Coaching Rumor Update, episode XIV UPDATED

Hopefully this staff is rounded out soon, so this may be one of the last of these.

First of all, a great BIG welcome to Scott Lakatos. The new DB coach of the Dawgs' secondary is a great addition; UConn has had an impressive pass defense throughout his tenure in Storrs. I gave you this guy's resume on Saturday after news broke of his interview. It sounds like it didn't sparkle in some fans' eyes. But as the Senator said, if his kids look back at the ball when it's thrown to the man they're covering...then there'll be plenty of sparkle. Of course, right now we'd just take them being within camera shot of the defender.

So, we've replaced Willie DC and Jancek LB with Grantham and Willie DB with Lakatos...that leaves us still one in the black as far as the coaching ledger, correct?

When Grantham was hired it cemented the notion that we'd only have one d-line coach, Garner. Some teams that operate from a 3-4 split LB duties up by inside and outside. Grantham will not. (Update: evidently the language there was too strong. Hale hints that not only may Grantham hire help for LBs, but it may be all in the family. Plus, I missed this earlier but I missed this earlier - PWD weighs in as well.)

Well!...isn't that spehshul? 

That leaves Coach Richt with a difficult choice, defense or special teams. Groo has a great read on this very topic and ultimately decides that with the dramatic changes on that side of the ball it would be wise to add more defensive help. 

Before reading his assessment I was against anything other than a special teams guy. But Groo is right when he typed that there is a history for success with position coaches running special teams as well as head coaches. From Beamer's lunchpail philosophy to Slurban's preferential treatment towards special teamers, there is reason to think that Coach Richt himself might handle the duties. Hell, it worked pretty well in Athens earlier in CMRs tenure.

Here's some stats to digest:

	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004
KO Defense	25.71	21.66	20.51	21.86	18.41	17.15
Punt Defense	10.52	7.12	4.88	9.30	8.83	9.00

Should CMR go with one coach...I hope he at least gauges Joe DeCamillis' interest. It's a pipe dream that's been kept alive by message boards, I know. But he looks good in red and black and is renowned as the guy. Those hidden yards would be a LOT easier to find with him on the sideline.

Another possibility - whoever is stirring the awesomeness in Ames, Iowa. That's right, the Iowa State Cyclones finished top 10 in both kickoff return and punt return yardage defense (h/t Ally). It appears as if Coach Rhoads also splits the special teams' duties amongst the staff because the official website doesn't list a special teams coach. Or maybe that's just a well kept secret.

What approach do you prefer to special teams? And if you want a coach, who would you like to see interviewed?

And as Hale's Fun With Numbers pointed out yesterday, recruiting is always in play in decisions like these. So there are a lot of variables in the air and whatever Richt decides, he'll make the best decision for the team. I'm just eager to see these teams become special again.