re: Suggestions for New DC at LSU (Updated Links)

My vote is for Ty Nix. He has had one bad year (last one at USC) and has had marginal talent to work with everywhere he has been. Most importantly he believes in pressuring the quarterback.

ken norton, jr

NO PEVETO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he hasn't done a particuarly good job with the LBs either. Ali Highsmith was good, but he was good when he got here.

mike Detillier seemed to think VK was the early leader for the job today on the radio.

i wouldn't mind that fwiw...aside from some silly comments that he made about julio jones and jerrell harris earlier, he'd be a solid pick.

i think Hal Mummy would be a great fit.

I'm really hoping for Rhoades ( from there, Chavis then Koening ). Rhoades has proven his worth time & again.

</LURK>

Now, I know that we won the 2007 crystal with Pelini as DC. But how many of us remember that we were complaining about Pelini's soft defense all season -- and calling for his head, after that 2007 Arkansas loss? 4th and 15, and the man STILL just REFUSED to blitz -- and it cost us the game. The only REAL blitz I ever saw us run was once, late in the Gump Game -- and we recovered Wilson's fumble at the three, and scored the winning TD from there. Our talent level made up for Pelini's lack of aggression in 2007, but because we lost to Arkansas, the ONLY reason we ended up in the NC game was WV's upset loss to Pitt.

The last time we had a REAL defense was the 2003 season. I still have the 2003 NC game on VHS, and I GRIN every time I hear Brent Musburger refer to LSU's defense as "savage".

We need a "savage" defense again -- a defense that's REALLY just "the offense that we run when the OTHER team has the ball".

Jon Tenuta is one of those "evil genius" types when it comes to designing blitz packages, and making the week-to-week adjustments for individual opponents.

But Tenuta doesn't get to call the shots at Notre Dame, because he's NOT the DC there -- he's the "Assistant Head Coach for Defense" (and LB coach), and HIS boss is DC Corwin Brown. When he was DC at Georgia Tech, Tenuta's defenses blitzed about 80 percent of the time -- approximately the same as LSU did under Saban in 2003 -- and they had tremendous success, even with the inferior talent level there.

Now, rumors are, by definition, impossible to verify. But before Les Miles was forced to publicly renounce the Michigan job last year, Tenuta was SUPPOSEDLY his choice to accompany him to Michigan as DC, after Georgia Tech refused to promote Tenuta from DC to HC when Chan Gailey was fired.

Once Miles made the decision to stay at LSU, Tenuta had to find another job, and ended up at Notre Dame.

Tenuta MAY be willing to leave ND (he has Louisiana ties), IF he was offered two things:
1)-- More money (of course)
2)-- COMPLETE autonomy to run the entire defense as he sees fit, INCLUDING hiring whoever he wants as HIS defensive assistants.

And as far as Tenuta having an "abrasive" personality ?? I say "So what?". Maybe that's what's needed here, to get rid of the current complacent attitude on the part of both the players and the current coaches.

But I'm willing to be convinced: is there anybody else AVAILABLE out there who believes in hyper-aggressive defense -- "savage" defense -- the way Tenuta does ??


Cheers,

-- O.


<LURK>

V Koennig seems to be the frontrunner - good.