Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Experienced Koonz Ready To Lead Mountaineer Defense
November 04, 2024 05:12 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As fate would have it, the last time Jeff Koonz was involved in defensive play calling was when he was Cincinnati's co-defensive coordinator in 2016.
So, Koonz will once again be in similar surroundings when he takes over those duties on Saturday afternoon as West Virginia begins the final third of its regular season against the Bearcats.
Koonz was elevated to interim defensive coordinator last Tuesday morning when coach Neal Brown opted to move on from fourth-year defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley.
Brown spent a portion of his Monday afternoon news conference with media expanding on his decision to make an in-season staff move with four games remaining.
"Jeff is qualified and is ready to step up," Brown said. "He's done really well any time we've put him in charge, whether it's the lead in recruiting, on the punt team, where he's taken the lead, and the organizer on special teams; he's always excelled in leadership roles.
"He's got experience with linebackers here, but he's also coached safeties in the past so he can tie up the front and the back, and he's called defenses before, so I'm excited for him," Brown said.
Brown listed the areas where he wants to see immediate defensive improvement over the remaining four games of the regular season.
"Consistency is the main issue," he noted. "At times, we've played really good on defense. If you look at the first three quarters against Arizona, I would say that's winning football. If you look at the first half against Kansas State, I'd say that's winning football. The second half versus Kansas, that's winning football, but we just haven't been consistent, we've got to get some takeaways, and we've got to minimize explosives."
Following last weekend's action, West Virginia, now 4-4 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 play, ranks 114th nationally and next to last in the conference with three interceptions and is 118th overall and dead last in the league with six turnovers gained.
The defense has allowed at least one touchdown of 32 yards or longer in every game so far this year, with six of those coming via the pass. Five of the six were long completions of at least 40 yards.
"There is no issue pressuring the quarterback. There is no issue with tackles for loss. We've got to eliminate explosive plays, and we've got to look back at the end of the game and say, 'Did we make them earn it?'" Koonz explained.
"A chunk play for 50, we've got to eliminate those. How do you do that? It goes back to being consistent with the alignment, the assignment, the eyes and everybody understanding how their 1/11th ties in to the guy next to them, the guy in front of them and the guy behind them," he said.
WVU has also struggled getting off the field on third and fourth down, ranking 123rd and 116th respectively in those two categories.
Team pass efficiency defense has been the weakest statistical area of all where the Mountaineers are currently 126th out of 133 teams.
"We've got to get lined up as fast as possible," Koonz elaborated. "We've got to make sure all 11 guys on that field understand what the call is, how to execute the call and what success they should expect after that call.
"What we're trying to accomplish with every single call that is made is paramount right now, and that's what we've got to make sure it's on every play," he added. "There is a standard of defense that we've got to put on tape on every single play and making sure they do that."
"From a personnel standpoint, it's going to be the same people," Brown pointed out. "It's not like the NFL - we're not making any trades so who we've got is who we've got.
"Making the change during the bye week will allow us to make some tweaks, but the structure of our defense is what it is," Brown said. "We've got to do some things less predictable and be able to mix up our looks.
"We can't give them the answers to the test – we've got to do a better job of disguising, whether it's our movements up front or our coverages in the secondary," the coach mentioned.
Koonz, who has turned down defensive coordinator opportunities in the past to remain at WVU, said he's ready to take on this role.
"This is part of coaching college football, and this is not something that's easy for anybody to go through," Koonz said. "This is not a promotion – this is an obligation. This is an opportunity right now for us to play really good football in the month of November as a defense and as a team. That's the objective and that's how I look at it.
"I've been doing this now for over 20-plus years in college football," he said. "At the end of the day, no matter what system you are in, it's 11 guys that have to play with relentless effort, have to play with unbelievable technique and they have to strain for each other. That's the most important thing right now."
Brown said Tony Thompson will take over Koonz's punt team responsibilities, and Chris Haering will continue overseeing the kickoff and kickoff return teams.
Brown indicated Koonz will remain in the press box where Lesley was calling the defenses since the Oklahoma State victory.
"This is Jeff's show now, so you have a different person leading it and it's going to be different," Brown said. "His leadership style is different, what he feels comfortable with is different and we made the change in hopes that it will be better, but time will tell. We've got to go out and be productive on Saturday."
Making an in-season defensive switch at UCF paid dividends last Saturday when the Knights limited Arizona to a net of 5 yards rushing and two touchdowns in their 56-12 victory in Orlando.
UCF moved on from veteran defensive coordinator Ted Roof amidst its recent five-game losing streak.
Last Tuesday's move is the first time West Virginia has ever made an in-season coordinator change.
"Going back to last week, I think some of the (players) were caught off guard; they're young guys," Koonz said. "They're loyal. They've been around this staff the way it was and how it's been and (Lesley) was very involved in their recruitment and all those things, and it's difficult.
"The thing I commend them on is how they've come to the realization of we play a game this Saturday. We're going to Nippert Stadium, and we're playing Cincinnati in a huge Big 12 battle, and we owe it to the state of West Virginia and this University to make sure we have a defense that is going to play extremely hard, play extremely fast and go give us a chance to win the game," he said.
Saturday's contest at Cincinnati will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on FS1.
So, Koonz will once again be in similar surroundings when he takes over those duties on Saturday afternoon as West Virginia begins the final third of its regular season against the Bearcats.
Koonz was elevated to interim defensive coordinator last Tuesday morning when coach Neal Brown opted to move on from fourth-year defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley.
Brown spent a portion of his Monday afternoon news conference with media expanding on his decision to make an in-season staff move with four games remaining.
"Jeff is qualified and is ready to step up," Brown said. "He's done really well any time we've put him in charge, whether it's the lead in recruiting, on the punt team, where he's taken the lead, and the organizer on special teams; he's always excelled in leadership roles.
"He's got experience with linebackers here, but he's also coached safeties in the past so he can tie up the front and the back, and he's called defenses before, so I'm excited for him," Brown said.
Brown listed the areas where he wants to see immediate defensive improvement over the remaining four games of the regular season.
"Consistency is the main issue," he noted. "At times, we've played really good on defense. If you look at the first three quarters against Arizona, I would say that's winning football. If you look at the first half against Kansas State, I'd say that's winning football. The second half versus Kansas, that's winning football, but we just haven't been consistent, we've got to get some takeaways, and we've got to minimize explosives."
Following last weekend's action, West Virginia, now 4-4 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 play, ranks 114th nationally and next to last in the conference with three interceptions and is 118th overall and dead last in the league with six turnovers gained.
The defense has allowed at least one touchdown of 32 yards or longer in every game so far this year, with six of those coming via the pass. Five of the six were long completions of at least 40 yards.
"There is no issue pressuring the quarterback. There is no issue with tackles for loss. We've got to eliminate explosive plays, and we've got to look back at the end of the game and say, 'Did we make them earn it?'" Koonz explained.
"A chunk play for 50, we've got to eliminate those. How do you do that? It goes back to being consistent with the alignment, the assignment, the eyes and everybody understanding how their 1/11th ties in to the guy next to them, the guy in front of them and the guy behind them," he said.
WVU has also struggled getting off the field on third and fourth down, ranking 123rd and 116th respectively in those two categories.
Team pass efficiency defense has been the weakest statistical area of all where the Mountaineers are currently 126th out of 133 teams.
"We've got to get lined up as fast as possible," Koonz elaborated. "We've got to make sure all 11 guys on that field understand what the call is, how to execute the call and what success they should expect after that call.
"What we're trying to accomplish with every single call that is made is paramount right now, and that's what we've got to make sure it's on every play," he added. "There is a standard of defense that we've got to put on tape on every single play and making sure they do that."
"From a personnel standpoint, it's going to be the same people," Brown pointed out. "It's not like the NFL - we're not making any trades so who we've got is who we've got.
"Making the change during the bye week will allow us to make some tweaks, but the structure of our defense is what it is," Brown said. "We've got to do some things less predictable and be able to mix up our looks.
"We can't give them the answers to the test – we've got to do a better job of disguising, whether it's our movements up front or our coverages in the secondary," the coach mentioned.
Koonz, who has turned down defensive coordinator opportunities in the past to remain at WVU, said he's ready to take on this role.
"This is part of coaching college football, and this is not something that's easy for anybody to go through," Koonz said. "This is not a promotion – this is an obligation. This is an opportunity right now for us to play really good football in the month of November as a defense and as a team. That's the objective and that's how I look at it.
"I've been doing this now for over 20-plus years in college football," he said. "At the end of the day, no matter what system you are in, it's 11 guys that have to play with relentless effort, have to play with unbelievable technique and they have to strain for each other. That's the most important thing right now."
Brown said Tony Thompson will take over Koonz's punt team responsibilities, and Chris Haering will continue overseeing the kickoff and kickoff return teams.
Brown indicated Koonz will remain in the press box where Lesley was calling the defenses since the Oklahoma State victory.
"This is Jeff's show now, so you have a different person leading it and it's going to be different," Brown said. "His leadership style is different, what he feels comfortable with is different and we made the change in hopes that it will be better, but time will tell. We've got to go out and be productive on Saturday."
Making an in-season defensive switch at UCF paid dividends last Saturday when the Knights limited Arizona to a net of 5 yards rushing and two touchdowns in their 56-12 victory in Orlando.
UCF moved on from veteran defensive coordinator Ted Roof amidst its recent five-game losing streak.
Last Tuesday's move is the first time West Virginia has ever made an in-season coordinator change.
"Going back to last week, I think some of the (players) were caught off guard; they're young guys," Koonz said. "They're loyal. They've been around this staff the way it was and how it's been and (Lesley) was very involved in their recruitment and all those things, and it's difficult.
"The thing I commend them on is how they've come to the realization of we play a game this Saturday. We're going to Nippert Stadium, and we're playing Cincinnati in a huge Big 12 battle, and we owe it to the state of West Virginia and this University to make sure we have a defense that is going to play extremely hard, play extremely fast and go give us a chance to win the game," he said.
Saturday's contest at Cincinnati will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on FS1.
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