What makes for a good defensive coordinator in 2020
TL;DR: complex scheme is not as impactful as it used to be. Emphasis on turnovers and major emphasis in recruiting. Need to make plays out of your base defense, manufacturing pressure and coverage from scheme will expose you in 2020, even against a good-not-great offenses. Hire a young coordinator the doesn't necessarily have to have a lot of play calling experience, but recruits well and inspires his players to force takeaways, but demands discipline.
With the wheels seemingly exploding off the defense in 2020, and the majority consensus amongst the fan base, here and elsewhere, that it's time to move on from Don Brown, I began thinking about what exactly is a good defensive strategy or makes for a good defensive strategist in the modern era of college football.
It seems like the days of having an elite defensive x's and o's coordinator (a Dr. Blitz approach, if you will) just simply is no longer effective for the way the game is played now. The Pat Narduzzi's, Joe Aranda's, Bo Pelini's (heh), and yes Don Brown's cannot out-scheme the offensive strategists of today's game.
I took this a step further by trying to identify a specific defensive coordinator that consistently could maintain a top 25ish defense over a 5 year period.. and to reiterate, a specific coach, not a program.
What I came to find is basically a lot of abberitions of good-not-great programs that might have had a senior-laden defensive roster one season, or maybe an elite player or two that had emerged on the year before headed off to the NFL. These types of defenses would be sprinkled in every season amongst the elite recruiting programs of college football. The "thanks-captain-obvious' observations aside, I think the devil is in the details with regard to these insights. A few interpretations I got from my brief research:
1. Gimicky defensive systems are dead - the MSU grow a three-star, at least on defense, is no longer a thing. Don Brown may very well been the last of his kind to find any success utilizing this type of defense, where star rankings are meaningless and you simply recruit the guys that fit your system
2. Emphasis in modern football needs to be on forcing turnovers above all else. You are not going to win football games against elite (OSU) or even good (IU) college offenses by stopping them consistently from what they want to do. You need to win the turnover margin to keep a good or better scoring offense from putting up 30+ on you.
3. Recruiting, recruiting, and then recruiting.. this is the first, second, and third most important aspect of fielding a defense in 2020. Recruiting is critical for every facet of your football team obviously, but you need athletes that can make plays out of your base defense without having to manufacturer pressure and coverage that puts stress on the areas of the field those players would have to vacate to produce.
So, if/when Michigan moves on from Don Brown.. in my opinion the candidate profile you are looking for is: demonstrated excellent recruiter. Has a knack for forcing turnovers, and coaches a well discipline defense (i.e. not penalized often). Play calling experience and track record has a lesser value today, than it once did in the college game.
So without further ado, here are some interesting candidates:
Todd Bates: Clemson Defensive line coach
Tosh Lupoi: Atlanta Falcons defensive line coach and run game coordinator
Rodney Gardner: Auburn defensive line coach and associate head coach
November 24th, 2020 at 6:51 PM ^
This post is an "abberition"
November 24th, 2020 at 10:47 PM ^
If Todd Bates could bring his ability to recruit All World Defensive Line players to Maize n Blue, that would be an abberition worth the having.
November 24th, 2020 at 6:54 PM ^
Recruiting is #1 with a bullet. On 2020 athletes need to make plays. Teams will move the ball between the 20's. Force FG attempts and try to create turnovers. To many offensive rules in football to not move the ball.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:38 PM ^
Recruiting by a wide margin. If you recruit well enough to manage your roster to your needs, a place like UM should be favored in all but 2 or so games a year.
Those other games come down to making adjustments and pressure. You hit those and the rest is gravy.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:43 PM ^
Agree with you on the FG’s. Forcing turnovers and recruiting are both correct, but they’re also obvious, while forcing FG’s, especially in the red zone, isn’t talked about enough.
It is a bit “bend don’t break,” but as you said, teams are going to move the ball. And I prefer that style to Brown's, which seems to be “bash (sack or tfl) or bust.”
November 24th, 2020 at 8:28 PM ^
Average game is 12 possessions. Nowadays you need 4 stops and create 2 TO's. The other 6 your looking to hold them under 30 pts. 3 TD's and they make 2 of 3 fg's. 27 points in today's game is good. Your offense needs to score at least 30 and sometimes more.
November 24th, 2020 at 6:54 PM ^
Number 3 in the nation, and yet the OSU fanbase is asking the same thing after giving up historic passing numbers to IU last weekend. Not sure what UM's woe's are, but this year OSU seems really prone to the explosive passing play. No team out there has the complete answer to a talented offense in today's college football.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:06 PM ^
Almost every team is prone to the explosive passing play, that's why that's what championship teams do.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
Your issue is youth. Michigan’s is youth and talent in certain sports.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:13 PM ^
I think you may have replied to the wrong post.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:21 PM ^
Agree with you wholeheartedly, and I guess that's kind of my point. You can't strategize your way into a shutdown defense, because shut down defenses don't really exist consistently in 2020, but a forced turnover pick six can make all the defense against a good offensive team.
I haven't watched enough of OSU this season to know if the frustration from the IU game is an isolated event against a good offense, or if that's been a trend over the course of their season.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:32 PM ^
I feel like you may have left out part of your post. You spent 9 paragraphs explaining what criteria were important then threw out three names with zero explanation of how they met your criteria.
November 24th, 2020 at 6:55 PM ^
Interesting because...?
November 24th, 2020 at 6:57 PM ^
One that can adjust from one game to another instead of playing the same shit over and over again regardless of the incoming offensive scheme.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:02 PM ^
NOT GIVING UP 60+ POINTS TO OHIO FUCKING STATE IS A START. JEEEE LOW EEEEEEZE. DON BROWN'S DEFENSE IS DOG DOODOO.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:06 PM ^
Lewis Black is a Michigan fan?
Hmm... I learned something today.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:15 PM ^
I LERNED THAT DON BROWN COULDNT ADJUST HIS OWN BALLSACK (LET ALONE A DEFENSE) IF HE HIRED A BALLSACK COORDINATOR BECAUSE THAT COORDINATOR WOULD PROBABLY WORK REMOTELY AND NOT IN AN IN PERSON CAPACITY.
November 26th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
Can you repeat that? Can’t hear you.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:17 PM ^
Calm down and have some ribs... here I made some for you
November 24th, 2020 at 10:07 PM ^
Ribs... in two days you've come in smoking (pun intended) with comments.. you prefer sauce, a dry rub, or both??
November 24th, 2020 at 11:26 PM ^
Did you ever have a Sparty crush?
November 24th, 2020 at 7:04 PM ^
Big fast defensive line. Especially big tackles with quick feet. I'm thinking of you Maurice Hurst.
Fast linebackers. Speed > size (think Devin Bush)
Corners who can cover man to man. Coverage skills > size. Where have you gone Jourdan Lewis?
Safety's who can cover and run fast. Cover crossing routes! This should be Dax but coaching.
This is what you recruit. We can get these guys. We're Michigan forgodsakes. I know quoting Brady is a bit humorous but really, if the coaches and recruiting department don't believe this completely They. Will. Fail.
As for potential DC's, I have no idea. I'm not up on specific names. To me a good DC, whoever he is, will succeed with talent as described above. And be an inspired recruiter.
November 25th, 2020 at 11:54 AM ^
Agree with this.
Recruit difference-maker D players at all three levels, line, LBs, DB/ Safeties.
Scheme is not irrelevant. But adaptability--to skills of your roster, from week to week, and in-game adjustments--are probably more important.
Also...your coaches MUST be really good at teaching fundamentals/techniques/reads, etc.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
our scoring defense is ranked 105th out of 130 teams. We fucking suck. Anyone that can have their teams ready to play zone and man as needed would be grrrrrrreat.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:30 PM ^
I’m sure being without our starting ends and #1 corner (in a defense that relies on those three positions) has noooooooothing to do with that...
November 24th, 2020 at 7:43 PM ^
The reason losing our top corner hurt so much is that our cornerback recruiting has sucked. Ambry Thomas would have been a senior. He could have gone pro this year with or without Covid. There should have been someone ready to step in, That is a recruiting failure, not an excuse.
November 24th, 2020 at 10:00 PM ^
Yep given his career, Ambry had a choice to make and probably would've gotten drafted last year if he so desired. He definitely would've been gone if he had gotten more playing time earlier in his career (like if he had been the 3rd corner over Brandon Watson in 2018). We should've been planning for him not to be here.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:09 PM ^
Don "Big DooDoo" Brown. That's his new nickname. WHY!!?!? because his defense runs around like they have giant frothy load of doodoo in their pants. If only we had a stable of bagmen to jerk off every 5 star in a 1000 mile radius so we could have 9 Devin Bushes and 17 lockdown Pro BOwl level cornerbacks every year like OSU. Then his defense would look good. Otherwize NO.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:19 PM ^
He had that, and he still got carved up to the tune of 62 points in the biggest game of the season. The dude is a loser.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:22 PM ^
Steve Clinkscale for DC. Full stop.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:59 PM ^
I will now refer to Don Brown as Doodoo Brown.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:22 PM ^
Good to know turnovers are just about inspiration
November 24th, 2020 at 7:28 PM ^
This is the TLDR???
November 24th, 2020 at 7:32 PM ^
The best DC is a stout offense. See Ohio. If Michigan could control the ball more effectively and score at will it takes almost all the pressure off the defense and the defense needs to make just enough stops..like 3. Easier said than done, I get it, but a few years ago Oklahoma made it to the playoffs with an atrocious defense.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:38 PM ^
As Seth mentioned on the podcast, NW runs Bo's old defense and they just held Wisconsin to 7 points. They've only given up 63 points in 5 games.
November 24th, 2020 at 8:04 PM ^
Good players that are smart enough to consistently do what they are supposed to do is a great recipe for a defense.
You eff up on offense, it's 2nd and 10. You eff up on defense, they strike up the band.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:40 PM ^
Add Ted Roof to the list. Not that he's a great DC. He has a mixed bag result. But because his schemes aim heavy on sacks and turnovers.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:58 PM ^
Having an offensive coordinator that scores more points than the opponent.
November 24th, 2020 at 11:32 PM ^
The defense gives up 42 points to a make-shift (but slightly improved) Rutgers' offense?
jUsT sCoRe MoRe GaTtIs
November 24th, 2020 at 8:04 PM ^
So to paraphrase: get a young guy who recruits players well, doesn’t blitz and emphasizes turnovers. Scheme be damned. That is a simple wide net.
Recruiting is self-evident. I’m not sure age is critical if he checks all the other boxes.
While recruitment is definitely the primary quality, development is important Scheme shouldn’t be downplayed but should be adjusted to maximize the skill of your players. If you have 2 good DT’s you shouldn’t be playing 3-3-5. If you have great corners play man. If you don’t, don’t.
Another Achilles heal of a Don Brown D is big plays. I read a stat that suggested if you win the battle of big plays, plays of 20 yards or more you win 76% of the time
Zachary Arnett.
November 24th, 2020 at 8:09 PM ^
Who the fuck knows these days. But in the B1G one thing is certain a small 3-3-5 scheme is doomed. Need to go big in the trenches and stout ILBs. Everything else is irrelevant.
November 24th, 2020 at 8:10 PM ^
The Offense vs Defense arms race never stops evolving whether it’s single wing, wishbone, west coast, or now RPO. The problem, as I see it, with Don Browns defense is that it relies too much on perfect converge — which is why it’s so susceptible to crossing routes and fades. Both plays require an elite DB/LB/S combination and very few teams have that. As we’ve seen, good/great offensive minds find your weak cover guy — Watson a few years ago — and attack them mercilessly.
The spread RPO forces the defense to choose — your DL must choose to crash or set the edge, your LB’s must choose to fill or sink, and your DB’s must run with crossers and verts — and you always choose wrong, and least as a team if not an individual. So, even if 11 players choose correctly, there’s someone open or a lane to run. The trick then, as I see the best DC’s running, is to NOT choose and have players force the offense to choose, then have the speed to react. I’ve watched Clemson’s DE run games where they give the opposing QB a keep read by crashing only to have the interior DL and scrape and cut of the keeper brilliantly. Eventually the QB making the “correct read” but still getting clobbered in his ear hole by a 300lbs gargantuan makes him not want to pull as much.
Brown’s isolation of his DB’s, even when they’ve been elite opens his defense up for being gashed by crossers and QB scrambles/designed draws as the middle is only patrolled by a few guys and they’re chasing horizontally. Remember the play Dobbins trotted all the way to the sidelines and Bush followed him and then they ran QB up the middle? Cover a spot, not a guy. Yes, this is the fundamental of zone vs man defense, but it’s a nuance to a zone even. Cover space and don’t do more than that. Don’t try to make a play outside of your zone until it’s pursuit time.
I don’t feel like I can articulate it well enough but it seems the best modern defenses don’t move much until AFTER the offense has committed, and the worst defenses seem to be running all over the place and yet guys are still running free. This later is what I see from Michigan right now — flowing like crazy the wrong way and guys running free. You cannot just stands still, obviously, but the RPO is trying to make the defense choose who will get the ball. So don’t choose, or at least don’t choose so obviously.
Also, if teams are going to run pick routes inside five yard from the LOS, the DB’s need to be taught to only let one WR’s come out of that pick — knock him on his fucking ass and the other DB take the one still standing. It’s ridiculous that they try to switch and cover both because it never works. At least make one of them pay the price.
I’m not sure who out there does it well but Clemson seems to get it.
November 24th, 2020 at 9:22 PM ^
Outstanding summary!
November 25th, 2020 at 12:19 AM ^
The tactics change, but the strategy remains the same: control the line of scrimmage and you can do whatever you want.
The best way to stuff a play, force a turnover and get offenses off sequence is to blow up the blocking. You can do that in a number of ways, but (surprise!) the simplest way is to have four lineman who can handle 5 OL. Brown has succeeded in proportion to how many of those he has to play with. Putting it another way, if we added Willie Henry or Maurice Hurst to this D, Dr. Blitz would be able to rush Hutch/Paye/Kemp/H* and the corners would just have to cover the first read before the QB went down.
Virtually every successful defense, whether college or NFL, starts with controlling the line of scrimmage.
*****
Keeping that in mind, the best way to make a defense better in a hurry is getting elite DL talent. As previous diaries have noted, that's much harder than you'd think, given the scarcity of planet-sized humans and their tendency to stay in their hometown areas.
The next best way is to find 3* (or underrated) talent and develop it into good-for-college DL. Frankly, Hoke was pretty good at this and it's a skill we could use.
*****
Putting those point together, the best hire we could make would be a DC who's an excellent recruiter and a DL coach who has a track record for either unearthing underrated talent, or coaching them into holy terrors.
November 24th, 2020 at 8:25 PM ^
Seems like we have our guy when we make his head coach our head coach. Two for one deal coming to Ann Arbor!!
November 24th, 2020 at 8:37 PM ^
Not playing press man with MAC level corners.
What do I win?
November 24th, 2020 at 8:37 PM ^
Stopping touchdown drives
November 24th, 2020 at 9:08 PM ^
Someone who changes the scheme to the teams talent, and the opponent that week
November 24th, 2020 at 9:28 PM ^
i cannot add anything to this excellent post.
i can change the order of emphasis.
1.Recruiting, recruiting, and then recruiting.. this is the first, second, and third most important aspect of fielding a defense in 2020.
2. Emphasis in modern football needs to be on forcing turnovers above all else.
November 24th, 2020 at 10:33 PM ^
Someone else posted a while back in a different thread and I whole-heartedly agree that due to the way offense is played in the modern day—high scoring and FAST, defense anymore isn’t necessarily preventing the opposing teams offense from scoring all of the time and playing low-scoring slugfests—even the best defenses in football anymore get absolutely torched every once in a while, it’s more like basketball on turf (cliché, and I’m beating a dead horse here but whatever, you get the idea).