"Innovation" is quite often whatever is fashionable at a given time. While the "Air Raid" does rack up yards and points, it does tend to put a strain on the defense if things don't go as planned. Besides, the "Air Raid" is just the latest incarnation of a number of offenses thought up in years past, from "Air Coryell" to the "Run and Shoot." The "Wildcat" was excavated from the 20's and was fun, until defenses figured out how to stop it.
No, I would greatly prefer a Coach who can coach. By this, I mean instruct. Develop. Guide. All of those things which make a young player with a lot of potential into a great player with demonstrable skills. In Cumbie, we have had a guy who was (and I use the past-tense with the certainty that it won't be long before there's a 'For Sale' sign in his yard) well versed in the principles of the Leach Air Raid offense, but utterly lacked the ability to teach basic fundamentals of positions to players, or integrate those players existing skills into a coherent offensive strategy and overall plan. In other words, a failure. Players do not develop. In many instances, they regress. What we need is someone who can see to the development of skill players. Example: Instruct receivers how to catch different throws, run routes, use their hips and shoulders, high-point a ball, block downfield, etc. Without those skills, a player playing the position of receiver plugged into an offensive scheme is useless. In fact, worse than useless, as his lack of developed skills costs his team in wasted plays, downs, and ultimately games. I use receivers because they are the most visible position with visible shortcomings, but these shortcomings extend to virtually all the positions on the Offense. Offensive line play has been, well, offensive. Max Duggan has developed some, but I tend to believe that he has done so under his own steam and not through the efforts of Mr. Cumbie, even though he is listed as "QB Coach" in addition to his other duties. Without basic knowledge of the fundamentals of their positions, players are unable to contribute to their fullest potential. We suffered an offense that looked like a kicked ant mound simply because the players didn't know what they were doing.
We must find somebody who can Coach.