Mike Nolan’s last stop as defensive coordinator

BrassCowboy said:

Just curious why so many fans judging a DC on two years of work almost a decade ago....

What has his time been like since then, all I care about

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that's what people do. find the worst example of someone and pretend that totally defines them.

some strange form of emotional insurance.

Dallas, in effect, had two defensive coordinators last year and neither's system matched the other's. I would imagine having just one voice on defense would go a long way in improving things.

Nolan is the textbook definition of a retread. Glad to be rid of Rod and Richard but this guy isn’t exactly anything to get excited about

TWOK11 said:

Stopping the run really doesn’t matter much in this era of NFL football. It has minimal correlation with winning.

Passing efficiency defense is all that really matters in terms of determining who wins games.

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tell the Packers that. Cause they sure just lost a game where the 49ers threw the ball 8 times

Pass rush and turnovers then with Nolan’s ATL is still the same issues that plagued us for years upon years.

When looking at the totality of Mike Nolan, I look at past resume, credentials and success, you look at key injuries , and you look at player personnel talent.
now I believe in varying new looks and counter schematics at opposing offenses. I tend to like the coaches and It’s not out of the ordinary to
see ‘ occasional “ DLineman drop into a 5 yard zone area.

I’ve seen the better D’s do that in an effort to confuse QBs and bother the passing lanes per pre-snap.
Top ex-defensive assistant Matt Eberfus used to use 3 man DL and heavy nickel because he couldn’t get enough of a pass rush upfront, and had more man-power at the back seven.
And it helped Cowboys to manage wins.
But you cannot frequent it as the better offenses know how to counter attack that.

I dunno what/how much was Nolan’s doing … vs how much was Michael Smith a defensive specialist himself, ..or if circumstances (injuries, lack of personnel) may have contributed
to some failings of Nolan.

But because there has been past success, I’ll down with the decision and choice of Mike Nolan and its up to Wil McClay crew to equip him with the best player talent that can be provided him.
And this includes Stephen Jones and his usual stingy, conservative manner in FA market.

DuncanIso said:

hope so.

his history says otherwise.

why not take the time and hire a DC with a proven record???

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Like whom?

TWOK11 said:

Stopping the run really doesn’t matter much in this era of NFL football. It has minimal correlation with winning.

Passing efficiency defense is all that really matters in terms of determining who wins games.

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Patriots and Ravens couldn't stop Tennessee run game. GB couldn't stop SF run game. All three of those teams were bounced from the playoffs. Hell, Jimmy G threw for a whopping 77 yds in a blow out. The Rams run game killed us in the playoffs last year. Stopping the run definitely matters

Nolan is a coach who I feel the media always talks about in a positive light but I just don't see it. Hope I'm wrong. Not saying he is bad but he is not good either. JAG DC.

I was not impressed with Marinelli or Richard either so whatever.

Lets focus on getting personnel right and hope for the best.

Hadenough said:

Its so hard to evaluate how a new coach to the organization is going to do. Time off gives these coaches a chance to look in the mirror and think about the way they do things and what happened. I was hoping they would hiring a defensive minded head coach but thanks to Dak the focus is always about helping him.

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LOL So this is daks fault too??
Just to clarify,
1. Jerry and his boy aka the jones boys, hired McCarthy
2.McCarthy hired Nolan, who he is friends with.

So only 2 to blame here , jones boys and MM.

And Jerry hired MM because he heard "BELLS !!!!!!!!!!" That pretty much explains everything.
if that makes no sense about the bells, well why would you expect anything following that to make sense or be logical??

The only thing I will say, is I think these coaches will be better than JG and his staff, so we are better off.
But I doubt MM is gonna start winning SB's anytime soon.

maybe he has learned some new things since he has not been a cord. for awhile maybe he hasn't I am least willing to give him a chance hopefully its better than what we have had the last few years but I guess we will just have to wait and see

DandyDon52 said:

LOL So this is daks fault too??
Just to clarify,
1. Jerry and his boy aka the jones boys, hired McCarthy
2.McCarthy hired Nolan, who he is friends with.

So only 2 to blame here , jones boys and MM.

And Jerry hired MM because he heard "BELLS !!!!!!!!!!" That pretty much explains everything.
if that makes no sense about the bells, well why would you expect anything following that to make sense or be logical??

The only thing I will say, is I think these coaches will be better than JG and his staff, so we are better off.
But I doubt MM is gonna start winning SB's anytime soon.

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I was being a little sarcastic in blaming Dak.
But I do think there is a lot more attention focused on the offense. I agree about McCarthy being better than Garrett and I like the way Jerry has let Mike hire his own assistants. It's so hard to win a SB but as long as the team starts showing up week in and week out that will give them the best chance to get the playoffs.

All Nolan has to do is

"refine" the defense, before all teh pieces were working seperately and sometimes they had good or bad days. he has to bring it together and get it work as one.

"play to the ball" our Dbs hate to go for interceptions, playing the ball, they are trained to let the play happen, than react

"stop the run" get a fat NT or at least a scheme that will play to our strengths or go after Qbs, its not that hard.

instead of just being a coach to the players, hes gotta administer and bring the defense onto a common goal

The only silver lining right now is that Garrett and his boys club is no longer here, which means Jones emotional attachment is no longer here..

But, McCarthy got a five year contract, if I remember correctly, which is pretty long.

khiladi said:

The only silver lining right now is that Garrett and his boys club is no longer here, which means Jones emotional attachment is no longer here..

But, McCarthy got a five year contract, if I remember correctly, which is pretty long.

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First paragraph "like." Second paragraph wait and see but personally doubt 5 years to be fulfilled, lol.

TheSkaven said:

We all know what the definition of insanity is, and one of the worst problems that this defense has had over the last 4 years is the inability to stop the run. You’d have thought there would be major changes to address that after the Rams’ playoff loss. Nope. Same old thing.

So, I looked up Mike Nolan’s defenses and their success against the run. Surely, his focus on a big, run-stuffing nose tackle will be a better approach.

Well, I have to say, I’m horrified. Whatever happened in Atlanta from 2012-2014 was a complete train wreck.

2012 - 21st in the league in defense against the run, then 31st, then 21st. OK, I thought, maybe rushing yards isn’t a fair way to evaluate the guy, how about yards per carry? Oh no, it’s even worse, 29th, 31st then 15th.

I took a peak into what was being written in 2014 and it isn’t pretty. https://bleacherreport.com/articles...e-nolan-and-hc-mike-smith-can-fix-the-defense

What was written is that he had a terrible scheme that was inflexible and couldn’t adjust to the players’ strengths.

I don’t want to be pessimistic here from the beginning, but can someone explain to me why Mike Nolan is the answer to this team’s defensive woes?

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so hes bringing the entire same staff and ALL the players with him? if not this is a moot point..

new era with a new team.. all these posts about MM or Nolan or positional coaches or how we did last year is all in the past and very premature...RELAX can we field a team and play some games??

horrified ?take a few chill pills

khiladi said:

The only silver lining right now is that Garrett and his boys club is no longer here, which means Jones emotional attachment is no longer here..

But, McCarthy got a five year contract, if I remember correctly, which is pretty long.

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contracts mean nothing to a billionaire owner, MM will get three years to show big improvement or Jerry will be happy to fire him and pay the remaining 2 years, and in a lot of cases are negotiated like a severance package and a rarely fully paid out..

theres no nepetism for this staff..if MM cant get it done he will be let go..

TheSkaven said:

We all know what the definition of insanity is, and one of the worst problems that this defense has had over the last 4 years is the inability to stop the run. You’d have thought there would be major changes to address that after the Rams’ playoff loss. Nope. Same old thing.

So, I looked up Mike Nolan’s defenses and their success against the run. Surely, his focus on a big, run-stuffing nose tackle will be a better approach.

Well, I have to say, I’m horrified. Whatever happened in Atlanta from 2012-2014 was a complete train wreck.

2012 - 21st in the league in defense against the run, then 31st, then 21st. OK, I thought, maybe rushing yards isn’t a fair way to evaluate the guy, how about yards per carry? Oh no, it’s even worse, 29th, 31st then 15th.

I took a peak into what was being written in 2014 and it isn’t pretty. https://bleacherreport.com/articles...e-nolan-and-hc-mike-smith-can-fix-the-defense

What was written is that he had a terrible scheme that was inflexible and couldn’t adjust to the players’ strengths.

I don’t want to be pessimistic here from the beginning, but can someone explain to me why Mike Nolan is the answer to this team’s defensive woes?

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Rush efficiency is not correlated with winning.

In other words focusing myopically on how a team defends the run is silly.

Don't be silly.

sunalsorises said:

Dallas, in effect, had two defensive coordinators last year and neither's system matched the other's. I would imagine having just one voice on defense would go a long way in improving things.

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Dallas had one DC last season.

he was weak.

glad Marinelli is gone.

still celebrating.

byw, how jacked up was the command structure last season if people don’t know who was in charge????

blueblood70 said:

so hes bringing the entire same staff and ALL the players with him? if not this is a moot point..

new era with a new team.. all these posts about MM or Nolan or positional coaches or how we did last year is all in the past and very premature...RELAX can we field a team and play some games??

horrified ?take a few chill pills

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nolan has a terrible coaching history.

i don’t feel comfortable ignoring the obvious.

ShiningStar said:

All Nolan has to do is

"refine" the defense, before all teh pieces were working seperately and sometimes they had good or bad days. he has to bring it together and get it work as one.

"play to the ball" our Dbs hate to go for interceptions, playing the ball, they are trained to let the play happen, than react

"stop the run" get a fat NT or at least a scheme that will play to our strengths or go after Qbs, its not that hard.

instead of just being a coach to the players, hes gotta administer and bring the defense onto a common goal

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ok.

that’s nice.

has he done any of that in the last decade???

those ATL defenses he ran were terrible.