After holding 14 jobs in 30 years, no one knows transition better than Maryland offensive coordinator Gary Crowton. To give you an idea of how well-traveled Crowton is, he coached two of the Redskins’ quarterbacks — John Beck at BYU and Kellen Clemens at Oregon. Crowton also served as offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears but can’t take any credit for Rex Grossman, who arrived three years after his departure.
So as he begins 2011 at Maryland, this is business as usual for Crowton, 54, who compares this situation to the one he stepped into six years ago at Oregon.
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As a first-year offensive coordinator with the Ducks, he inherited an entrenched quarterback in Clemens, much like the player he now guides at Maryland, sophomore Danny O’Brien.
“It was a very similar situation,” Crowton said. “Kellen was established there. It made my job a lot easier, not having to develop a guy or deal with the question of who the quarterback was going to be.”
Now Crowton hopes for similar results. In his first season at Oregon, the Ducks went 10-2 and reached No.?6 in the nation. Clemens, then a senior, threw at a 152.9 efficiency rate with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.
O’Brien, last year’s ACC rookie of the year, won over Crowton quickly in the spring with his thirst for knowledge.
“The transition’s been good. Danny’s made it easy,” Crowton said. “So many places I’ve come, they’ve had a senior quarterback, one year left. Often times they’re not as receptive to what you want to do. “But here, Danny’s been great. When I got here, with his experience, Danny wanted to learn it all fast. He’s been very open-minded. I feel like we’re on the same page.”
After having some trouble in the spring gaining the confidence of hard-nosed coach Randy Edsall, O’Brien apparently has earned the trust of the staff. Edsall has made it clear O’Brien is the least of his worries.
“With the intelligence and passion Danny’s shown, he has a little bit of freedom to make those kind of decisions in a game,” Crowton said. “If you get that right in a game, it can be really good.”
Maybe even Oregon good.
– Kevin Dunleavy
