The Next DC

For those that want Jim Leavitt:

Had a rough season with Colorado while switching their defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

Colorado Buffs DC Jim Leavitt has hard time defending his defense - The Denver Post

THIS why god do people want Leavitt?

not like he has crazy ties to the program or that he's even a serious candidate. If we're just going to throw names against a wall of people who won't come here why not Gene Chizik? Unc allowed 40 points a game last year, this year 22 because of Chizik. Fedora gets the credit but UNC is 11-2 just as much because of Chizik as Fedora
 
Advertisement
For those that want Jim Leavitt:

Had a rough season with Colorado while switching their defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

Colorado Buffs DC Jim Leavitt has hard time defending his defense - The Denver Post

THIS why god do people want Leavitt?

not like he has crazy ties to the program or that he's even a serious candidate. If we're just going to throw names against a wall of people who won't come here why not Gene Chizik? Unc allowed 40 points a game last year, this year 22 because of Chizik. Fedora gets the credit but UNC is 11-2 just as much because of Chizik as Fedora

Bc he once choked a kid, and looks really ugly and mean......thus he must be a great defensive coach.
 
3-4 or 4-3 is not the issue at all and people need to understand that.

What is significantly more important is the gap philosophy:

1 gap or 2 gap for the DL?

Spill or contain?

The irony is you have people on here dying for Leavitt bc he runs a 4-3.

But Leavitt's system requires more size and power. It is a "boxing the ball back" system, where the idea is to use power to force the ball inside. The Sam LB in his system needs to be a big strong dude well over 240 lbs. The 4-3 Leavitt runs is the exact version of the 4-3 that Dono uses when we ran single gap fronts.

Here's another example: the 2012-2014 Denver Broncos were a mediocre defense. They played Jack Del Rio's 2-gap 4-3. Essentially, the DTs were asked to be big powerful space eaters, responsible for 2 gaps. That Temple guy "Potroast" excelled in that system b/c it is a read and react philosophy from the interior DL.

Needless to say, that defense was completely average and downright bad at generating QB pressure.

Fast forward today, and Wade Phillips runs a 3-4 defense. But his defense is single gap, and so they dumped "Potroast", and the DL are now charged with getting up field off the snap. They are quick, fast, and they slant and stunt all over the place. B/C of their alignment, they are able to send 5 on every play if needed, no problem. Denver now boasts the top defense in the league.

So you went from a 4-3 2-gap defense that was mediocre, to a 3-4 single gap defense that is elite. Not b/c you changed a goddam alignment, but b/c you changed the defensive philosophy.

fantastic analysis and post. thanks
 
For those that want Jim Leavitt:

Had a rough season with Colorado while switching their defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

Colorado Buffs DC Jim Leavitt has hard time defending his defense - The Denver Post

THIS why god do people want Leavitt?

not like he has crazy ties to the program or that he's even a serious candidate. If we're just going to throw names against a wall of people who won't come here why not Gene Chizik? Unc allowed 40 points a game last year, this year 22 because of Chizik. Fedora gets the credit but UNC is 11-2 just as much because of Chizik as Fedora

Did you want yesterday? Bowl record against an offense missing 100 players. 600 yards! UNC beat nobody this year.
 
Look back through Richts DC's and see where they are today. Could be one of them.
 
Advertisement
I can't believe there are people in this thread who want Jim Leavitt or Gene Chizik over someone like Dave Aranda just because he runs a 3-4. Hilarious.

Hey why don't we hire Arizona State's DC while we are at it. He is 2nd in the country in sacks and 7th in tackles for loss. Oh wait they are 97 in scoring D and 103rd in total D. They also went 6-6. But hey they get a lot of sacks and tackles for loss, they must be super aggressive!
 
More on Matt Eberflus, LB Coach, Dallas Cowboys


IRVING, Texas – Matt Eberflus came to the Cowboys in 2011 as Rob Ryan’s wingman.

When Ryan was jettisoned after the 2012 season, the Cowboys made sure they kept Eberflus, their linebackers coach, despite making the move from Ryan’s 3-4 to Monte Kiffin’s 4-3.

Even though Eberflus’ only NFL experience is in the 3-4, he was largely a 4-3 defensive coordinator at Missouri where he developed ties with one of Kiffin’s disciples, Lovie Smith, and Tony Dungy.

“I met Lovie Smith in the early 2000s when he was in St. Louis and he came over to show us some of the system, and the next year we switched our defense to a 4-3,” Eberflus said. “In seven of the eight years we ran Lovie’s defense and we went up to the Colts and Tony Dungy. Every spring we’d go up to see Lovie in Chicago and put that system in, and they’re still running it at Missouri today.”

Eberflus, secondary coach Jerome Henderson, assistant secondary coach Joe Baker and defensive assistant Ben Bloom are the holdovers from Ryan’s staff remaining with Kiffin.

Eberflus said the terminology is the same that he used at Missouri.

“It’s helped immensely,” Eberflus said. “I’ve lived in that and worked in that for eight years now and now I’m really getting to the detail that Kif and (Rod Marinelli) want. From the pro system to the college system there’s a lot more details, but it’s fun to do and fun to go back to.”

JC
 
3-4 or 4-3 is not the issue at all and people need to understand that.

What is significantly more important is the gap philosophy:

1 gap or 2 gap for the DL?

Spill or contain?

The irony is you have people on here dying for Leavitt bc he runs a 4-3.

But Leavitt's system requires more size and power. It is a "boxing the ball back" system, where the idea is to use power to force the ball inside. The Sam LB in his system needs to be a big strong dude well over 240 lbs. The 4-3 Leavitt runs is the exact version of the 4-3 that Dono uses when we ran single gap fronts.

Here's another example: the 2012-2014 Denver Broncos were a mediocre defense. They played Jack Del Rio's 2-gap 4-3. Essentially, the DTs were asked to be big powerful space eaters, responsible for 2 gaps. That Temple guy "Potroast" excelled in that system b/c it is a read and react philosophy from the interior DL.

Needless to say, that defense was completely average and downright bad at generating QB pressure.

Fast forward today, and Wade Phillips runs a 3-4 defense. But his defense is single gap, and so they dumped "Potroast", and the DL are now charged with getting up field off the snap. They are quick, fast, and they slant and stunt all over the place. B/C of their alignment, they are able to send 5 on every play if needed, no problem. Denver now boasts the top defense in the league.

So you went from a 4-3 2-gap defense that was mediocre, to a 3-4 single gap defense that is elite. Not b/c you changed a goddam alignment, but b/c you changed the defensive philosophy.

I've never seen anyone complain about a DL that was TOO aggressive. I know there are a lot of nuances and techniques, but I think in college it comes down to having a DL be aggressive as possible, to disrupt the offense, and not let the offense dictate the play. 3-4 or 4-3, it doesn't matter. It's about the pressure generated on the offense.
 
As long as its a 4-3 w/ a mix of 4-2-5 that's what we need... But plz keep wasting ur time talking about how great 1 gap 3-4 schemes are :-)
 
One thing I haven't seen mentioned that I think is equally important as the defensive philosophy, is our recruiting base in SFL. Can our recruiting base in SFL yield us the personnel we need to run a 3-4? Would we be better off finding a 4-3 DC, or even a 4-2-5 guy?

I think that while the read & react 2-gapping 3-4 we have run under Golden/No-D has a lot to do with our defensive woes...I also think that the recruits we could get just do not fit that kind of a system. They just could not recruit the body types they needed to run that system without putting on a ton of weight onto the speed demons available in SFL.

Take Chickillo for instance...no way we should have ever blown him up to 280+ pounds and had him setting the edge at SDE in a 3-4. NO WAY. He should have gotten to 255-260 absolute max, and been a 4-3 DE who attacked the pocket every down and played the run on his way to the QB. A valid question would also be though...could Chick have played as an attacking 1-gap 3-4 DE at a lighter weight? Maybe.

I truly feel that either a 4-3 or a 4-2-5 fits what groceries are available for us to shop for in SFL. We don't have the larger DE's, NT's, and ILB's available to us in abundance in SFL to field that 3-4 system consistently.

In the NFL, you can find those guys to fit your system in free agency. In college, you have to recruit them, and mainly from your local geographic recruiting base.

So...what's available in SFL? Fast, athletic, pass rushing DL of varying sizes, not a lot of NT types. Fast, physical downhill LB's who are good blitzers and instinctive nose-for-the-ball tacklers. Fast DB's of varying sizes/skill sets, that allow you to pretty much recruit elite talent and let that dictate what kind of coverages you want to run...with those elite athletes...most of the time you can play more press man and less zone.

All of that sounds like it screams 4-3 or 4-2-5 to me instead of a 3-4...no matter the type of philosophy or level of aggression it's played with.
 
With Chip Kelly fired, Rick Minter is now on the market. Has some SEC DC experience and two stints as ND's DC as well.
 
Advertisement
Rob Ryan is so available, he's walking through airports with 3 boxes of pizza and a stuffed monkey

Bs2LSqRCQAAG-Om.webp
 
The 3-4 is dead... I'd rather have our defensive lineman actually be able to make plays for once in there CFB lives.

Miller, Ward see potential in aggressive 3-4 defense

Number 1 defense in the NFL.

3-4 only works in the NFL

I want the 4-3, but that's simply not true
This. If you have the recruiting base to get the pieces you need to run the 3-4 scheme you want to run, AND you know how to coach your guys to execute it...it can indeed be ran in college.

Problem is, the 3-4 defensive scheme we had didn't cater to what's available to us in SFL recruiting (and FL recruiting in general, really)...and NoD/Golden couldn't coach our guys (who didn't fit the system already) to execute it successfully.
 
Back
Top