If you can coach, you can coach. It doesn't matter the level. Said another way, if you understand the game then you understand the game. I happen to think that Martin "gets" the X's and O's and this won't be an issue, having the huge recruiting class we have coming in will make the transition from AC to HC that much easier for him next season. He had no coaching problems with the Stingerees and was very successful coaching them.
Having spent a ton of time as close to the inside of the Altman and Asbury programs as you can get, I understand how much actual "coaching" the assistants really do and how much they are relied upon by the HC. It's an entire staff effort, S&C, Video guy, Managers, they all play a part and have to understand the direction the HC wants to go (and that too needs to be right). Certainly not two model programs but the point I'm making is that I'm more concerned with Martin's staff than I am with his coaching ability at this point. D1 Practices aren't intrasquad scrimmages with Martin blowing a whistle every 3 mintues. The team is broken into positional coaching, similar to how your summer camps were run when you were a kid. Typically one coach will work the big men, another will work guards, and the punters/kickers sit on the sidelines drinking gatorade and talking to cheerleaders. The HC won't even be there a lot of times as he has so many other commitments being the representative of our program, traveling on recruiting visits, scouting, shaking hands at KATPAK'R events, etc.
If there was one concern I do have with Martin's inexperience at HC it's his ability to transition into the role of "CEO" of the program. It's Martin's job to define his team's agenda both on offense and defense then instill that into his assistants and then his players. This will be Martin's first challenge, to define the team he's coaching. Secondly he needs to earn his player's respect. This isn't an easy task for a HC in any year, but will especially tough with the class he has coming in given their ability and self confidence. They need to buy into what he's asking them to do and as a first year HC with these many egos it won't be easy. The final concern I have is the ability of Martin to run a clean house. He has no ties to KSU. He has already been labeled as a "recruiter" and not a "coach". If he goes out and tries to live up to the "recruiter" label and cuts some corners to satisfy his critics and his fans, it's KSU that will suffer the most.
I really think we're going to be fine, Martin had a good mentor to learn from in Huggins and hopefully he was paying attention to the little things that Huggs did that made him successful.
