-built and now will be doing it with a new offensive line coach.

WHO REMAINS

I am almost positive that Foster, Wells Brenner and Chester are all walk-ons so I'm not going to talk about them much since I don't know anything about them. Returning to the line are Gallington, McDaniel, Waddle and Carpenter. Carpenter saw some action and although he didn't stand out to me, he's a guy that I think could slip into that left guard spot.

Tony Morales was the more hyped of the two Morales brothers and there was the thought that he was going to be the future center of this team. More on that later. Alfredo was no slouch, just not as highly rated as Tony. L. Clark very well could move into any of the spots along the line as I think he's athletic enough and strong enough to play guard or tackle, but I think his future is at guard as he has fantastic athleticism for a guy his size. Wilson is most likely a tackle prospect and in going back and looking at his film I think that he could be a factor in 2013. He's incredibly dependable. I am almost positive that all four of these players (A. Morales, T. Morales, Wilson and L. Clark), as part of the 2011 class, redshirted, except for Alfredo , who had his redshirt removed in the first game, but was then injured for the year shortly thereafter. A. Morales might be eligible for a medical redshirt, but I haven't read anything about that. Clark may have played this year, but I haven't been able to find that confirmation just yet. Clark may have played this year, but I haven't been able to find that confirmation just yet. A. Morales was the biggest project on the team and would think that he's got some time before he sees the field, he could certainly surprise me next year, but I'm thinking that he and Wilson are probably a little further down the road in terms of development.

I'm not sure what to make of K. Clark or Polk. K. Clark was a good player coming out of high school, but doesn't seem to be mentioned much in terms of seeing any playing time and the same could be said for Polk. Part of me thinks that players that you don't hear a lot that have been in the program for a couple of years are candidates for attrition or losing their scholarship. I'm not saying that either K. Clark or Polk are sitting in that position, but they'll both have to step and work themselves into the rotation or they might risk losing their scholarship.

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CoachingSearch.com says that former Ole Miss running game coordinator and offensive line coach Mike Markuson is a candidate to fill Texas Tech's open offensive line position:

Texas Tech: I am hearing that former Ole Miss offensive line coach Mike Markuson has emerged as a candidate to fill the Texas Tech offensive line job.

Markuson was and is actually really pretty darned good at his job and as noted above, he was the running game coordinator, but son of a gun, I don't really care because he was really good at his job. To get some links out of the way, here's Markuson's Wikipedia, Ole Miss bio and Rivals page. Also, here's Ole Miss' NCAA stats page so you can check out their yearly stats as Markuson was the at Ole Miss since 2007.

Back to the task at hand. Other than 2011, where Ole Miss was #84 in rushing offense, Markuson had the #19 rushing offense in 2010, #33 in 2009, #31 in 2008 and in his first year at Ole Miss, the Rebels were #84. Markuson has essentially followed Houston Nutt from Arkansas to Ole Miss and again, other than last year, Ole Miss has regularly had a pretty good offense, however, you wonder if the offense was the result of Markuson or the passing game coordinator, David Lee, but I think that Lee (he was a former Dallas Cowboys coach, which is why I remember his name) was just the passing game coordinator last year.

One other stats, Markuson's line was also (other than his first or last year) in the top 20 or so in terms of sacks allowed. In the first and last year, he was awful, but during the time in between, he had some lines that did a good job of protecting the quarterback.

This potential hire will obviously lead to a couple of questions and I actually think that Tuberville is playing this somewhat smart. Offensive coordinator Neal Brown has allegedly interviewed or been contacted about three coaching positions, the latest was the Arkansas St. job, that was just filled by Gus Mahlzan. You could think that Brown is actively looking for a head coaching job and he should, as long as he's being honest with Tuberville and I have no reason to believe that he's not. Either way, the fact that Markuson was a coordinator of the Ole Miss offense in some capacity, the more successful part, is a good thing in case Brown leaves and it comforts me a bit knowing that Markuson has been around a long time and around a lot of offenses that have scored some points.

The key is that I think that Markuson has the ability to take over, but just like with John Lovett being hired, the former Miami defensive coordinator with DC Chad Glasgow, Brown may need to look over his shoulder a bit if he doesn't perform. The thing is that Brown has performed relatively well this season and I don't think that Brown should be replaced, but it gives Tuberville someone on the staff (he's never worked with Markuson) with a lot of experience and from what I can tell, Markuson has been pretty good at his job. One other note, there was a rumor via BON last year that Markuson was a candidate for the offensive line coach at UT.

I don't know that I'll be able to post much, if anything later today, but feel free to post in the comments or I may update this post.

Yesterday, it appeared that former Ole Miss and Auburn defensive line coach, Terry Price, would be hired as the defensive line coach and last night, news broke that former Miami defensive coordinator John Lovett would be hired as the secondary coach (see the LAJ's Don Williams, CoachingSearch.com and FootballScoop). Last year, Lovett was the special teams coach for the Hartford Colonials in the UFL and was most recently the defensive coordinator at Miami the year before last and was fired when Miami head coach Randy Shannon was fired.

This is the surprising part, in 1995 Lovett was the secondary coach the last four years that Tuberville was at Ole Miss (Lovett had worked his way up the coaching ladder prior to that) and followed Tuberville to Auburn and was eventually named as Auburn's defensive coordinator, but was fired by Tuberville following the 2001 season. Lovett then bounced around to Clemson, where he was the defensive coordinator, then to Bowling Green also as the defensive coordinator and then was hired as a special teams coordinator and defensive assistant in North Carolina before landing as the defensive coordinator in Miami.

When Shannon was fired, Al Golden cleaned house and Lovett was one of the casualties. Lovett actually had very good defenses while at Miami, but I would also guess that he had some nice talent. That's not a knock. What may make me happy more than anything else is the fact that Butch Davis at North Carolina thought that Lovett was worth being on his staff and although this may be completely irrational, I think that Davis knows what he's doing in terms of coaches and putting out a terrific defense (sans John Blake). You can read this Miami Herald article about Lovett leaving Miami and the comments in the article are inane, as a lot of internet comments can be, and mention that the reason Lovett has such good statistics is because opposing offenses didn't pass, the talent at Miami, etc.

I still think it's going to be tough on DC Chad Glasgow to not have any input in the coaching hires and thought that it would be better for Glasgow to have another position coach be a disciple of the 4-2-5 defense, but these are obviously Tuberville's guys. Tuberville is probably thinking, as I wrote yesterday, that if he's going to go down, he's going to go down with the guys that he's known for 20 years. There is something comforting about familiarity and for Tuberville this is most likely no different.

The only position left to fill is the offensive line coach and if the first two hires are any indication, you can expect some former position coach for Tuberville to be named as the offensive line coach. You can follow both of the college football rumor sites linked above or you an follow DTN's Texas Tech Twitter list.

I don't know why I am, but I'm always a bit wary about quoting Football Scoop for information on replacements for the recently terminated defensive line coach Sam McElroy, defensive backs coach Otis Mounds and offensive line coach Matt Moore, but Football Scoop is reporting that Terry Price is the likely replacement along the defensive line:

Texas Tech: We have been told that one of Tubs' longtime guys Terry Price will be joining the staff as defensive line coach.

For a bit of information on Price, he's a graduate of Texas A&M and has worked for or with head coach Tommy Tuberville since his days at Ole Miss and through Tuberville's termination at Auburn. Once Tuberville was gone at Auburn, Price caught on with Houston Nutt at Ole Miss and now that Ole Miss has found themselves a new coach, Price finds himself most likely without a new job.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, in that Tuberville is doing all of the hiring, maybe Tuberville will give defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow the opportunity to find the secondary coach, but if this is true, that Price is the defensive line coach, Tuberville isn't going to trust or permit Glasgow to make the hire, Tuberville probably realizes that if improvement doesn't happen, he'll have no one else to blame so he might as well and hire who he wants rather than what Glasgow wants.

You can check out Price's biography at the Ole Miss website and the Rivals site has the players that Price is currently recruiting. Food for thought: Ole Miss had the #111 nationally ranked rush defense (Texas Tech was #120) and to be fair, had the #64 ranked rush defense the year before.

I don't think that there is any reason to doubt CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman, who broke the news that offensive line coach Matt Moore, defensive line coach Sam McElroy and defensive backs coach Otis Mounds were all fired yesterday. The LAJ's Don Williams got quotes from head coach Tommy Tuberville, who said:

"I don’t know where he gets all that from," Tuberville said. "There’ll be some changes, but I haven’t reported number or names or anything."

Maybe I should have known this a long time ago, but the coaching profession is a fraternity. They all know each other, they sometimes like each other, but they all talk to each other. It's not a surprise that Feldman broke the news as I play Two Degrees of Bruce Feldman, Moore most likely told Leach, who most likely told Feldman. It's just a guess, but I think that's a likely scenario.

In any event, I do not doubt the information. LAJ's David Just confirmed with Mounds and it appears that various players have confirmed via Twitter, SS Terrance Bullitt confirms all three are gone.

Last year I think I spent a lot of time on trying to figure out who Tuberville would hire as his defensive coordinator and I was never even close. Chad Glasgow was not on any of the reported lists, so I won't even try to speculate who Tuberville will find to replace them. I'm guessing that Glasgow will be able to hire a couple of 4-2-5 guys on the defensive side of the ball, something that he should have been able to do when he was hired.

I think the termination of Moore was a difference of opinion more than anything else. I think there's a lot of talk between a zone and man scheme, but any good offensive line coach worth his salt can coach both and I'm sure that Moore is worth his salt. The more I think about it, the thought of a zone vs. man scheme is a bit overrated in that a line can morph between a zone or man scheme depending on what the defense presents. In pass-block protection, it's about finding your man and in running the ball, I don't have a big problem with a team utilizing both zone and man schemes. So, I'm guessing that this isn't a question as to whether or not Moore is qualified, I think he's proven that he is, but a question of how these parts were working together.

The same could be said about McElroy and Mounds. I'm guessing that Glasgow and Tuberville tried to figure out which defensive position coaches were expendable and these really are the only options. Linebackers and defensive ends coach Robert Prunty isn't an option because he is valuable to Tuberville for the mere fact that his name is mentioned as recruiting 5 of the 16 players committed, LB Kris Williams, DE Desimon Green, DL Michael Starts, LB Micah Awe and DB La'Darius Newbold. Tuberville's biggest problem is that Moore was in charge of recruiting WR Reginald Davis and McElroy was in charge of WR Dominique Wheeler. Those are two of the most important players in the 2012 class, although I'm sure that Sonny Cumbie and Tommy Mainord have relationships with both of them, but this is one of the biggest risks of letting McElroy and Moore go. The biggest risk was that I think that Moore and McElroy were both competent/good position coaches and I'm not confident that Tuberville will hire the proper replacements.

I feel bad for McElroy and Mounds as from all accounts McElroy was just the type of guy that Tuberville needed on the staff due to the fact that he is very knowledgable of Texas high schools and small colleges. Those are inroads that Tuberville didn't have the luxury to make when he was hired and by hiring McElroy, this gave Tuberville some instant credibility. Mounds was probably hired to be the position coach way too soon in his career. Mounds played for Tuberville and was at St. Thomas Aquinas as the secondary coach there. If you want to say that Tuberville has whiffed on two of his assistant coach or coordinator jobs, then James Willis and Otis Mounds should lead that list. And Mounds was most likely hired to recruit and he didn't have one single commitment from this year's class and considering how bad the cornerbacks were this year, this was an easy choice. Mounds will land on his feet back in Florida, but he shouldn't have had to uproot his famiy for a year.

To wrap up, I won't try to make any guesses as to who the replacements will be, but Tuberville should let OC Neal Brown and DC Chad Glasgow make these hires. All of these coaches have their rear on the line this year so Tuberville needs to trust the guys he hired to run his offenses and defenses and not dictate to them who they'll have to work with, which would include learning a system and teaching that system to the players.