How would you rate John Chavis as a Defensive Coordinator?

#201
#201
Chavis was a Tennessee Vol football player and VFL , prior to taking over the DC position and he carved out his mark in the 90's with some very very very good defensive players.
Some of those great players on defense back in the 90's were many 1st 2nd 3rd round NFL draft picks, think about that for a minute and compare it with no NFL picks for several seasons lately......huge difference in player talent!
Pruitt's going to have to recruit and develope his way back to the Top of the SEC, if he's going to indeed make it back.
 
#202
#202
I wholeheartedly disagree. We have no business losing to Wyoming. Ever. Period. You can never point to one person or play that results in a L. You win and lose as a team. Everyone on that team let everyone down that day. If the D holds them to a fg instead of letting them score from the 4 yd line It’s tied. If the offense scores tds its a W. Etc etc etc. regardless it was a L and a disgrace to the school.

In 98 I sat on the 40 yard line in Jordan Hare and watched us stop Auburn 4 times in a row from the 1. You can’t do that to little ol Wyoming?

The argument that we haven’t had a better DC since is purely hindsight and has no bearing on the fact that it was time for a major change that season.


Florida has been clearly better than us sans a few games. Most Florida games that were losses we deserved to lose by letting them go down the field at will.
 
#203
#203
EZE said:
Vols lost that game 13-7. It’s not like Wyoming was moving it up and down the field. If anything, that loss was on the offense.


It may have been “past time,” but the Wyoming game is not a compelling example. In fact, that season isn’t the most compelling example because the offense was abysmal and constantly putting the defense in bad spots.

Now, there are some Florida games that would better serve your argument. But, even then, I don’t think we’ve had a better DC since he left over 10 years ago.
Click to expand...
I wholeheartedly disagree. We have no business losing to Wyoming. Ever. Period. You can never point to one person or play that results in a L. You win and lose as a team. Everyone on that team let everyone down that day. If the D holds them to a fg instead of letting them score from the 4 yd line It’s 9-7 with a chance at a long fg for a win. If the offense scores tds its a W. Etc etc etc. regardless it was a L and a disgrace to the school.

In 98 I sat on the 40 yard line in Jordan Hare and watched us stop Auburn 4 times in a row from the 1. You can’t do that to little ol Wyoming?

The argument that we haven’t had a better DC since is purely hindsight and has no bearing on the fact that it was time for a major change that season.


Florida has been clearly better than us sans a few games. Most Florida games that were losses we deserved to lose by letting them go down the field at will.
 
#204
#204
VOLfrombama said:
I wholeheartedly disagree. We have no business losing to Wyoming. Ever. Period. You can never point to one person or play that results in a L. You win and lose as a team. Everyone on that team let everyone down that day. If the D holds them to a fg instead of letting them score from the 4 yd line It’s 9-7 with a chance at a long fg for a win. If the offense scores tds its a W. Etc etc etc. regardless it was a L and a disgrace to the school.

In 98 I sat on the 40 yard line in Jordan Hare and watched us stop Auburn 4 times in a row from the 1. You can’t do that to little ol Wyoming?

The argument that we haven’t had a better DC since is purely hindsight and has no bearing on the fact that it was time for a major change that season.


Florida has been clearly better than us sans a few games. Most Florida games that were losses we deserved to lose by letting them go down the field at will.
Click to expand...

I guess it’s safe to say that you’ve seen a whole lot more “disgrace to the school” over the past decade.

A bit dramatic to describe an athletic contest like that if you ask me (and yes, I’m a UT graduate), but to each their own.
 
Last edited:
#205
#205
Other than possibly Bud Foster, who was a better defensive coordinator from 98 until about 2014? Yes, there were some blown leads, but my goodness the man fielded some amazing defenses. That 05 defense was absolutely WASTED by terrible offense. His defenses at LSU were outstanding, he just had the misfortune of being linked to inept offenses and playing in the same division as Bama. Yes, I remember 3rd and Chavis, but I also remember a LOT of games our defense won or we barely lost because of no offense.

Y'all are out of your mind thinking Chief is a mediocre DC.
 
  • Like
Reactions: marcusluvsvols, RDU VOL#14, PulaskiVolFan and 1 other person
#206
#206
UTwild82 said:
Other than possibly Bud Foster, who was a better defensive coordinator from 98 until about 2014? Yes, there were some blown leads, but my goodness the man fielded some amazing defenses. That 05 defense was absolutely WASTED by terrible offense. His defenses at LSU were outstanding, he just had the misfortune of being linked to inept offenses and playing in the same division as Bama. Yes, I remember 3rd and Chavis, but I also remember a LOT of games our defense won or we barely lost because of no offense.

Y'all are out of your mind thinking Chief is a mediocre DC.
Click to expand...


I think the issue with this thread as in others I've participated in the past is use of the word "great." Was Nic Chubb a great RB at UGA? No. He was never named an All American nor was he even considered for enrollment in to the College Football Hall of Fame. Chubb was a very good RB however, not chopped liver. Was John Chavis a great UT football DC? No. He was a very good college football DC at one point in time and is not chopped liver by any means.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SpookyAction
#207
#207
butchna said:
It was a variation and Buddy Ryan copied variations and improved them...as Bill Walsh did with Paul Brown’s offense. Belichick began attacking more after the 46’s devastating one year run and LT had his best statistical seasons afterwards...no coincidence. Belichick picked up some ideas and put his stamp on them...coaches. Chavis has a history as a great DC.
Click to expand...
butchna said:
It was a variation and Buddy Ryan copied variations and improved them...as Bill Walsh did with Paul Brown’s offense. Belichick began attacking more after the 46’s devastating one year run and LT had his best statistical seasons afterwards...no coincidence. Belichick picked up some ideas and put his stamp on them...coaches. Chavis has a history as a great DC.
Click to expand...

Well, sir....I'll take Walsh's knowledge over mine and yours every day--and he said Ryan's Defense was innovation which he hadn't seen in over 20 years of the NFL.

And NO--Chavis doesn't have a history as a great DC. I don't know any knowledgeable UT FB fan who would ever make that statement.

The '98 Florida game you keep harping on was a game where Fla ran up and down the field for over 400 yds of offense.
5 Turnovers did the Gators in that year....CHAVIS was the same 'ol Chavis....always chasing his tail against Spurrier's offense.

No 4th QTR lead was ever safe when Chavis was our DC in a 1 score game--EVER.

I think that Chavis is a decent teacher of the game, but GREAT doesn't come into my mind when I think of John Chavis.
And concerning your statements about Chavis' tenure at aTm....His defenses were exponentially worse after his 1st year.
Clearly, he had one good year there and then it was over.

Chavis was NEVER better than the talent Fulmer and others recruited for him to put on the field.
His greatest accomplishment--IMO--was his ability at UT to convert RB recruits into GREAT LBs. I'll give him kudos for that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VOLINVONORE, VOLfrombama, Woke and 3 others
#209
#209
Remy said:
I think the issue with this thread as in others I've participated in the past is use of the word "great." Was Nic Chubb a great RB at UGA? No. He was never named an All American nor was he even considered for enrollment in to the College Football Hall of Fame. Chubb was a very good RB however, not chopped liver. Was John Chavis a great UT football DC? No. He was a very good college football DC at one point in time and is not chopped liver by any means.
Click to expand...
He and Fulmer both benefited from exceptional recruiting.
 
#211
#211
His defenses were predicated on being able to shut down the run without safety help. If you look at his most successful years he had absolutely dominant defensive lines stocked with NFL All Pros. Henderson, Hanesworth, Ellis and Walker come to mind. Each have multiple Pro Bowl appearances on their resume. This allowed him to use very fast undersized linebackers. He never had that kind of secondary talent. He had some good ones but other than Deon Grant nobody truly exceptional. This is why you got third and Chavis. When he didn’t have a dominant d-line he was average at best. His best defenses were a product of Jimmy’s and Joe’s much more than X’s And O’s.
 
#213
#213
volfanecs said:
That just describes all successful coaches.
Click to expand...
Ah, the Phil Fulmer is a deity lurker. Fulmer and Chavis both benefited from talent that hid their coaching flaws. Chavis more so than Fulmer. We've had this discussion multiple times, not going there again.
 
#218
#218
UTwild82 said:
Other than possibly Bud Foster, who was a better defensive coordinator from 98 until about 2014? Yes, there were some blown leads, but my goodness the man fielded some amazing defenses. That 05 defense was absolutely WASTED by terrible offense. His defenses at LSU were outstanding, he just had the misfortune of being linked to inept offenses and playing in the same division as Bama. Yes, I remember 3rd and Chavis, but I also remember a LOT of games our defense won or we barely lost because of no offense.

Y'all are out of your mind thinking Chief is a mediocre DC.
Click to expand...

I agree, Chavis is not a mediocre DC. His only weakness, and it was glaring, was his two minute prevent defense. Otherwise, yes,he did field amazing defenses...for the first 58 minutes of a game.
 
#219
#219
Good at times. Great at times. But the MUSTANG package was almost to much to take at times. For those that don't know how it worked I'll make it simple....Play tough and I mean tough for 2 or three quarters build a nice 17-21 point lead go to the dreaded MUSTANG package (or a" very soft defense") and let the other team catch up. That was the one thing I could never understand. He did basically the same thing at LSU and A&M.
 
#220
#220
XknoxvolsX said:
That was due to all of the other SEC coaches (except Spurrior) being sub par or hanging around too long.
Click to expand...
May be a little of truth in your statement, but Philip and his coaches did recruit the best talent in the SEC for many years. there were 4-5 teams who dominated the talent in those years and Tennessee was leading the bunch,
 
#221
#221
butchna said:
Chavis is the reason Phillip Fulmer has a NC on his resume.
Click to expand...
I'd add Cut to that equation as well.

The machine needed all 3 doing what they do.

Chavis gets a lot of flak on here but it's not like he fell off the map when Fulmer was axed as you alluded to.
 
#224
#224
therealitytheory said:
UT winning pct. with Cutcliffe .830. Winning pct. Fulmer w/o Cut .680.

Best indicator: Cut re-hired after 5 win season and Vols post back-to-back 10 win seasons. Takes Duke job and it's back to 5 wins.
Click to expand...

Not only that but see what he did with a Duke program that was a graveyard for coaching careers. He and Spurrier are the only two people that come to mind that could produce a Blue Devil football team that was solid. Why he couldn't make a long termn go of it at Ole Miss still baffles me, unless he refused to pad expenses for hookers.
 
#225
#225
dduncan4163 said:
He was one of the best when his defense were attacking and blitzing. That being said 3rd and Chavis is a saying for a reason. My stomach churned whenever we were hanging on to a late lead. 2001 UGA and 2008 UCLA still gives me nightmares.
Click to expand...
It's also not a coincidence that 3rd and Chavis really became a thing later in his tenure when he didn't have as good of players.

Having said that, the 2001 Georgia loss and final drive in particular still makes me sick, and that team was loaded defensively. It still happened with some regularity even when we were really good in the mid 90s and early 2000s. Way more often than it should have. It happens to the best of them - I mean Saban's defenses have given up late game winning drives. But it doesn't happen with any kind of regularity or predictability. With Chavis, it did.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bigun
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top