We have a DC
- Thread starter T_Levine
- Start date
Well I'll be darned. Fitz really WAS waiting until the end of the guy's season.
Very interesting. Was not expecting FCS but NDSU is kind of the Alabama of FCS. Strong coaching track record.
Forgot, did you hear what his mom said when he told her was leaving to take the NU job?
Bison
Bison
I think you paid off Fitz to hire this guy just for that joke
Are we allowed to talk about this on the free board?
This is fascinating (in a good way). No idea of how it will turn out but as a fan I am very happy and excited for the hire. His bio from the NDSU site:
David Braun was named defensive coordinator and safeties coach at North Dakota State University in January 2019.
Braun has been part of two Missouri Valley Football Conference and NCAA Division I FCS national championships in his first three seasons at NDSU with the nation's No. 1 scoring defense both years.
In 2019, NDSU held opponents to 12.3 points per game, ranked first in passing yards allowed (138.6 ypg), second in total defense (274.7 ypg), and second in passing efficiency defense (104.8). Safeties Michael Tutsie and James Hendricks combined for 12 interceptions as NDSU went 16-0.
Braun was named FootballScoop's FCS Coordinator of the Year in 2021. The Bison limited opponents to an MVFC record 11.1 points per game, ranked third nationally in total defense (264.7 ypg) and third down conversion defense (.268), and ranked fifth in red zone defense (.680), sixth in rushing defense (87.6 ypg) and eighth in sacks (3.27/game).
Named to the 2020 class of the American Football Coaches Association's 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, Braun came to NDSU after two seasons at Northern Iowa, where he was the defensive line coach and run game coordinator in 2017 and the outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator in 2018.
He is a graduate of Winona State, where he played defensive line for NDSU head coach Matt Entz from 2004-07 and joined him on staff as a graduate assistant for two years.
Braun was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Culver-Stockton in 2010, returned to Winona State for four years as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2011-14, and moved to the FCS level as the defensive line coach at UC Davis for two seasons from 2015-16.
He earned a bachelor's degree in social science education at Winona State in 2008.
Braun and his wife, Kristin, are the parents of two boys, Lucas and Andrew.
David Braun was named defensive coordinator and safeties coach at North Dakota State University in January 2019.
Braun has been part of two Missouri Valley Football Conference and NCAA Division I FCS national championships in his first three seasons at NDSU with the nation's No. 1 scoring defense both years.
In 2019, NDSU held opponents to 12.3 points per game, ranked first in passing yards allowed (138.6 ypg), second in total defense (274.7 ypg), and second in passing efficiency defense (104.8). Safeties Michael Tutsie and James Hendricks combined for 12 interceptions as NDSU went 16-0.
Braun was named FootballScoop's FCS Coordinator of the Year in 2021. The Bison limited opponents to an MVFC record 11.1 points per game, ranked third nationally in total defense (264.7 ypg) and third down conversion defense (.268), and ranked fifth in red zone defense (.680), sixth in rushing defense (87.6 ypg) and eighth in sacks (3.27/game).
Named to the 2020 class of the American Football Coaches Association's 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, Braun came to NDSU after two seasons at Northern Iowa, where he was the defensive line coach and run game coordinator in 2017 and the outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator in 2018.
He is a graduate of Winona State, where he played defensive line for NDSU head coach Matt Entz from 2004-07 and joined him on staff as a graduate assistant for two years.
Braun was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Culver-Stockton in 2010, returned to Winona State for four years as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2011-14, and moved to the FCS level as the defensive line coach at UC Davis for two seasons from 2015-16.
He earned a bachelor's degree in social science education at Winona State in 2008.
Braun and his wife, Kristin, are the parents of two boys, Lucas and Andrew.
| David Braun Year-By-Year Coaching History | ||
| Year | School | Position |
| 2008 | Winona State | Graduate Assistant |
| 2009 | Winona State | Graduate Assistant |
| 2010 | Culver-Stockton | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2011 | Winona State | Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2012 | Winona State | Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2013 | Winona State | Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2014 | Winona State | Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2015 | UC Davis | Defensive Line |
| 2016 | UC Davis | Defensive Line |
| 2017 | Northern Iowa | Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line |
| 2018 | Northern Iowa | Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers |
| 2019 | North Dakota State | Defensive Coordinator/Safeties |
| 2020-21 | North Dakota State | Defensive Coordinator/Safeties |
| 2021 | North Dakota State | Defensive Coordinator/Safeties |
Should now give us the edge over SIU
We will have to have some knowledgeable folks break down his defensive philosophy and whatnot. I like that he is a successful DC but still young. However he has neither FBS or NFL experience. In addition at NDSU, likely he is used to having superior talent to his FCS opponents, whereas here he will be more often be at a disadvantage. Will have to see how that all translates to the B1G.
Arghhh! NFL experience often leads to coaches with overly-complicated schemes because their expectations of college athletes are unrealistic. Plus colleges often run offenses that are never seen in the NFL. And what do NFL coaches know about recruiting? Two different games.
The story from Mike Fitz...
northwestern.rivals.com
WildcatReport - Report: Northwestern to hire David Braun as defensive coordinator
Northwestern has reportedly filled another one of its coaching vacancies.
northwestern.rivals.com
"Braun is Fitzgerald's second hire this offseason from an FCS school, joining new wide receivers coach Armon Binns from Youngstown State."
Northwestern.....FCS's Big 10 school.
Northwestern.....FCS's Big 10 school.
The comments on Braun from NDSU fans on Twitter and their football Message Boards have been less than positive:
"Good luck lol if that was his defense this year at NDSU and not the HC's, you will regret this decision. Defense has gotten worse. If he wasn't hired, he'd potentially be fired this season."
"His defense gave up over 500 yards and 45 points in the National Championship game yesterday."
"As a NDSU fan, I hope it works out for you. Even though we aren't exactly shedding tears to see him leave after how bad the defense was this year."
"David Braun is a D2 Coordinator I said it at the time he was hired and you all made fun of me. But Seriously. I think we've seen enough. NDSU IS A DEFENSIVE TEAM!!! ALWAYS HAS BEEN!!! DEFENSE WINS TITLES. Time to Change D Coordinators. I Know him and Entz drank beer at Winona together, but GO get us a BISON DEFENSIVE COACH."
"Good luck lol if that was his defense this year at NDSU and not the HC's, you will regret this decision. Defense has gotten worse. If he wasn't hired, he'd potentially be fired this season."
"His defense gave up over 500 yards and 45 points in the National Championship game yesterday."
"As a NDSU fan, I hope it works out for you. Even though we aren't exactly shedding tears to see him leave after how bad the defense was this year."
"David Braun is a D2 Coordinator I said it at the time he was hired and you all made fun of me. But Seriously. I think we've seen enough. NDSU IS A DEFENSIVE TEAM!!! ALWAYS HAS BEEN!!! DEFENSE WINS TITLES. Time to Change D Coordinators. I Know him and Entz drank beer at Winona together, but GO get us a BISON DEFENSIVE COACH."
This is a big differentiation in my mind. JON seemed to be a very “pro guy,” trying to bring those “next level” schemes/techniques to NU when we might not have had the personnel to actually run it. Braun seems like a quentessential “college guy” who’s learned how to put together successful college defenses.
Hopefully that can and will translate to the B1G/FBS level, but it’s not as far a jump from NDSU as most other FCS programs.
Seriously.... it scares me that he was only the DC there for a couple of years. Was he riding coattails for the first year?
Of course, this could also be ignorant fans who were used to winning it all every year and were upset they lost in the final.
On edit: Although, if he was riding coattails, at least he sustained a strong D for two years. JON couldn't even make it 1 play!
Holy shit. He was a buddy hire at NDSU... that doesn't sound promising.
Not all that knowledgeable but this I found interesting (and very happy to see it):
David Braun: Code Green Defensive Disruption [Virtual Clinic Series]
In this AFCA Virtual Clinic, David Braun, the Defensive Coordinator at North Dakota State University, shares his method for creating ball disruption.
insider.afca.com
He runs a base 4-3 with cover 4 and cover 2. Simple and focus on taking away the ball. Sound familiar?
Yeah I pointed this out on the other board. However, everything is relative. Out of 126 FCS programs, Braun’s defenses finished 1st in scoring defense in 2019 and 2021 (when they won the national championship both years) and finished 20th in 2020 and 9th this year (when they reached the championship game final but lost). He also won the equivalent of the Broyles award as the best coordinator in FCS last year when his unit set a conference record for the lowest ppg. Both of those championship years they gave less ppg than Hank did in his best (last) year at Northwestern.
We caught their fans on the heels of a loss to their hated rivals and so might not be the most balanced and measured comments at the moment. They are also used to having top 5 defenses perennially so anything that falls outside of that is a failure I guess in their eyes. I don’t know about you but I’d be happy if our D (and our O) were good enough regardless of ranking to get us to the National Championship game 3/4 years and win it two of those years.
I guess Fitz learned that lesson with JON the hard way and was determined to avoid making the same mistake. Good to see him grow and learn
DC at NDSU from 2019 to 2022. Four years. Two championships. That's a lifetime in football.
I'd even be ok if we gave up 45 points to Illinois and lost, as long as it was in the National Championship Game
I like both hires thus far.
His track record at NDSU speaks for itself; not going to let one meltdown in the national championship game override a 4 year track record. (That might be the most spoiled fanbase in all of football given the winning they achieved for so long).
At least he was able to keep the program executing for several years without falling off.
Any great defense is going to have off nights, and more likely against the very best teams.
Either way, he's a defensive coach through and through and has a good track record. Yes it's at FCS, but that NDSU team plays like an FBS team and would be higher quality than plenty of FBS teams every year.
His track record at NDSU speaks for itself; not going to let one meltdown in the national championship game override a 4 year track record. (That might be the most spoiled fanbase in all of football given the winning they achieved for so long).
At least he was able to keep the program executing for several years without falling off.
Any great defense is going to have off nights, and more likely against the very best teams.
Either way, he's a defensive coach through and through and has a good track record. Yes it's at FCS, but that NDSU team plays like an FBS team and would be higher quality than plenty of FBS teams every year.
I wouldn't worry too much about the move up from FCS. At Shippensburg, my D2 alma mater, we lost offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich to Oklahoma State a couple of years back. His offenses averaged 30-plus ppg there until he went to Texas. From there he moved to Penn State, where he put up some pretty good numbers this year now that that PSU finally has a halfway decent o-line and some running backs. Football is football.
Interesting argument. I can see merit in both the NFL vs non-NFL views. At least in a good FCS program fundamentals are seen as important. We know from the Hank era how much upside there is in the fundamentals. When we took that for granted, JON came in and showed us the downside of ignoring the fundamentals. JON's very first public statements after taking the job screamed 'poser' - big NFL man talking big, talking about "Up" in the league versus "down" in the college game. We all get that the NFL is the apex. But the way he talked about it it screamed poser and status seeker, rather than a "start at the beginning" mindset. Count me happy that we seem to have hired for fundamentals, merit, and results on the field, rather than unsubstantiated hype, unproven schemes, and buddies.
Let’s have some tackles
Some stops, stands, picks, strips and sacks
Small schools grasp these things
I saw Georgia smash mouth TCU into oblivion. Michigan smash mouthed OSU. I didn't see anything newfangled in most games. Innovation in football amounts to old schemes for new times. It's like the fashion industry
I could not have said it better myself. The more football changes, the more it stays the same.
Stetson Bennett threw for 6 touchdowns and a bazillion yards but sure. Also scored 65 pts.
If you think what Georgia did is some ball control conservative play calling and anything other than explosive, I don’t know what to tell you.
They won that game on the line of srlcrimmage, which is impressive because I thought TCU’s DL was really good after watching them against Michigan.
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