Nolan Cromwell Texas A&M's offensive co-ord

[motife]

Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren said receivers coach Nolan Cromwell, who worked under Holmgren for seven seasons in Green Bay and for the last nine in Seattle, received an opportunity that was too good to pass up when Cromwell was offered and recently accepted the offensive coordinator job at Texas A&M under new Aggies coach Mike Sherman. But team sources can't help wondering if Holmgren sealed the deal after tipping off his long time assistant about possibly retiring after the season.

[motife]

Q & A with Mike Sherman :

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5442126.html

Q: How has the recruiting been going so far?

A: It's been great. I think recruiting so far has been very good. I haven't been able to get on the road yet because we're in that dead period. I go on the road Monday for the first time. I will try to hit as many schools as we can, hit our prospect, hit the junior prospects, but also try to identify with a lot of high school coaches in this state through the process. We may see a kid at school A, but if school B and C are right in the area, we might try to see them as well, even if they don't have prospects this year. Tim Cassidy has a pretty busy schedule the next three weeks, really.

Q: Can you talk about how much this place has changed since you left?

A: Certainly this facility has changed tremendously. Our old offices are now this facility and is now just phenomenal. Bill Byrne has done an unbelievable job of upgrading everything that has to be to put you in a position to recruit against the big teams you have to recruit against.

Q: What about how the college game has changed since you left?

A: It certainly has. As I talked to all the offensive coaches that I talked to, I would say we have to score 45 points to win a football game these days. Certainly, people are scoring a lot more points. In the old days, we would put all of our best players on defense. It seems like now people are putting all their speed on offense and scoring a lot of points and so forth. I would say that part has changed a lot, the emphasis on the offensive side of the football and throwing the ball. I think teams throw the ball a lot better now than they did 12 years ago. You watch these teams as an NFL coach or general manager, and you see how people are leaning more to the pass than the run. Those great running backs catch a lot more balls.

Q: How much time have you spent assessing the team you have inherited?

A: I have watched tape, not to the degree that I will before spring ball. I will spend a lot more time as I position people in the right spots. But to evaluate our team, I have been able to do that. And certainly what our needs are, offensively and defensively, we'll play off that evaluation.

Q: What do you like about what you've seen on tape?

A: I think a lot of things are a work in progress. I think the fact that we have an established quarterback right now, certainly gives us a leg up from that standpoint. Obviously, we have a guy with a lot of knowledge. And in Jerrod (Johnson), we have a young quarterback that is eager to play and (we'll) give him some opportunities as well this spring because Stephen won't be in position with his surgery to be able to participate a lot.

Obviously at the running back position, we have a strength. We lost some offensive linemen that we have to replace. That will be the biggest challenge. I think as well as our tight end will be a challenge for us. Speed at receiver for us will be a priority for us in recruiting. We need to get some guys that can go downfield and catch the football. To combine with the people that we have, we don't have a lot of depth at that position.

Q: What advice, if any, did you give Martellus Bennett to help in his decision to leave early?

A: I don't know to be honest with you. I talked to Martellus and his dad on the phone a number of times and just gave them information. That is a decision they have to make themselves. I really believe this, if you have to convince someone to come back, they don't come back as the same player a lot of times. So if they're really eager to go, to turn their mind and somehow sway the numbers to make it look like he needs to come back, I didn't want to do that. He got some pretty good information from the NFL. I thought I gave him some very accurate information in terms of what his draft status would be. And he made his decision based on what he accumulated. So we wish him well.

Q: How close are you to completing your staff?

A: Real close. Real close to doing that. By the end of this week, we will have mostly everybody on board I believe. And by the end of next week, it should be finalized.

Q: Do you feel like Jorvorskie Lane needs to lose weight?

A: I think the both of us need to lose a few pounds. I'm going to challenge him to do that as well.

Q: What are your thoughts about playing Arkansas in Dallas and moving the A&M-UT game back to Thanksgiving night?

A: I think playing Arkansas in Dallas, we really need to make some hay up in the Dallas area recruiting. I think by playing up there, by getting more exposure up there, having a game up there where parents can see us play, certainly helps us. It certainly helps Arkansas as well in recruiting, because that's a hotbed for them. I'm excited about that. It gives us a premier type game that we can count on much like Oklahoma and Texas.

As far as moving the Texas game to Thanksgiving night, that's exciting. Any time you can put our players in the limelight, it's great for recruiting, but it's also great at the end of the season, to have that type of game, where our guys know we're going to play in a very special game where the entire country will be watching just them play football. That's what it's all about.

Q: Will you or offensive coordinator Nolan Cromwell call the offensive plays?

A: Being an offensive coach and having called plays, that's certainly something I enjoy doing. We're going to take that as we go. I want him to call the plays, but I want to be interactive in all phases of the offense, defense and special teams. But I will have veto power when necessary. I have complete confidence that Nolan will do a good job.

Q: Will defensive coordinator Reggie Herring run a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme?

A: Reggie and I talked about it before he was hired. We want to be very multiple, we want to be aggressive. A lot of what we are will be predicated by what we have. I'm not a believer in you have to have a system and you make the system work regardless of personnel. Your personnel dictate a lot of what you can do. Some teams, you can really come after the quarterback and pressure. That's what we like to do. Sometimes maybe if you can't cover quite as well, then maybe you can't come quite as much and play more zone than man. That's going all going to be decided on what we learn about our team from video studies, which even though we've done it, we need to do more of it. It will be a work in progress.

Q: Do have any idea of the spring football schedule?

A: We have an idea of when it's going to end. It's going to end on April 19. We're going to work back form that.

Q: Do you have any thoughts about position changes?

A: I do. I don't want to say it without talking to those players themselves. I've definitely considered three or four positions.

Q: Will every position be up for grabs coming in?

A: I would say yes. When you come in new, the only allegiance I have is to Texas A&M. It will be very competitive from the minute they walk into that locker room and start the off-season, which will be a challenge for them because it will be different and it will be challenging. Not to say it wasn't in the past, but it will be presented a little bit differently. From that day forward, everything they do will be very competitive. Every time they step in the weight room, every time they step on the practice field, it will be very, very competitive.

Q: Can you talk about what Stephen McGee's status will be for spring ball after having the surgery on his non-throwing shoulder?

A: He won't be able to participate because it's usually a three month recovery. He might be able to hand the ball off, but I think we have to careful with what we ask him to do and not to put him in harms way. I don't see him getting involved from a physical part or running the offense. But he will be very much a participant mentally and knowing Stephen, he will be anxious to get a playbook and get started. He will miss it from a physical standpoint, but not a mental standpoint.

Q: How do you see that affecting the competition between him and Jerrod Johnson going into the fall?

A: He's played a lot of football. I know he can play. It gives us a chance to practice with a younger player, which is exciting. He hasn't gotten the reps that he probably could have had in the past. Now he gets a chance to show what he can do. These injuries, even as a coach they frustrate the heck out of you, what they end up doing is make the team stronger, because the veteran player isn't there, and the younger player gets a lot of reps. It's competitive. I think we have talent at the quarterback position. Obviously with what Stephen has done as the leader on this team and his experience weighs in his favor, but it's going to be competitive.

Q: What is going to be your offensive philosophy?

A: I don't believe you can be one-dimensional offensively. My philosophy has been, you've got to be able to do both. Some days you can run it. Against Jacksonville, the passing game wasn't going great, we only threw it 18 times. And there were other times we had to throw it to win football games. I would say we're going to be balanced. We're going to do what the game dictates.

Q: What areas do you feel you need to improve the most?

A: I think we have to get faster. I don't think we're fast enough, particularly on defense. Our receivers have to be more competitive. That position has to be more of a competitive position for us. But I look at the team and we have to get faster.

[KYPack]

Yeah, I think Cromwell's departure is a clue that Unca Mikey's hangin' 'em up.

Cromwell may well be making a big mistake going college. He's been a NFL guy forever.

[The Leaper]

Cromwell may well be making a big mistake going college. He's been a NFL guy forever.

It is far easier going from the NFL to the NCAA than the other way around. After countless 80+ hour weeks in the NFL, the relaxed college schedule probably would suit any coach just fine.

[Harlan Huckleby]

wasn't Cromwell a fan-abused figure in Green Bay when he coached special teams here?

[KYPack]

Cromwell may well be making a big mistake going college. He's been a NFL guy forever.

It is far easier going from the NFL to the NCAA than the other way around. After countless 80+ hour weeks in the NFL, the relaxed college schedule probably would suit any coach just fine.

He can do the job, that isn't the issue.

You are dealing with 18 yr old kids instead of men. It's aggravating to a guy who's been in the bigs.

Cromwell struck me as a guy who could be an NFL HC someday.

This could derail him. There should be a lot of NFL jobs this off-season. I think he should have waited for one to come up. Also Shermy has the repo of a guy who is a little difficult to deal with. Talk to Jags about that one.

[Green Bud Packer]

Texas A&M D.C. Reggie Herring left after only one month with the Aggies to take the job as L.B. coach for the Cowboys.