Defensive coach replacements thread
- Thread starter blazers
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Unlike a bunch of new fanboys, I was alive and closely following UNC football when Mack left for Texas. I kept up with him there because his Ws highlighted what UNC lost in hiring Torbush and then Bunting. I also kept up with Brown because Bob Stoops kept winning the Big 12 as Mack became known to a host of CFB journalists as Mr. February.
Excuse my ignorance of his coaching career. I googlized him, and he's been at some big-time places, but how good were his defenses? He was at Clemson, but was that back when they were giving up 70 points in bowl games?
Also, didn't realize but he was with the Panthers in the first few seasons and was the coach that Kevin Greene was about to deck during a game.
I think he's pretty well respected. He had a really good run at Auburn.
https://theathletic.com/1632659/202...ve-coordinator-kevin-steele-impact-stability/
I remember the era well, but I didn't keep up with every little detail. I was really bummed-out when he left the first time. The defense, by then, was a monster. I remember watching the Va Tech Gator Bowl and, I think the Hokies only kicked a FG. But, I knew also that it was the last time they'd be that dominant. I was living in Charlotte from 94-late 99. Those were mostly fun football seasons. I'd go to at least 2 games every season. Just couldn't beat FSU.
Steele has been around a lot of great programs. I still would've preferred someone a little younger, but I don't think this is a bad move at all.
This is a pretty good article about him. Makes it sound like his guys really bought into his game plans.
www.al.com
This is a pretty good article about him. Makes it sound like his guys really bought into his game plans.
Defensive scheme vs. LSU shows why Steele is 'boss man'
Auburn rolled out a new 3-1-7 defense against LSU and limited one of the country's top offenses to just 23 points in Week 9.
Champ isn't happening. He is for all intents and purposes the DC at UGA. And we're not poaching their DC.
Schumann was supposedly going to follow Lanning to Oregon, but someone else was named co-defensive coordinator.
I believe the thinking is that he could be interested in moving up/leaving UGA..but I think Miami has reached out to him as well.
Kevin Steele, Rodney Garner and Travis Williams are the other names floating around. Some connections there with Thig.
Schumann was supposedly going to follow Lanning to Oregon, but someone else was named co-defensive coordinator.
I believe the thinking is that he could be interested in moving up/leaving UGA..but I think Miami has reached out to him as well.
Kevin Steele, Rodney Garner and Travis Williams are the other names floating around. Some connections there with Thig.
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As you've found, he has been up and down in his career. Mostly up, but not as one of the greats. His downs have been fairly bad.
I know his career fairly well because he played for Tennessee and began his coaching career there. Years ago, a number of Vols boosters hoped he'd become good enough to be UT HC eventually.
Could he make a positive difference? Yes. Could he flounder around for a couple of years and make little or no improvement? Yes.
Mack just had to react to this teams lack of performance in letting Bateman go. The Mayo bowl was the breaking point. It was not a surprise, since Mack has always maintained the coaches are responsible for the product and it was an embarrassment on that side of the ball. There are big indications at least another job opening is imminent.
Gotta believe the new DC is already locked in for next year. If that new DC has no conflicts, todays game with Virginia is a critical time to introduce him. Either way, its soon. The elite early enrollees are arriving today. My money is on the new DC is there too.
Gotta believe the new DC is already locked in for next year. If that new DC has no conflicts, todays game with Virginia is a critical time to introduce him. Either way, its soon. The elite early enrollees are arriving today. My money is on the new DC is there too.
If you could beat FSU then, you could be in the hunt for a National Championship. Looking back, I still think what I did then about the 1997 Heels: they were about 2 quality players short on each side of the ball to be able to dethrone FSU and have a shot at playing for the National Championship.
4 high quality players added to what you already have over 3 classes is not that much of an addition. It can be made easily if the HC remains and is gung-ho and the football program is funded as it should be. Dick Baddour always was an AD beholden to basketball powers first, and he was not ever going to fight to keep any successful football coach who was pursued by a true football giant.
Your first sentence is true if Mack believes that the many faults in that D are due to Bateman, and Bateman alone. If Mack believes that, he is well off the mark.
If the position groups all have players who tackle consistently well and show that they know how to fight off blocks and how take correct angles to ball carriers, and the D keeps getting torched, then all the fault must go the DC for failing to prepare proper game plans and make the correct D play calls during games.
But all our position groups on D have major issues with every facet of fundamentals. And that means that somewhere north of 50% of the issues on D must be due to poor position coaching.
To flip to the other side of the bal, the lousy OL play is not the fault of the OC but of the OL coach. Firing Longo because the offense should have been much better and would have been better if the OL had been almost as good as it should have been would be stupid. In that case, you fire Searels.
I agree with a host of people watching this team closely, including former players such as Taylor Vippolis and EJ Wilson, that what Bateman did as DC (making game plans and calling plays on D, designing schemes) was good enough for the D to have been much better than it showed. The players repeatedly failed to execute, and most of the time that was due to rather easily observable lack of fundamentals and at times to lack of effort.
And that goes to failures by position coaches.
