Coach Nansen is Arizona's new defensive coordinator. He has been coaching for 23 years and has spent the last 13 years in the PAC-12. His last stop was UCLA for 2 years where he coached the defensive line. He is a 1997 grad of Washington St. where he played linebacker for 3 years.
This will be Nansen's first time as a coordinator and although he has a history as an outstanding position coach and recruiter we will have to see how he does calling a game and making adjustments. Here is Brian J Pedersen's article from AZDS on Nansen's initial press conference and his comments on his defensive philosophy:
Here is the full introductory press conference:“My belief is everything starts with football,” Nansen said. “Everything that we do is to attack the football, every call is to attack football. If you win the turnover battle, I think you’ll win the game. Your chance to win a game is pretty damn high.”
Nansen also emphasized the need to stop the run—the UA finished 10th in the Pac-12 in rush defense—and tackling well.
As for a scheme, Nansen is going to use the same 4-3 alignment Arizona went with under Brown, and on the back side he’ll use a mix of Cover 3, Cover 2 and Man Free. And there will be lots of pressure.
“Very similar to what Don was doing a little bit,” he said. “I like to pressure a little bit more. And just make sure our guys play hard. When you turn on the tape I want you to say three things. One, we’re tough. Two, they’re a physical bunch of guys. And three, we play fast, because our scheme is going to allow our guys to play fast. It’s a fun brand.”
Here is one of Nansen's interviews during spring ball:
Anthony Pandy had 82 tackles to lead the team last year.