I'm going to start by saying that 35-34 was the game where I fell in love with Baylor football. I rushed the field as a high school student and still have a #35 Baylor jersey hanging in my closet. Shawn Bell will forever be a legend in my mind from those memories.
But to park the Delorean and come back to the present, my instinct from watching Baylor football the last six years is that he's proven very little as a position coach at the Big 12 level. I will grant you that he got a bit of a raw deal being made OL coach, given his lack of experience at the position, but our OL was bad during his time in the role, so while I can't judge him too harshly for that, he didn't exactly impress.
He then had his best year as TE coach, though the arrival of Sims probably had something to do with that, before becoming the QB coach for the last two seasons. I understand that coaching takes time, but it's almost shocking how similar the poor QB play from Bohanon and Shapen has been. They both seem badly lacking in confidence and anticipation in the passing game. Bohanon was able to extend drives with his legs, but these issues have been more noticeable with Shapen at the helm. One might even wonder if Shapen's seeming regression from last season could be a result of the coaching he's received as QB1.
But those factors don't tell the whole story of a coach's value, since recruiting and team culture are also major factors. I don't follow recruiting closely at all, so my only real impression in that area is that our offensive talent doesn't seem high enough to think he's that much of an asset. Maybe he's crucial to incoming talent, but I'm unsure about his performance compared to a potential replacement.
As for culture, this is an area where I think Bell is an asset. I watched a few of his interviews in trying to form an opinion on Coach Bell, and he seems like a pretty perfect mix of caring about his guys with a classic football mentality. One somewhat concerning note from those interviews is that he almost exclusively talks about that kind of stuff, never really getting very much into the game itself.
I understandably would love to see Shawn Bell become a successful coach, and I shared the unspoken dream out there that he could be Baylor's next Teaff. China Spring is basically Waco, so it's home for him in every way. The problem is that I'm just not sure he's up to his current task, much less being the head coach.
This brings me to my final point, that it's very rare for a coach to spend all their time working their way up at one place, then succeed in taking it over. There is a lot of professional value in seeing how other people do things, and while he has served under two coaches and three OCs, I think he could learn a lot in a place where he's just another staff member.
I've been extremely hesitant to post this for a number of reasons, not least of which is that I am not a fan of calling for someone's job, much less someone who was critical to inspiring my love of Baylor football. The problem is that I fear that Bell is languishing in a too-comfortable relationship at Baylor. He's not contributing as much as he should to Baylor, and Baylor isn't pushing him to be his best. After a disappointing season where staff shakeups have been discussed, no one is above a critical evaluation, and I haven't seen this mentioned at all.
I'll end the way I started...how much of an asset is Shawn Bell to this staff?
But to park the Delorean and come back to the present, my instinct from watching Baylor football the last six years is that he's proven very little as a position coach at the Big 12 level. I will grant you that he got a bit of a raw deal being made OL coach, given his lack of experience at the position, but our OL was bad during his time in the role, so while I can't judge him too harshly for that, he didn't exactly impress.
He then had his best year as TE coach, though the arrival of Sims probably had something to do with that, before becoming the QB coach for the last two seasons. I understand that coaching takes time, but it's almost shocking how similar the poor QB play from Bohanon and Shapen has been. They both seem badly lacking in confidence and anticipation in the passing game. Bohanon was able to extend drives with his legs, but these issues have been more noticeable with Shapen at the helm. One might even wonder if Shapen's seeming regression from last season could be a result of the coaching he's received as QB1.
But those factors don't tell the whole story of a coach's value, since recruiting and team culture are also major factors. I don't follow recruiting closely at all, so my only real impression in that area is that our offensive talent doesn't seem high enough to think he's that much of an asset. Maybe he's crucial to incoming talent, but I'm unsure about his performance compared to a potential replacement.
As for culture, this is an area where I think Bell is an asset. I watched a few of his interviews in trying to form an opinion on Coach Bell, and he seems like a pretty perfect mix of caring about his guys with a classic football mentality. One somewhat concerning note from those interviews is that he almost exclusively talks about that kind of stuff, never really getting very much into the game itself.
I understandably would love to see Shawn Bell become a successful coach, and I shared the unspoken dream out there that he could be Baylor's next Teaff. China Spring is basically Waco, so it's home for him in every way. The problem is that I'm just not sure he's up to his current task, much less being the head coach.
This brings me to my final point, that it's very rare for a coach to spend all their time working their way up at one place, then succeed in taking it over. There is a lot of professional value in seeing how other people do things, and while he has served under two coaches and three OCs, I think he could learn a lot in a place where he's just another staff member.
I've been extremely hesitant to post this for a number of reasons, not least of which is that I am not a fan of calling for someone's job, much less someone who was critical to inspiring my love of Baylor football. The problem is that I fear that Bell is languishing in a too-comfortable relationship at Baylor. He's not contributing as much as he should to Baylor, and Baylor isn't pushing him to be his best. After a disappointing season where staff shakeups have been discussed, no one is above a critical evaluation, and I haven't seen this mentioned at all.
I'll end the way I started...how much of an asset is Shawn Bell to this staff?