Rutgers’ new defensive coordinator, Travis Johansen, held his introductory press conference yesterday, when he spoke to the media for the first time since joining the Scarlet Knights coaching staff. Among
everything that was said during the conference, three things stuck out in particular that show who Johansen is as a coach and what type of impact he will have on the defense.
No.1 Johansen is Building His Defense; There Will Be Hires Announced in the Coming Days
From what was said in the press conference, Rutgers head coach Schiano is giving Johansen the autonomy to run the defense he wants, feeling comfortable that the staff is aligned, and calling Johansen the “leader of the defense.” As a part of that autonomy, Johansen is bringing in the defensive assistants that he wants to fill out the rest of his staff. He has already added former South Dakota cornerbacks coach Eric Finney, former Drake head coach Joe Woodley, and former Drake defensive coordinator Adam Cox to his staff, and, according to Schiano, more hires will be announced in the coming days.
No.2 Schiano Has Faith in His Ability to Rebuild the Defense.
On top of Schiano giving Johansen the autonomy he needs to build up the defensive coaching staff, Schiano also gave him a verbal vote of confidence in front of the media.
“We’re not broken. We just need a little adjustment, and this guy is going to come in and get the defense adjusted the way we need to.”
“I’ve made some mistakes in my time, and I’ve also made some great hires. I’m extremely confident that this is a great hire.”
“I will tell you that Travis Johansen, when you look at his track record as a football coach, it’s incredibly impressive. And when you talk to the people that I did that have been around him in his career, it kept coming back, the same mental, the same mental, the same message.”
No.3 Johansen Values a Personal Relationship With Each of His Players
One of Rutgers’ core pillars is treating players like family. One would argue that it is their strongest recruiting tool, especially when it comes to getting a recruit’s parents to buy into the program. Schiano was always going to hire someone who reflected his program’s values; however, we already have examples of how Johansen is embodying those values after only a few short days on campus.
“The thing that I love that Travis said to me, the first thing we need to do is we’ve got to meet these players and connect with these players,” said Schiano during the press conference. “And that, to me, is everything. You know, some coaches, the first thing they want to do is get on the whiteboard; well, this is our scheme. Well, you know what? Those are circles, and X’s up on the board, but they are really human beings, and if you don’t connect with the human being, you’re not going to get the circle and X to do what you want it to do. That, I was super impressed with. And I’ve watched kids going in and out of all the coaches’ offices today, just getting to know each other on a one-on-one personal basis, and that’s the kind of stuff that I love because it’s about connection, right? And once you connect and they know how much you care, then you can get them to do just about anything for you as a coach.”
This demonstrates true care for the players. Showing players that you care about them makes it easier to get them to follow you. It also helps on the recruiting trail by communicating to the incoming players that the coaches are invested in their success on and off the field.
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