Maze Run with Ebel

First sit down of the season. We have coach ebel, the man, the myth, the legend. Coach ebel is everyone's favorite coach, he competes harder than nobody else. He leaves everything out on the gridiron. I thought why not try to hear from him, he has built himself a formidable program in Houston. I hope you have a hot dog and a cold brew in hand as you read this on the 4th. With all that said I had a virtual sit down with the guy himself, below are the results of that virtual sit down. I hope you enjoy.

Q:How did you get into GD given so many other options out there? And have you tried any of the other options out there? A:I haven't played any other sim games. I got into GD about 15 years ago because a couple buddies of mine played. They talked about their players by name and knew their stats like they were real-life players from their favorite teams lol. I remember once we got together to draft to their baseball teams and my buddy wouldn't shut up about how he had scored 100 points with his Texas Lutheran team. I had to check it out Q:What about GD keeps you here? A:Probably the community. My favorite times in this game have been competing in tough, active conferences. Wilkinson has that on a world level. All the content and user contributions really make it fun for me. Q:How has the game changed since you joined? A:This would be a long list lol. I've been around since Punters could sub in and play HOF level QB Q:What is your favorite part of this game? A:Hitting refresh waiting for the 2nd half sim of a big game :) Q:And obviously what is your least favorite part of the game? A:The lack of support and game development. Q:What would you like to see be improved in this game: As far as recruiting? A:Probably just makes it shorter. I'm all for a good battle or finding discarded players but still could stand to lose a couple days. As far as game planning? A:I really like the playbooks... makes it easy to adjust or change schemes once have them set up... but if anything, to me there are too many inputs now. Back in the day we couldn't even set our defense by yardage but it was still fun. As far as the simulation? A:Main gripe on current sim is the fumbles. Either need less fumbles or more interceptions because now you are at disadvantage with a running offense. As far as realism and all the other bells and whistles? A:Realism isn't important to me. I don't care if game stats look like a real box score for example. I want a fun game and to see that my inputs as a coach are leading to predictable game play results. There could be so much more to this game, unfortunately a lot of good aspects that were originally planned for were never followed up on or cut out due to lack of support. Q:How many teams do you have and why that many? A:Think I have 6 now. I play a lot of fantasy football and I guess GD has filled that gap for me this year during NFL off season. Q:Why have you picked the schools that you picked, through time and the one you have now? Which school would you want to coach if you could and why? A:I like recruiting in Florida... it doesn't have the most recruits but it's easier to plan and strategize because easier to predict what the other schools will do. Q:Were there any personal reasons to take certain teams? A:I grew up in Florida and tend to gravitate to those schools. I like knowing the cities the recruits are from or finding a guy from my hometown, etc. Q:When job openings start, how often do you consider moving? Would you ever consider leaving the powerhouse you have built in Houston? A:I have a problem with job change period lol. I am constantly looking to move or rejoin a world when it rolls over. Having a low Rep at Houston helped me stay put! When they were filling the Big East in Wilk I would have had a hard time not joining them for example. I'm tentatively planning to leave Houston after next season. Q:What schools would you like to coach the most? A:I want Miami in Wilk. If I knew I would get hired, I'd offer to pay bama to leave! Q:What are your hopes with your current team? Another National Title run? A:Knock on wood! We could possibly make some noise next season with a large senior class. Q:How do you find recruiting in Texas? A:I really like it. It's similar to what I like about Florida where I can plan against the other schools, but there are more recruits! Q:Any tips for the former Aggies coach who couldn’t cut it in Texas? A:USE YOUR REDSHIRTS! LOL. Also, come back to DIA! Q:What is your favorite world and why? A:Definitely Wilkinson. When I got back into GD I didn't already have a Wilk team so I blew off all the talk about it. But I'm really glad I joined. Anyone who likes GD but is not in Wilkinson, I'm telling you it's definitely worth the time to start over and join. Q:What made you want to run the Shotgun formation only? How is the recruiting of other coaches to run it going? A:When I got back in GD I made my team all Shotgun, 3-4 really just to be contrarian. Nobody used these formations when I left. Turns out the 3-4 made a comeback in my absence lol. I think diversity is good for the game so I try to help people when they have shotgun questions. Q:What coach do you hate having on the other sideline and why do you hate seeing them on the other sideline? A:Any coach from Yost A10 lol. It's a murderers row of coaches who just take turns kicking my ass. Jasonfreeman is on another level right now and I haven't beat awags in about a decade Q:What coach do you love seeing on the other sideline and why do you love seeing them on the other sideline? A:Pete_61. Guys like Pete make this game fun. Obviously he's really good and it's fun to compete against him, but he's always willing to give feedback to help make other coach better. Can tell he really enjoys the game. Q:This year you are taking on the Big 12 and next year it’s the Big East, what conference has the ebel bullseye on them next? A:The Big East wasn't as interested in playing Houston as I thought they would be. I somehow ended up only playing two of their best teams in Temple and Pitt so maybe not a great plan on my part lol. A:The Big12 challenge was just a fun thing. I don't think a midmajor has ever challenged a BCS conference before lol. The Big12 coaches are a fun group. We see each other in recruiting and they're always active in the chats and podcasts. I'll probably join them if I leave Houston Q:What would make you just drop the game all together? A:Boredom. Or if they change the entire game overnight without warning again. Q:What is the best advice for new coaches that they probably can’t find on the forum? A:Definitely experiment! I've learned a ton about how the passing game works the past couple seasons just because I tried things to see how it worked instead of assuming I knew how it worked. A:I see lots of questions in the forums that could be easily answered on their own just by trying it for a game or two. So why take someone else's answer that may not even be correct when you can just figure it out yourself. A:Also, don't be afraid to reach out to other coaches. They are here because they like the game and are most always very willing to help. Thanks for asking, happy to do it! Congrats, this is about to be your least-read interview :)

I would like to say many thanks to coach ebel for taking the time to go on a run with me in the Maze. Thanks for taking the time to read through this Maze run and many thanks again to coach ebel. Until the next time take it easy everybody.