But in addition to that, Chizik has to work on changing the mentality of a defense that gave up way too many big plays over the last three years. There was tough talk involved when he met with his players for the first time.
"I said, 'Low expectations will never survive high standards,'" Chizik said. "We're not coming down to anybody's lower expectations. These are the standards that we set. If your expectations are lower than that, then you're not going to play or you won't be here. One or the other.
"To play in this defense, there are three things that are going to happen: Number one, you're going to be selfless. Two, you're going to be tough. Three, you're going to be disciplined," Chizik said. "If you're not all three of those, you probably don't have a good chance of playing for us."
Chizik has gotten results out of his defenses at all of his stops, the biggest reason why Fedora wanted him on board. "He sees the opportunity and the potential for what this defense can be here and that we're very close to being a Coastal Division champion," Fedora said. "We just need to push a little bit harder to get over that hump."
Can the defensive transformation happen right away?
"I did my homework in regards to trying to dissect why the success they had envisioned wasn't necessarily happening, and I feel good that we can come in here and get things changed around and revamped," Chizik said. "When I evaluated everything, I saw we've got a chance to be a good defense."
Chizik
"I said, 'Low expectations will never survive high standards,'" Chizik said. "We're not coming down to anybody's lower expectations. These are the standards that we set. If your expectations are lower than that, then you're not going to play or you won't be here. One or the other.
"To play in this defense, there are three things that are going to happen: Number one, you're going to be selfless. Two, you're going to be tough. Three, you're going to be disciplined," Chizik said. "If you're not all three of those, you probably don't have a good chance of playing for us."
Chizik has gotten results out of his defenses at all of his stops, the biggest reason why Fedora wanted him on board. "He sees the opportunity and the potential for what this defense can be here and that we're very close to being a Coastal Division champion," Fedora said. "We just need to push a little bit harder to get over that hump."
Can the defensive transformation happen right away?
"I did my homework in regards to trying to dissect why the success they had envisioned wasn't necessarily happening, and I feel good that we can come in here and get things changed around and revamped," Chizik said. "When I evaluated everything, I saw we've got a chance to be a good defense."
Chizik
