We need a good offensive coordinator

[EastTNMountaineer]

Enough said really, we just need a good offensive play caller

[T-Dog]

I think it's a must for 2026.

Garrett Riley is available.

Ryan Habich is right down the road.

[Ncmtn]

Garrett Riley was a really solid coach at App, SMU, and TCU. I know it didn't work out in Clemson but I would take him back immediately if we could afford him.

Wikipedia:

Appalachian State
Riley was hired as the running backs coach at Appalachian State in 2019. Initially set to be promoted to offensive coordinator, Riley left to take the offensive coordinator job at SMU.
(In the 2019 season App State finished 16th in the FBS for rushing offense.)

SMU
Riley was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at SMU in 2020.
The SMU offense ranked in the top 15 in both scoring and total offense both years with Riley as the playcaller.

TCU
Riley was named the offensive coordinator at TCU in December 2021. TCU had the 9th highest scoring offense in the 2022 season with 38.8 pts/game. He was awarded the 2022 Broyles Award for the top assistant coach in college football.

[AppAlum1]

YES!! This is exactly right. The problems I saw on the field today were due to the HC’s bone headed play calling and lack of situational awareness. We saw the same behavior all season. The only way we improve next season is with a new OC, preferably up in the booth.

[BallantyneApp]

Definitely think adding an OC is #1 on the to do list for staff offseason

Maybe an OC would help but I’m also concerned with our ability to assess development after yesterday, which is a small sample size.

[appstate24]

Put me on the Garrett Riley bandwagon. Doubt we could afford him, but would be a home run in my opinion.

Clemson’s problems are MUCH larger than Garrett Riley.

I know the guys LOVED playing for him when he was here. OC and RB coach… Make it happen!

GO APPS!!

[Bootsy]

Hiring an OC would be a smart move, allowing DLo to focus on learning the HC role. But let's game this out:

- Is there room in the budget for Gillin to add headcount?
- Is DLo open to hiring an OC?
- Given what we've seen, would Gillin force him to hire an OC?
- If DLo did hire an OC, would he give that person autonomy/authority to run the offense, call plays, etc.?

Again, this is more complex than one would think at first glance. And even if an OC were hired, there is no guarantee it would lead to measurable gains and/or overall success. Lots of moving parts.

[mtnjax]

I would imagine there wont be enough room in the budget to hire a dedicated OC. If Loggains were to give up calling plays, I'd bet he would let someone like Christensen do it

[AppStFan1]

I think it's a must for 2026.

Garrett Riley is available.

Ryan Habich is right down the road.

Clemson fans are glad to see Riley go. I know he was a good coach when he was in Boone but is he a good RB coach only or was he just not given authority to do all he wanted with the offense in Clemson is my question.

[BallantyneApp]

I think it's a must for 2026.

Garrett Riley is available.

Ryan Habich is right down the road.

Clemson fans are glad to see Riley go. I know he was a good coach when he was in Boone but is he a good RB coach only or was he just not given authority to do all he wanted with the offense in Clemson is my question.

He was a good OC at SMU and TCU

[appstate24]

I think it's a must for 2026.

Garrett Riley is available.

Ryan Habich is right down the road.

Clemson fans are glad to see Riley go. I know he was a good coach when he was in Boone but is he a good RB coach only or was he just not given authority to do all he wanted with the offense in Clemson is my question.

Clemson has a lot of issues. Riley wasn’t the issue in my opinion.

[Stonewall]

Scapegoat?

[AppSt94]

Scapegoat?

Most fans don’t know enough about anything to form a cogent opinion. They just want to blame someone.

[AppAlum1]

Scapegoat?

Most fans don’t know enough about anything to form a cogent opinion. They just want to blame someone.

I see what I see and I know what I know, after watching 40 yrs of App football. So I conclude I must not be in your category of most fans. Something aint right there in the play calling world on Apps sidelines and it aint the players. That leaves the head guy in charge who appears to not have enough self critical awareness to know what the problem is. So I was just trying to help. Stay tuned. More to come next September. If problem is not corrected there will be bigger problems to address. Other programs with less resources than App have handled the new world of college football just fine. We can too.

[Appstate88]

Who does DLo have in the booth? How good are they at spotting things to exploit during the game? Is DLo willing to make adjustments to plays he would call based on what they see and relay to him on the field?

[T-Dog]

This season, Yurachek (TE coach) was the only on-field assistant in the booth. Besides him, Higgins, Sanders and Speir were in the booth as staffers.

[Stonewall]

He is responsible, regardless.

[Appstate88]

Just pointing out we need an OC calling based on what he sees from the booth not the field. Did DLo call plays in the NFL, South Carolina from the field?

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

I’ll be shocked if we hire an OC. Loggains loves the TE in his scheme and he went out and got our highest rated recruit in a TE. He has no intention of releasing the OC role. If we see the same failures in offense next season, all confidence should be lost. Hoping he has the players in place next season to make it work, and maybe not hire high end mercenary QB’s next season. Make guys earn it, not play because they’re getting paid.

[AppSt94]

I’ll be shocked if we hire an OC. Loggains loves the TE in his scheme and he went out and got our highest rated recruit in a TE. He has no intention of releasing the OC role. If we see the same failures in offense next season, all confidence should be lost. Hoping he has the players in place next season to make it work, and maybe not hire high end mercenary QB’s next season. Make guys earn it, not play because they’re getting paid.

Even if he hired one, I have zero faith that he would let them call the game. And I am going to say this not as an indictment of Loggains; but I think that he can be a good head coach, but he is limiting his ceiling with his insistence of calling plays. He can’t focus on both.