From radio interview with Dolph last night:
“Even some of the wide-open spread offenses that you see across the country, make no mistake about it, they run the ball,” Lester said. “So, we have to find ways to run the ball. It’s exciting because of the success they've had in running the ball. Our job is to make sure that running game turns into explosive plays. One leads to the other. We’ll have a system of running the ball first and then making sure that we have a chance to be explosive offensively.”
“I think a 50-50 split is the goal,” Lester, who will turn 47 this week, said. “But … I’ve been calling games since I got out of playing. I’ve called games with 70 passes, and I’ve called games with 70 runs. So you really have to be able to adjust. The plan is always 50-50."
“You never abandon anything. You’ve got to have both. Having one thing in this day and age in college football, as good as these defenses are, you have to be efficient in everything. And I think that’s something we have a chance to be really good at.”
“Obviously, I just spent last year in Green Bay and running one of the multiple variations of (Kyle) Shanahan's offense,” Lester said. “You see it all over the NFL right now, and they all run it a little differently. But the DNA is the same of running the ball, creating explosive pass plays. And hopefully if you’re doing that, people want to come be a part of that.
“There’s probably a 70% chance if (college players) get to play on Sundays, they're going to be running a version of the same (Shanahan offense). Every year, there's a couple more offenses that are running a version of it. So, hopefully that’ll help people want to be here and we’ll have fun when they get here.”
“I think the biggest thing is you want people that want to be here, as a head coach, as an offensive coordinator,” Lester said. “But you’ve got to be able to put a product out there that people want to be a part of. That’s important.”
Comments from Kirk on Lester:
“Tim just really impressed all of us, I think, with his thoughts about offense. Just his personality. I think the fact that he’s been a head coach … was certainly beneficial. I think he appreciates and understands how much goes into winning a football game, and how many different people and segments are involved. I feel really good about it.”
Notes: Lester turned down an opportunity to be an NFL QB Coach next season to take the Iowa OC job. His introductory press conference will be held this upcoming Tuesday.