Strange: Slade knows secondary is on the spot

Larry Slade

Larry Slade

You don’t have to be Tom Landry to coach the secondary on a college football team. Tom Cruise could do it. So could Tom & Jerry.

“Everyone can coach the secondary it seems,’’ Larry Slade said Friday morning.

“That little old lady with orange hair in the stands knows when one of those guys gets beat. She knows ’em by name. She knows the coach. That’s part of the territory.’’

Slade actually does coach the secondary for Tennessee. He’s been coaching for a living since 1973 and at UT since 1999.

The fact is, of course, not everyone can coach the secondary. It’s a hard job. No one knows that better than Slade, defensive coordinator John Chavis or head coach Phillip Fulmer.

Slade was making the point that defensive backs have nowhere to hide.

They’re not mixed up in a pile of bodies at the line of scrimmage. They’re out there for all to see in the open spaces, chasing receivers, usually one on one.

When the other team scores on a touchdown pass or converts a third down, a defensive back is usually the visible guy at the scene of the crime. He’s guilty by association if not by actual deed.

Never mind that maybe the pass rush didn’t get there or a linebacker or another defensive back might have botched the play.

“You can’t coach in the secondary and you can’t play in the secondary if you’re not tough,’’ Slade said.

The 2007 season was tough on UT’s defensive backs. It was tough on the coaches. Yes, it also was tough on the fans.

Through the first half of the season the secondary at times resembled a fire drill. But in reality, it was no drill. The fire was real.

“It was not a good situation,’’ Chavis said Friday at Gettysvue before some of the coaches played a round of golf with the media.

When the 2007 season kicked off at Cal, three starters from ’06 were gone. Within weeks, two true freshmen were starting, one being a converted receiver.

By the Alabama game, a second starting cornerback from that rebuilt secondary suffered a season-ending injury.

For the South Carolina game on Oct. 27, three DBs were starting who weren’t even on the team the previous season.

But instead of getting worse, things got better. By the end of the season, Tennessee’s defense was playing at or near a championship level.

“Despite all the negativity around them,’’ Slade said, “they just kept hanging in there and going to work every day.

“They just had to be tough-minded people and they were.’’

So did Slade. As secondary coach, he suffered the slings and arrows of the fans’ discontent when UT was getting torched by Cal, Florida and Alabama.

It pained Chavis to see one of his guys taking so much heat for growing pains that were mostly unavoidable.

“Larry never makes a call,’’ Chavis said. “I’m making those calls. Larry’s as fine a football coach as there is in the country.’’

Chavis and the Vols are getting ready to launch a new season. That beleaguered secondary has come full circle, projected to be an anchor for the defense.

Slade smiles at the prospect of his unit going from weakest link to strongest.

“Let’s see when we line up out there at UCLA what we have,’’ he said. “We certainly could be.’’

The freshmen aren’t raw anymore. Eric Berry is an All-America candidate.

Fulmer on Friday cited DeAngelo Willingham’s terrific progress. The injured guys have recovered. Former starter Demetrice Morley is back after a year’s absence.

“The important thing is how they see themselves,’’ Slade said. “They’ve got a little bit of swagger right now.’’

Heck, anybody could coach a group like that.

Leaders Wanted: Fulmer said watching team leaders develop is high on his agenda.

He praised quarterback Jonathan Crompton, tight end Luke Stocker and Willingham.

“Jonathan Crompton has done a tremendous job of working and leading this football team . . . saying and doing the right things,’’ Fulmer said.

“But he has to go out and play well in a couple of ball games and I think the team — the offense in particular — will endorse him in that leadership role.’’

Willingham, said Fulmer, “has improved as much as a player in a year as anybody since I’ve been at Tennessee.’’

Vantage Point: Offensive coordinator Dave Clawson said he’s leaning toward calling games from the press box, but will postpone a decision until after he tries a couple of scrimmages from the box and from the sideline.

Missed Most: Chavis said his biggest linebacking concern is replacing Ryan Karl, who set the defensive alignments on the field.

Ainge Report: Fulmer said he had been told by an NFL staff member that quarterback Erik Ainge has a chance to start for the New York Jets.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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