Viva The Matadors - Texas Tech Names David Gibbs as Defensive CoordinatorTHE Site For All Red Raider Sports Fans!https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50015/vtm-fav.png2015-01-10T06:12:51-06:00http://www.vivathematadors.com/rss/stream/72636662015-01-10T06:12:51-06:002015-01-10T06:12:51-06:00Gibbs & Spavital Introductory Press Conferences
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<figcaption>Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>New defensive coordinator David Gibbs and assistant coach Zac Spavital held their introductory press conferences at Texas Tech and we've got video, quotes and non-transcripts!</p> <p>Texas Tech held the press conferences for new defensive coordinator David Gibbs (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.texastech.com/collegesportslive/?media=480592">video</a>) and new assistant coach Zac Spavital (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.texastech.com/collegesportslive/?media=480593">video</a>). We still don't know the new positions of the coaches, other than Gibbs does opine that <span>Mike Smith</span> will most likely coach the defensive line. Gibbs said he had a good idea as to what he wanted to do, but wanted to run it by head coach Kliff Kingsbury.</p>
<p>I've taken the liberty of doing non-transcripts of both press conferences and you also have Courtney Davis interviewing Gibbs:</p>
<center><iframe frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CeCdrcrxBII" height="315" width="560"></iframe></center>
<p><a href="http://redraiders.com/sports-red-raiders-football/2015-01-09/gibbs-takes-his-shot-where-others-have-failed-tech-defensive#.VLERrYrF8Yc" target="_blank">LAJ's Don Williams</a> did the real work and transcribed actual quotes, so make sure and go check that out and read the whole thing. Here's a bit:</p>
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<p>He credited the players with having the right mindset and developing the identity.</p>
<p>"It just so happened at Houston we started creating turnovers, and that's what we turned into," he said. "Some defenses are attacking, sacking defenses. They have lots of tackles for losses.</p>
<p>"At Houston, we were a turnover defense. Here at Tech, we'll establish an identity. I'm not going to put a stamp on what that's going to be. Hopefully, it's turnovers."</p>
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<p>And the following is my non-transcript or paraphrasing if you want to be more accurate as to what I do, which is listen to the video one time and type as fast and furiously as possible.</p>
<h4>Texas Tech Defensive Coordinator David Gibbs</h4>
<p>The player's the mindset, developing an identity, we just started doing it at Houston and it became what we did. Here at Tech, we'll establish an identity, hopefully it is turnovers, we'll start first day of spring ball and ripping the ball out and creating turnovers.</p>
<p>I say this all of the time, coaches all over the country, it's the #1 thing that you drill and there's nothing magical, sometimes you have to practice stripping the ball and tackling, there's a fine line between stripping the ball and tackling.</p>
<p>I know nothing (about the roster). A week ago right now, I'm getting beat 31-6. I know we can play better defense than we played. I'm excited to be here and hopefully the results will come sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Coach Kingsbury, knew him as a player, and I know the type of dynamic offense he puts on the field and have to match it up with the right type of defense.</p>
<p>It is hard to play good defense in college football, the greatest players on the greatest teams struggle to stop people, you have to adjust, you have to bend, but not break and all of these cliches, and it's true. We'll try to slow down offenses.</p>
<p>I've done this before, it is a hot seat, different time and different place.</p>
<p>We're multiple, but one of our four defensive linemen will be standing up, is it a 3-4 or a 4-3, it's whatever you can do to slow people down.</p>
<p>Getting organized in recruiting, listening to the guys last year, watching film, trying to figure out where we need to recruit guys, getting the guys on the roster in the right positions.</p>
<p>I really hadn't talked to them yet, will talk to them on Tuesday night. The players get a fresh slate, they can come in and be the best player available, just start from scratch and get better.</p>
<p>You are either born with the ability to lead people and do things or you're not.</p>
<p>Players want to be coached and they want discipline and pointed in the right direction and then they take over their own ownership role, once I gave them direction, they took it on their own and started stripping the remotes at home.</p>
<p>Still deciding, I told those guys, we've got good coaches, just have to get them in the right spots, it doesn't matter to me, if you are a good football coach, you can coach any position.</p>
<p>Mike (Smith) can coach any position, he's probably going to do it, but we're still in the process.</p>
<p>Spavital coached defensive backs for 7 years, that's impossible, he's given up more touchdown passes than anyone in college football history because they don't play defense in Houston, that tells you something about that guy that he stayed for 7 years. He's going to be special and it is going to make the transition easier.</p>
<h4>Texas Tech Assistant Coach Zac Spavital</h4>
<p>Well, Kingsbury was in my wedding, have a great relationship with him. Keeping that friendship over time has been awesome.</p>
<p>Knowing who the head coach is and other coaches and staff, being a coach in college football is hard in itself, but having a good relationship with the head coach is a critical factor.</p>
<p>Just got updated on it today, just getting used to recruiting, had a chance to talk to coaches, talking about who we have and who we need to get.</p>
<p>Look into some more DB's see who we have committed. Probably get more detail plan next week.</p>
<p>Texas Tech is getting a polished coach (in Gibbs) that has been through all sorts of things, has a unique ability to take a talent pool, he's not going to come in say we're going to run this, this and this, he's going to adjust to the product that is out there.</p>
<p>He doesn't tell them to go run through a wall, he's not going to ask a young man to do something that he can't. He's going to ask if that young man can do this, and if he can't then he'll ask someone else to do it.</p>
<p>He makes it real for them, that, in itself, through confidence with the kids.</p>
<p>They have to know and understand the risk and reward of everything, what's the worst thing that's going to happen, the nature of playing defense now, playing in the Big 12, what can happen and what you can prevent from happening, that's good.</p>
<p>We were laughing about how a week ago we were down 31-6, came about leading up to the bowl game.</p>
<p>My grandfather was an NFL coach and player, father is a long time coach, it is in the blood. When I left out of college, I was very lucky with coach stoops to be a graduate assistant and blessed to be able to coach at this level.</p>
https://www.vivathematadors.com/2015/1/10/7524035/red-raider-gridiron-david-gibbs-and-zac-spavitals-introductory-pressSeth C2015-01-06T06:02:01-06:002015-01-06T06:02:01-06:00What is Texas Tech getting in DC David Gibbs?
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<p>Now that Texas Tech has hired David Gibbs as the defensive coordinator, what can Texas Tech fans expect from a David Gibbs defense? </p> <p>Part of the problem in figuring out exactly what Texas Tech will get in Houston's defensive coordinator David Gibbs is that there just hasn't bee a ton written about what Gibbs intends on doing defensively. What's the scheme? Does it fit with what Texas Tech is doing? What's his defensive philosophy? All questions that I've been searching for since Gibbs was a candidate. I don't know if I was fortunate or lucky, but I ran across this interview with <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/10/31/7129911/houston-cougars-football-turnovers-defense" target="newwindow">SB Nation's Stephen Godfrey</a>, where we get some real insight as to what Gibbs is going to bring to Texas Tech in terms of philosophy.</p>
<h4>Scheme</h4>
<p>I was able to tell that Houston ran a 4-3, just by looking at the depth chart and by watching some film, but I won't pretent to be an expert about what to expect moving forward. This has been the toughest thing to determine is exactly what sort of 4-3 that Gibbs runs and Gibbs runs a 4-3 that's flexible:</p>
<div class="pullquote">I can give him conflict within the game. That might sound like total BS. I don’t know, but I can get him to misread a coverage at one point. <span>-David Gibbs</span>
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<p>Fostering interceptions became a function of Gibbs' chess-match scheme. Just as hurry-up offenses run a base set of plays over and over from different formations, Houston's defense would run the same calls from multiple looks. This flexibility is due in part to UH's rush end position, a linebacker who plays as a standing defensive end regardless of a 3-4, 4-3 or nickel look.</p>
<p>"There's plenty of disadvantages now coming from the NFL to college, namely the option and zone read stuff. But if you know it’s a pass, if you know they have to pass, coverage-wise, scheme-wise, you can fool a quarterback into throwing you the football. I’m not saying you’ll catch it, but I’m saying the advantage to me -- and it’s the only advantage I’ve come up with -- if I know it’s pass ... let’s say it’s a two-minute situation. If he’s throwing the ball most of the time, eventually I can keep changing coverages and fool a quarterback. I can give him conflict within the game. That might sound like total BS. I don’t know, but I can get him to misread a coverage at one point."</p>
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<p>I think this is really encouraging for a guy like <span>Pete Robertson</span>, who I was unsure as to exactly where he was going to be defensively in a traditional 4-3, but knowing that he likes to have a guy that can rush the passer standing up or with a hand on the ground could be really good for a guy like Robertson. I also pulled the quoted portion because I think this gives us some real insight as to where Gibbs tries to create an advantage, namely, trying to outsmart the quarterback.</p>
<h4>Focus on Turnovers</h4>
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<p>Read the article and it is incredibly apparent that the big-time focus from Gibbs is turnovers. And how long has this been the focus of Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who has harped on turnovers since last year and through all of this year. Turnovers has been a big reason as to why Texas Tech has under-performed for the last two years.</p>
<p>Enter David Gibbs. The first thought is that Gibbs believes that because spread teams spread teh ball around to so many players that you can't have 10 deep that are capable of ball security like the starting four. This leads to point #2, which is that a lack of focus on protecting the ball in hurry-up practices leads to players not focusing on ball security:</p>
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<p>"When you see practices with hurry up and no huddle, even when the ball comes out or there’s an interception, you know what they do? They line up and go run the next play. They might scream at a guy for two seconds, but if you’re the player who just fumbled the ball, and they’re snapping it again in a few seconds, how long are you thinking about fumbling the football?"</p>
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<p>Boy, this sounds incredibly familiar and it makes me think that Kingsbury sees a solution on both ends of things here. Defensively, I think the idea here is that when choosing a defense, he wants to create one that makes plays, whether that be with <span>Mike Smith</span> at the linebacker spot or the offense being on alert during the practice as well:</p>
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<p>In practice, coaches had a running back run 20 yards downfield, then turn around to jog back to the huddle. Levine quietly ordered the secondary to strip the ball on the jog back, after the whistle was blown, at first surprising his offense. This season, the distance increased to 30 yards, with every single 60-yard round trip a battle for the football.</p>
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<p>I don't know what Kingsbury has in store, but this fits with maybe his philosophy. It's incredibly tough to field a team by having a defense that allows 300 yards a game, but this is obviously a gamble in a sense. Run to the ball, tackle and be ready for fumbles and turnovers. Gibbs probably believes that those turnovers aren't happening by mistake, for two years in a row for Houston.</p>
<p>I'd also add that when a defensive coordinator comes into a program, they do not have control over a roster. They inherit players. There's typically little that they can do about adding three 4-star defensive linemen, some high school all-<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/american" class="sbn-auto-link">American</a> linebackers and cornerbacks that run a 4.4 40-yard dash. That's not realistic. But Gibbs does seem to have something here in that he is attempting to change one thing that simply takes effort. Realistically, I think it's going to be incredibly tough to stop <span>Samaje Perine</span> because he is big and fast and sometimes, no matter the scheme, you can't stop an opposing offense because of the personnel. It's something that Cowboys' Rod Marinelli has done with the Cowboys. They don't have elite level talent and he can't really control the personnel, but he has leveled the playing field by fielding a defense that does create a ton of turnovers.</p>
<h4>Just Turn It Around</h4>
<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/college-football/article/UH-s-Gibbs-enhances-reputation-for-defensive-5988734.php">Chron profiled Gibbs</a> before the Houston game and it truly profiles how Gibbs simply turns around defenses that have been historically terrible. Gibbs has turned around Minnesota, his first stop as a defensive coordinator and moved onto the NFL. Then he worked for Tommy Tuberville for a year (of all things) at Auburn where the defense performed and then moved back to the NFL to work again before returning to Houston a couple of years ago. Gibbs says that he's a college coach and not an NFL coach and more than anything else, he sounds like he has turned around the attitudes of the players more than anything and he continually gives them, the players credit for the turn around:</p>
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<p>"I'm proud of these kids for turning the corner," Gibbs said. "Going from everybody thinking they're not very good to everybody all of a sudden thinking they are better than they are. That's a credit to the kids, because they are the same kids that were here three years ago that couldn't stop anybody."</p>
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<p>There are obviously some metrics that are worrisome. The yards allowed, but maybe there is something to the thought that when you are a defensive coordinator at a place where it is hard to be a defensive coordinator (like Houston or Texas Tech), where you aren't blessed with 5-star or 4-star athletes that help make being really efficient at all phases of the defense easier, is it more impressive that Gibbs is able to do something really well with less resources? This will be the debate moving forward, the idea that Gibbs was or is the best option. At the very least, Gibbs has a history, albeit a short history of turning around programs where the defenses have no identity.</p>
<h4>David, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!</h4>
https://www.vivathematadors.com/2015/1/6/7449531/what-is-texas-tech-getting-in-defensive-coordinator-david-gibbsSeth C2015-01-05T20:45:41-06:002015-01-05T20:45:41-06:00Texas Tech Names David Gibbs Defensive Coordinator
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<figcaption>Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Texas Tech and head coach Kliff Kingsbury has officially named Houston's David Gibbs as their new defensive coordinator.</p> <p>Texas Tech and head coach Kliff Kingsbury have <a href="http://www.texastech.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010515aaa.html" target="_blank">named David Gibbs as the new defensive coordinator for Texas Tech</a>. Gibbs was the <a target="newwindow" href="http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/david_gibbs_836471.html">defensive coordinator at Houston in 2013 and 2014</a>. Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury is not only excited to announced Gibbs, but also Zac Spavital as part of Texas Tech's staff:</p>
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<p>"I am extremely excited to have Coach Gibbs and Coach Spavital join our staff," Kingsbury said. "What they were able to accomplish in their short time at the University of Houston is incredible. Coach Gibbs developed UH into a Top-20 defense that lead the country in turnovers over a two-year span. With stops in both College Football and the NFL, Coach Gibbs will bring experience and ingenuity to our defensive unit."</p>
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<p>Gibbs is looking forward to working with Kingsbury and the rest of Texas Tech's staff:</p>
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<p>"I couldn't be more excited about joining Coach Kingsbury and the rest of our coaching staff," Gibbs said. "I have followed Kliff's career and believe special things are happening in Lubbock. There are several talented, young defensive players that will contribute for years to come. I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to getting started soon."</p>
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<p><a target="newwindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gibbs_%28American_football%29">Gibbs has had a rambler sort of career</a>, never staying in one place for more than two or three years. Gibbs played defensive back for Colorado, the same alma mater as special teams coach Darrin Chiaverini (they didn't cross paths, Gibbs is about 9 years older that Chiaverini). After playing, Gibbs almost immediately went into coaching and spent time at Kansas, Minnesota and then dipped his toe into the NFL ranks, starting as the safeties coach, to then secondary to then defensive backs from 2001 through 2004. A year at Auburn, and then back to the NFL where he was the defensive backs coach at Kansas City, from 2006 through 2008, and the Houston Texans from 2009 through 2010. Then, of all things, Gibbs spent a year on hiatus, the 2011 season, he came back to coach in the UFL and the Virginia Destroyers before being named the defensive coordinator at Houston.</p>
<p>Gibbs helped lead a resurgent Houston team and doing very well in traditional metrics. For example, Houston was 10th in the nation in <a target="newwindow" href="http://www.cfbstats.com/2014/leader/national/team/defense/split01/category09/sort01.html">scoring defense allowing just 19.4 points a game allowed</a> and <a target="newwindow" href="http://www.cfbstats.com/2014/leader/national/team/defense/split01/category10/sort01.html">20th in yards allowed per game at 334.6</a>. But with more advanced metrics, Houston struggled, <a target="newwindow" href="http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaadef">ranking 81st in Football Outsider's S&P rankings</a>. For those of you that are somewhat figuring out advanced metrics, it is essentially the non-garbage play-by-play data of every game. There's a good definition at the link. Some folks very much buy into this and others . . . not so much, relying the more traditional stats.</p>
<p>In looking at Gibbs' Houston bio, you can tell that the points per game isn't a mirage as the Houston defense only allowed 21.8 points a game and prior to that allowed 36 points a game. <a target="newwindow" href="http://www.cfbstats.com/2014/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category12/sort03.html">Houston has also been fantastic at takeaways</a>. Houston took the ball away 30 times last year, which was tied for 7th in the nation and was 1st in the nation in 2013, taking the ball away 43 times.</p>
<p>From what I can tell, Houston ran a 4-3 defense and obviously and Gibbs strength is coaching the secondary. It will be interesting to see how that plays out for the coaching staff as Texas Tech has Trey Haverty and Kevin Curtis at the safety and cornerbacks coaches. Gibbs will have a position to fill on the defense as there is a defensive line spot open. The key for Texas Tech and Gibbs is consistency. Building something that sticks for a while.</p>
<p>Also as part of the release is that Kingsbury announced that running backs coach Mike Jinks was named associate head coach. Congrats to Jinks on the promotion!</p>
https://www.vivathematadors.com/2015/1/5/7449033/texas-tech-names-david-gibbs-defensive-coordinatorSeth C2015-01-05T10:00:33-06:002015-01-05T10:00:33-06:00REPORT: Gibbs and Texas Tech Finalizing Agreement
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<p>FootballScoop is reporting that Texas Tech and Houston defensive coordinator David Gibbs are finalizing an agreement for Gibbs to be Texas Tech's next defensive coordinator.</p> <p>Per <a target="_blank" href="http://footballscoop.com/the-scoop">FootballScoop</a>, Texas Tech and David Gibbs are attempting to finalize an agreement for Gibbs to be Texas Tech's next defensive coordinator:</p>
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<p>Per source, Texas Tech and Houston defensive coordinator David Gibbs are attempting to finalize an agreement this morning for Gibbs to become defensive coordinator at Texas Tech.</p>
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<p>I would imagine that this becomes final either today or tomorrow and we'll have continuing coverage as the events unfold.</p>
<p><b>UPDATE:</b> <a target="_blank" href="http://footballscoop.com/news/texas-tech-david-gibbs-away-houston/">FootballScoop has updated their Scoop page with full story</a>:</p>
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<p>Texas Tech is attempting to finalize an agreement with Houston defensive coordinator David Gibbs and Cougars defensive backs coach/recruiting coordinator Zac Spavital, FootballScoop has learned. Interim defensive coordinator Mike Smith would move to defensive line to accommodate for Gibbs.</p>
<p>Per source, incoming head coach Tom Herman offered Gibbs a spot on his staff as a co-defensive coordinator but with no play-calling responsibilities.</p>
<p>Gibbs recently completed his second season as Houston's defensive coordinator. The Cougars were among the nation's best defenses at forcing turnovers under Gibbs' direction, leading FBS in 2013 with 43 takeaways - the most by any team since 2011 - and ranking 10th this fall with 30.</p>
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<p>Noted that Mike Smith would move to defensive line and Spavital would come along with Gibbs as well.</p>
https://www.vivathematadors.com/2015/1/5/7494049/report-texas-tech-and-david-gibbs-finalizing-agreement-to-defensiveSeth C