Accept that Kaufman knows Lovett for several years and worked with him. Lovett is out of a job and available. Kaufman has probably counseled Sonny that Lovett is competent and can pick up on strengths and weaknesses quickly given the number of years on the job. This isn't the NFL and Lovett's experience is more important than his bouncing around the League and colleges. Finally, I would imagine that Kaufman has calmed Sonny with the thought that Lovett will be under his authority should anything be less than perfect.

I like the idea that we picked a guy who really knows defensive football and, in particular, the defensive backfield. If things go wrong, at least he conveyed good advice to the players which they can carry with them regardless of who the coach happens to be.

annarborbear;842518049 said:

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Anybody know where the Eagles stood on yards given up per play? I presume that the defense was out there a lot with Kelley running his no huddle offense. Also, are the same Eagles' DB's coming back this year under different coaches? Or have the Eagles had to come up with some better players?

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The Eagles dumped 3 DBs this offseason...cornerbacks Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher, and safety Nate Allen. I assume they were starters.

They added free agents Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond (ex-Seahawks) and drafted 3 CBs in the draft.

6bear6;842518106 said:

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Accept that Kaufman knows Lovett for several years and worked with him. Lovett is out of a job and available. Kaufman has probably counseled Sonny that Lovett is competent and can pick up on strengths and weaknesses quickly given the number of years on the job. This isn't the NFL and Lovett's experience is more important than his bouncing around the League and colleges. Finally, I would imagine that Kaufman has calmed Sonny with the thought that Lovett will be under his authority should anything be less than perfect.

I like the idea that we picked a guy who really knows defensive football and, in particular, the defensive backfield. If things go wrong, at least he conveyed good advice to the players which they can carry with them regardless of who the coach happens to be.

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I hope you're right....I looked at his resume and his journeyman status reminded my of Coach Marshall who pretty much messed up our offensive line. I don't know the man and trust Kaufman but guys don't move to new teams every season without a good/bad reason. Hope it works out of course but the initial impression is curious.

MoragaBear;842518077 said:

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The original comment was related to the defense being decimated by players that left so that's what I was asking about. Ragin would be on my short list, too, along with Hunter but both were at positions that were did fairly well in 2014 and that had developed some depth, so while they might've helped a little, hard to see them making much of a difference.

Jackson played at a position of weakness so one more year with him would've helped. Corner, safety and DE were the big weak points that killed the D last year and they were just way too thin and lacking in talent and experience. Have to believe a year of growth and experience will help White and Allensworth a ton after watching spring ball. Same with JJ at DE. And Kragen returning much stronger after a year off and Piatt and Drew's return should help a lot (Maybe McClure early in the season if reports are to be believed). Mix in Ude, Wilson, maybe Saffle and added experience and strength in Westerfield at DE and talent like Albert, Psalms and Hawkins added at corner and this year's D should look much better, though still somewhat light in experience from some of the new personnel.

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some depth at all 3 levels of the defense sorely needed

Cal_Fan2;842518128 said:

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I hope you're right....I looked at his resume and his journeyman status reminded my of Coach Marshall who pretty much messed up our offensive line. I don't know the man and trust Kaufman but guys don't move to new teams every season without a good/bad reason. Hope it works out of course but the initial impression is curious.

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Kaufman himself has moved all over the place. It's super common, especially depending upon who you are hooked up with, where that head coach (or defensive coordinator) is going. I'm not worried at all. He's an addition to the staff, and a good one in my opinion. It's not like we are trading him for someone else on the defensive side of the ball. Our defense needs all the coaching they can get.

MoragaBear;842518150 said:

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Not too sure about that. The LBs and DTs rotated a lot and played pretty well for the most part. And the depth for both are better this year.

DE and the defensive backfield have FAR more depth this season. The question is how quickly the new JC and frosh players that will play can adopt and make an impact, but at least there are numbers now where there just weren't last season.

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maybe somewhat better than last two years?

right right not counting production or exp .. just number of bodies ready to play

He has extensive DC experience and will probably be Kaufman's #1 assistant in terms of game planning and scheming. And for him to land plum DC positions like Miami and Philly then he must've been at least decent as a DB coach.

Cal_Fan2;842518128 said:

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I hope you're right....I looked at his resume and his journeyman status reminded my of Coach Marshall who pretty much messed up our offensive line. I don't know the man and trust Kaufman but guys don't move to new teams every season without a good/bad reason. Hope it works out of course but the initial impression is curious.

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I thought Marshall's resume had a lot of one-year stints. Lovett has been a lot of places (like many coaches), but it looks like he has usually stayed/lasted at least a couple years.

GranadaHillsBear;842517921 said:

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Yup. Aren't we also forgetting the 20 plus players who left the program under Sonny? The recruiting may have been a little bare, but losing 20 plus players really devastated our D.

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Not to mention Sonny's dubious hires like Buh and the line coaches.

Looperbear;842518338 said:

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Not to mention Sonny's dubious hires like Buh and the line coaches.

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true, but circumstances forced limited choices ... but Old History now.
:gobears:

going4roses;842518168 said:

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maybe somewhat better than last two years?

right right not counting production or exp .. just number of bodies ready to play

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Numbers are important. Last year some of the players were dragging toward the end of games and there was no way they could catch their breath since there was no one on the bench.

Looperbear;842518338 said:

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Not to mention Sonny's dubious hires like Buh and the line coaches.

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true that. At least this looks like a better hire then his previous ones. Yenser and Buh were pathetic hires.

yoshibear;842518241 said:

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I thought Marshall's resume had a lot of one-year stints. Lovett has been a lot of places (like many coaches), but it looks like he has usually stayed/lasted at least a couple years.

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We can compare the two.

Marshall prior to Cal:
1979 Plymouth State: OL
1980-1981 Tennessee: Assistant OL
1982-1983 Marshall: OL/ST
1984 Louisville: TE/OL
1985-1986 Murray State: OC/OL
1987 Virginia Tech: OL
1988-1992 Virginia Tech: OC
1993 Tennessee: OL
1994-1995 Tennessee: OL/Run Game Coordinator
1996 UCLA: OL
1997 Texas A&M: OC/OL
1998-1999 North Carolina: OC/OL
2000-2001 Colorado: OL
2002-2003 Houston Texans: Assistant OL
2004-2005 Houston Texans: OL
2007-2008 Cleveland Browns: OL

Lovett prior to Cal:
1976-77: St. Joseph Regional High School, Montvale, N.J. – Assistant Coach
1978-82: Union College – Assistant Coach
1983: Brown – Assistant Coach
1984: New York Jets – Defensive Quality Control
1985-88: Maine – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
1989-92: Cincinnati – Defensive Coordinator
1993: UNLV – Defensive Backs
1994: Maine – Defensive Coordinator
1995-98: Mississippi – Defensive Backs
1999-2001: Auburn – Defensive Coordinator
2002-04: Clemson – Defensive Coordinator
2005-06: Bowling Green State – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers/Defensive Backs
2007-08: North Carolina – Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Assistant
2009-10: Miami (Fla.) – Defensive Coordinator
2012: Texas Tech – Defensive Backs
2013-14: Philadelphia Eagles – Defensive Backs


So for both coaches, prior to coming to Cal the past 5 stops were either 2 year or 1 year stints. If you go further than the past 5 stops you see that Lovett had longer stints in the SEC while Marshall had one years for a while aside from VTech. What does it mean? In recent history both coaches had the same pattern but examining overall there's probably more confidence in Lovett's background than the many 1-stops. Still not altogether dissimilar though. Anyone imagining that Lovett's resume looks way better than Marshall's is probably exaggerating though.

all i know is if CAL's defense is able to wake up to the point that we any where!!!! close to Texas Tech's defense in 2012 ... that works for me

StillNoStanfurdium;842518561 said:

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We can compare the two.

Marshall prior to Cal:
1979 Plymouth State: OL
1980-1981 Tennessee: Assistant OL
1982-1983 Marshall: OL/ST
1984 Louisville: TE/OL
1985-1986 Murray State: OC/OL
1987 Virginia Tech: OL
1988-1992 Virginia Tech: OC
1993 Tennessee: OL
1994-1995 Tennessee: OL/Run Game Coordinator
1996 UCLA: OL
1997 Texas A&M: OC/OL
1998-1999 North Carolina: OC/OL
2000-2001 Colorado: OL
2002-2003 Houston Texans: Assistant OL
2004-2005 Houston Texans: OL
2007-2008 Cleveland Browns: OL

Lovett prior to Cal:
1976-77: St. Joseph Regional High School, Montvale, N.J. – Assistant Coach
1978-82: Union College – Assistant Coach
1983: Brown – Assistant Coach
1984: New York Jets – Defensive Quality Control
1985-88: Maine – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
1989-92: Cincinnati – Defensive Coordinator
1993: UNLV – Defensive Backs
1994: Maine – Defensive Coordinator
1995-98: Mississippi – Defensive Backs
1999-2001: Auburn – Defensive Coordinator
2002-04: Clemson – Defensive Coordinator
2005-06: Bowling Green State – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers/Defensive Backs
2007-08: North Carolina – Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Assistant
2009-10: Miami (Fla.) – Defensive Coordinator
2012: Texas Tech – Defensive Backs
2013-14: Philadelphia Eagles – Defensive Backs


So for both coaches, prior to coming to Cal the past 5 stops were either 2 year or 1 year stints. If you go further than the past 5 stops you see that Lovett had longer stints in the SEC while Marshall had one years for a while aside from VTech. What does it mean? In recent history both coaches had the same pattern but examining overall there's probably more confidence in Lovett's background than the many 1-stops. Still not altogether dissimilar though. Anyone imagining that Lovett's resume looks way better than Marshall's is probably exaggerating though.

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Being trusted to be a defensive coordinator in major conferences shows that teams/coaches thought very highly of him, right? Then Clemson to Bowling Green State seems a bit curious on the surface. Don't know what things were going on there. Also, to get an NFL defensive job is pretty impressive!

89Bear;842518588 said:

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Being trusted to be a defensive coordinator in major conferences shows that teams/coaches thought very highly of him, right? Then Clemson to Bowling Green State seems a bit curious on the surface. Don't know what things were going on there. Also, to get an NFL defensive job is pretty impressive!

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The best part of the Eagles experience is that he will know what the defense goes through when you have a offense like ours.

GATC;842518590 said:

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The best part of the Eagles experience is that he will know what the defense goes through when you have a offense like ours.

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true

StillNoStanfurdium;842518561 said:

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We can compare the two.

Marshall prior to Cal:
1979 Plymouth State: OL
1980-1981 Tennessee: Assistant OL
1982-1983 Marshall: OL/ST
1984 Louisville: TE/OL
1985-1986 Murray State: OC/OL
1987 Virginia Tech: OL
1988-1992 Virginia Tech: OC
1993 Tennessee: OL
1994-1995 Tennessee: OL/Run Game Coordinator
1996 UCLA: OL
1997 Texas A&M: OC/OL
1998-1999 North Carolina: OC/OL
2000-2001 Colorado: OL
2002-2003 Houston Texans: Assistant OL
2004-2005 Houston Texans: OL
2007-2008 Cleveland Browns: OL

Lovett prior to Cal:
1976-77: St. Joseph Regional High School, Montvale, N.J. Assistant Coach
1978-82: Union College Assistant Coach
1983: Brown Assistant Coach
1984: New York Jets Defensive Quality Control
1985-88: Maine Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
1989-92: Cincinnati Defensive Coordinator
1993: UNLV Defensive Backs
1994: Maine Defensive Coordinator
1995-98: Mississippi Defensive Backs
1999-2001: Auburn Defensive Coordinator
2002-04: Clemson Defensive Coordinator
2005-06: Bowling Green State Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers/Defensive Backs
2007-08: North Carolina Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Assistant
2009-10: Miami (Fla.) Defensive Coordinator
2012: Texas Tech Defensive Backs
2013-14: Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Backs


... What does it mean? ...

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Nothing

He's is our CB coach not DC. Just be glad we brought someone in with tons of experience to try and spread as much knowledge as quick as he can.

We are taking an entirely negative view of his resume. Sometimes coaches leave for higher pay elsewhere or their wives want to be close to family or their job duties don't fit their area of expertise. Or, they just don't like who they're working for. It isn't because they were fired.

6bear6;842518655 said:

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We are taking an entirely negative view of his resume. Sometimes coaches leave for higher pay elsewhere or their wives want to be close to family or their job duties don't fit their area of expertise. Or, they just don't like who they're working for. It isn't because they were fired.

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some

dajo9;842517880 said:

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Well, if our defense ranks triple-digits again Dykes will probably be out of a job.

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Under that logic, it doesn't matter who he hired for the position, it would still seem desperate to you.

philbert;842518108 said:

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The Eagles dumped 3 DBs this offseason...cornerbacks Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher, and safety Nate Allen. I assume they were starters.

They added free agents Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond (ex-Seahawks) and drafted 3 CBs in the draft.

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Eagles also just traded their slot CB, Brandon Boykin, for a conditional 5th round pick. Not very many returnees in the Eagles defensive backfield.

If Lovett has been considered as a head coach, he was probably rejected because so much of his background is on the defense. He is a defensive specialist. In all likelihood, he doesn't have the grounding in offense that Sonny or Tony have. If he's bounced around it is equally likely that the offensive side of the ball was lacking under the leadership of whatever head coach was leading the team. It may have led to dismissal of all the coaches and "going in a different direction."

6bear6;842519952 said:

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If Lovett has been considered as a head coach, he was probably rejected because so much of his background is on the defense. He is a defensive specialist. In all likelihood, he doesn't have the grounding in offense that Sonny or Tony have. If he's bounced around it is equally likely that the offensive side of the ball was lacking under the leadership of whatever head coach was leading the team. It may have led to dismissal of all the coaches and "going in a different direction."

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Rather than speculating about why he has moved around, 5-10 minutes and a few google searches will give actual answers.