Etcheverry's first comments since being hired. Interesting gentleman...

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/new-defensive-guru-looks-only-at-future-255124031.html

BRADENTON, Fla. -- If you were thinking getting fired from his last job after just five games had humbled Gary Etcheverry, well, think again.

The new defensive co-ordinator of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was defiant here Sunday when asked about his brief -- and winless -- stint in 2012 as head coach of the University of Ottawa Gee Gees football team.

Asked how the Ottawa experience -- in which he was abruptly fired after opening the 2012 season at 0-5 -- had changed him as a coach, Etcheverry invoked the memory of one of the world's most famous firings. "Kind of the way maybe getting fired by the company he founded changed Steve Jobs 11 years later when he went back to save Apple," Etcheverry said Sunday on Day 1 of the Bombers' first-ever spring mini-camp in Florida.

"They weren't ready for me, and I wasn't ready for them."

Well then.

It was one of just two Apple references Etcheverry invoked Sunday in what were his first public comments to the Winnipeg media since he was hired as the Bombers' new DC in February. "People always talk about a playbook. We don't have a playbook," Etcheverry said in reference to his unique -- and famously confusing -- defence.

"Well, when you used to have a VCR you had a playbook like this," Etcheverry continued, holding his hands several inches apart, "and you still couldn't set the damn clock. And nowadays if you have an Apple product, what's the playbook? What's the user manual?

"But they say we're behind the times because we don't have a playbook? S , we're so far behind the times we're ahead of the times."

Confidence

What emerged here Sunday is that the Bombers have secured for themselves a new defensive co-ordinator who, if nothing else, is certainly not lacking in confidence.

But then why would he be? Now in his 35th year in coaching, the 57-year-old Etcheverry has coached everywhere from college to Europe to the NFL to 10 years in the CFL, which included a brief stint as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 2002.

A Grey Cup winner in 1997 with the Argos and more recently the architect of stingy defences in Saskatchewan from 2008-10, Etcheverry is considered a master of a defence that can best be described as organized chaos, with defenders expected to play all over the field and in strangely named positions such as rover.

"I believe he's thought more about football than a lot of people and he's thought about it in a lot of different ways," says Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea, who played under Etcheverry in Toronto. "He's very thorough in his thought process on how defensive football should be played and how offensive football should be played."

The admiration is mutual. "I've told people that there's nobody that I've worked with at any point in time that I've had more respect for," Etcheverry said of O'Shea. "It's very exciting. Certainly he's elated and I am for him. Our job now is to get us to where we need to be."

So how will he do that? With fleet and finely tuned athletes, instead of the physical behemoths so commonly associated with CFL defences, Etcheverry says. "We do a lot of things that require interchangeability among our players, so we can't have a bunch of 300-pounders out there, because they can't run on this big-ass field...

"We cause confusion, there's no question about it," Etcheverry continued. "We want to be multiple, and to be multiple you gotta have interchangeable athletes... Multiple everything. Multiple alignments, multiple movements, multiple coverages, multiple, multiple, multiple...

"If we're gonna err, we're gonna err on the side of speed."

 

I don't hate the comments, honestly.

 

Confidence? Good.

Desire to be multiple? Crucial.

 

Definitely concerned what he means by no playbook, but I don't buy that anyways.  Maybe its not physically copied out page by page.  More concerned by how he intends to implement the scheme.

 

This will be the refreshing part for many people after Burke.  Burke's D is just vanilla, which is great when you have a defense full of all-stars in their prime, when we had guys who weren't winning battles snap after snap we'd get picked apart, when everyone was locked in it was a thing of beauty, like last season in Montreal or the Banjo Bowl, but over 18 games there was no mystery, so it was all left to executing perfectly.  Etcheverry's scheme will at least make a quarterback second guess their pre-snap reads mess up their timing, give us a chance if we can't field a dominant crew of players every week, some room for error so to speak.

 

 

Great comments... explains the WBB's struggles under Burke's D; absent of the outstanding Swaggerville D that was several athletes in their prime.  Guess the thinking is that the confusion Etch's scheme creates will mask our defensive deficiencies somewhat until our defensive players grow into their primes, and/or we upgrade our talent. 

 

In any event, it'll be interesting to watch.  An experienced, cerebral QB like Calvillo would likely have his way with this defense by just picking on the weak spots, but in this league, I see only Ray who is that kind of QB left.  Burris and Durant can be confused, Lulay if contained isn't half as effective.  BLM could be that type of QB but is inexperienced, and Smith and Reilly you can lop in as less skilled, less experienced Lulay types.  I think JBR's sold me that Etch's D might be perfect for a defense like ours lacking in overall talent.

 

 

The ones who are throwing around the word disaster are forgetting about last year's defence…now that was a disaster,

…and was overseen by a supposed defensive guru, Tim Burke.

Except that it really wasn't. Burke was pretty hands off which was a problem many people had. The games where he did take a more active role the defense responded but instead he focussed on being just the head coach... not sure exactly what he did when he did that, but that's the official line. 

 

 

Except what?

That it wasn't a disaster or that it wasn't overseen by Burke?

I don't know about you, but if I was a Head Coach, and had a reputation as a defensive specialist, I would be heavily involved in fixing or helping fix the problem.

The fact that he didn't doesn't make it less of a disaster.

 

My point is last year's defence was a disaster, but nobody should declare this year's D or new DC anything yet.

 

That it really wasn't overseen by Burke. Everything you say is correct, but Burke didn't get himself heavily involved. One of the reason he got his ass fired and why he's seen as one of the worst coaches the team has ever had. That's my point. 

Creehan is one of the worst DCs in CFL history...  Burke is actually a pretty decent DC - he'll probably do well in Toronto

Burke let Creehan be a DC & lived & died with him. The only criticism I remember Burke having last year was that he wanted to see Creehan's D be more aggressive, blitz more. Besides, Casey Creehan's a nutcase. Just like his dad Denny was in Calgary. Season ticket holders complained to the Stamps that sitting behind the bench as a ticketholder meant a never ending string of screaming & four letter words every game. Denny had to be reigned in by Dunigan & later Higgins & told to watch his mouth. Not surprised Higgins fired him mid season 2007.

Burke let Creehan be a DC & lived & died with him. The only criticism I remember Burke having last year was that he wanted to see Creehan's D be more aggressive, blitz more. Besides, Casey Creehan's a nutcase. Just like his dad Denny was in Calgary. Season ticket holders complained to the Stamps that sitting behind the bench as a ticketholder meant a never ending string of screaming & four letter words every game. Denny had to be reigned in by Dunigan & later Higgins & told to watch his mouth. Not surprised Higgins fired him mid season 2007.

Sounds like my experience sitting behind the Bombers bench this past season. Non stop entertainment with Creehan.

Like father, like son. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, RG.

More on playbooks:

 

“When I was in Saskatchewan, we had these sophisticated smart boards where we did our teaching. At the end of every presentation, I would always ask, do you have it? And if every player said yes, I would push a button and it would all be gone,” Etcheverry explains. “And that’s how I’ll work here too. A lot of coaches over the years have prided themselves on stealing ideas from others. The most fundamental way to protect our ideas is to never write anything down.”

 

That’s right, don’t write anything down, which means there's no defensive playbook either.

 

http://www.bluebombers.com/article/the-etcheverry-difference

 

The way I remember it, Etch's defense was fun to watch. Hope that's still true.

More on playbooks:

 

 

“When I was in Saskatchewan, we had these sophisticated smart boards where we did our teaching. At the end of every presentation, I would always ask, do you have it? And if every player said yes, I would push a button and it would all be gone,” Etcheverry explains. “And that’s how I’ll work here too. A lot of coaches over the years have prided themselves on stealing ideas from others. The most fundamental way to protect our ideas is to never write anything down.”

 

That’s right, don’t write anything down, which means there's no defensive playbook either.

 

http://www.bluebombers.com/article/the-etcheverry-difference

 

The way I remember it, Etch's defense was fun to watch. Hope that's still true.

If nothing else, it will be interesting to watch.

So many other guys would have been better than Etcheverry. An old jaded coach who seems paranoid about players leaking information about his defense. Even hiring a young up & coming coach with no track record would have been better than him. Hufnagel is real high on his DL coach Devone Claybrooks as one of these bright, hard working young defensive coaches we see in the CFL. He said had he not hired Stubler he'd have promoted Claybrooks to DC. If Etch doesn't work out maybe he would be available.

Off the wall zany and a guru of his position.....  that seemed to work wonders when Kelly did the same thing with his zany offense.....   

 

Hopefully O'Shea takes over by the end of the year and hopefully Etch isn't locked in for more then 1 season...

Off the wall zany and a guru of his position.....  that seemed to work wonders when Kelly did the same thing with his zany offense.....   

 

Hopefully O'Shea takes over by the end of the year and hopefully Etch isn't locked in for more then 1 season...

 

Should I  now or   later? 

Off the wall zany and a guru of his position.....  that seemed to work wonders when Kelly did the same thing with his zany offense.....   

 

Hopefully O'Shea takes over by the end of the year and hopefully Etch isn't locked in for more then 1 season...

 

You sure do love jumping the gun.

I think what Etcheverry is describing in a not so clear way is that his defence relies on developing the instinct of the players within a few core concepts rather than being very rigid, which is what the "playbook" is in his philosophy.  Some players will love that, some players will be completely stressed out by that.

Especially the ones who nod there head up and down when he asks does every get it but in fact they don't get it and poof, it's deleted off the smartboard screen. It reminds me of sitting in math class and my teacher asking if there is any questions as he's erasing everything off the chalkboard saying how easy this stuff is. My mark that term, 33%.

There will be players who struggle with this. I'd be one of them. I like structure. I like to be able to open up a manual or text & review at work or home if I'm not sure. This guy has bounced around football teams more times than a tennis ball at Wimbledon. There is a reason for this. I doubt if Etcheverry signs a lease on an apartment in Winnipeg. It'll be hotel living for him.

There will be players who struggle with this. I'd be one of them. I like structure. I like to be able to open up a manual or text & review at work or home if I'm not sure. This guy has bounced around football teams more times than a tennis ball at Wimbledon. There is a reason for this. I doubt if Etcheverry signs a lease on an apartment in Winnipeg. It'll be hotel living for him.

To me it's rely too much on players knowing what all of their team mates are going to do. If it pays off then yeah it's good but you never have everyone on absolutely the same page like that and someone always thinks the game a little bit differently and it creates issues. I'd rather see some firm structure so that guys have an easier time adjusting to one another. 

I'm going to try and enjoy this new type of D and relish the idea of the opposition being confused by what we present.

 

Structure?

I wouldn't compare it to a basic 4-3 type of D, but I'm sure there is a structure and the variables work off of that structure….being responsible for your job under that umbrella.

One of the keys will be to acquire multiple players (there's that word multiple again) who are versatile and quick and talented.

 

Let's face it, if a defence doesn't have the talented players needed or the coaching necessary, you'll get the results we got last year.

There was structure in that defensive concept but can we say that players didn't struggle under it?

Or that the playbook used helped the players understand any better?

Or that the players knew what their teammates were doing?

 

The players, who are players, will adjust to this, and may even flourish and I think that's exactly why we're scouring the country to fit the mould of the players we want to use.

I can't wait to see what they've come up with.

 

 

I think what Etcheverry is describing in a not so clear way is that his defence relies on developing the instinct of the players within a few core concepts rather than being very rigid, which is what the "playbook" is in his philosophy.  Some players will love that, some players will be completely stressed out by that.

Especially the ones who nod there head up and down when he asks does every get it but in fact they don't get it and poof, it's deleted off the smartboard screen. It reminds me of sitting in math class and my teacher asking if there is any questions as he's erasing everything off the chalkboard saying how easy this stuff is. My mark that term, 33%.

 

Glad you're not the defensive coordinator in that case! 

I can't wait to see it work. Just have to get the right guys in the right spots.

It's Gary Etcheverry. It's underwhelming. I'm hoping beyond hope this works out as I'm tired of all the losing but I won't be surprised if it doesn't. I just can't get excited about this guy as as a DC. 

There will be players who struggle with this. I'd be one of them. I like structure. I like to be able to open up a manual or text & review at work or home if I'm not sure. This guy has bounced around football teams more times than a tennis ball at Wimbledon. There is a reason for this. I doubt if Etcheverry signs a lease on an apartment in Winnipeg. It'll be hotel living for him.

Heard he's living in the Bombers locker room.

There are some pro coaches who never leave their office. They work & liver there during the week prepping for games. D i c k   Vermeil was one of them & he burned out in Philly when he was a first time NFL head coach. Some of these coaches work crazy hours to the point of being life threatening. Heart attacks, strokes, obesity & divorces. Story I heard about Jimmy Johnson.... When he became HC of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 he realized that he'd be ultra busy & he felt his wife would be a distraction so he separated & divorced her. Not sure if that is absolutely true but it is a story I read in the past & wouldn't surprise me. Sad, if true. 

Apparently the defensive coaches meet 8-8 every day.

Cleaned up a few posts in here.

 

Lets try to keep this on topic and not resort to insulting other posters.

 

Deleted the insults, then the follow posts on the insults because those just didn't make sense anymore.  So if your post is gone, that is why.

Off the wall zany and a guru of his position..... that seemed to work wonders when Kelly did the same thing with his zany offense.....

Hopefully O'Shea takes over by the end of the year and hopefully Etch isn't locked in for more then 1 season...

You sure do love jumping the gun.

A proven loser with a bad track record...not really jumping anything...

 

 

Off the wall zany and a guru of his position..... that seemed to work wonders when Kelly did the same thing with his zany offense.....

Hopefully O'Shea takes over by the end of the year and hopefully Etch isn't locked in for more then 1 season...

You sure do love jumping the gun.

A proven loser with a bad track record...not really jumping anything...

 

Actually that is not true. Two trips to the Grey Cup as a DC doesn't make a bad track record. Remember players have a lot to do with whatever sucess a DC has as well