John Lovett to coach CBs.

Sonny Dykes to couch outside WRs.

http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30100&ATCLID=210236659

This is a pretty good hire imo. It's clear that Sonny knows he needs to see significant improvement in the defense - the distribution of coaches on that side of the ball now speaks to that fact. Good to hear that he and Kaufman have worked together for a number of years - he can step in and knows what Kaufman wants pretty quickly.

I hope Lovett and Burns work well together. This has a desperate look to it, but after the last two years desperate may be appropriate.

okaydo;842517855 said:

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John Lovett to coach CBs.

Sonny Dykes to couch outside WRs.

http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30100&ATCLID=210236659

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Makes sense: two db coaches for positions of increasing importance in the modern game, esp for a backfield that still has not found itself. Often 5 dbs on the field at once. Even 6 at rare times.

SD to couch outside WRs? Why the hell not? We'll see if it's more than a one year solution, though.

thanks for posting. Lovett was d-coordinator at a lot of big name SEC schools. Heavyweight hire. Interesting. Short term hire?

Sonny coaches outside WRs. Have to think grad assistants are helping there.

Wonder if this says something about needing to coach up the new DBs fast.

wifeisafurd;842517864 said:

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thanks for posting. Lovett was d-coordinator at a lot of big name SEC schools. Heavyweight hire. Interesting. Short term hire?

Sonny coaches outside WRs. Have to think grad assistants are helping there.

Wonder if this says something about needing to coach up the new DBs fast.

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That's my initial reaction.

dajo9;842517862 said:

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I hope Lovett and Burns work well together. This has a desperate look to it, but after the last two years desperate may be appropriate.

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Why desperate?

wifeisafurd;842517864 said:

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thanks for posting. Lovett was d-coordinator at a lot of big name SEC schools. Heavyweight hire. Interesting. Short term hire?

Sonny coaches outside WRs. Have to think grad assistants are helping there.

Wonder if this says something about needing to coach up the new DBs fast.

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Has worked with Kaufman which is cool. Worked for some high powered teams plus NFL which is a plus.....But...I wonder why he has jumped around to so many teams the last several years. Following a coach or other coaches being fired? Genuine question so no need to get your panties in a wad you know who. Simply asking.

Quote:

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Three weeks after the Eagles’ season ended with yet another awful performance by the secondary, Chip Kelly has relieved defensive backs coach John Lovett of his duties.

Lovett, who spent the last two years coaching defensive backs under Kelly, was assigned a position in pro scouting.

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http://www.csnphilly.com/football-philadelphia-eagles/dbs-coach-john-lovett-relieved-cory-undlin-hired


John Lovett: Why I became a coach
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/videos/videos/John-Lovett-Why-I-Became-A-Coach/63e1a986-4998-4e2a-a51e-26d124e773c0

Love this hire, the safteys especially SS differ from the two corner and nickel corner positions. Makes a lot of sense to get coaching around where we are weak. As for Sonny coaching outside receivers that's a plus also. Would assume the inside receivers coach will manage the receivers on game days and when Sonny has other duties during practice.

Great hire!!!! Can the season get here any quicker!

burritos;842517868 said:

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Why desperate?

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Well, if our defense ranks triple-digits again Dykes will probably be out of a job.

In any case, I'm sure it is a 1 year thing with our experienced receivers. By spring ball we'll need a full time WR coach.

dajo9;842517880 said:

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Well, if our defense ranks triple-digits again Dykes will probably be out of a job.

In any case, I'm sure it is a 1 year thing with our experienced receivers. By spring ball we'll need a full time WR coach.

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+1

also, great timing for Peeler to get WR coaching experience while working with all very experienced guys.

This is BIG!

Go Bears.

I really like Sonny as outside WR coach. No one else knows that position in this offense as well as he does. I actually hope that next season we leave him there, cut a DB coach, and hire a real RB coach. Should Lasco and Goff both be gone in 2016, it's way to much for TF to coach a fresh starter at QB, coach young RB's, and call plays. It's probably insane that he's doing it this year, and can only work because we have so much experience with Goff, Lasco, and Mohamed.

Wow we are going from one spectrum on defense (DC with little experience in Buh) to a CB coach that has so much experience as a DC in major programs. He also is a fellow alum of a high profile Cal QB transfer. Can you name the QB?

Like- winner everywhere, worked with Kaufman, many bowl games and draft choices- nice pick up Sonny.

"18 seasons as a collegiate defensive coordinator and 14 as a defensive backs coach at the collegiate and NFL levels. Lovett has coached 10 bowl teams and one NFL playoff squad over the past 18 seasons."

KoreAmBear;842517888 said:

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Wow we are going from one spectrum on defense (DC with little experience in Buh) to a CB coach that has so much experience as a DC in major programs. He also is a fellow alum of a high profile Cal QB transfer. Can you name the QB?

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Is that where Perry Klein went?

yoshibear;842517902 said:

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Is that where Perry Klein went?

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KoreAmBear;842517888 said:

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Wow we are going from one spectrum on defense (DC with little experience in Buh) to a CB coach that has so much experience as a DC in major programs. He also is a fellow alum of a high profile Cal QB transfer. Can you name the QB?

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Recall the very short time frame in which Sonny was hired, having to try to hold together what there was of recruiting as well as hiring a staff. Most he brought with him and Buh was a desperate gamble from what was a very short list. The gamble failed but there wasn't a helluva lot of time and he had so much to do.
Now Sonny is settled in, hiring better qualified replacement coaches, recovering from the Ingraham fiasco ... promoting Peeler was a huge plus.
Sonny's doing his job as Head Coach. Consider his coaching responsibilities in Texas and Arizona, he's not a rookie.
Will there be more changes over time? Of course. But the quality of his coaches is improving rapidly.
Now ... on to fall practice then winning some important games.

SonOfCalVa;842517906 said:

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Recall the very short time frame in which Sonny was hired, having to try to hold together what there was of recruiting as well as hiring a staff. Most he brought with him and Buh was a desperate gamble from what was a very short list. The gamble failed but there wasn't a helluva lot of time and he had so much to do.
Now Sonny is settled in, hiring better qualified replacement coaches, recovering from the Ingraham fiasco ... promoting Peeler was a huge plus.
Sonny's doing his job as Head Coach. Consider his coaching responsibilities in Texas and Arizona, he's not a rookie.
Will there be more changes over time? Of course. But the quality of his coaches is improving rapidly.
Now ... on to fall practice then winning some important games.

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One day we will find out that SonofCalVa is either Sonny/Sonny family member/PR person hired by Sonny or Cal. I am about as positive as you can be coming off 6 wins in 2 years and 9 in 3 years, but his posts manage to always spin every thing as far as possible in Sonny's favor, usually blaming any failings on Sonny's predecessor. Family member or hired gun...one of the two.

grandmastapoop;842517909 said:

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One day we will find out that SonofCalVa is either Sonny/Sonny family member/PR person hired by Sonny or Cal. I am about as positive as you can be coming off 6 wins in 2 years and 9 in 3 years, but his posts manage to always spin every thing as far as possible in Sonny's favor, usually blaming any failings on Sonny's predecessor. Family member or hired gun...one of the two.

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there should be a poll...

grandmastapoop;842517909 said:

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One day we will find out that SonofCalVa is either Sonny/Sonny family member/PR person hired by Sonny or Cal. I am about as positive as you can be coming off 6 wins in 2 years and 9 in 3 years, but his posts manage to always spin every thing as far as possible in Sonny's favor, usually blaming any failings on Sonny's predecessor. Family member or hired gun...one of the two.

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Yup. Aren't we also forgetting the 20 plus players who left the program under Sonny? The recruiting may have been a little bare, but losing 20 plus players really devastated our D.

dajo9;842517862 said:

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I hope Lovett and Burns work well together. This has a desperate look to it, but after the last two years desperate may be appropriate.

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Considering the defensive stats the past two season...these are desperate times. This season hangs on D, and so does SD's tenure at Cal. The offense is high-powered with very good to excellent skill position players. OL is an if but not on the scale of the D.

If the D plays half way decent, like half way (i.e., the middle) in the FBS in defensive stats...Cal could have a big season. Defense is the X factor. Cal can and will score, it's just a matter of if/how we stop other offenses.

On that note...this is a good hire. The jumping around is a little weird and the SEC/NFL experience doesn't seem that big, but hey at least he has experience. He should work well with an experienced staff. Bottomline: DBs should improve and play better...the question is how much.

GranadaHillsBear;842517921 said:

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Yup. Aren't we also forgetting the 20 plus players who left the program under Sonny? The recruiting may have been a little bare, but losing 20 plus players really devastated our D.

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This is true. Cal got creamed after the big exodus. Two consecutive seasons at the very bottom of FBS defense.

I think we can also now count on some coaching on the field of younger people by our now seasoned veteran receivers. They know their positions very well. and the overall offensive system does not change very much from year to year.

All I hope at this time is that he can maybe bring in recruits that have interests in joining Cal and are on the fence.

Move is pretty genius in my opinion.

I think a lot of people would have been ok with toler taking over the outside wr coaching position.

Well by doing it this way, we get an extra defensive coach and we can still have toler work with the wr's (although I'm sure dykes will work with them as well, along with other grad assistants)

Shrewd move, basically a way to get around the limit on how many assistant coaches you can hire.

SonOfCalVa;842517906 said:

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Recall the very short time frame in which Sonny was hired, having to try to hold together what there was of recruiting as well as hiring a staff. Most he brought with him and Buh was a desperate gamble from what was a very short list. The gamble failed but there wasn't a helluva lot of time and he had so much to do.
Now Sonny is settled in, hiring better qualified replacement coaches, recovering from the Ingraham fiasco ... promoting Peeler was a huge plus.
Sonny's doing his job as Head Coach. Consider his coaching responsibilities in Texas and Arizona, he's not a rookie.
Will there be more changes over time? Of course. But the quality of his coaches is improving rapidly.
Now ... on to fall practice then winning some important games.

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Sonny in my opinion has done a tremendous job. I cant recall ever being so excited for an upcoming season. I'm even more excited about is the long term. If you look at the great coaches they all come up with unique systems that if followed breed success. Who would of thought that after winning one game the first year that we have a shot at winning the north in the third year. Cal is dam good on offense, emphasis is now being placed on the defense and making it better. What I'm most excited about is the recruits that Sonny is bringing in and the emphasis that is being placed on academics. I know a couple of coaches and have a couple friends that have sons being recruited, the message is that if you want to play at CAL its all about making the academic commitment not only to play at CAL but to be successful in life. Football is a game of smarts, coaching average kids can make a good team but coaching kids that know academic success along with athletic success means the sky's the limit. With so few college football players ever making Sunday work their primary job, CAL is a great landing spot for those high achievers who want to play football but also want the head start in life that a degree from the finest institution in the world provides. I'm excited for the upcoming season but dam, I cant wait to see how high we fly when these high IQ classes start maturing.

how good is Lovett. it looks like kelly got rid of him because the defensive backs were terrible and gave up huge chunks of yardage. and apparently philly was close to the bottom on passing defense, i guess an improvement since CAL was the worse team in division one. so is it because he worked with Kaufman or he is not very good and has to change jobs once teams realize that. any comments?

Did a little research on him. This is a bit troubling:

"In Lovett’s two years here, the Eagles allowed an NFL-high 8,874 passing yards."

A lot more goes into passing yards allowed than simply a coach's abilities, but it's at least something to be aware of.

jhbchristopher;842517950 said:

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Sonny in my opinion has done a tremendous job. I cant recall ever being so excited for an upcoming season. I'm even more excited about is the long term. If you look at the great coaches they all come up with unique systems that if followed breed success. Who would of thought that after winning one game the first year that we have a shot at winning the north in the third year. Cal is dam good on offense, emphasis is now being placed on the defense and making it better. What I'm most excited about is the recruits that Sonny is bringing in and the emphasis that is being placed on academics. I know a couple of coaches and have a couple friends that have sons being recruited, the message is that if you want to play at CAL its all about making the academic commitment not only to play at CAL but to be successful in life. Football is a game of smarts, coaching average kids can make a good team but coaching kids that know academic success along with athletic success means the sky's the limit. With so few college football players ever making Sunday work their primary job, CAL is a great landing spot for those high achievers who want to play football but also want the head start in life that a degree from the finest institution in the world provides. I'm excited for the upcoming season but dam, I cant wait to see how high we fly when these high IQ classes start maturing.

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Parody?

grandmastapoop;842517909 said:

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One day we will find out that SonofCalVa is either Sonny/Sonny family member/PR person hired by Sonny or Cal. I am about as positive as you can be coming off 6 wins in 2 years and 9 in 3 years, but his posts manage to always spin every thing as far as possible in Sonny's favor, usually blaming any failings on Sonny's predecessor. Family member or hired gun...one of the two.

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Best alternative explanation ... your over-active "imagination"

dajo9;842517978 said:

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Parody?

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A "parody"? Seriously?

Getting players now who can compete in the classroom at BERKELEY is a huge step up, and competition in the classroom gives no bonus points for guys who also play football for Cal.
Or, perhaps you think we should return to the days of bringing in jocks who may be athletic but were a bit lacking in academic success and even character, testing the APR eligibility and penalties.

SonOfCalVa;842517991 said:

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A "parody"? Seriously?

Getting players now who can compete in the classroom at BERKELEY is a huge step up, and competition in the classroom gives no bonus points for guys who also play football for Cal.
Or, perhaps you think we should return to the days of bringing in jocks who may be athletic but were a bit lacking in academic success and even character, testing the APR eligibility and penalties.

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I don't object to the academic focus at all. I'm just less enthusiastic about the upcoming year than christopher. I don't think anybody outside of a few posi-bears in here expect us to compete for the North title this year. Me, personally, I predict a 6-6 season if Stanfurd's defense takes a big step back. Otherwise 5-7.