Potential D Coordinators

[sWiley]

My connections with the football program ended long ago, but here are a few blind suggestions.

#1 target IMO - Nate Woody
http://www.appstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205967881
I've never seen a defense do more with less than App State. Talk about gap assignment and control, always being prepared, and understanding the limitations of your team. This man gets it. #1 target IMO but for some reason I don't think Stock even calls him.

#2 target (and makes a TON of sense) Art Kaufman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Kaufman
His contract was not renewed with Cal. I'm not going to let one bad stop at Cal erase decades of good performances from Kaufman. This man can flat out coach and he's familiar with Murfreesboro already. Would be very happy with this hire too, though I see it as a bit more risky than Woody.

#3 Randy Shannon (Not sure how realistic this is...whats his salary @ Florida?)
http://floridagators.com/coaches.aspx?rc=480&path=football
This would be a big get but I'm not sure how realistic it is. Not only would we be getting an outstanding defensive coach, but this would be recruiting gold for the Florida connections. I hope Stock at least makes the phone call to inquire. edit: He's making 400k at Florida. Makes this a very difficult get, but you never know unless you try. Sometimes external factors (like Tony Franklin wanting to be closer to home) can overrule the $$$$.

 

[dukewayne]

With C-USA in general seeming to be an offensive league, it would seem taking a big step forward with a DC and defense could just possibly set the team apart in C-USA.

 

[bluefutcpa]

As I watch Manny Diaz on TV one tear leaks from my eye! Please come back

 

[FranklinRaider315]

As I watch Manny Diaz on TV one tear leaks from my eye! Please come back

Memories of NOLA. Good times.

 

[bluefutcpa]

Memories of NOLA. Good times.

That was one of my best MT experiences! That D was special.

 

[MidTennMtneer]

As I watch Manny Diaz on TV one tear leaks from my eye! Please come back

A man can dream can't he. His defenses are so much fun to watch. And honestly, so is he on the sidelines. I've said before, his energy transfers to the players.

He is the type of coach I'd love to see here.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

A man can dream can't he. His defenses are so much fun to watch. And honestly, so is he on the sidelines. I've said before, his energy transfers to the players.

He is the type of coach I'd love to see here.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid that ship has sailed. Prolly couldn't even land him as HC now.

 

[RaiderDoug]

Kaufman makes a ton of sense - he's got ties to Stock, and he's available.

I'd look at Florida DB coach Torrian Grey. He looks like a guy who's ready to take a step up and lead a defense and make a name for himself, and his DB's are always well coached. He's under consideration for the Florida DC job, but probably not going to get it.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

This Miami defense is downright nasty

 

[sWiley]

Yeah I won't be surprised one bit if Kaufman is the choice. He's got to be the front runner at this point.

His stint at California is concerning because his defense was GOD awful there but the Pac12 is such an offensive heavy league and it's a daunting task to recruit good defensive players to UC-Berkly. Brady Hoke couldn't even field a competitive defense at Oregon where they recruit some major talent. With that being said, I do have some concern that some of these older coaches are not adapting to today's game. Kaufman always seemed like a guy who knows his stuff so hopefully that isn't the case.

Also, Kaufman's stint at Texas Tech was really impressive. He had some bad games there but I also remember some really good games, in particular completely shutting down a RED HOT West Virginia team that came to Lubbock and got smoked despite a top 5 ranking or so. to be able to have a good defense in an air raid like that in the big 12 is impressive.

Regardless, anything is better than what we had before. I would trust myself to do the job before I woulda kept Nix on staff.

 

[MidTennMtneer]

Unfortunately, I'm afraid that ship has sailed. Prolly couldn't even land him as HC now.

Oh. No doubt there. By dream, I literally meant dream. Miami will be a perennial top 10 team very soon. He won't be going anywhere but up.

But I would love to have someone with his type of personality. Very out there, excitable, relateable, and I feel like I'm over using the word, but aggressive too.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Wiley, Nate Woody would be fantastic!

I know not everyone would agree but I liked Lance Guidry. He's the HC at McNeese now but we could get him at DC pretty easily. That guy can coach and when he was at Miami of Ohio, his D was great in just that one year from being 1-11 the year before. You go 1-11 in 2009 and then 11-1 in 2010, it says a ton about the D. He's cajun crazy but did some great things at WKU too. He was 2-1 vs. Stock. He has a track record of getting success out of below par talent. That's what we need.

The DC from Chattanooga is really good as well. With our new budget, we have options. We can poach from some FBS schools too. I hope Stock gets aggressive.

 

[SpaceRaider]

Wiley, Nate Woody would be fantastic!

I know not everyone would agree but I liked Lance Guidry. He's the HC at McNeese now but we could get him at DC pretty easily. That guy can coach and when he was at Miami of Ohio, his D was great in just that one year from being 1-11 the year before. You go 1-11 in 2009 and then 11-1 in 2010, it says a ton about the D. He's cajun crazy but did some great things at WKU too. He was 2-1 vs. Stock. He has a track record of getting success out of below par talent. That's what we need.

The DC from Chattanooga is really good as well. With our new budget, we have options. We can poach from some FBS schools too. I hope Stock gets aggressive.

As somebody else said, Stock will likely go with someone he knows and that's he comfortable with, or comes with the recommendation from another coach that he respects.

 

[MTBig Blue]

If I was the D.C. at App State I wouldn't come here. They are a better team than we are.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

If I was the D.C. at App State I wouldn't come here. They are a better team than we are.

And their fans fill up their stadium and travel well.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Yeah, but is he making 300 g's a year? Money talks. Take the shot. Stock won't but I would. It's a moot point. Stock doesn't know a good DC or we'd have one.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

As somebody else said, Stock will likely go with someone he knows and that's he comfortable with, or comes with the recommendation from another coach that he respects.

Someone here who knows JT personally should float his name to Stock. We need another great football mind to pair up with West and Ellis.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Damn right. Hook it up. I won't line up LB's 6 yards off the LOS and I'll blitz all day. Let's make it happen. Seriously though, Chattanooga's DC and Jacksonville State's DC are good folks to go after too. Low hanging fruit.

Stock has plans or he wouldn't have fired Nix. We should know something in a couple of weeks during the coach's conference.

 

[sWiley]

This hire has the potential to really put us in a good place. I know people still think we need to "clean house" with all of our defensive staff (and I don't disagree), but getting a new coordinator in here can really change everything.

I used to watch Art Kaufman in practice when he was LB's coach and you would have thought he was the defensive coordinator. He was all over the field yelling at everyone and coaching everyone. That's what D Coordinators should do and hopefully we get someone in here who will coach the entire defense so it won't even matter if the position coaches suck. And you better believe, any D coordinator worth his salt is going to make sure all 11 guys understand his philosophy and approach.

As down as I am on Stock and the situation of our program right now, there is great potential with this hire because if we get the defense figured out we are 100% a championship team.

Don't screw it up, Rick.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Art Kaufman coached JK Saab and Rainey right? Man, he was awesome with them. I think he had Carmichael for a bit too. We sure could use those 3 right now. Art is out of a job right now. We could snag him easily or even get him to coach the LB's again.

His problem is that he doesn't recruit. Dykes and Tuberville said that about him. Ellis is our head recruiter here so what does that say?

 

[SmithO1906]

ok I don't understand how these college coaches don't recruit. They doesn't even make sense to me. Is that normal at every school to have a coach or two who doesn't recruit?

 

[crclarke55]

ok I don't understand how these college coaches don't recruit. They doesn't even make sense to me. Is that normal at every school to have a coach or two who doesn't recruit?

Yes, it happens everywhere.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

I have it on good authority that Stock is leaning towards these two as Co-Defensive Coordinators. They work really well together. Get ready!

 

[bluefutcpa]

I have it on good authority that Stock is leaning towards these two as Co-Defensive Coordinators. They work really well together. Get ready!

Who are these guys

 

[RaiderDoug]

ok I don't understand how these college coaches don't recruit. They doesn't even make sense to me. Is that normal at every school to have a coach or two who doesn't recruit?

Different coaches have different skills. It's not uncommon to have guys that specialize in recruiting, and guys that are coaches first and foremost.

The rare guy that can do both at elite levels is a budding Nick Saban.

As much as a DC, I really think we need to get an elite recruiter in here. This is still a level where you can out-talent your competition. While our recruiting has seen a notable bump since moving to CUSA, it's still just landing middle of the pack CUSA classes that are in the 90's nationally. We should be doing better.

 

[MTTim]

Good grief FR. Are you trying give us all heart attacks. We know about West and his failures. I don't think many around here know of Joe Lee (blitz) Dunn.

 

[MTTim]

Who are these guys

One is the reason our DL is horrible and the other you really want to stay away from.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

Good grief FR. Are you trying give us all heart attacks. We know about West and his failures. I don't think many around here know of Joe Lee (blitz) Dunn.

(-: Slow day at the office. Everyone has gone to watch UT beat Nebraska

 

[bluefutcpa]

One is the reason our DL is horrible and the other you really want to stay away from.

 

[TeKEraider]

Yeah I won't be surprised one bit if Kaufman is the choice. He's got to be the front runner at this point.

His stint at California is concerning because his defense was GOD awful there but the Pac12 is such an offensive heavy league and it's a daunting task to recruit good defensive players to UC-Berkly. Brady Hoke couldn't even field a competitive defense at Oregon where they recruit some major talent. With that being said, I do have some concern that some of these older coaches are not adapting to today's game. Kaufman always seemed like a guy who knows his stuff so hopefully that isn't the case.

Only one bad stop. Seems like potential. I forget, whose offense were they running at Cal during that one "God Awful" stop? Never mind. Move along. Nothing to see here...

 

[MTsumner92]

Geez....I don't know about this. Which one can recruit? Ask Dunn how you can blitz with average at best Defensive ends?

 

[sWiley]

Only one bad stop. Seems like potential. I forget, whose offense were they running at Cal during that one "God Awful" stop? Never mind. Move along. Nothing to see here...

Short sighted at best. When he was DC at Texas Tech, the offense was even more up tempo than it was at Cal and he was great. North Carolina & Cincinatti also were not exactly run-first offenses either and he had stellar years there too despite only being at each school for a year.

2011 North Carolina (DC/LB)
2012 Texas Tech (DC/LB)
2013 Cincinnati (DC/LB)

That's quite a feat IMO to be able to come in and install a great defense in 1 year and then move on to another school and do it again. That's exactly what we need here at MT.

It appears Kaufman just didn't have the horses while at Cal and that's just not gonna be pretty in a league like the Pac12 so it's hard to fault the guy when he's been successful everywhere else.

From Kaufman's 2012 stint @ Texas Tech where they featured one of the highest tempo offenses in the country:

"Kaufman inherited a Red Raider defense ranked 114 out of 120 in total defense, and last in the country in rushing defense.[8] In the opening game of the 2012 season against the Northwestern State Demons, Kaufman's defense set a school record of only 84 yards allowed.[9] After the third game versus the New Mexico Lobos, the Red Raiders were 2nd in total defense in the country.[10] Following a bye the week of September 22, the Red Raiders rose to number 1 in total defense.[11] The Red Raiders maintained their number 1 ranking after a Week 5 defeat of their first Big 12 conference opponent, the Iowa State Cyclones. Kaufman's defense held the Cyclones to 189 yards of total offense.[12] Following this performance, Kaufman was named by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as the frontrunner for the Broyles Award.[13]

After a loss at home to the 14th ranked Oklahoma Sooners and an upset victory over 5th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, Kaufman's defense ranked 4th in total yards allowed.[14] In the upset victory over West Virginia, the Red Raiders held Heisman Trophy-frontrunner Geno Smith to 275 yards, a passing efficiency rating of 100.71, and one touchdown pass.[15] The win marked the most lopsided victory over a top-5 opponent in school history, and marked the debut of the Red Raiders in the BCS rankings at number 17. Kaufman was again praised for the performance of the defense, with Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports also naming him as the frontrunner for the Broyles Award."