Another member of Coach MacIntyre’s staff has joined the Oregon Ducks in Eugene. Charles Clark, the cornerbacks coach this year, has joined Jim Leavitt’s staff for Oregon. Previously the safeties coach until Joe Tumpkin took that role, Clark has been with Mike MacIntyre since he was a conrerback under Mac’s tutelage at Ole Miss. He was a young coach that was getting better every year as a teacher and recruiter, and Leavitt got himself a rising stud. This change of scenery allows Clark to expand his coaching influence past MacIntyre and should give him a bit more responsibility.
Charles Clark joins Taggart's staff as a DB coach #GoDucks https://t.co/mtQWVHL7I9
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) January 5, 2017
The focus for CU now goes to replacing these two defensive coaches. We’ve already profiled some potential DC replacements, and now it’s time to do the same for the secondary. Though I won’t provide as much color, here are some names I would consider:
Vance Bedford
This would be a very nice hire, and one that might be a bit unrealistic given his pedigree. Bedford has a long history as a DB coach, and a successful one wherever he has been. His previous five years as a coach, he has followed Charlie Strong as a defensive coordinator. After being relieved from Texas at the end of the year and un-retained by the new staff, Bedford appears to be unemployed. He has experience recruiting Texas, and has five years early in his career as a DB coach for Colorado State. He has no West Coach connections, but the Texas connections could come in handy. He could be a DC for a smaller school, however.
Ryan Walters
Interesting hire here. Having joined the coaching profession in 2008, straight off a great playing career in Colorado, he has quickly risen through the coaching ranks, culminating in a Co-DC position at Missouri this year. Granted, Missouri’s defense was not good at all, but as a young star who has coached defensive backs his entire career, he could be a good fit in Boulder. As an alum, he may have a bit of extra motivation.
Tony White
White has been mentioned in a few coaching jobs this offseason. He has done a great job at San Diego State coaching the back four, and based in Southern California, recruits the hotbed well. If CU wants to improve its Cali recruiting, it’d be hard to go wrong with White. He has never coached at the Power-5 level, so that may cause some pause, but he has the recruiting chops and he has succeeded at the Mountain West level.