John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Usually, big-time college football head coaches are pretty confident about what they do and what they plan to do. Few ever admit they are wrong. There are only 126 such jobs on the market, and it takes a supremely confident guy to get one. That’s why what Temple head coach Matt Rhule said upon conclusion of spring football was both eye-opening and refreshing for the future of the sport at his school.
Rhule said during the offseason that he watched some tapes of the Owls and those included one of the team running a five-wide-receiver formation on first-and-goal at the 1-yard line that “made me sick.” He also added that wasn’t the kind of team he wanted Temple to be and promised that they will not do that in the future. Without saying whose fault it was to call that unusual formation at the goal line, he did take the blame because he is the CEO of the football operation.
Rhule made some internal changes in personnel, adding Glenn Thomas to the staff as quarterback coach. Last year, Thomas held the same position with the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL, so him going from coaching Matt Ryan to coaching P.J. Walker has to be a plus for the Owls. Rhule has to be listening to Thomas, who probably told him nobody in the NFL runs five wides at the 1-yard line. That should be Football 101, knowledge that the end zone box is too small for five wide receivers to be effective.
That was one of a number of head-scratching offensive decisions for Temple fans who took to social media and blogs questioning those kinds of decisions on offense last season. The Owls were No. 126 (last) in the FBS in third-down efficiency percent (23.8) and last in the AAC in rushing. At the end of spring ball, Rhule said his goal was to get the Owls back to their core principles under former head coach Al Golden, which was to run the ball, throw the ball effectively off play-action and play tough defense.
If the rushing numbers go up, so does the third-down efficiency percentage. Temple fans will be keeping close tabs to see if Rhule follows through with his new-found commitment to that part of the game.
Mike Gibson is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
