You’ve heard it before and probably uttered it more times than you care to remember. “If you want it done right, do it yourself.”
That appears to be the case for Lance Guidry and his beloved DWA — or in layman’s terms, the McNeese defense.
Guidry, entering his second year as the Cowboys’ head football coach, has decided to fill the role of defensive coordinator as well for the 2017 season. He will also coach the cornerbacks. His well-known shaved head will now rotate three hats as he hopes to put the Pokes back on a winning track after last season’s difficult 6-5 finish.
All this came about after the firing of defensive coordinator Tommy Restivo after only one year in the position. It’s one of the shortest tenures of any position coach in recent memory, but not a totally surprising move by Guidry.
One of the most important responsibilities of any head coach is assembling a staff of coordinators and assistants: coaches that share the same vision, philosophy, temperament, and maybe most of all, passion for the game. A head coach has to know when and how to make staff changes when necessary.
Guidry, unhappy with the performance and direction of his defense, didn’t waste any time in letting Restivo go and opting to resume the role of defensive coordinator. It was a decision not to be taken lightly.
“After every season, off-season, spring training and summer drills, we re-evaluate every aspect within our football program,” Guidry said in a recent prepared statement. “We look at all our successes in an area, and the failures or the decline of performance within the program. We evaluate both players and coaches, from what, when, why, who and how.”
That’s pretty standard stuff all teams, programs and businesses do to be successful. Football teams on the FCS level do it a bit differently than their larger brethren on the FBS stage. Budgets, along with staff and scholarship limitations, come into play. But these things should not override a needed change when winning is at stake.
Guidry continued, “As the head, it’s my job to help identify the problem areas and assist as much as possible to fix the problem. After evaluating the entire area, I thought the best way to address the (defense) problems was to take over as the defensive coordinator.
“We do appreciate all the efforts and hard work from coach Restivo, and we wish him the best of luck in the future.”
On a recent television appearance on SoundOff 60 Sports, Guidry noted that Restivo “came highly recommended by people he knows and respects,” and added that Restivo’s defense performed very well and was nationally ranked at South Carolina State, where he was defensive coordinator before coming to McNeese last year.
I pressed Guidry a bit further, asking if Restivo was simply a “bad hire”? Guidry paused and said he was not necessarily a bad hire; nor was it a bad decision; but Restivo was just “not a good fit.” He went on to say the level of passion for the game and Restivo’s desire to form personal relationships with the players weren’t where Guidry would have them be or what he was accustomed to seeing.
Unfortunately for Restivo, he was being compared to the previous defensive coordinator, who was Guidry, of course. Guidry held that position before being named head coach. There aren’t many coaches around with more fire, passion and player empathy than the soon to be 46-year-old Guidry.
I see no fault in Restivo’s firing. For one thing, it clearly shows Guidry is serious about winning and getting results on the field. He will not sit idly by and hope for things to get better.
In the case of the Cowboys’ defense, last year things got continually worse, not better. The defense’s mantra of “defense with attitude” lost its swagger after it helped the program to an undefeated regular season and a Southland Conference championship in 2015.
Last season, the unit allowed 285 total points — the most points in three years. They gave up an average of 372 yards per game; and of that, 260 yards was passing, which ranked in the middle of the pack among SLC defenses. It also found itself near the bottom of the league rankings in red zone defense, giving up 28 scores in 30 attempts.
It can’t all fall at the feet of Restivo. Because of off-season team violations, All SLC safety Dominque Hill missed the first six games. The attempt to convert receiver Khalil Thomas to cornerback was an abysmal failure. Jermain Antoine’s confidence suffered after he gave up that last-second game-winning touchdown pass at Southeastern Louisiana.
Without Hill’s leadership and guidance, the safeties were continually out of position and took lousy angles. A combination of youth, inexperience and lack of any consistent improvement by the secondary doomed this defense.
Changes on the depth chart and other personnel and position moves didn’t seem to help. No one, coach or player, could find the right and corrective button to push.
After that critical 31-28 home loss to Stephen F. Austin that dropped the Cowboys to 1-2, I asked Guidry about all the “chunk plays” — explosive offensive plays of over 20 yards. At the time, he contended that defenses in today’s game will allow more big gains because of the aerial spread offenses.
As the season wore on and those secondary breakdowns and chunk plays mounted, I would bet that, behind closed doors, Guidry became unglued during film reviews.
The secondary suffered as the defensive line failed to get consistent pressure or sacks on opposing quarterbacks. The linebackers missed gaps and tackles. And it became clear it was defense without attitude and void of leadership.
Guidry looked around and realized that the best guy to guide his defense was staring him in the mirror.
The man he replaced as head coach wore dual hats, so it’s not unprecedented.
Matt Viator was the offensive coordinator and play caller during his 10 years as McNeese head coach. Viator figured he was the best candidate for the O.C. job, so why look elsewhere?
Guidry worked under Viator on two different stints, and saw how Viator handled both jobs. Guidry saw that Viator’s compulsive nature with organization, structure and scheduling, in addition to being the head coach and offensive coordinator, left Viator drained at the end of seasons. That’s why Guidry says he will soon hire a director of football operations to help him on the administrative side of the daily grind.
“With the task of doubling as the head coach and the defensive coordinator, I will need assistance in the area of administrative duties. We will hire a coach with experience in this area [who] is familiar with McNeese football and the tradition of our historic program,” Guidry says.
My hunch is the new DFO will be someone Cowboy fans know by name. I’m not sure exactly who, but we’ll find out in early March.
If everything remains intact across the Southland Conference, Guidry will be the only head coach in the league pulling double duty as a coordinator as well. Every SLC team, from Sam Houston to Northwestern State, to the completely new staff at Lamar, along with little Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian, have offensive and defensive coordinators on staff.
Head coach/offensive/defensive coordinator is nothing new in all levels of football. But the combination is getting rare due to the complexity of the game; the time needed for personnel management; and year-round recruiting.
There’s little time to waste. McNeese has a golden opportunity for another championship run and a play-off berth, with one of the SLC’s best quarterbacks in James Tabary returning for the next two years.
The Cowboys are expected to re-tool the offensive line with some experienced talent this spring. The skilled positions at receiver and running backs will be solid. So it will depend on the defense to plug some holes — All SLC-defensive lineman Isaiah Golden decided to forego his senior season and declare for the NFL Draft — and return to their old form.
Guidry is taking a calculated risk with the move. It’s one I think he can handle for a season or two. Long-term, though, if McNeese intends to remain among the top of the Southland and continue their chase of the FCS elite, Guidry needs to eventually wear just one single hat.
Comments are closed.