Bronco had stayed very involved with the defense, even after Howell was named DC. Bronco helped with game prep, coached a position group (interior d-line), and called plays on gameday. This year, Bronco divorced himself from the defense so he could help on offense. He was not involved in game-planning (much), did not coach a position group, and only called plays that one week. So, we had our best DC/defensive coach leave the defensive staff. That's a big change. And, we had one fewer coach on the defensive side. All of the sudden, Howell had complete control and responsibility as defensive coordinator, and he was still charged with coaching the DBs. It's probably not a coincidence that the DBs really struggled this year. Things looked better against Cal, but the defense still has a long way to go. It's also probably not a coincidence that the defense started to get better once Bronco re-engaged with the defense.

It was a big, big mistake for Bronco to give up the defense. He needs to stay involved on that side of the ball. He's a great defensive coach, and it makes no sense to not have him involved. If Bronco had stayed involved all season long, our guys wouldn't have imploded the way they did. I bet we'd be at 10-2 right now if Bronco had stayed involved on the defense. I think there's no way we lose to UCF or Nevada if Bronco had stayed with the defense.

I'm generally a Bronco supporter, but this was a big blunder on his part, in my opinion.