Mack Brown's Defensive Coordinators

by Red Blooded on Mar 8, 2007 10:20 AM CST Comment 26 comments

I'm pretty sure I know how most of these generally rank out, but I'd like to get the UT fan opinion on Mack Brown's D-Coordinators.

How would you rank Carl Reese, Greg Robinson, Gene Chizik, and where you think Duane Akina will rank among them. My understanding is that Carl Reese inherited a bad defense and made it respectable, though I get the impression that UT fans aren't all that enamored of him. Obviously Chizik will get the most respect because he is the one with the Championship, though I'm interested to know who among the top is the least liked and why.

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Don't forget the "Co-"s

Dick Tomey was co-coordinator with Robinson, for example. Hard to talk about these guys on their own without their colleagues.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Mar 8, 2007 10:34 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Let's include

Larry Mac Duff with Duane Akina then, and Dick Tomey with Robinson.

by Red Blooded on Mar 8, 2007 10:49 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't really

pay much attention to college football until I got to UT in 2001, but it seemed like there was a huge improvement with the defense in 2004. That was the year that Greg Robinson arrived. Before that, our defense was considered kind of soft and that was the turning point. Chizik worked out well in 2005, obviously, but I think that he neglected the pass defense a little too much in 2006.

VY is like Moses, he led me to the promised land.

by hookemhorny on Mar 8, 2007 11:34 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Carl Reese

I remember the big hub-bub when Reese was hired to Texas from LSU, but his tenure was a mixed bag. My main recollection was that the guy just never met a blitz he didn't like; at times he'd just blitz blindly and totally inappropriately.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Mar 8, 2007 11:42 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Oh man,

I totally remember when Reese came to town, and the AAS did a huge sports page write up on his "attacking defense." He could never get the LB's to wrap up, though. We made every single running back look like Jim Brown.

by DogTown on Mar 8, 2007 11:49 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I liked Greg Robinson

Texas really hasn't had a dominating defense since the Fred Akers days, but Robinson had the next best thing. He took the bend-but-don't break approach, made Texas more physical and taught them to create turnovers. In the Rose Bowl he made the mistake of sticking to zone and Henne lit them up. He was also limited by personnel (slow white LBs).

I think Akina will be something similiar to Robinson. He'll mix things up and not be heavy handed with any particular play. IMO, it isn't so much scheme, but attitude and style of play.

Those early OU defenses ate the Texas offense for lunch, becauses they were just so, so, so much more physical than the Horns. They believed in themselves. It was a contest between players to see who could make the biggest play. It fed in to an offense that gambles and jumps routes.
It took years off of my life watching it unfold.

Cats and dogs sleeping together.

by EYESofBEVO on Mar 8, 2007 12:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Do you think

Carl Reese is judged (too much) by what he failed to do against OU rather than by what he did holistically? UT's defense was horrible in '97 and as quickly as 2001 he had the number 1 defense in the NCAA. That's a huge turnaround that I don't hear a lot of UT fans giving much credence to, though perhaps there's a good reason for that. I wasn't closely following Reese's defense in '98 or '01 (or ever) and so I don't have any way to visually reconcile the drastic improvement he brought to your defense with the lack of fan appreciation or even much fan fare.

You look at his numbers as D-Coord at LSU and even Vanderbilt and some things jump out at you. Could he be the most underrated of the D-Coordinators in the Mack Brown era?

by Red Blooded on Mar 8, 2007 12:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Definitely possible

The slump against OU was defining, in many ways.

So it goes at Texas, no?

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Mar 8, 2007 12:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

ou sucks

Just Remember, No Matter What Happens, ou SUCKS.

by ouALWAYSsux on Mar 8, 2007 2:59 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

After a long day

that genuinely put a smile on my face. Thanks.

So take that.

by Kahuna on Mar 8, 2007 3:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think Reese

was a little bit of an old dog sitting on the porch in the sun. His peak years were past him.

He may have been great at other schools -- and it is hard to deny the turnaround at Texas, but that isn't saying much. The bar was awfully low before him arriving.

It's tough to say. Good arguments can go either way -- and I have mixed feelings. Reese got a bad rap for not stooping OU, but if you can't stop OU from hanging 60 some points than who gives a shit what your defense is ranked? Mack couldn't go the way of Cooper at Ohio State and refuse change.

I DO know that the players tackled and hit in a much different, more physcial and effective way after him leaving.

Cats and dogs sleeping together.

by EYESofBEVO on Mar 8, 2007 12:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I can't believe...

how underrated Carl Reese is. I remember quite vividly the defenses from about 94-97 and how awful they were. There was almost a facetious pride in how Mackovic's teams were all offense, something like the "runnin' horns."

But from 98-02, Texas consistently had a top-rated defense. For the first time in my lifetime, there were defensive stars on the team (Cory Redding, Quentin Jammer, Shaun Rogers, Casey Hampton, Nathan Vasher, etc.). I remember his nickle packages were great for getting young db's like Roderick Babers, Nathan Vasher, and Dakari Pearson some experience as freshmen. And Texas started getting shut-outs when they used to give up tons of points even to the patsies on their schedule (I remember a lot of 45-24 type games instead of 58-0).

I think what's happened is Reese set the bar high for defense at Texas, and then couldn't live up to his own standards down the line; Texas fans don't seem to remember the pre-Mack Brown defenses.

by BrooklynHorn on Mar 8, 2007 1:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Given that...

how would you rank them? Would Carl Reese be above Robinson? Chizik?

by Red Blooded on Mar 8, 2007 1:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Chizik...

is difficult to assess. He had one fantastic season, and one VERY average season. So based on percentages, he's batting .500, however, he played a significant role in establishing a National Championship team. I think the sampling is just too small for any conclusions.

I will say this, however. Carl Reese had to DO a lot more. He had to build a defense with no players and implement an entirely new system. I remember how frustrated the coaching staff was after the first game against UCLA in Mack's first year. They had very little talent to work with on that side of the ball. So in addition to building a better defensive philosophy (far, far better philosophy) than his predecessor, he also recruited, assigned, and molded a ton of NFL talent.

On the other side, Chizik basically inherited an embarrassing wealth of talent, which is another factor that prohibits me from accurately gaging his influence on the 2005 team.

With all that said, I still think Chizik's probably the better coordinator. My gut feeling is that he's smarter, and a better leader.

I'm going to go with Chizik, Reese, and then Robinson, etc. most of these guys were too short-lived to pass judgment.

by BrooklynHorn on Mar 8, 2007 1:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The Luster came off Reese very quickly

OU took us to the woodshed for 64 points in Dallas. And then the only reason it wasn't 6 in a row, was because the first time we played a Stoops' team, the refs decided to call his "ninja" formation illegal in the 2nd half. They were pretty much moving the ball at will up to that point.

by Hornbud on Mar 9, 2007 9:10 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

'98 Game on TV

I remember that by the time they finally started showing that game it was 7-0, OU and a receiver was in the process of scoring a touchdown. Then Texas came back and all was well. Not so much when OU had the same start in '99.

by Bob LaBlog on Mar 9, 2007 10:00 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

98 Was Ricky/Major vs.

OU. Major did something like 350+ yards for handful of TD's because OU was stacking the line, and their coach (Blake?) said, "I'm not going to lose to the Heisman RB. If they are going to beat me, they are going to have to do it on the arm of a Freshmen QB." Major's response was on the field and was something like, "Offer accepted."

99 was Stoops first year and the unveiling of the "ninja" formation (2 recievers on each side of the field with a reciever right behind each pair). They tore us up until the refs decided to call illegal formation on it, and then they seemed to be at a loss. They got up on us 14-0, and then we decided to start playing.

2000 was OUDebacle 1.0. They got up on us 17-0, Jammer intercepted Heupel in the end zone and thought to myself (finally, we are going to start playing now!). But it didn't happen that way. I started drinking Long Islands at 11am (west coast time as I was in AZ at the time), and didn't stop till 17 hours later at 4am.

by Hornbud on Mar 9, 2007 2:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Robinson, Tomey, and Akina

They seemed to work so well together for that year. They really deserve a lot of credit for changing the attitude of the defense and really the whole team. Chizik coached against Ohio State in '05 which means that he must always be respected. That was one of the best defensive games I've ever seen.

by Bob LaBlog on Mar 8, 2007 12:18 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

So true

How many times did our defense hold tOSU to field goals? That was just as gutty a defensive performance as I can remember.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Mar 8, 2007 12:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

They saved that game

An Ohio State fan who I knew in Wisconsin told me that he wasn't impressed with Vince Young after that game because having that defense meant that none of his mistakes really counted.

by Bob LaBlog on Mar 8, 2007 12:23 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Derrick Johnson

credited Greg Robinson with providing him with the most teaching/coaching needed to prepare him for play in the NFL. A strong recommendation.

Our defensive squad was woefully lacking in fundamentals such as tackling skills, pursuit angles and shedding blockers. Robinson corrected those problems, along with placing a proper (longtime lacking) emphasis on creating turnovers by stipping the ball and punching at the football. The emphasis provided superior results! He's great at teaching, coaching and developing skills.

While playing one fewer games than the prior season, Coach Robinson's defense lowered our points allowed by 65. When excluding the results of the CCG (which Robinson's defense didn't play), Chizik's defense allowed just 5 points less than Robinson's defense. Last year, Chizik's defense allowed 25 points more than the previous season.

He was bright enough to recognize the offensive genius of Major Applewhite, offering the graduate assistant a QB Coach position at Syracuse.

--- We have pansies scheduling our patsies. ---

by HornChamps on Mar 8, 2007 2:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

DJ

He became a ball-stripping beast under Robinson. Video game makers everywhere use his strip technique in their programs.

by Bob LaBlog on Mar 8, 2007 2:43 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You forgot their measurements.

Greg Robinson - 6'5", 220
Dick Tomey - 6'0", 185
Gene Chizik - 6'2", 200
Larry Mac Duff - 6'0", 200
Carl Reese - 6'0", 190

by the other Andrew on Mar 8, 2007 6:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for playing class clown

"PB: That's it, really. Try to take the 'community' idea to heart. We insist everyone treat everyone with respect. Disagreement is welcome and encouraged, but we want things to remain conversational and cordial. Calling names and raising hell needlessly is severely frowned upon."

--- We have pansies scheduling our patsies. ---

by HornChamps on Mar 8, 2007 6:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

HC is right

Play nice, boys and girls.

This needs to cease being an issue, like, yesterday.

If you don't like what HC says, type about something else. Just ignore it.

No more hijacks.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Mar 8, 2007 6:31 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreement to much above

I'm in agreement with much of what was said above. To me, there were vast differences in what was inherited, what was accomplished and the time to work their magic.

Carl Reese took our defense from downright awful (one of the worst in the NCAA before arriving) and made it quite acceptable. I still remember a conversation on the way to a game in the late '90s talking about if we could only get an offensive coordinator - it was such a reverse of where we had been under Mackovick.

With the Robinson crew, I loved his attitude. One of the most memorable moments to me was the Tech game when we were up by about 3 TDs in the closing minute and the clock running. Robinson went running up and down the sideline trying to get a timeout to make sure we could keep them from scoring even though the game was over.

Chizik was obviously key to the MNC, but I never did get a warm and fuzzy once his teams took the field.

I think each one has brought something new to the table and improved a lot of things - despite a few setbacks (eg, last year's pass D). Thus, I'm excited about this year's squad and coaches. Kind of the eternal optimist in me.

by the usual suspects on Mar 8, 2007 3:16 PM CST reply actions 0 recs