A Holistic View of Steve Kragthorpe

Stat Chart

Did a little bit of digging on Kragthorpe's last tenure as a true OC.

Kragthorpe's tenure went from 1998-2000. He was preceded by Steve Marshall, who is now a offensive line coach. Kragthorpe served as the QB coach for the 1997 team, however.

The above chart indicates some interesting movement in stats. Here's my major takeaways:

1) The offense he inherited took a significant nose dive in production. Not sure what all happened in terms of personnel loss (offensive line), but the big decline was in rushing, where they were a vaunted 200 ypg attack in 1997.

2) The passing offense made significant strides under his watch. After a spike in rushing attempts his 1st season, he trended more towards balance.

3) The run game generally became more efficient, despite losing star Dante Hall.

4) Until recently, two of the most prolific QB seasons in A&M history came under his watch (McCown in 1999 and Mark Farris [a true sophomore] in 2000). Farris went downhill after Kragthorpe's departure.

5) After an initial dive, scoring averaged 28 ppg in his final two years. Yardage climbed each year under his watch.

6) Passing YPA stayed around the 7.5 mark throughout his time, a good sign, considering pass attempts increased.

7) Completion percentage declined each of his first two years but then increased when Farris, the true sophomore, took the reigns. Not sure what to make of that.

8) Glance around the rosters during his tenure, not exactly a who's who of talent. Dante Hall was a good APB back in college. Ja'Mar Toombs was basically a big plodder that never had a 1,000 yard season. Bethel Johnson was a high draft pick based on speed, but never materialized. None of his QBs had any sort of pro potential.

Here's a solid read. From a respected blogger about Kragthorpe trying to right the offensive ship at Louisville.

Another good piece on Kragthorpe

One of the articles above mentions that Kragthorpe was also the playcaller/QB coach at Boston College in 1996.

Obviously, he's not the next Bill Walsh. But the guy has gobs of experience and has worked with some very experienced and talented offensive coaches (Kevin Gilbride, Dan Henning).

Obviously his tenure at Louisville was an out and out failure (for whatever reason), but to judge a coach based solely on one failed stop is a bit silly.