Coach Palmer Given Enough Credit?

[bgibb 207]

First off, this topic and post is a result of a very slow day here at the office. But I got to thinking, you always hear about the great Coaches in our area, but you really don't hear as much about the head coach for the Graham G-Men, Tony Palmer and what he has accomplished in his short 3 years.

I was playing around a looking at some numbers with wins and losses in his first 3 years and considering where Graham football was a few years ago, this man has really turned it around.

2015  6-6,    2016  11-2,   2017(so far) 6-1. In three years and having coached in 32 games so far, Palmer has a record of 23-9.  Out of the 9 losses, 3 have been to Richlands, 2 have been to Bluefield, and 1 has been to Union. So 6 of his losses so far, have come against 3 of the best teams in our area.

So I guess my questions are, is this beginners luck for Palmer or will this be the new normal for the Graham G-Men? Has Palmer been given enough credit and respect for this quick turn around we have seen with Graham?

 

[Deleted Account 5,203]

17 minutes ago, bgibb said:

So I guess my questions are, is this beginners luck for Palmer or will this be the new normal for the Graham G-Men? Has Palmer been given enough credit and respect for this quick turn around we have seen with Graham?

 

Palmer is a capable coach, but he has also been blessed by an absurd run of athletes at the skill positions that don't come around often.  I think he has some growing to do as it relates to the position itself, but he's capable.

[Falcon Mania 235]

Some will say say he has a really good assistant coach who is doing it all.  Some will say he has done a fantastic job alone.  Some will say he inherited a plethora of talent and it's easy to be successful with talent and athleticism.  And all may be a factor to some degree.  

But the truth of the matter is that the great and most successful head coaches generally surround themselves with coaches wiser than themselves. Not to mention develop their feeder programs to keep the kids interested and buying into the future of the program.  most programs ebb and flow.  Like the old saying goes "What goes up...Must come down".  Graham has been trending up the last few years and credit to their head coach and his staff for building it back up.

[BigWinners 1,643]

Turner at Union has began his career much in same way, 2011: 5-6; 2012: 8-4; 2013: 9-3; 2014: 9-3; 2015: 13-1; 2016: 11-2 and sitting at 8-0 this year, averaging about 9 wins and three losses per season. But for a coach to truly be considered elite, they have to win titles and be consistent over a long sample size. Palmer has been phenomenal in three years but he will be judged by how consistent his teams are year in and year out. Every coach has a down year or two when a class cycles out, but if a team is consistently in the picture for Region titles and has a few seasons in which they could win titles, then the coach is considered top tier. 

[jarhead24219 440]

As in anything, the successful coach has good players backed by good sat coaches and administrators. I believe he loves to win and that is picked up by the players and onto the field

[Dick_Vitale 342]

41 minutes ago, jarhead24219 said:

As in anything, the successful coach has good players backed by good sat coaches and administrators. I believe he loves to win and that is picked up by the players and onto the field

Who doesn't love to win? lol

[BigO 316]

I fully agree about consistency and longevity.  Alls well when you have the Jimmys and the Joes.....but what happens when it's all about the X's and the O's?  Will they stay competitive when the talent cycles out? Same question with Reed at Abingdon. He's done pretty good for the amount time he's been there....even doing better this year than some expected (myself included!).  But now that Colobro is gone and Sturgill graduated, how long will they stay relevant when it comes to post season ball?  And this is no slap at the kids there now....because they've done a great job. A coach is measured by what kind of legacy they create or leave behind.  2-3 years just isn't quite long enough to measure. 

[Widespread_Panic 197]

16 hours ago, BigO said:

  Will they stay competitive when the talent cycles out? Same question with Reed at Abingdon. He's done pretty good for the amount time he's been there....even doing better this year than some expected (myself included!).  But now that Colobro is gone and Sturgill graduated, how long will they stay relevant when it comes to post season ball?  

When was Abingdon ever relevant in post season ball? Losing in the first round of the playoffs should not be the highlight of your program. 

[Deleted Account 5,203]

17 hours ago, BigO said:

Will they stay competitive when the talent cycles out? Same question with Reed at Abingdon.

Yes.  No.

[Mountain Football 1,533]

I believe he's been given enough credit. He won the prestigous BDT COY Award last year!! I mean what else can he ask for?

In all seriousness the past two seasons he's had a tremendous amount of talent. I believe he did about as good with that talent this early in his coaching career as one could ask for. Keep in mind he has a young staff under him as well.  Im sure there are a couple games he'd like back but all coaches would say that. 

I say we give it another year or two and see what happens. Unless there is a transfer or two coming the next few years the talent won't be what it has been. He'll definitely have to coach them up.

[EH31 2,532]

Just my opinion, but I think the last 2 years Graham relied Mostly on talent to win games. The gameplan didn't seem to change throughout the season and there didn't seem to be a lot of halftime adjustments.

this year I've commented on how every week I've watched graham they're adjusting each week and moving kids around to find their best fit to win the game. I said after the Graham-Beaver game that Tony would rewatch it and kick himself for all the missed opportunities and for keeping Taymon outside the majority of the game and letting bluefied take him out of the gameplan. I think he seen that since Taymon is lining up all over the field and they're using him as a decoy when the ball isn't going his way. They went from predominately being in the spread against Bluefield, to running the power I against Giles, to running read options and RPO's out of the pistol against Virginia High. Graham looked like a completely different team last week in the game last week against VHS & in a good way. Coaching isn't easy and like any other profession you need experience to be great. halfway through year 3 it looks like he's got the hang of it. Hopefully he keeps making adjustments to get the most out of this talented team. 

[Westisthebest 88]

On 10/19/2017 at 2:52 PM, bgibb said:

First off, this topic and post is a result of a very slow day here at the office. But I got to thinking, you always hear about the great Coaches in our area, but you really don't hear as much about the head coach for the Graham G-Men, Tony Palmer and what he has accomplished in his short 3 years.

I was playing around a looking at some numbers with wins and losses in his first 3 years and considering where Graham football was a few years ago, this man has really turned it around.

2015  6-6,    2016  11-2,   2017(so far) 6-1. In three years and having coached in 32 games so far, Palmer has a record of 23-9.  Out of the 9 losses, 3 have been to Richlands, 2 have been to Bluefield, and 1 has been to Union. So 6 of his losses so far, have come against 3 of the best teams in our area.

So I guess my questions are, is this beginners luck for Palmer or will this be the new normal for the Graham G-Men? Has Palmer been given enough credit and respect for this quick turn around we have seen with Graham?

 

We will see when all the talent is gone.

[Gridiron60 2,555]

Honestly, last night proved Palmer could benefit from a veteran seasoned knowledgeable student of the game kind of coach on his staff, one that's proven. Unless he can find one, when the talent dwindles so do the wins just my humble opinion. 

[Mountain Football 1,533]

43 minutes ago, Gridiron60 said:

Honestly, last night proved Palmer could benefit from a veteran seasoned knowledgeable student of the game kind of coach on his staff, one that's proven. Unless he can find one, when the talent dwindles so do the wins just my humble opinion. 

I agree. I think the addition of Rex on defense has helped tremendously. The offense is pretty elementary. Need some work there. I will say Palmer does seem to be open minded to changes and the kids seem to like to play for him.