Defensive coordinator must bring order to chaos

The latest challenge facing college football defensive coordinators is the craze of uptempo offense. Even SIU's offense uses it. Offensive coordinators line their charges up at the speed of sound to run play after play many times as fast as usual.

The offensive idea is that if one lines up and runs plays at an "uptempo" pace, that opponent's defense may not be able to adjust, and they will eventually make a mistake. It sometimes creates chaos on the defensive side of the ball.

"I always say my defense must bring comfort to chaos," Jason Petrino said after a recent Saluki team practice. "We must focus on doing our job correctly - in the right manner."

Petrino outlines several factors that he will use to contend with opponent's uptempo attacks.

"First we must have maximum effort on every play," Petrino said. "We prep all the time for the uptempo." But the biggest purveyor of order is just showing up - in the right gap, that is.

"Besides effort and proper pad level we have to make it to the right spot or gaps," Petrino said. "I watched film of all 11 games from SIU's 2018 season to see what we did wrong and right on that account."

Although he never commented on what his conclusion was from his film session, one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. SIU allowed over 40 points per game, so proper and consistent gap coverage must have been a problem.

Petrino knows something about solving SIU's defensive problems. He was the defensive coordinator for longtime USD coach Joe Glenn from 2011 to 2014.

Unfortunately for Petrino, Glenn decided to retire in 2014, and so as happens in most cases with a new coach taking over, Petrino departed.

Petrino bounced into a head coach job at Rocky Mountain College for three seasons and was very successful. But he wanted back into big football - at least at the FCS level. When he was offered the job at SIU, he jumped on it.

Petrino's Coyote defensive team was a dandy, as it was rated fourth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. In fact, USD actually beat MVFC powerhouse North Dakota State University 24-21 in 2014 - a feat SIU hasn't done in the last eight years.

If Petrino's defense can lower the usual chaos other offensives have historically instilled in the Dawgs, it will be football heaven for Saluki football fans.