BYU's decision to hire Jeff Grimes overwhelmingly seen as "very good" or better

Jeff Grimes coaching his O-line at LSU.

Once the BYU Cougars announced Jeff Grimes was hired as the new offensive coordinator, Blue Cougar Football polled site visitors and BYU fans via Twitter to find out how they ranked the decision. The results came back overwhelmingly positive.

Respondents were given four answers to choose from. Just four percent chose either "average" or "bad choice" (2% each). The other two options were "very good hire" and "BYU got the best guy." It was very close, but very good hire ended in front with 49 percent of the vote versus 47 percent for BYU got the best guy.

Official Poll Results
47% BYU got the best guy
49% Very Good Hire
2% Average
2% Bad Choice

I agree that this is a clear cut "very good" hire at a minimum. For the 53 percent that did not select "BYU got the best guy," I am curious to know who they consider to be better than Grimes.

Grimes has experience all over the country: West, Southeast, Atlantic States. He has experience at BYU, and did a very good job during his time here. He has continued to deliver results at his four stops after leaving the Y, and built a very well respected reputation nationally.

Maybe some respondents thought Dennis Simmons was a slightly better candidate. He has a very similar resume to Grimes as far as Power 5 experience, success, and coast-to-coast coverage. In that case, those respondents could only consider Grimes as a very good hire.

Grimes' resume does lack prior play calling experience. That could be a reason for respondents to select very good, as opposed to the best guy. For BYU to have hired a guy with previous play calling experience and with experience coaching in a Power 5 conference, then Jason Beck would be the only option. Beck was offensive coordinator for one season at Simon Fraser University (NCAA Division II) for one season (2012). However, the extent of his Power 5 coaching experience is two seasons at Virginia. While he can answer "Yes" to all the questions, the depth of his experience is pretty shallow.

After the Jeff Grimes Press Conference, I am ready to label him as the best guy. When the position opened up, I thought Grimes was going to be out of reach for BYU to hire. I also had my own reservations about his lack of play calling experience. I've worked through the experience issues, and Grimes obviously wasn't too big of a fish for BYU to catch.

If you haven't already, read the transcript of the Q&A as well as his answers to the two big questions: what will the offense look like and what about his lack of experience calling plays. That should get you excited. Yes, it is easy for a coach to get up and give good sweet talk right now. I remember Brandon Doman talking big at his introductory press conference, and then failing to deliver. However, this is a different situation. Grimes has been around the block. Doman hadn't. Grimes has repeatedly proven himself time and again. I don't think this is just lip service.

Plus, he is going to have the offensive line on point. With really good offensive line play, it is significantly easier to have a productive and successful offense. From recruiting to getting the most out of the players, Grimes should be excellent all around.

Below is the vote breakdown for Blue Cougar Football votes and Twitter votes with the percentage for each possible answer. The number of votes is in parenthesis.

BCF	Vote Brekdown	Twitter
49% (63)	BYU Got the Best Guy	43.5% (30)
48% (62)	Very Good Hire	51% (35)
2% (2)	Average	1.5% (1)
1% (1)	Bad Choice	4% (3)
100% (128)	Totals	100% (69)

The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com