Cardinals coaches pick brains of other staffs

MUNCIE – Each offseason, college football coaching staffs reassess, try to learn and grow. There's always something new being thought up, a little tweak or extra element they could throw into the mix, and in a hyper-competitive world, they'll find it.

That's how you had Ball State's coaches scattering across the country, seeing and picking the brains of old friends before spring ball even fired up.

"One of the things we try to do every offseason is to build in professional development for the staff so that we can review how we're doing it, how other people are doing it," Cardinals head coach Pete Lembo said. "Different little nuances that we might want to incorporate."

Lembo joined his offensive staff on a trip down to the Texas Gulf Coast and Rice University. His defensive staff took trips to Tennessee, Michigan State and Marshall. Even special teams coordinator Justin Lustig managed to make a few visits just focused in that area.

Most of the visits came at places with connections to the current staff. Defensive line coach Nick Siatras has deep ties with Michigan State's staff. Secondary coach Shannon Morrison worked with much of the Tennessee staff at Cincinnati, and both he and Kevin Kelly had stops at Marshall.

What ties those three programs together is a recent history of defensive success. The Spartans have long been a standard-setter on that side nationally, with scheme elements being copied in many spots.

The Thundering Herd quietly had a defense that dominated alongside a record-setting offense in 2014, and the Vols took a big step forward last year.

What exact tweaks the Cardinals staff comes away with likely won't be apparent until the season opens, as the team prefers not to tip its hand.

But if there is somewhere to pick up something a little different on offense, Rice is a pretty good place.

In eight seasons with coach David Bailiff, the Owls have often been at the forefront of offensive innovation. Whether it was peculiar lineups (a few years ago it was gigantic skill-position players) or adapting to the talent on hand.

That started with Tom Herman, a former offensive coordinator who quickly rose through the ranks and was most recently seen running a national title-winning offense at Ohio State and taking the Houston head job. Now the offense is run by Larry Edmondson and Billy Lynch.

That last name is important as the BSU roots run deep for Lynch.

A two-sport athlete with the Cardinals, he grew up around the program, often coming to practices and meetings with his father Bill (both an OC and head coach for BSU). His brother Joey is the Cardinals' offensive coordinator.

So for two days, Ball State's staff saw a familiar face as it tried to add that little extra bit that could make a difference when things go live.

"Any time you have a connection like that, there's a better chance it's going to be a productive visit because of the relationships that are already in place," Lembo said, noting Rice's high academic standards mean the staff has to be ready to adapt. "They are doing some really creative stuff. It's a program, much like ours, where they take pride in doing more with less and really trying to maximize the potential with their players."