Here are the quotes from my interview with new defensive backs coach Matt MacPherson:
Making the transition to DB coach: The scheme and what we’re doing are not foreign to me because on offense, you’re watching the defense, you’re trying to dissect what they’re doing, what they’re reading. You have to keep up with them. What I have to catch up on and do some homework on is the individual techniques. Whether it’s press-man, man-free, eyes in certain zone situations, those are the things that I’m constantly researching, asking (about) and trying to get better at is not so much the macro, but the micro.
How he does research: Because of our condensed schedule after the season is over with to when we start spring ball, a lot of it was talking with Coach Hank: what he wanted to see more of, what he wanted, from a technique standpoint, to emphasize. And then, after spring ball, that’s when I’m going to go out and talk to other coaches (at other schools) and get some ideas.
Did you rely on Coach Brown: I wanted to let him get used to retirement first. He’s been around at some of these practices and that’s a signal to me that he wants to help out a little big. Initially, I wanted to give him some space. Now I’m going to start bringing him back into the fold a little bit.
Who’s getting reps now that you lost Godwin and Queiro, and McGee and Pace are out: Travis Whillock and Bryce Jackson are getting a ton of reps. You have Jeremiah McDonald, who’s here as a midyear guy, he’s getting a ton of reps. Then you have Joe Bergin and Steven Reese getting safety reps.
More on McDonald: I am extremely excited by him because we ask our safeties to do an awful lot. For a young man that should be getting ready for prom right now, he’s had a lot thrown at him. He’s swimming a little bit, but he’s fighting through it and he’s going to be a really good player for us.
Reliance on vets like McGee and Hartage as a new coach: In the meeting room, a lot. ‘What did we say about this last year?’ ‘What’s the signal for this?’ Are there any things that I don’t have the background on because I don’t know why we’re playing this coverage. Tell me what the adjustments are. So I’m always asking for their input. And there’s sometimes I’ve got to slow them down a little bit because we’re changing some things. I tell them, ‘Alright, this is the way we’re doing it.’ They speak up, which I want them to do, and say, ‘no, coach, this is how we’ve done it.’ And I say, ‘Yeah, I know. But now we’re doing it this way.’ I think there’s a real good give-and-take there.
Do you ask them during meeting, in front of the group? Oh yeah. The first meeting, I said, ‘Older guys, if there’s something you think I missed, then speak up so that everybody can hear it.’ They understand. You have to have thick skin, You can’t be too prideful. I understand that there are some things that I don’t know, so that doesn’t bother me when they bring something up. But at the end of the day, when we leave that room, we’re going to do things the way that Coach Hank and I want to. Sometimes, they have to remind me what they way is. Sometimes, I have to remind them.
Injuries: Roderick (Campbell) has been full-go, no restrictions. Bullock right now is not running with us. But he’s working with sports performance, he’s running around, he’s looking good.
Newsome: Greg is doing well. He’s handling it mentally. For a guy that should be just finishing up his basketball season, maybe doing some track, he’s doing really well.
Big-picture goals: One of the first things we talked about is eliminating the explosion passes. We had a great run defense. When we made people work the ball down the field, we were tough to score on. But there were times, especially in our losses, we gave up plays over the top. That’s one of our No. 1 objectives, to come out and be able to eliminate the explosion pass play.
How do you do that? No. 1, maybe it’s changing some of the techniques. And it’s not just the DBs techniques. Sometimes, it’s the underneath rerouting and things like that, that are allowing us to eliminate the deep balls. And sometimes it is the DB’s techniques. Maybe we’re shading certain formations definitely. But it’s a Back 7 group goal, group objective. And it’s great when you get a pass rush because then you don’t have to cover anybody, when you can rush the passer.
Do you feel rejuvenated now, learning new things? I do. It’s not very often in this business that you get a reset in your career without having to move your family. I kinda feel like that’s what I’ve gotten. I got a reset, a new challenge. I have to change my mindset a little bit, but it’s been exciting. Yet my family gets to stay where they are, and they love it here. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
Making the transition to DB coach: The scheme and what we’re doing are not foreign to me because on offense, you’re watching the defense, you’re trying to dissect what they’re doing, what they’re reading. You have to keep up with them. What I have to catch up on and do some homework on is the individual techniques. Whether it’s press-man, man-free, eyes in certain zone situations, those are the things that I’m constantly researching, asking (about) and trying to get better at is not so much the macro, but the micro.
How he does research: Because of our condensed schedule after the season is over with to when we start spring ball, a lot of it was talking with Coach Hank: what he wanted to see more of, what he wanted, from a technique standpoint, to emphasize. And then, after spring ball, that’s when I’m going to go out and talk to other coaches (at other schools) and get some ideas.
Did you rely on Coach Brown: I wanted to let him get used to retirement first. He’s been around at some of these practices and that’s a signal to me that he wants to help out a little big. Initially, I wanted to give him some space. Now I’m going to start bringing him back into the fold a little bit.
Who’s getting reps now that you lost Godwin and Queiro, and McGee and Pace are out: Travis Whillock and Bryce Jackson are getting a ton of reps. You have Jeremiah McDonald, who’s here as a midyear guy, he’s getting a ton of reps. Then you have Joe Bergin and Steven Reese getting safety reps.
More on McDonald: I am extremely excited by him because we ask our safeties to do an awful lot. For a young man that should be getting ready for prom right now, he’s had a lot thrown at him. He’s swimming a little bit, but he’s fighting through it and he’s going to be a really good player for us.
Reliance on vets like McGee and Hartage as a new coach: In the meeting room, a lot. ‘What did we say about this last year?’ ‘What’s the signal for this?’ Are there any things that I don’t have the background on because I don’t know why we’re playing this coverage. Tell me what the adjustments are. So I’m always asking for their input. And there’s sometimes I’ve got to slow them down a little bit because we’re changing some things. I tell them, ‘Alright, this is the way we’re doing it.’ They speak up, which I want them to do, and say, ‘no, coach, this is how we’ve done it.’ And I say, ‘Yeah, I know. But now we’re doing it this way.’ I think there’s a real good give-and-take there.
Do you ask them during meeting, in front of the group? Oh yeah. The first meeting, I said, ‘Older guys, if there’s something you think I missed, then speak up so that everybody can hear it.’ They understand. You have to have thick skin, You can’t be too prideful. I understand that there are some things that I don’t know, so that doesn’t bother me when they bring something up. But at the end of the day, when we leave that room, we’re going to do things the way that Coach Hank and I want to. Sometimes, they have to remind me what they way is. Sometimes, I have to remind them.
Injuries: Roderick (Campbell) has been full-go, no restrictions. Bullock right now is not running with us. But he’s working with sports performance, he’s running around, he’s looking good.
Newsome: Greg is doing well. He’s handling it mentally. For a guy that should be just finishing up his basketball season, maybe doing some track, he’s doing really well.
Big-picture goals: One of the first things we talked about is eliminating the explosion passes. We had a great run defense. When we made people work the ball down the field, we were tough to score on. But there were times, especially in our losses, we gave up plays over the top. That’s one of our No. 1 objectives, to come out and be able to eliminate the explosion pass play.
How do you do that? No. 1, maybe it’s changing some of the techniques. And it’s not just the DBs techniques. Sometimes, it’s the underneath rerouting and things like that, that are allowing us to eliminate the deep balls. And sometimes it is the DB’s techniques. Maybe we’re shading certain formations definitely. But it’s a Back 7 group goal, group objective. And it’s great when you get a pass rush because then you don’t have to cover anybody, when you can rush the passer.
Do you feel rejuvenated now, learning new things? I do. It’s not very often in this business that you get a reset in your career without having to move your family. I kinda feel like that’s what I’ve gotten. I got a reset, a new challenge. I have to change my mindset a little bit, but it’s been exciting. Yet my family gets to stay where they are, and they love it here. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
