Just caught up on the thread so some of these thoughts are days old but I’m going to post them anyway. I hear and agree with the opinion that I do not want Drake Maye learning a new offense every single year, I truly believe 20% of what made Brady elite, GOAT QB is that he knew the offense inside and out and could instantly recall, and use things from years ago because the terminology was the same. Continuity and knowing what to expect and having things you are comfortable with, and rely on, are huge for anyone but especially for young QBs. I hope they keep AVP in some role for that reason, not as OC but a familiar voice that can help with any new stuff Maye has issues with. Someone mentioned passing coordinator, sounds perfect if he will accept it.
All of that said the debate between what system to run WCO or EP seems overrated to me. It’s all the same thing it’s just in how you call it. It’s the same damn play no matter if you call it (WCO) x hook, y go, z hook, protection right green, back fake Charlie or (EP) hook 0. You can run any play from any system. Just look at Josh McDaniels running the EP. Patriot offense of 2007, spread 4 wide lots of downfield stuff. 2012 hurry up two TE balance of run and pass but lots of confusion for the defense because they could run anything at anytime with the personnel on the field. 2018 fullback on the field with a heavy emphasis on running and playaction, well once they got good in the playoffs anyway. Same OC, same system, VASTLY different offenses. It’s why I don’t buy that the EP is old and outdated, it’s just more difficult to run.
There are pros and cons to any system or philosophy. At my highschool we had about three plays run left, run right, and pass. Thing is we practiced those plays 30,000 times so we could run them to perfection. Went 10 and 0 steamrolling people until we ran into a team that had (3) 300# guys on their lines in the state championship. Got crushed because it didn’t matter that we had it blocked perfectly they knew exactly where to be and were bigger and stronger. A more complex playbook might have offered different ways to attack or confuse them, but maybe we don’t make the championship game if we didn’t have the plays run so perfectly all season.
You see the same balance question in any system and it comes down to what the players can handle. Generally speaking complex is better than simple, when run well. The problem comes in when complex is more then your players can handle then simple and easy run 100 times is better. So IMO WCO is the simple and easy where if you know you are the x receiver listening to that call the only thing you need to know is I am running a hook. Same WR in the EP ok I have to remember what the entire play looks like and that’s if it’s run against man coverage. If it’s zone I change my route to a crosser to find an open zone. Oh yeah and I hope my QB reads it the same way. WCO gets run the correct way every time, but it’s easier to stop if the defense has the right call on. EP is harder to stop because it can be adjusted on the fly depending on the defense, but it’s harder to learn and easier to have miscommunications. Which one is better? I’ll leave you to decide but both can and have worked.
TL;DR I don’t care who they pick as OC or what system they run, as long as Maye gets continuity for the next 2-4 years so they better get it right.