Any Concerns about Mike Nolan as Defensive Coordinator

quickccc

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I'm still trying to get a track on new Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan and his past record, pattern, what failed him and what made him successful as a DC.
And what " should " make him a successful DC here with the Cowboys.

As much as it is hyped and talked about the explosive offense, i truly believe our success to the SB will ride on what we produce on Defense.
I'm one of those old schoolers that believe defense decides the wins in SB championships .

Look back at the chances we've had in the playoffs - and it seems every time, every playoff game you can think of we have got butt -kicked outta the playoffs because of the failings of the defense
Green Bay,.. Vikes,.. Rams

And how many DC's have we gone through now ? Brian Stuart ..Wade Phillips..Rob Ryan.. ..Monte Kiffin ... Rod Marinell,... Kris Richard ... and now it's Mike Nolan's turn.

What will Mike Nolan bring here anew...vs the past failed DC's ?

Here were some of the teams and years of Nolan's stints as DC:

NYGiants 1993

Washington 1997

NYJets 2000

Ravens 2002

Denver 2009

Miami 2010

ATL 2012
 

Dak2Cooper

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Mike Nolan is OK. We will be able to stop any 3rd and short. 3rd and long ehhhhhh.
 

J12B

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Defense definitely needed a change.

I don't see how it could be any worse than last year. The lack of interceptions was pathetic.

Marinelli basically said "go out there and give it your all"......and that was it. He never bothered to come up with a scheme because he didn't know how.

Oh and Mitch Trubisky shredded Marinelli and the defense.
 
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quickccc

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What i want to see how Nolan compares vs Rod Marinelli ...and even Kris Richard (who reports has it Nolan wanted to bring back as DB coach) is how Nolan changes how we play defense up front.

- Will he bring a new, much needed brute size, muscle and the ability to out-physical " the opposition, instead of us being out-physical by the
opposing team ?

- Also i'm hearing Nolan believes and strongly emphasizes pressure rush - yes, we hear that all time from every DC that comes thru here,
just as we do " swarming" and " takeaway- turnover" but we end up not seeing it. and it ends up costing us at season's end.

- It's not just blitzing that i'm intrigued in, but how we design the blitzes, the overloads, the flooded angles, how we fake a blitz one side
before dropping in coverage, while delaying a blitz stunt, to let blocking developed before re-starting that blitz again.
Some DC's are masterfully effective with it,..while some other DC's just are not .
That was not a Richard strength, imo. And Marinelli was never a fan of blitzing.

- I've read where most of Nolan's stints as DC's, he has emphasized the 3-4 scheme. But supposedly he will implement the 4-3 scheme here
with the Cowboys, at least as a base defense. He used the 4-3 with ATL, before evolving into the 3-4 scheme, which he was far less successful. i like hearing about a change up different look defensive guy. These teams in todays' offense are tuned in to the old schoolers
that want the same stand up/match up look all game - all year. The predictability is easier to counter scheme and game plan for.

- i don't mind a change up in an effort to confuse offenses, .. just so long as we don't end up confusing ourselves, much like the days of
Rob Ryan. where the defense and designs were so complex and confusing that players did not know where to line up, who to match up
with, constantly trying to re-adjust on the move, blowing assignments, fingering pointing, sideline bench and locker room commotion,.. until Ryan lost his players and they did not believe in him,... per last year's embarrasing Chicag blow out loss , i believe Kris Richard also lost his team.

- It sounds great to change up and give different looks and designs and implement high pressure and bump man coverage, but it's also
very important to maintain top physicality and discipline.
 

quickccc

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BTW, this is a couple of reads where i had heard that Mike Nolan wanted to bring Kris Richard back as a coach with the aim as a secondary coach:

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...-kris-richard-back-even-with-mike-nolan-as-dc

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...mike-nolans-scheme-kris-richard-rod-marinelli

- The biggest question that surrounds Nolan is scheme. Traditionally, Nolan has been known to run a 3-4 defense, which would mark a reversal for a team that’s invested a lot of resources into fielding a fairly traditional 4-3 defense since 2013. With reports that the Cowboys might want to bring back defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator Kris Richard, it’s up for debate how that relationship could work.
 
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Cebrin

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Ya know, I'm not sure. Personnel plays a decent part. Let's hope he can make a difference. I'll hold my judgment for game days. It all depends on the system, players, and how it all goes together. A lot of new blood on the ball, too. We shall see. Go CB!
 

big dog cowboy

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I don't know if Nolan deserves the credit or McCarthy, but the attention the DL (specifically the DT position) is getting has been long over due. There is no question the DL has been upgraded.

Getting LVE back will be HUGE, Jaylon getting back to 2018 form and not free styling anymore. LB position upgraded.

Safety position should be better. I don't consider Dix a huge upgrade but he is a vet, same with Worley and I'm still very interested in Wilson.

Who knows what will happen at CB but if the rooks can play, there should be solid play there.

Given all that, I'm pretty optimistic about the defense. If Nolan can put any kind of scheme together it will be better than Marinelli. I don't feel like the Cowboys will need to score 27-28 points a game to win each week.
 

quickccc

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For Better or Worse, here are some write up and reviews of Nolan's ups and downs, and what his defense is likely to look like here with the Cowboys.




What Mike Nolan Brings to the Cowboys | Film Room | Per Blogging the Boys
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https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/20...mike-mccarthy-defensive-coordinator-openings/

During his 21-year stint as head coach or defensive coordinator, his defenses have finished in the top 10 in points allowed on eight different occasions, including a No. 1 ranking his first year as a DC in 1993 with the New York Giants. In addition to New York — with both the Giants and Jets — and the 49ers, he’s also spent time in Miami, Baltimore, Atlanta, Washington and Denver.

Over half of his seasons (11) have resulted in his unit ranking in the top 11 in takeaways, something the Cowboys have struggled with on their defensive units for the last several seasons.

Nolan has also spent seven seasons in the league’s bottom 10 in points allowed, including two when he was head coach in San Francisco.

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https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/cowboys-defense-has-limited-window-to-be-great-under-mike-nolan/287-321dece4-4485-4def-a603-8afbcb50f38d#:~:text=In%20his%2017%20years%20as,part%20in%20a%20playoff%20win.

The hire wasn't a great one, great meaning "unusual or considerable in degree, power, intensity, etc," if you’re going by the dictionary’s take on the matter.

Nolan is going to turn 61 years old on March 7. In his 17 years as a defensive coordinator, he has been a part of a playoff team four times. He is the only Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator of the Ray Lewis-Ed Reed era (1996-2012) to not take part in a playoff win

Among Nolan's six defenses to finish in the top-10 in yards, four of those years occurred in his first season as defensive coordinator ('93 Giants, '10 Dolphins, '09 Broncos, '00 Jets). The '12 Falcons are worth mentioning, even though they finished 24th overall, the worst of his first seasons with a team, because Atlanta finished No. 5 in points allowed.
Aside from Nolan's first ever season as a defensive coordinator with New York in 1993, that points allowed mark with the Falcons is his best ever — regardless of what year it was to coordinate the defense
The real stats that are going to determine the success of Nolan's defense in Dallas aren't yards; they're turnovers and points allowed. If, like the '12 Falcons, Nolan can get the defense to produce takeaways, it will give the offense more opportunities. If Nolan can get the defense to render opponents' drives inefficient with few points produced, it will put less pressure on the offense to take control of games, but rather focus on managing games.
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https://bleacherreport.com/articles...er-departure-leaves-many-questions-unanswered

Is Miami who finished 7-9 with the 25th ranked defense a better fit than Denver?

The Broncos defense improved remarkably under Nolan from 27th in ’08 to seventh overall in ’09 and his system was in place already if he stayed for the 2010 season.

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https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...isnt-important-get-your-best-11-on-the-field/

That shouldn't be difficult, architecturally, because Nolan isn't beating the drum to draft for scheme like former defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli did for years on end. While he'll keep the incumbent 4-3 in place, he'll run a hybrid system that keeps opponents guessing and, as such, he and McCarthy need/want the best players with the highest ceiling -- as opposed to prototype pegs that fit comfortably in a certain hole.

Players will determine what we can do and what we cannot do -- not the scheme," he said. "The scheme is basically what you have to utilize the players, it goes the other way. I tell you what, 3-4 and 4-3 is really just a personnel decision to get your best 11 on the field. Outside of that, it's just spacing between the 11 players you have.

"All the 3-4 teams and the 4-3 teams play a lot of the same fronts, but I have always believed it's about getting your best 11 on the field, and from there -- whether that entails calling yourself a 3-4 or a 4-3 -- you want to get the best 11 out there."
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KingintheNorth

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Yes. The high of Marinelli leaving has worn off and we're realizing Nolan is pretty mediocre.
I think the difference is Nolan will be held accountable for his defense where Rod was a mythological dinosaur who was admired by fellow septuagenarian Jerry Jones and echoed Jason Garrett's brilliant "just beat your guy" coaching philosophy.

I don't think Nolan is an elite DC by any means, but he will be coaching for his livelihood. This is his first coordinator job since 2014 and if it doesn't go well he is not likely to see another.
 

Bullflop

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I'm hesitant to come to any premature conclusions at this time but the setup right now looks quite promising. I'm not expecting an overnight success to be achieved, especially with a pandemic muddling up the picture. I'm taking an optimistic view until the final results come in. The days of the Marinelli-based defense are over and a new day is on the horizon. Here's hoping for the good results that await just around the corner! ;)
 
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Hadenough

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There is reason for concern. Nolands reputation is running on fumes from the 2002 Ravens. He has been below average as a defensive coordinator. I thought he did well coaching the Saints LBs and maybe he has learned something in his time in the league. Trying to be optimistic about this change because I was so tired of watching Marinelli. I think Marinelli called for a corner blitz about 5 times his whole stay in Dallas.
 

Jipper

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Give any chef incredible ingredients and they will cook a feast!

Thank god jerry has been shopping at the nfl equivalent of Whole Foods ....hmmm, he has been right?
 

DuncanIso

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Yes I wasn’t a fan of his hiring but I’ll give him a shot.

Not a fan of Nolan’s. He’s washed up.

He’s big buddies with Mike. That’s how he got the job. Just like Philbin.

We also have problems at LB, DB, and the S position coaches. Harris has potential, but he was fired after the meltdown in KC a few seasons ago in the playoffs.

Edwards and Tomsula have their work cutout for them.
 
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