Folks, let's wish Ellis Johnson well on his new gig in Hattiesburg!
Before I discuss my candidates to replace Ellis Johnson, let’s take a look at the history of Steve Spurrier hiring defensive coordinators. Spurrier has had to hire eight defensive coordinators in his head coaching career. Spurrier has a history of trying to hire defensive coaches who have given him problems in the past, whether it was at Duke, Florida or South Carolina. Of those eight hires, only once has Spurrier promoted a coach from within the program (2006 Spurrier promoted Tyrone Nix on the USC staff after the one-year debacle of John Thompson and the d-line, stand-up defense failed miserably at the SEC-level) to the defensive coordinator position. So if you are trying to guess who might be atop Spurrier’s list, do not think the obvious, i.e. Ron Zook (Spurrier & Zook did have a conversation recently per 107.5 The Game’s Heath Cline), Randy Shannon or Mike Stoops. Spurrier typically has hired coaches he has not had a prior relationship with in the coaching fraternity. Here is a breakdown of the Steve Spurrier defensive coordinator hires:
→In 1991, Spurrier hired Ron Zook away from Ohio State to be the Defensive Coordinator at Florida. Zook served three years as DC until Spurrier demoted Zook following the 1993 season.
→In 1994, Spurrier hired Tulane’s Bob Pruett after discovering it was difficult to play against Pruett’s Green Wave defenses.
→In 1996, after Bob Pruett left to take over the Marshall University program following the loss to Nebraska, Spurrier hired Kansas State’s Bob Stoops at the behest of his Athletic Director, Jeremy Foley. Foley pointed out to Spurrier that Stoops’ defenses ranked highly in a lot of defensive categories.
→In 1999, after Stoops accepted the Oklahoma job, Spurrier wanted to hire Virginia Tech’s Bud Foster, but Foster “hedged” on committing to Spurrier, so Spurrier instead hired Missouri’s Jon Hoke. Spurrier left Florida after the 2001 football season and accepted the Washington Redskins job in the NFL.
→In 2005, when Spurrier returned to college football to take over at USC, he hired former ECU Head Coach John Thompson to be his defensive coordinator at South Carolina. Thompson was the first coach Spurrier had hired as d-coordinator, who had prior SEC experience as a defensive coordinator.
→In 2006, Spurrier fired John Thompson and promoted Tyrone Nix to defensive coordinator. The only time Spurrier had not gone outside his own program to hire a defensive coordinator.
→In 2008, after Nix was told he was being demoted from d-coordinator, Spurrier hired former Georgia defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, who was on Bobby Petrino’s staff in Atlanta.
→Later in 2008, VanGorder is on the job for almost one month, when he is offered a job to stay on the Falcons staff as defensive coordinator with new head coach and friend Mike Smith, who came up from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
→Spurrier calls Ellis Johnson and offers him the d-coordinator job at USC. Johnson accepts the job offer after just committing to Petrino at Arkansas one month prior. Johnson had no ties to Spurrier but ties to the Palmetto State.
Remember the last couple of USC hires came from lesser-known schools; Shawn Elliott (App St), Jay Graham (Miami of Ohio), and G.A. Mangus (Middle Tennessee State), while Lorenzo Ward came from Arkansas via Ellis Johnson's recommendation. Eric Wolford came from Illinois because of his relations with Spurrier Jr. at Arizona. Safeties Coach Jeep Hunter and Spur/Special Teams Coach John Butler had zero ties to anyone on staff when Spurrier hired them. Craig Fitzgerald was hired back in 2009 from Harvard at the advisement of the owner of Under Armour, which outfits USC Athletics teams.
There will be plenty of applicants, but don't buy the Mike Stoops (possibly headed to Texas A&M or rejoin brother, Bob, at Oklahoma) or Randy Shannon (There is a reason this guy has not landed a job with several openings at big time BCS-level schools) hype! Some of these names I have listed below are not sexy candidates but their results on the field definitely qualify them for consideration to replace Ellis Johnson. Think outside the box USC fans because history demonstrates that SOS certainly does!
Here is SPURspective’s list of potential candidates:
1. Manny Diaz (Texas D-Coordinator/Texas 15th ranked defense in 2011) ---
“Pipe dream” probably but at least make a call and gauge Diaz' interest. You might have to back the money truck onto the front porch and say, "name your price", but if South Carolina wants to play big boy football (SEC) then Hyman and the administration are going to have to ante up with the money to pay a high-profile coach. Diaz has experience in the SEC, coaching for one year at Mississippi State under Dan Mullen in 2010. Diaz spent six seasons at N.C. State where he coached linebackers and the Secondary, so he has ties to the Eastern seaboard in regards to recruiting. He also has cut his teeth at the college ranks coaching linebackers and has a connection with a current member of Steve Spurrier’s staff. Quarterbacks Coach G.A. Mangus & Manny Diaz coached together at Middle Tennessee State from 2006-2008 prior to Mangus leaving for USC early in 2009.
2. Bob Shoop (Vanderbilt D-Coordinator/19th ranked defense in FBS) ---
Vanderbilt's defense has always given Spurrier problems and this year was no different, as Shoop’s defense only allowed two offensive touchdowns to USC. Shoop developed strong defenses at the FCS level, William & Mary, where in the last two years at William & Mary Shoop’s defense allowed slightly more than 14 points/game. Prior to joining the staff at William & Mary, Shoop coached at UMass, he was the Head Coach at Columbia University and Secondary Coach at Boston College. Shoop headed up Vanderbilt’s defense this year during James Franklin's first season and directed the Commodores defense to a top 20 unit. The Commodores forced 27 turnovers (17 INTs), a top 25 rushing defense and a top 30 scoring defense yielding slightly less than 21 points/game.
3. Chuck Heater (Temple D-Coordinator/12th ranked defense in FBS) ---
Coached at Florida, 2005-2010, with Urban Meyer and was the Recruiting Coordinator when UF signed stellar classes in 2006 & 2007. Heater followed Adazio to Temple where the Owls had the 12th ranked defense in FBS in Heater’s first season as Defensive Coordinator. Heater has coached in the SEC and has Florida recruiting ties. His defenses registered 33 sacks this season ranking in the Top 25 in that category. Temple’s defense also ranked 3rd in the FBS for Scoring Defense behind Alabama & LSU. Under Heater’s guidance, the Owls only allowed slightly less than two touchdowns per game.
4. Scott Larkee (Harvard D-Coordinator/23rd ranked defense in FCS) ---
Larkee took over the defensive coordinator & linebacker’s job in 2009. Larkee coached with Craig Fitzgerald, USC’s Strength & Conditioning Coach, for two years at Harvard. Larkee recruits the Northeast (New Jersey & Pennsylvania) so he would bring another presence to an area of the country where USC is becoming more prevalent in regards to recruiting. Harvard's defense was ranked 23rd in FCS this season and was a top five Scoring Defense allowing 17 points/game, a top five rushing defense and forced 25 turnovers. He just completed his fifth season at Harvard.
5. Lorenzo Ward (Defensive Coordinator USC/4th ranked defense in FBS) ---
Ward followed Johnson to USC via Arkansas back in 2009. Prior to coming to South Carolina, Ward coached the Secondary for one year at Arkansas, coached one year, 2006, in the NFL at Oakland and coached the Secondary for seven seasons at Virginia Tech under Frank Beamer. IMHO, let the Capital One Bowl be Ward's audition for the job. Let's see how Ward makes "in-game" adjustments and develops a game plan for the entire defense instead of exclusively for the Secondary. Remember, Ward provided Ellis Johnson with Secondary defensive schemes for an opponent but Johnson was the game day manager of the defense. Ward is a great recruiter and has really established ties to the Atlanta Metro area for South Carolina especially at Stephenson HS in Stone Mountain, GA where they produce plenty of D-1 athletes on an annual basis. Ward is under a three-year contract with USC that expires at the end of this season.
6. Vic Koenning (former Defensive Coordinator at Illinois/7th ranked defense in FBS) ---
Koenning led Illinois to the 7th ranked defense in FBS this past season. He is headed to Chapel Hill to become new Head Coach Larry Fedora’s Defensive Coordinator, but if Spurrier called him to gauge his interest, I bet Koenning would not mind the opportunity of sticking it to Clemson on an annual basis! Koenning coached at Clemson from 2005-2008 before Dabo Swinney relieved Koenning of his coaching responsibilities. Koenning has been a d-coordinator at Troy, Wyoming, Clemson and Kansas State and has fielded quality defenses at each university. Koenning has been at Illinois the last three seasons where the Illini have fielded Top 25 defenses the last couple of years.
7. Mel Tucker (current Interim Head Coach Jacksonville Jaguars):
Tucker was elevated to the Interim Head Coach from the Defensive Coordinator position after Head Coach Jack Del Rio was fired. Tucker has engineered the 12th best defense in the NFL this season with the Jaguars. Jacksonville is the 4th best Scoring Defense in the NFL giving up less than 21 points/game. The Jaguars have the 4th best Pass Defense in the NFL surrendering only 197 yards/game while the Rush Defense is ranked 14th best in the NFL yielding only 110 yards/game. Tucker is a Nick Saban disciple having coached under Saban at Michigan State and LSU. Tucker also coached at Ohio State under Jim Tressel earlier last decade before accepting a job in the NFL in 2005.
8. Sal Sunseri (Alabama Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Coach):
Sunseri just completed his third season at Alabama, where he has assisted Nick Saban with the architecture of the best defense statistically in the FBS. Sunseri has the pleasure of coaching his son who was a freshman at Alabama this season. Before going to Tuscaloosa, Sunseri was the d-line coach for the Carolina Panthers. In seven seasons with the Panthers, Carolina’s defense was a top 10 defense in four of those seven years in fewest yards allowed. He also coached six All-Pro d-linemen in his seven seasons in Charlotte. Prior to Sunseri’s stint in the Queen City, he was on the Michigan State staff with current USC d-line coach Brad Lawing in 2001 where Sunseri coached linebackers.
These names are just names I researched. What do you think?
BTW, both South Carolina and Nebraska have lost their Defensive Coordinators to non-BCS schools (head coach positions) leading up to the Capital One Bowl game.
Go Gamecocks!
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