For those that don't know, Rich Rodriguez fired his long standing Defensive Coordinator, Jeff Casteel after last season. Casteel was his DC at WV and the two of them had won nearly 70% of their games together.
Casteel was well respected and highly paid making $633k in base salary.
When Rich Rod was asked about the decision to replace Casteel, he remarked that it was not about the schematics or teaching, he know that Casteel was a proven top flight DC. The issue was recruiting. Arizona has not landed the quality of defensive players that they have gotten on offense since Rich Rod came to Tucson. He needed a DC who could land stud athletes on defense.
I believe this is a similar issue to the one facing Dykes with Art Kaufman. And I say that giving Kaufman the benefit of the doubt comparing his resume to Casteel's. We have simply not gotten it done with our recruiting on defense. Dykes is entering his fourth year at Cal and our defense is a massive question mark, We lose 5 offensive players to the NFL and yet no one is worried about our offense for good reason - we're reloading with top tier talent and we have a proven scheme and staff on that side of the ball.
No doubt our depth and athleticism on defense have improved since AK arrived but especially in terms of front 7 players it's long on sleepers and short on studs. Being our DC is more than just teaching the kids good technique, getting them lined up properly and preparing them for the offense they will face. We need top flight recruiting, a DC who energizes prep players and sells Cal.
AK needs to get his charges to perform on the field this year AND he needs to fill out the 2017 class with a stronger front 7 group than his previous recruiting efforts would indicate is likely.
Casteel was well respected and highly paid making $633k in base salary.
When Rich Rod was asked about the decision to replace Casteel, he remarked that it was not about the schematics or teaching, he know that Casteel was a proven top flight DC. The issue was recruiting. Arizona has not landed the quality of defensive players that they have gotten on offense since Rich Rod came to Tucson. He needed a DC who could land stud athletes on defense.
I believe this is a similar issue to the one facing Dykes with Art Kaufman. And I say that giving Kaufman the benefit of the doubt comparing his resume to Casteel's. We have simply not gotten it done with our recruiting on defense. Dykes is entering his fourth year at Cal and our defense is a massive question mark, We lose 5 offensive players to the NFL and yet no one is worried about our offense for good reason - we're reloading with top tier talent and we have a proven scheme and staff on that side of the ball.
No doubt our depth and athleticism on defense have improved since AK arrived but especially in terms of front 7 players it's long on sleepers and short on studs. Being our DC is more than just teaching the kids good technique, getting them lined up properly and preparing them for the offense they will face. We need top flight recruiting, a DC who energizes prep players and sells Cal.
AK needs to get his charges to perform on the field this year AND he needs to fill out the 2017 class with a stronger front 7 group than his previous recruiting efforts would indicate is likely.
