Hands-on Duffner eagerly embraces new role as DC
TAMPA — Mark Duffner is about as much of a hands-on coach as there is in the NFL.
“Oh, yeah, everybody gets the hug,” linebacker Devante Bond said.
It’s not just his embrace, a warm long-lasting squeeze that can come without warning to any player on the team. It’s his energy at age 65, making him the seventh-oldest defensive coordinator in the NFL.
But nobody has told Duffner to look at a calendar. He does more than many younger coaches would attempt to do, like participating in the conditioning run at the start of training camp alongside the offensive linemen.
“His 40 [-yard dash] time might be forever, but his heart goes a long way,” linebacker Cameron Lynch said. “But we all feel it and we all see it on the field.
“And he got out there with the O-linemen and did the [conditioning] test. Stuff like that, I said, ‘I can’t wait to play for this guy.’ So seeing that early on and seeing the position he’s in now, I’m very excited for him and can’t wait to what he’s going to bring to the table.”
The position Duffner is in now is not one he asked for, but like so many of his players, he’s eager to embrace it.
The Bucs linebackers coach has been picked to take over as defensive coordinator after Mike Smith was dismissed from that position by head coach Dirk Koetter on Monday.
“Well, you know in this business things happen and as a coach, no matter what capacity you’re in, you’ve got to be ready to assume responsibility and that’s what I’m doing,” Duffner said Wednesday. “I’m just doing my job as directed and doing it to the best of my ability.
“I think every coach has aspirations to take on more responsibility. I’ve been a defensive coordinator in the NFL before and I’ve been a college head coach, so is this something I was dying to do? I just love coaching, I like working with young men and trying to help them get better.”
The Bucs need to get better. Fast. They have allowed 34.6 points per game, the most in the NFL. They also have given up the most passing yards (355.6) per game and are 31st in total defense (439.8 avg.). They also have done it quickly. In the last three games, teams have scored an average of 30.7 points, all losses.
Duffner was only a defensive coordinator once in the NFL. He worked in that capacity for Bengals coach Dick LeBeau from 2001-02. Before his NFL coaching career began in Cincinnati as a linebackers coach in ‘97, he was a Hall of Fame head coach at Holy Cross and then at Maryland.
How Duffner got into coaching is a good story. When his career ended as a standout defensive lineman ended at William and Mary, he sent out 100 resumes to colleges seeking a position as a graduate assistant.
“I got 96 nos and four yesses,” Duffner said.
One was from Frank Maloney at Syracuse. Another from North Carolina State and coach Lou Holtz, whom he played under in college. A third was from Miami of Ohio and Dick Crum.
The fourth was from Ohio State legendary coach Woody Hayes.
“It was March 17, 1975, and I went there and he talked to me,” Duffner said. “I thought I was going to be interviewed, it was more I listened and he spoke. But it was phenomenal experience to be around a man of the highest integrity and energy and memory and enthusiasm. A great, great man and a great, great coach.”
Lynch smiles every time he hears that story.
“I always say, ‘You’re a legend, coach Duff, you know that, right?’ ” Lynch said. “A living legend, Mark Duffner. I don’t think a lot of these people realize the people he’s been around and the legend he is. I always tell him all the time, ‘You’re the legend, you’re the GOAT.’ And he always laughs about it but he’s well deserving of it.”
Unlike Smith, Duffner said he will call defensive plays from the sideline.
“Sometimes the best seat in the house can be upstairs. Sometimes you feel like you’re away from the real action because you’re somewhat secluded,” Duffner said. “So I think you’ve got to look at the scenario each and every time where you can be the most effective and in our current situation, more effective for me is on the sideline.”
Where he can be more hands-on, and maybe give out a hug or two.