I really liked Brian VanGorder for the position. I didn't have a feel for his personality at all. When he addressed "Sean Mele as the "famous", with that smile. I knew he was a people person with a common touch. What a breath of fresh air. That is my admission up front.
I thought he was very straight forward. Almost humble.
Here is what I liked :
He seems to be a possiblist, he continually showed curiosity and expressed that he looked at a player and tried to see what he could do, how he could fit.
He seemed to be very organized, had great ability to visualize what he was thinking about. That to me is a sign of genius. Not 140+ IQ, but master aptitude at what he was doing. I love that he expressed that he saw the defense (a thing almost as a machine) and likened at his coaching on different levels as a change of perspective on the same thing.
I really liked his integrity, his belief in core values. It permeated everything he said. I think it was the plug in for him being so honest about his past, which I almost found shockingly refreshing.
Recruiting was a brilliant light for me. What did he do? Liken it to parenting. He likened coaching to parenting. What is going to happen when the DC of a major program walks in and sits down with a kid and his parents, and pulls out a chair on the same side of the table, empathizes with the player and the family, and their situation, and then meticulously explains the situation, and what choices there are to be made. "Wow, I thinks to my self, just WOW!"
Here is a guy that is articulate, calls people by name, is definitely not an elitist, is easy to understand, as smart as Rick Minter and as schematically decisive Greg Mattison, who was arguably, respectively the smartest DC ND had and the best game planner, of any DC ND.
