Nansen enters his second year as Arizona's defensive coordinator. Last year was his first year ever as a DC and now he needs to make the sophomore leap and prove he is a D1 level coordinator. All I'm asking for is an average defense that plays with fire and is in the right positions. The talent may be young, but it looks upgraded and the S&C coaches have certainly done there job to add size, muscle, and speed. Nansen is a proven recruiter, this year I want to see him prove himself as a defensive coordinator.
Here is Nansen from the 2nd day of spring practice:
Doesn't sound too serious at the moment, thankfully.
“The reality is that the hardest games to win are over teams on their home court. Teams that don’t play those games can spin it however they want, but what they’re saying is, ‘We don’t want to lose in our non conference season.’" - Sean Miller
“The reality is that the hardest games to win are over teams on their home court. Teams that don’t play those games can spin it however they want, but what they’re saying is, ‘We don’t want to lose in our non conference season.’" - Sean Miller
Akina should get a lot of consideration. The defense improved a lot once he got here. I am not saying he was the main reason, but it's not a coincidence that the defense was better in 2023 when he was here compared to 2022 when he wasn't here.
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Irish27 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 12:41 pm
Akina should get a lot of consideration. The defense improved a lot once he got here. I am not saying he was the main reason, but it's not a coincidence that the defense was better in 2023 when he was here compared to 2022 when he wasn't here.
Akina has coached in Texas before, hopefully he isn't offered too. Maybe if he is offered the DC job he won't be tempted to follow Johnny to UT
I'm holding some slim hope Nansen doesn't leave but if he does I think some people are giving Akina way to much credit. His fame and renown comes from coaching defensive backs. His stints at DC have all been short. He had nothing to do with Desert Storm, he was coaching on the offensive side of the ball back then. Like Merkin says, he's 67 years old. Let's go for someone younger with a ton of energy. I'm betting Coach Fisch has some people on his short list. He's done a pretty fair job of picking coaches so far.
What matters most is keeping current players. Other than that Nansen is replaceable.
He was about to make a cool mil at AZ. I'm sure who ever is next would love to have that payday.
