Creature Feature-Greg Jansen: Will Vic Koenning End Up In Another Death Valley?

I'm at it again, getting the great writers of B/R to write my articles for me. Yesterday when rumors were swirling around about John Chavis (former Tenn. DC) being the front runner for the unofficial opening at defensive coordinator in Baton Rouge, I interviewed B/R's Will Shelton. (And he did an awesome job, by the way.)

Today is another day in Baton Rouge and today the hot name is former Clemson DC Vic Koenning. Just like yesterday I figured the best way for LSU fans to get to know this candidate is to hear a Tiger fan talk about. A Clemson Tiger fan that is.

So I asked some questions to Greg Jansen. Greg is a current student and band member at Clemson so you know this guy bleeds orange. Below I bend his ear and he was gracious enough to give me the skinny and not pull any punches on the prospective hire for Les Miles.

Our initials are reciprocal, I hope I don't confuse anyone.

JG: Since Vic Koenning is one of the names at the top of the list to replace the outgoing co-DC's at LSU, fans in Baton Rouge are trying to find all the info they can on the guy.

As a Clemson fan and writer, how do you feel about Koenning's tenure at Clemson?

GJ: Koenning's been here four years, and I think he's done a great job.  Even with Clemson's offensive struggles this year, Koenning's defense kept them in the season.  I'm big on numbers and statistics, and they speak for themselves:

They averaged 16.6 points per game against throughout the season, and only gave up 20 or more points three times (against Maryland (20), Boston College (21) and Florida State (41)).  In those games, Clemson gave up scoring drives of 50 yards or more only 5 times.  Clemson intercepted 18 passes over the year.  Maybe the one blemish on the defense this year is the number of sacks.  Without Gaines Adams, Clemson only amassed 14 sacks this season, compared to 27 in 2007.  Otherwise, I think this season was a success on defense.

Koenning was integral to Clemson's team success over the last four years.  They have stepped up when they needed to save the team, especially this season.  Every year Koenning has been the defensive coordinator, Clemson has been ranked in the top 25 in scoring defense, pass defense, pass efficiency defense, interceptions, and total defense at the end of the season.

JG: "Bend but don't break" isn't a favorite among fans in Baton Rouge who want an attacking style of defense, how would you characterize Koenning's "style of play" or scheme? Is it at all dependent on personnel or opposing offenses for that week?   GJ: Sorry, LSU fans, but I would definitely characterize it as "Bend but don't Break" style defense.  Clemson's defense gave up quite a few yards, but they stopped teams from getting consistent scoring drives, with the exception of the Florida State game.  Case in point, the defense gave up over 300 passing yards to Division I-AA Citadel in Week 2, but only allowed 17 points.   Koenning also emphasizes rushing the quarterback.  In the last four years, he's had Phillip Merling, Gaines Adams, and Ricky Sapp all under his watchful eye on the defensive line.  Da'quan Bowers has grown tremendously this season, and will be a force on the Clemson Tigers' defensive front for the next few years.  Koenning should fit right in with an LSU defense that recorded 27 sacks in 2008.   Koenning does not seem to change his scheme from week to week unless something goes wrong one week.  One of the possibilities for his resignation from Clemson is that he and head coach Dabo Swinney had differences of defensive schemes.  Koenning played Swinney's requested scheme (press man coverage) instead of his typical safeties-help-corners plan near the end of the season, but it seems as if Koenning does not want to sway from what he likes.       JG: LSU's defensive discipline has dropped off this year not only with some brain lapses but also some lapses in the fundamentals mainly tackling. What's Koenning's coaching style individually with his players? Is he a hands on guy? An in your face guy? More of a guru?  Is he the kind of guy that commands respect from his players?   GJ: Clemson has also had problems with tackling in the past, and that didn't stop when Koenning was hired.  Koenning works very well with guys that have raw talent, such as Gaines Adams and Michael Hamlin.  However, I don't see him too much as someone who can create talent.   That being said, he's very good at getting the team mentally prepared.  He's not very in your face, but he still commands respect from his players and he expects them to follow his plan.       JG: Since LSU plays Florida every year, how do you feel Koenning would fare against the spread offense?   GJ: If he uses his safety scheme, I believe he would be run all over by Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin.  I believe that Koenning would have to adjust his own scheme on account of the running abilities of Florida's offensive playmakers.  If Harvin can break through to the secondary, he can make plays that will leave the corners and safeties shaking their heads.   Koenning would have to man-up on Florida's speedsters, double-covering some, and have a linebacker spy Tebow the whole game.  This is completely contrary to Koenning's theories on defense, but it would be necessary.  I did not watch the LSU-Florida game this year, so I cannot tell you what Koenning would change for LSU defensively.  But Koenning would have to swallow his pride and accept the fact that his typical defensive scheme would not work against Florida.   All of this, of course, depends on the kind of players he has to work with.  If he has all-SEC and all-American players, then they should have the fundamentals to play good football and match themselves up with Florida's explosive offense.  But as of right now, he'd have to make some changes to his scheme in order to succeed.       JG: As a Clemson fan you get to witness a new era with Dabo Swinney. Swinney has decided not to retain Koenning, how do you feel about that move?   GJ: All of us on Clemson's campus, myself included, believe in Dabo and what he is doing here.  I was very sorry to see Koenning go when I heard the news earlier this week.  I feel that Koenning did so much for this defense, raising it to be one of the top defenses in the country.   Short of expanding on any rumors, I will say that I believe Koenning resigned on his own and not by any pressure from Swinney or anyone else in Clemson's athletic department.  It may have been due to the fact that Swinney did not guarantee any jobs after the bowl game.  It may have been because he had a different defensive theory than Swinney.  The reasons are all speculation.  But the fact of the matter is that Koenning did a great job at Clemson, and I will miss him leading our defense.       JG: Does Koenning hit the recruiting trail? If so, is he effective?   GJ: Koenning recruits for Clemson, but only sparingly.  In 2008, he recruited three players, none of whom seem to be coming to Clemson, with two of them verbally committing elsewhere.         JG: What would you consider Vic Koenning's biggest strength and his biggest weakness?   GJ: Koenning's biggest strength is his ability to prevent breaking when the defense is bent.  He gets his guys to stand up and stop the driving offense once they are in Clemson territory on the field.  He also has confidence in his players to do what he needs them to do.  After free safety Chris Clemons went down with an injury during the Virginia game, Koenning gave strong safety Michael Hamlin the playbook and told him to learn the free safety positioning for each play.   Koenning's biggest weakness is his inability to disguise his schemes.  Rarely was there a corner or safety blitz mixed in on early downs to keep the opposing offense on their toes.  He seemed only to rush with his defensive front and a few linebackers.       JG: Are you happy with the Swinney hire? Are there any other coaches you would've liked to see Clemson consider?    GJ: As said before, I am very happy with the Swinney hire.  However, Lane Kiffin would have been my first choice.  Knowing that he was the Offensive Coordinator at Southern California in the early part of this decade, I knew he could do wonders with the playmakers that Clemson has on offense.  But when he officially received the job at Tennessee, I looked for Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips to hire Swinney.  Swinney united the team and the fan base in a way I would suspect hasn't been seen since the days of Danny Ford in the 80s.  So when Kiffin was definitely out, I didn't see anyone else that could do the job as well as Swinney.   In retrospect, I believe that Swinney was the right guy for the job all along.  He's a person who knows, understands, and loves Clemson.  The job he did over the last six games of the season was, in my mind, phenomenal.  He inspired the players, and they responded by winning four of the last five.       JG: The all important last question. Let's say Clemson plays LSU in a BCS game one year. LSU wears white for the game, what color jersey and pants would you like to see Clemson wear?   GJ: Solid Orange.  No question.   Orange is a big deal here at Clemson, for those who are unfamiliar with the school.  Every Friday on campus is Solid Orange Friday, and those who don't wear orange at games are frowned upon by most of the student body (sadly we've never had 100% orange in Clemson's Death Valley).  Many closets and drawers on campus are filled only with orange shirts.  A store just off of campus allows anyone to bring in clothes they want to have dyed orange.   I'll be the first to admit that I love the purple jerseys—solid purple or in any combination with orange and white.  But for a game as big as the National Championship, Solid Orange.