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Defensive Coordinator Search

Right, the initial report said that there was no deal in place---maybe a job really hasn't been offered yet. That doesn't mean that the reports aren't true, or that a deal is in the works.


There is a considerable space between him not going to Wake at all ever, and not having a deal in place at that particular time.

Given what little we know, there may be contract issues to work out at Ark. If he has a multi-year deal there, what kind of "go away" package does he get? His reported $800K salary may be a little rich for a Wake assistant, but Arkansas giving him a decent severance might make a little less from Wake palatable.
 
I only watched Arkansas in the Belk Bowl this year. Defense looked pretty good in the first half. Awful in the second half. Although, the offense was wayyyyy worse in the second half than the defense.
 
I took that tweet and the reports to mean terms have been negotiated and Robb Smith is just waiting for the offer letter and perhaps to see if Arkansas will counter.
 
The twitter replies are great. They are accusing the reporter of being an AD shill.
 
Arkansas fans HATE this dude based on my limited observations of their fan base.
 
Typical for a fanbase to trash at least one coordinator, particularly where the head coach is generally supported. Got to blame somebody.
 
Typical for a fanbase to trash at least one coordinator, particularly where the head coach is generally supported. Got to blame somebody.

They gave up almost 6 yards a carry over an entire season. They gave up 35 points in the second half of their bowl game. It would be atypical if their fanbase didn't trash him.
 
Maybe that is the best that can be done with the talent on hand. The same DC had a top 10 defense when he had 3 NFL players.
 
Maybe that is the best that can be done with the talent on hand. The same DC had a top 10 defense when he had 3 NFL players.

That's not really a ringing endorsement for hiring him to coach at Wake especially since he didn't have a hand in recruiting those NFL players.
 
Maybe that is the best that can be done with the talent on hand. The same DC had a top 10 defense when he had 3 NFL players.

Well he would have atleast 2 NFL caliber players on hand next season
 
That's not really a ringing endorsement for hiring him to coach at Wake especially since he didn't have a hand in recruiting those NFL players.

Right, that's the worry here. Wake is a better fit for the "creatively coach up what will likely be a sub-par defense athletically" coach than the "I need NFL players to be serviceable" coach. I'm sure some fan base was like, "Wake fans hate their OC after he won the ACC Championship? Let's hire him!"
 
They gave up almost 6 yards a carry over an entire season. They gave up 35 points in the second half of their bowl game. It would be atypical if their fanbase didn't trash him.

That is something that would concern me as well. What happened that caused a supposed strength of the team, with nine returning starters, to turn into a major weakness? I hope Clawson gets a really good answer to this question if, in reality, this guy is seriously being considered for the Wake DC job.

Also of concern is the downward trend in the defense statistics over three years. It went from "real good" to "pretty bad" pretty quickly. Why did that happen? What would be different at Wake to keep Wake's top 20 defense from sliding dramatically?
 
I mean, if Coach Clawson hires him, I think it is safe to say he has done his due diligence on both the guy as a coach and the issues at Arkansas this year. I doubt he was just like "this guy coached in the SEC! Must be great!" Its not like theReff is hiring him or something.
 
That's not really a ringing endorsement for hiring him to coach at Wake especially since he didn't have a hand in recruiting those NFL players.

In his defense :)thumbsup:) Chris Ash didn't have a good defense in his one year here and then went on to Ohio State and won a title. Our DL coach and maybe our LB coach are both going to be let go so he wasn't surrounded by the best position coaches. Randy Shannon was our LB coach in 2014 and we had solid LB play.

Plus Smith's recruiting background is on the east coast so being in ACC territory could help more than it did for us. His 2014 defense was really creative. We had the "Bermuda Triangle" where we put our three best defensive players (Trey Flowers, Martrell Spaight and Darius Philon) on one side of the formation and overloaded the other side with the other 8 defensive players. Made offenses choose whether they wanted to attack quality or quantity.
 
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Have no idea what kind of recruiter Smith is, but he has proven that when he has talent, his defenses stop people, when they don't, they don't. I think most coaches results are consistent with that principle. In 1999, the DC was James Bell, and WF's defense was among the best in the country. It held:

State - 7 points
Rutgers - 10 points
MD- 17 points
UAB - 3 points
#1 FSU - 33 points (FSU scored 41+ against every other opponent except #4 Florida 30 points; #19 Miami 31 points)
Clemson - 12 points
UNC - 3 points
GT - 23 points
Arizona State - 3 points

Among others that defense had future NFLers - Kelvin Moses, Fred Robbins, Dustin Lyman and Reggie Austin

Bell parlayed that success to get the Indiana DC job, and with no talent, Bell's defenses at Indiana sucked, and he was out of FBS football within 3 years. Scheme only gets you so far.
 
We are losing a star. We need to get a star in return, even if a star at a lower level. We need someone who can build a strong, hard-hitting defense with 3 star athletes or less. If a guy produced a mediocre defense with higher ranking players, that is neither impressive nor promising for WF. We will consistently compete against better athletes, at least according to their high school rankings. Elko built a really strong defense with such talent. That's what we must have to replace him.

That is why I like the DC at Army.
 
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