Photo by Michael Patrick, copyright © 2012
MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL UT defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri talks to the media on Wednesday at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex.
Sal Sunseri won two national championships as an assistant coach at Alabama, was an assistant coach for the Carolina Panthers when they came agonizingly close to winning a Super Bowl, and almost won a national championship as an All-American linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh.
So it's no wonder that he expects to succeed in his new venture as Tennessee's defensive coordinator. His confidence, which came through loud and clear when he met with local media last week, is 92 yards strong.
The number will resonate for years in SEC football. In an era overrun with offense, Sunseri was part of an Alabama defense that held LSU to 92 yards in the BCS national championship game.
The 21-0 victory was magnified by all the scoring outbursts that preceded it. A 45-38 game qualified as routine in a bowl season that produced occasional basketball scores and cost two defensive coordinators their jobs.
Yet in the 46-day, almost Super Bowl-like buildup to the national championship game, Sunseri became increasingly relaxed, so much so that his wife couldn't help but notice.
"My wife knew we were going to win by the way I was acting," said Sunseri, who served as an assistant head coach and linebackers coach at Alabama. "I wasn't hollering as much."
Sunseri's confidence stemmed from crisp practice and the overall thorough championship-game preparation, which included a word that his new defense is apt to hear repeatedly, "fundamentals."
Once the Tide reconditioned itself for football, fundamentals became the focal point for a team that lost to LSU 9-6 in the regular season.
"I don't care what level of football it is, you've got to be good coming off the football, striking with your hands and playing good fundamentals," Sunseri said. "Those first days
(of bowl practice) were all basic stuff. We went back to taking on blocks and pass drops.
"If you think about it, we really didn't change much from the first game to the second. It's just that they got the football in better situations than the first game. We had a pretty good scouting report and knew what was going on (for the rematch)."
That simple, huh? I was expecting to hear something more mysterious, even wondering if Alabama coach Nick Saban had placed spies at LSU practices or if the Tide defense was reading from the same wristband as LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Alabama's defense couldn't have been any more effective if it had infiltrated LSU's offensive huddle.
"Yeah," Sunseri said. "Well, that's what we do. We spend a lot of time in our preparation."
Sunseri's preparation for his first Tennessee season will have a strong pro influence, which would be expected from a coach who had a seven-year stint with the Panthers.
"If you want to be a great pass rusher, you've got to go get pass rushers in the National Football League ... and for the past four years I've always gotten the top 10 pass rushers and cut their tape up," he said. "The great pass rushers at Alabama right now have studied them."
Sunseri's preparation for his first season with the Vols will include NFL field trips as well as video work. He plans on going to the NFL Combine and visiting Denver Broncos coach John Fox, his friend and former boss.
Such NFL connections give a coach instant credibility with college players, who hope ultimately to be paid more than scholarship wages for their labor. But Sunseri has another credibility card to play with his new defense.
It's No. 92.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/johnadamskns
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Comments » 26
OwensboroVol writes:
I hope Sunseri is a huge success at Tennessee. However, I have heard more than once, by people who should know, that Nick Saban never allows anyone to have much to do with his defense except himself. While he has the defensive coaches, they do, teach, and coach exactly what Saban tells them they can. I have never really heard of a Saban defensive coach being a big success at another school after they leave his organization. We will see!
txvolsfan writes:
Muschamp did OK at Texas!!! and Sunseri is a great LB coach. When Satan works with the defense his specialty is DB's and that is where he spends most of his time. I also hope that Sunseri is a good coach and he did a lot of good things in the pros. He will be better than Wilcox, that is sure because he was in way over his head!!!
GO VOLS
TXVOLSFAN
Dalton writes:
True that there's no track record of a superstar coach out of the Saban coaching tree but how many branches does that tree have and how many times has it been uprooted and replanted?...Saban isn't exactly Bear Bryant like in terms of sitting at one spot...there will be numerous examples of stars after that tree sits for a respectable amount of time...why can't we have the first?....and I don't give Muschamp that nod yet.
Digital5000 writes:
Mr. Adams,
I was wondering how you could spin the FL win as a negative and take a jab at our basketball team. Instead you opted to go another route.
Well, your not getting off that easy my man. Your smart alec remarks are like Afghanistan and you mom; depleted and blown out...
BOOM!
-Enjoy Yoselves
volfaninutah writes:
I hope we do get back to fundamentals. Blocking , tackling with arms and hands, not just trying to cross block a runner trying to get him down. I am tired of seeing UT defense in all the ESPN highlight pieces missing tackles and watching people run by them. Good days are a comin' !
johnlg00 writes:
I only have two things to say about your post. The first is that even if Sunseri was just standing around while Saban did all the coaching, he must have absorbed something about great defense. Second, even if he HADN'T coached under Saban, in his time with the Panthers, he was working with John Fox who was himself something of a defensive guru. And again, even if Sunseri did nothing but hold a clipboard while watching Fox coach, you would surely think something would rub off. Perhaps my main point is that spending that much time at Alabama under Saban and at Carolina with Fox, he has at least been learning from the best, has high expectations for his players, and understands what SEC defensive football is all about. His pro experience should give him great credibility with the Vol defensive players. Until he proves otherwise, he looks like the man for the job.
jack_2222#231746 writes:
So Sunseri didn't learn anything in 7 years in the NFL either, huh.
frblalack writes:
Spot on article, Mr. Adams! Coach Sunseri will very likely be a vast improvement i.e. light-years better than his predecessor. Experience cannot be overstated; this coach knows how to get it done!
All Vols - All the Time - Believe it !!!!
CroKev writes:
For a LSU fan, Adams doesn't seem to be paying them too much respect in this article...
pcorange writes:
Unless he's stupid, even if he was doing exactly what Saban told him, he should've picked something up along the way. I think he's a solid hire, much better than the Clemson DC. Obviously, he won't have the defensive talent to work with that he had at Bama, but that should just make it all that more challenging and fun for him.
govols082859#1369959 writes:
Dont take the bait. Jackasss John didn't write this positive article. It's KNS trying to throw us off our game and petions to tar and feather Adams.
Don't fall for it and read the article. Kep the boycott going.
civilianvol_formerly_marinevol writes:
I hope it all comes together this year. I really don't like this losing, and don't want to get used to it. We shall see.
tomkats3242 writes:
Adams why don't you just quit. Your nothing but a trash writer who had never excelled at anything but too trash UT. Why they don't pin you to the goal post is beyond me.
johnlg00 writes:
As the NASCAR folks say, "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'." Besides, as vanilla as LSU's offense was in the championship game, if you couldn't figure out what they were doing, you weren't even paying attention.
dirislr#209355 writes:
You know I can't see for the life of me, why people like you keep reading Adams columns than gripe about what he writes.
dirislr#209355 writes:
Why do you read his columns?
Voloyalty writes:
Not sure if anyone caught the interview with Sunseri on govols but Adams was right next to him the entire time. I never realized how much Adams favors a Platypus. I have no respect for this man or his journalism. I have never seen another reporter take more jabs at 18-21 year old kids than Adams. He is an absolute JOKE!
BigOrangeSmoker writes:
We may very well have 92 reason to believe in Sunseri but we aint got 1 reason to believe a word adams rights...he is worse than a flippin thug
asleep#212036 writes:
Agree Texas. Saban has his hands in everything, including the offense, but he doesn't COACH all those players. He merely decides what overall scheme he wants to run and then the position coaches teach the kids what they've been told to teach. That's a far cry from implying that his assistants are just out there babysitting while he goes around and coaches each unit/player. Nonsense. Nick Saban wouldn't dream of hiring a coach who wasn't competent in every aspect of the college game, including recruiting, mentoring, and game plans/schemes, as well as the actual teaching of the game. Micromanaging egomaniac? Yes. But heading up the (at the moment) best program in America allows him the luxury of hiring only the best and brightest, which he does. Sunseri and Dooley are two of his star pupils and I am glad we have them. Go Vols!!!
johnlg00 writes:
Good post. When the Vols start reeling off wins next year, the screech of tires and stench of burning rubber as whole rafts of posters on here start backtracking about Dooley will be a wonder to behold. I'm a Vol fan, not a Dooley fan, per se, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
GreeneVol writes:
The number 92 has special meaning for the Vol Nation: the Minister of Defense.
asleep#212036 writes:
Yeah, my feelings on Dooley are unclear now too. I think he's a decent guy, seems to be a good recruiter (we ranked well above any other team with a losing record), and seems to be pretty good at discipline. However, the ultimate yardstick is wins/losses and right now he's pulling up lame. I do think they will win next year, and big, like 9 or more but he's still got quite a hill to climb for us to be consistently competitive in the SEC. Sunseri is absolutely an upgrade, as is Pittman. Adding Graham was a great move as well. DD's got one more year to make it happen or Hart will let him go so I'm hoping for something good. Go Vols!!!
cooper65#432178 writes:
Muskrat was OK at best at Texas. He had fantastic defensive talent, but the horns got lit up on more than a few occasions. The Muskrat hype was bigger than Muskrat himself.
TitanandVolfan4life writes:
asleep...
AD Hart loves CDD and his plan to rebuild Tennessee football the right ways.
CCD simply is NOT going anywhere for at least 2 more seasons so STOP the ignorant LIES that CDD will be gone after next season.
VFL...GBO!!!
shipperman#280095 writes:
Let him win less than 8 games and you will be proven quite wrong my friend. I hope he is successful, because it means our VOLS are successful.
bkgunter writes:
"...46-day, almost Super Bowl-like buildup to the national championship game." Nobody can turn a complete nonsense phrase like ol' John Adams. The Super Bowl build-up is two weeks at the end of several weeks of playoff games. HOW is the build up to the BCS game like that in any way ?
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