DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AL GOLDEN
09122023
That was a shorter halftime the other day because of the lightning delay. Was that a little NFL-ish for you?
“Yeah, it was. We were very quick. We had some time prior to that when we solved some things. Yeah, we had a little bit of time. Hot dog time, apparently. I missed that, by the way. No, but it was quick, and sometimes that's better. Sometimes you can just stray too far away from what the guys are comfortable with. And I think less is more for these guys, and just trying to [talk about] one, two or three things to hang your hat on and move forward.”
Is there a danger in outsmarting yourself with halftime adjustments? What comes into play?
“Are they play-repeaters? Or do they hold something back until the third quarter? You see all that. It's like anything else, right? Like, you have to take care of your own business. Execute what you have and then adapt to the couple of problem plays. There's always problem plays. There's not any coordinator out there, there is not any defensive coach out there that's not dealing with a problem. There's always a problem play. It doesn't matter who you play. And you’ve got to resolve it, or it's going to bother you all game.
“And then the other thing that most people don't think about is sometimes they want you to adjust, so you take the cheese. And then it's something else on top of that, that's more explosive. So, sometimes you’ve just got to be like, Do I really want to go down this path? Or do I want to give them that four or five yards — you know, what I mean?’ So, that's the game within the game.”
You played a triple-option team that threw six passes. You had a game that was out of hand by halftime and you had a unique quarterback with his running ability last week. So, do you really have a sense of what your pass rush can do in a game?
“Yeah, I'm excited about our pass rush. I mean, there was no pass rush against Navy. Again, most of our starters are out by halftime. And our play count wasn't very high against Tennessee State. And then last week, it was really gameplan-oriented. So, I thought our guys executed the gameplan really, really well. Somebody said his [Brennan Armstrong’s] yards per attempt before that last drive were like 4.7 or something on 40-something throws. That's collective defense, and that's what we're preaching. The only thing that matters is the score. So, we're better at situational football. The sudden-change stop was awesome. We have a good mentality with that. We’ve got to keep improving in the red [zone]. Two more stops on third down, and it's a good day, that kind of thing. But I think we're playing fast. We're tackling. We're attacking the ball. So that's where we’re at.”
I know you were a college tight end. How did you get to the point where you ended up on the defensive side of the ball for good coaching, other than a year here or there?
“Nothing ever fazed me. I coached tight ends in the NFL. I coached linebackers in the NFL. I coached inside linebackers, outside linebackers, defensive ends, tight ends. I was special teams coordinator. So for me, I just never wanted to be pigeon-holed. And learn new things and have a broad perspective. So, I feel like I’ve got a really good big-picture perspective on game day. I don't get too stressed out, just work the problems. And I think without that background, it's hard, because you don't know how they're sliding their protections or how they're numbering their running game. But if you do it, if you did it for a living, iIt's a little bit easier to reverse-engineer it.”
You guys are a base 4-3 team, but I remember you from Virginia, you were a 3-4 guy under Al Grph. Does that background help you?
“There are moments like the other day, there was a couple of defenses I was thinking about coach Groh. I was thinking about coach Groh, because it was 9/11, and then I was watching some of the game and I was thinking about coach Groh, because we were together on that day. We were getting ready to play Penn State, so that was just incredible, to have that day unfold. But I was thinking of him, because there are elements that we still use. And there was a certain defense that was exactly the way we ran it against Charlie Whitehurst and Clemson in, whatever, 2002 [or] 2003 — exactly the same. I wanted to send it to him. I'm going to have to send it to him.”
You mentioned the sudden change and how important that was in the game. You almost prepped for it with those three-and-outs. Is it just the maturity of your unit, where you go in there knowing …?
“Yeah, I think they are mature. I think everything was like tilting away from us. [Starting yard line was] plus-48 on the first series start, minus-40, and then the fifth one was minus-40 again, so like three midfield starts, and our guys didn't blink. They just went out there and fought their tails off. So again, the unity on our team is awesome. They had a sack, we were three-and-out [on offense]. The crowd was going crazy. And [our] guys, it’s like nothing. Nobody's throwing helmets. Nobody's bitching. Everybody just stays together and works the problem. That environment. That's a hell of an environment. I don't know what their record is at home the last couple of years, but I can't imagine they’re losing many. So anyway, it's a great environment down there, and it was just good that we stayed together. It was awesome.”
You called Howard Cross “fast hands Howard” when you got here. What makes him so tough to block?
“Get-off, leverage, fast hands. natural strength. I'm not saying he's not weight room-strong, because he is. But I mean natural strength, the ability to contort and bend and get out of bad positions. He’s just really flexible and pliable in terms of defeating blockers and getting flat down the line. His effort right now is incredible. The plays that he's making on the perimeter, all you’ve got to do is go back. They were going this way.”
The play that he just kept running around and got him at the end?
“Yeah, got him at the end. So, it's a great, great probably seven-, eight-second play, and he probably covered 60, 70 yards, but that's the kid right now. That's how he's playing. It means a lot to him. And he's tough as nails, and I'm glad he's on our team, because he’s just hard. He's rugged.”
Fifty-eight snaps. He probably hasn’t been at that level for a while, maybe going back to the ankle injury last year?
“Looks great. Looks great. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough, in great condition. And a great model for our young guys. Like, how do you finish plays at Notre Dame? Just watch him.”
You had to play a big chunk of that game without JD Bertrand because of the concussion. How do you feel the other linebackers, like Kiser and Sneed, stepped up?
“Great. Awesome. They did great. Jaylen, let's start there. Jaylen is really, really progressing. Today was a great practice for Jaylen Sneed. Like he’s just got to make it small, continue to win the day, stack good days, and then that's going to become who he is. Like, he's got it in him. And it means a lot to him. He's just got to continue to prepare and keep it small. Jack, I thought, was phenomenal. And again, answered the bell again today with a great practice, so just really excited about the group and just whoever's up is up. Again, I know the outside world talks about play counts or this, that — like it's everything. Linebackers are on special teams. We're on early downs. We're on third down. We're on base. We're on sub. Like, there's a lot of different roles that these kids do, and they're doing a great job for us.”
Donovan Hinish, what's allowed him, other than an injury, to surge?
“Even if it wasn't for the injury [to Gabe Rubio], he was really getting right there, where he was in the mix. So, I love when guys work quietly. He just worked quietly. Wasn't playing as much as he wanted to early on. Never pouted, just worked harder. It means a lot to him. And then I love kids that just work in silence, work in silence, work in silence, work like an animal. And then you get this opportunity, and you shine, because you're ready for your opportunity. Like that's the moral of the story for young guys, you don't know when it's your turn. And, all sudden, it's his turn in Raleigh, and he answers the call. So, I'm happy for him.”
09122023
That was a shorter halftime the other day because of the lightning delay. Was that a little NFL-ish for you?
“Yeah, it was. We were very quick. We had some time prior to that when we solved some things. Yeah, we had a little bit of time. Hot dog time, apparently. I missed that, by the way. No, but it was quick, and sometimes that's better. Sometimes you can just stray too far away from what the guys are comfortable with. And I think less is more for these guys, and just trying to [talk about] one, two or three things to hang your hat on and move forward.”
Is there a danger in outsmarting yourself with halftime adjustments? What comes into play?
“Are they play-repeaters? Or do they hold something back until the third quarter? You see all that. It's like anything else, right? Like, you have to take care of your own business. Execute what you have and then adapt to the couple of problem plays. There's always problem plays. There's not any coordinator out there, there is not any defensive coach out there that's not dealing with a problem. There's always a problem play. It doesn't matter who you play. And you’ve got to resolve it, or it's going to bother you all game.
“And then the other thing that most people don't think about is sometimes they want you to adjust, so you take the cheese. And then it's something else on top of that, that's more explosive. So, sometimes you’ve just got to be like, Do I really want to go down this path? Or do I want to give them that four or five yards — you know, what I mean?’ So, that's the game within the game.”
You played a triple-option team that threw six passes. You had a game that was out of hand by halftime and you had a unique quarterback with his running ability last week. So, do you really have a sense of what your pass rush can do in a game?
“Yeah, I'm excited about our pass rush. I mean, there was no pass rush against Navy. Again, most of our starters are out by halftime. And our play count wasn't very high against Tennessee State. And then last week, it was really gameplan-oriented. So, I thought our guys executed the gameplan really, really well. Somebody said his [Brennan Armstrong’s] yards per attempt before that last drive were like 4.7 or something on 40-something throws. That's collective defense, and that's what we're preaching. The only thing that matters is the score. So, we're better at situational football. The sudden-change stop was awesome. We have a good mentality with that. We’ve got to keep improving in the red [zone]. Two more stops on third down, and it's a good day, that kind of thing. But I think we're playing fast. We're tackling. We're attacking the ball. So that's where we’re at.”
I know you were a college tight end. How did you get to the point where you ended up on the defensive side of the ball for good coaching, other than a year here or there?
“Nothing ever fazed me. I coached tight ends in the NFL. I coached linebackers in the NFL. I coached inside linebackers, outside linebackers, defensive ends, tight ends. I was special teams coordinator. So for me, I just never wanted to be pigeon-holed. And learn new things and have a broad perspective. So, I feel like I’ve got a really good big-picture perspective on game day. I don't get too stressed out, just work the problems. And I think without that background, it's hard, because you don't know how they're sliding their protections or how they're numbering their running game. But if you do it, if you did it for a living, iIt's a little bit easier to reverse-engineer it.”
You guys are a base 4-3 team, but I remember you from Virginia, you were a 3-4 guy under Al Grph. Does that background help you?
“There are moments like the other day, there was a couple of defenses I was thinking about coach Groh. I was thinking about coach Groh, because it was 9/11, and then I was watching some of the game and I was thinking about coach Groh, because we were together on that day. We were getting ready to play Penn State, so that was just incredible, to have that day unfold. But I was thinking of him, because there are elements that we still use. And there was a certain defense that was exactly the way we ran it against Charlie Whitehurst and Clemson in, whatever, 2002 [or] 2003 — exactly the same. I wanted to send it to him. I'm going to have to send it to him.”
You mentioned the sudden change and how important that was in the game. You almost prepped for it with those three-and-outs. Is it just the maturity of your unit, where you go in there knowing …?
“Yeah, I think they are mature. I think everything was like tilting away from us. [Starting yard line was] plus-48 on the first series start, minus-40, and then the fifth one was minus-40 again, so like three midfield starts, and our guys didn't blink. They just went out there and fought their tails off. So again, the unity on our team is awesome. They had a sack, we were three-and-out [on offense]. The crowd was going crazy. And [our] guys, it’s like nothing. Nobody's throwing helmets. Nobody's bitching. Everybody just stays together and works the problem. That environment. That's a hell of an environment. I don't know what their record is at home the last couple of years, but I can't imagine they’re losing many. So anyway, it's a great environment down there, and it was just good that we stayed together. It was awesome.”
You called Howard Cross “fast hands Howard” when you got here. What makes him so tough to block?
“Get-off, leverage, fast hands. natural strength. I'm not saying he's not weight room-strong, because he is. But I mean natural strength, the ability to contort and bend and get out of bad positions. He’s just really flexible and pliable in terms of defeating blockers and getting flat down the line. His effort right now is incredible. The plays that he's making on the perimeter, all you’ve got to do is go back. They were going this way.”
The play that he just kept running around and got him at the end?
“Yeah, got him at the end. So, it's a great, great probably seven-, eight-second play, and he probably covered 60, 70 yards, but that's the kid right now. That's how he's playing. It means a lot to him. And he's tough as nails, and I'm glad he's on our team, because he’s just hard. He's rugged.”
Fifty-eight snaps. He probably hasn’t been at that level for a while, maybe going back to the ankle injury last year?
“Looks great. Looks great. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough, in great condition. And a great model for our young guys. Like, how do you finish plays at Notre Dame? Just watch him.”
You had to play a big chunk of that game without JD Bertrand because of the concussion. How do you feel the other linebackers, like Kiser and Sneed, stepped up?
“Great. Awesome. They did great. Jaylen, let's start there. Jaylen is really, really progressing. Today was a great practice for Jaylen Sneed. Like he’s just got to make it small, continue to win the day, stack good days, and then that's going to become who he is. Like, he's got it in him. And it means a lot to him. He's just got to continue to prepare and keep it small. Jack, I thought, was phenomenal. And again, answered the bell again today with a great practice, so just really excited about the group and just whoever's up is up. Again, I know the outside world talks about play counts or this, that — like it's everything. Linebackers are on special teams. We're on early downs. We're on third down. We're on base. We're on sub. Like, there's a lot of different roles that these kids do, and they're doing a great job for us.”
Donovan Hinish, what's allowed him, other than an injury, to surge?
“Even if it wasn't for the injury [to Gabe Rubio], he was really getting right there, where he was in the mix. So, I love when guys work quietly. He just worked quietly. Wasn't playing as much as he wanted to early on. Never pouted, just worked harder. It means a lot to him. And then I love kids that just work in silence, work in silence, work in silence, work like an animal. And then you get this opportunity, and you shine, because you're ready for your opportunity. Like that's the moral of the story for young guys, you don't know when it's your turn. And, all sudden, it's his turn in Raleigh, and he answers the call. So, I'm happy for him.”
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