» Coordinatior Todd Orlando transforms UT defense.
Coordinator using tough love, scheme to bolster turnaround
AUSTIN — Todd Orlando had no recourse. If he held his tongue, the questions would keep coming as rumors swirled into an ugly maelstrom.
That would be an unwelcome distraction any time, especially so during bowl season. So last December, after a few weeks of speculation, the defensive coordinator thought it time to extinguish all talk of whether he might exit Texas to become the head coach at SMU.
“I don’t want to go on a rant,” Orlando said four days prior to the Longhorns’ Texas Bowl victory over Missouri. “I don’t. I don’t want to do it. When we’re in an early signing period and you’ve got some information that comes out, that sure as heck don’t help. But I’ll set the record straight on that: There was no interview.”
Still, the Orlando scare was enough to sway the UT board of regents in February to approve a contract extension with a new base salary of $1.7 million. A hefty price tag, but one the higher powers thought necessary; losing Orlando one year into Tom Herman’s reign would have felt catastrophic.
The Texas defense was reborn under Orlando, Herman’s top lieutenant and a man destined to run his own program in the near future.
Last year Texas climbed 53 spots (from 94th to 41st) in total defense, and 61 spots (from 90th to 29th) in scoring defense. And the decision to install a lightning package — a formation featuring three linemen and six defensive backs — after Iowa State utilized it so effectively against the Longhorns allowed the defense to maximize its potential.
“When we saw it ran against us on Thursday night in Ames, I just said, ‘Hey, Todd, study this. It’s something I’ve never seen before,’ ” Herman said. “When you put all those guys into coverage, or at least off the line of scrimmage, now you’re saying, ‘Hey big boy, taking up your gaps isn’t good enough, you’ve got to go make a play, you’ve got to go get off a block and make a play.’ If you’ve got the guys that can do that, great, if not it gets a bit dicey.”
Big on fundamentals
Scheme is important. Finding pieces to fit into that scheme is an exhaustive, imperfect, and evolving process. Before dissecting the nuances of each player and how they might contribute, Orlando evaluates personality and demeanor. Every defender boasts of how he lives for contact. They crow about living in the gym. It’s Orlando’s job to sift through the bluster.
“It’s still a run-and-hit business,” Orlando said. “We do have a lot of scheme, but it’s not built on that; it’s built on fundamentals, chasing the balls, and being extremely physical.
“We’re not going to trick people in this business. We’re not a schematic try-to-trick-you team and just beat you with a whole bunch of movement. We pride ourselves on fundamentals, running to the football, and hitting people.”
Pass muster and Orlando will involve you. Take defensive ends Malcolm Roach and Breckyn Hager as a case study.
Orlando wasn’t sure what to make of the pair when he arrived from the University of Houston with Herman. Names and histories didn’t matter — all that did was how they performed and acted in front of Orlando.
“I think they probably thought they were something when we got here that from an outside-lookingin I would somewhat disagree with,” Orlando said. “And then as we went further along and they showed us those characteristics, then we started making schemes for them.
“You have to prove to us, or to myself, if we’re going to create something for you, you better do something elite. We’re not going to make something up because your name is Breckyn Hager, we’re not going to do that. You’ve got to prove it to us.”
Working on borrowed time
The former Wisconsin linebacker might not be long for Texas, especially if his defense takes another step forward in 2018. But for now, Herman, Roach, Hager, and all the rest are happy Orlando remains in burnt orange.
“He’s real,” Herman said. “He’s not going to sugarcoat anything. When you do something poorly, he’s going to let you know. But he’s constructive. He does a great job of attacking and criticizing the action, not the person.
“He has a way of teaching that really kind of breaks things down in very small parts that are very digestible. But he’s fun, too. I think the kids respect his toughness. It’s not fake with him, it’s all real.”