I totally agree. Good post.As an Eagles fan, I was pumped when we brought in Chip Kelly (lol) and was psyched that he was bringing the 3-4 with him. Only, he brought with him a subpar DC and our defense got progressively worse despite some real talent. I'd caution those who view the 3-4 as some kind of remedy in and of itself. I realize its appeal, but you have to play good defense no matter what scheme you run. Banker's problems weren't 4-3 related, he coached a fundamentally poor, inconsistent defense.
Diaco > Banker, simple as that. Super encouraged he ran a good defense and recruited well at ND. It's a heck of a lot easier to recruit at ND than UConn, for those worried about that. Maybe he can replicate that success here.
Lastly, we finally ponied up for a legit top-line DC. He's absolutely top-tier for what was actually on the market. We've been asking for them to spend for years - I can't believe anyone is disappointed in that.
Really, would anyone prefer we stuck with Banker?
I hope so.I'm sure this has been mentioned, but a lot of what's in the OP doesn't apply to him being a defensive coordinator.
In that capacity he's widely considered to be one of the best in college football.
Who cares about what he did when he led his own team at UConn. He seemed to do very well at D.C. at Cincy and Notre Dame. He may be quirky or a little different, but that may work for some guys, especially if they are assistant coaches.I'm sure this has been mentioned, but a lot of what's in the OP doesn't apply to him being a defensive coordinator.
In that capacity he's widely considered to be one of the best in college football.
It worked for Les Miles, WHICH IS WHO WE SHOULD OF HIRED ANYWAYS!Who cares about what he did when he led his own team at UConn. He seemed to do very well at D.C. at Cincy and Notre Dame. He may be quirky or a little different, but that may work for some guys, especially if they are assistant coaches.I'm sure this has been mentioned, but a lot of what's in the OP doesn't apply to him being a defensive coordinator.
In that capacity he's widely considered to be one of the best in college football.
apparently not with the Cincy team I thought he had a top 10 TFL squadDiaco's stats as a DC (Scoring D and Total D):
2009 Cincy 44/67
2010 ND 23/50
2011 ND 24/30
2012 ND 2/7
2013 ND 27/31
So there ya go. Considering ND's recruiting rankings, I'm not sure these are great.
The sacks and tackles for loss were generally in the bottom half of all teams so don't expect a lot of disruption.
True that, I don't know why ND was so different. Here are the stats on Sacks/TFLapparently not with the Cincy team I thought he had a top 10 TFL squadDiaco's stats as a DC (Scoring D and Total D):
2009 Cincy 44/67
2010 ND 23/50
2011 ND 24/30
2012 ND 2/7
2013 ND 27/31
So there ya go. Considering ND's recruiting rankings, I'm not sure these are great.
The sacks and tackles for loss were generally in the bottom half of all teams so don't expect a lot of disruption.
I don't understand why this is a surprise. Riley told his coaches things would be different at NU, old habits had to die, higher expectations, etc etc. And he already fired Reed and Hughes. I admit to being surprised by the timing but not that Riley was willing to pull the trigger.Gotta give props to Riley for having the cahones to fire his longtime friend and coordinator, and showing that he's willing to take the steps to return this program to prominence. I don't see how this could possibly not be an upgrade from Banker... but even if things don't work out, it at least shows that Nebraska is willing to pay top-dollar to compete with the big boys.