I’ve gotten a lot of questions lately about Chris Kiffin and what kind of defense he’d run if chose to leave the NFL and were named Defensive Coordinator at Auburn. This exercise requires a little guess work as Kiffin has only been a DC once in his career at FAU, so before we go to far into scheme let’s look at his numbers from FAU:
In 2017 Kiffin’s defense ranked 63rd in total defense amongst FBS teams, which on its face isn’t overly impressive until you look at the year before and realize that same group was ranked 124th amongst FBS teams. In addition to helping FAU move over 60 spots in this metric, the Owls also ranked 34th in scoring defense, 24th in sacks, 2nd in interceptions and 23rd in red zone defense.
Back to scheme, judging by what Kiffin has coached in and what he ran predominantly at FAU, CK is an aggressive four down front guy that stunts, slants and run games up front to create confusion while featuring sleeker athletic bodies on the defensive line. My expectation would be that he’d feature a 4-2-5 base with a combination of match pattern coverage on the backend (a variety of Match-1, Match-3, Cover 2 Man, Cover 3, along with match quarters looks). I’m not sure if he’ll continue to use a hybrid OLB/DE (Jack LB) or if he’ll use a more traditional four down look with a Wide 9 Defensive End, but regardless Kiffin has made his name on getting home to the Quarterback so I’d expect a nice grouping of pressure packages to be in his bag as well. In his career, Kiffin has coached DL, LB, and pass rushers so he’s well versed in front 7 play, but will likely need lean on Charles Kelly and Wes McGriff’s experience in the backend while he gets his legs under him as a first time SEC Coordinator.
Now down to what’s probably the hardest thing to know, and that’s how is Kiffin truly as a play caller. Scheme is one thing, having a feel for the game and knowing how to call a game is completely different as you are continuously playing a game of chess and trying to keep the offense off balance. Again in his 1 year at FAU he vastly improved that defense, and if he’s anything like his father or his brother, my guess is given time to grow he’ll perform at an above average clip in this area as well.
Hope y’all enjoyed this, and I’ll put something similar to this on DJ Durkin if he’s the DC hire.
In 2017 Kiffin’s defense ranked 63rd in total defense amongst FBS teams, which on its face isn’t overly impressive until you look at the year before and realize that same group was ranked 124th amongst FBS teams. In addition to helping FAU move over 60 spots in this metric, the Owls also ranked 34th in scoring defense, 24th in sacks, 2nd in interceptions and 23rd in red zone defense.
Back to scheme, judging by what Kiffin has coached in and what he ran predominantly at FAU, CK is an aggressive four down front guy that stunts, slants and run games up front to create confusion while featuring sleeker athletic bodies on the defensive line. My expectation would be that he’d feature a 4-2-5 base with a combination of match pattern coverage on the backend (a variety of Match-1, Match-3, Cover 2 Man, Cover 3, along with match quarters looks). I’m not sure if he’ll continue to use a hybrid OLB/DE (Jack LB) or if he’ll use a more traditional four down look with a Wide 9 Defensive End, but regardless Kiffin has made his name on getting home to the Quarterback so I’d expect a nice grouping of pressure packages to be in his bag as well. In his career, Kiffin has coached DL, LB, and pass rushers so he’s well versed in front 7 play, but will likely need lean on Charles Kelly and Wes McGriff’s experience in the backend while he gets his legs under him as a first time SEC Coordinator.
Now down to what’s probably the hardest thing to know, and that’s how is Kiffin truly as a play caller. Scheme is one thing, having a feel for the game and knowing how to call a game is completely different as you are continuously playing a game of chess and trying to keep the offense off balance. Again in his 1 year at FAU he vastly improved that defense, and if he’s anything like his father or his brother, my guess is given time to grow he’ll perform at an above average clip in this area as well.
Hope y’all enjoyed this, and I’ll put something similar to this on DJ Durkin if he’s the DC hire.
Last edited:
