In my next job running a search firm that places offensive coordinators in college football programs, I will remind myself not to recommend anyone with any of these credentials: Heisman Trophy winner ... Most quarterbacking victories in school history ... Key figure in two epic, winning drives in annual rivalry games.
Ty Detmer’s achievements as a college QB at BYU are not translating into coaching success at his old school, in the recent tradition of Utah’s Brian Johnson and BYU’s Brandon Doman. So maybe fan voting is not the best way to fill these positions, after all.
Whether some kind of coaching curse is in play or the former stars simply were unproven in the profession when they were given these opportunities, the trend is unmistakable. Detmer, Johnson and Doman went a combined 69-18-2 as starting quarterbacks. They’re 33-22 in five seasons as offensive coordinators in those programs.
At this point, a confession: I endorsed all three, disregarding my belief that people should learn at lower levels of any business, such as Kyle Whittingham spending six seasons on the Idaho State staff. My approval was based on Doman’s six years as BYU’s quarterback coach, Detmer’s 14 seasons in NFL quarterback meeting rooms and Johnson’s feel for the game, despite having coached for only two years. (He since has established himself as a quarterbacks coach, getting credit for developing Dak Prescott at Mississippi State).
Doman left the profession, but his 18-8 record as BYU’s coordinator in the school’s first two years of independence looks pretty good right now. Detmer stands 10-7. Johnson was 5-7 as Utah’s play-caller after going 26-7 as a starting quarterback.
Partly because they’re good people, with intelligence and charisma, I overlooked how difficult it is to manage a staff and coordinate an offense at this level. Yet if I overrated the skills of those coaches at that stage of their careers, so did Whittingham, Bronco Mendenhall and BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, who hired Detmer from a small, private Texas high school.
These three seemingly were charmed as college QBs, leading dramatic drives such as Doman’s two comeback wins over Utah and delivering big-time victories, including Detmer knocking off No. 1 Miami and Johnson upsetting Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. But forces are conspiring against them as school employees.
Doman lost quarterbacks Riley Nelson and Taysom Hill to injury in 2012, the same season when Jordan Wynn’s Utah career ended in the second game. Detmer used backup quarterback Beau Hoge against Wisconsin last weekend after Tanner Mangum was injured on the game’s final play vs. Utah, part of a three-game run of opposing defenses that rivals anything the Cougars ever have faced. The result is the program’s worst stretch of offensive football since 1971, the year before the late LaVell Edwards took over.
The Cougars are not doing much to honor those “LaVell” patches on the players’ uniforms and the coaches’ shirtsleeves. So now the question is what will become of Detmer’s coaching career. This season is salvageable as the schedule eases. As he approaches his 50th birthday next month, it may be worth wondering how long he will stick with this gig before heading home to Texas.
No matter how well Doman and Johnson were remembered on their campuses, their coaching tenures did not end well. Doman was replaced after two years when Mendenhall brought back Robert Anae, formerly Doman’s boss. Whittingham hired Dennis Erickson as the play-caller and made Johnson the Utes’ co-coordinator after one year. Whittingham brought in his friend Dave Christensen a year later and again demoted Johnson, who moved to Mississippi State. (He’s now Houston’s offensive coordinator).
BYU’s replica of Detmer’s Heisman Trophy in the Student Athlete Building might end up being a reminder of a failed experiment in his coaching role. He thrived last season with a run-oriented offense that maximized running back Jamaal Williams and quarterback Hill, who made NFL rosters. The Cougars beat Power Five opponents Arizona, Michigan State and Mississippi State, although those teams went a combined 5-21 in conference play.
That was supposed to be a bridge year to the BYU passing offense of old, the scheme Detmer used to pass for 15,031 yards as a Cougar. But that stuff is not working. After an unsatisfying win over Portland State, the Cougars have totaled 19 points and 522 yards in losses to LSU, Utah and Wisconsin.
The Cougars will look better when can they run the ball against inferior opponents, but the damage has been done to their 2017 season as of mid-September. Detmer’s offense still has one more opportunity to prove itself against a Power Five defense, but next month’s trip to Mississippi State hardly looks like fun.
BRANDON DOMAN <br>Achievements as BYU QB • Won his first 14 games over two seasons as starter, including two game-winning drives vs.Utah. <br>Age in 2011, first season as BYU offensive coordinator • 35 <br>Record as OC • 18-8 <br>Previous coaching experience • Six years as BYU quarterback coach. <br>What went right • The Cougars rallied to beat Utah State and defeated Oregon State on the road in 2011, then topped Washington State in 2012. <br>What went wrong • Injuries to quarterbacks Riley Nelson and Taysom Hill disrupted BYU’s offense in 2012 season, as one of the best defenses in BYU history received inadequate support and the Cougars lost at San Jose State.
BRIAN JOHNSON <br>Achievements as Utah QB • School-record 26 wins (seven losses) as starter; game-winning drives vs. Oregon State and TCU during unbeaten senior season, ending with Sugar Bowl upset of Alabama. <br>Age in 2012, as Utes offensive coordinator • 25 <br>Record as OC • 5-7 <br>Previous coaching experience • Two years as Utah quarterback coach. <br>What went right • The Utes won three Pac-12 games with Travis Wilson as a true freshman quarterback. <br>What went wrong • Utah failed to become bowl-eligible for the first time in 10 years, while going through three quarterbacks with Jordan Wynn’s career-ending injury and Jon Hays’ ineffectiveness.
TY DETMER <br>Achievements as BYU QB • Heisman Trophy winner in1990; 15,031 career passing yards; 29-9-2 record as starter. <br>Age in 2016, first season as BYU offensive coordinator • 48 <br>Record as OC • 10-7 <br>Previous coaching experience • Seven years as coach at St. Andrew Episcopal School in Austin, Texas. <br>What has gone right • BYU went 9-4 in 2016, with game-winning drives vs. Arizona and Toledo and consecutive victories over Michigan State and Mississippi State. Detmer maximized Jamaal Williams and Taysom Hill. <br>What has gone wrong • Detmer’s 2-point conversion play-call failed against Utah in 2016 and his 2017 offense ranks near the bottom among FBS teams.