Indiana University Athletics
Guerrieri Brings Creativity, Play Calling
2/23/2023 12:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Tom Allen saw the Indiana football coaching truth and didn't hesitate. He loves running the defense, calling defensive plays, and making life miserable for opposing offenses.
But head-coaching demands are too great, the urgency to return the Hoosiers to their bowl making ways of 2019 and '20 are too intense.
Allen can't be both a quality head coach and a quality defensive play caller. Not at the required elite level against elite competition. Last season's play-calling return convinced him.
Enter Matt Guerrieri.
The former Duke defensive coordinator, also known as Coach G, is IU's new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He will join with co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Chad Wilt to build a difference-making unit.
And to call defensive plays.
Guerrieri will follow the example of former IU defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, who handled that role before becoming the South Alabama head coach in 2020.
"I will be heavily involved in the defense," Allen says, "but (Guerrieri) will be the play-caller on game day. That will allow me to be a better head coach.
"With everything we have here and the dynamics of college football, that's the best direction to go, but it had to be the right person."
Why is Guerrieri the right person?
First, he coached nine years at Duke, including the last four years as defensive coordinator. He left during the Blue Devils head coaching transition from David Cutcliffe to Mike Elko in December of 2021. He spent the 2022 season as a senior advisor and analyst at Ohio State, then briefly took the Tulsa defensive coordinator job before Allen made an offer he couldn't refuse.
Guerrieri was one of three finalists for the 2020 American Football Coaches Association assistant-coach-of-the-year award, and was a 2018 nominee for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's best assistant coach.
Duke's 2019 secondary ranked third in the ACC in pass defense. Its 2017 defense allowed 20.23 points, the program's lowest since 1977.
Most importantly, Guerrieri called plays for four years at Duke. That experience was huge for Allen, who says there was only a short list of coaches he felt comfortable with in the role. Guerrieri was on it.
"It worked out for everybody, which was awesome," Allen says.
Last year, IU allowed 33.9 points and 175.1 rushing yards a game in a 4-8 season. That was a big blow for a coach who seeks top-25-in-the-nation defensive units.
"Last year wasn't what we wanted," Allen says. "We've got to make some adjustments.
"Matt is a creative guy. We need as many sharp guys as we can to help us have a great defense and get back to where we need to be."
Guerrieri's approach aligns with Allen's, including the 4-2-5 defensive scheme Allen prefers, although he's also well versed in 3-4, 4-3, and 3-3-5 formations. He's a firm believer in Allen's emphasis on tackling, takeaways, and effort.
"Those are the three pillars of who we are," Guerrieri says. "That's not going to change."
As far as coaching style, Guerrieri says he focuses on what his players do best, from pass coverage to rushing the quarterback to stopping the run. Then comes utilizing what the coaching staff does best, what's the best way to implement the system and then the best way to attack offenses.
"It still comes back to the fundamentals -- how we tackle, how we take away the football, and the effort that we have," Guerrieri says.
He says he has three coaching keys -- relationships, competency, and consistency.
To build the first, he quickly began one-on-one meetings with players that went well beyond Xs and Os. He wants to know about their families, classes, and girlfriends. It's about the person first, then football.
"It starts from that," he says. "How do you build trust -- it's built through caring."
Then comes competency and consistency. Players want to develop elite skills and success, individually and as a team. That requires consistency and not chaos.
"Does a player know that I'm going to help them get better? If not, they're not going to work hard.
"And am I the same person every day for those guys? That goes both ways."
Guerrieri uses the stagecoach analogy of taking players from where they are now to where they want to go.
"I take that role very seriously," he says.
Guerrieri says he joined the Hoosiers because he wanted to coach at the highest level, because of his decade-long relationship with Allen, and to be closer to his family in Ohio.
Guerrieri says he attended Allen's special teams meetings at Ole Miss when Allen coached there a decade ago. While at Duke, he recruited Allen's son, Thomas.
Add it all up and he calls it a "perfect storm" of an opportunity.
Guerrieri says he and Wilt, along with the other defensive coaches, will work together like a fist for maximum impact.
"I'm impressed with who Chad is as a man. I want to learn from him. Coach Allen has built a tremendous staff. I'm encouraged about the process."
As far as his early impressions of the defense, he repeats Allen's "hungry team" impression.
"There's a good mix of veterans and youth. We have the pieces we need, the raw material we need, to build a high-level defense."
But head-coaching demands are too great, the urgency to return the Hoosiers to their bowl making ways of 2019 and '20 are too intense.
Allen can't be both a quality head coach and a quality defensive play caller. Not at the required elite level against elite competition. Last season's play-calling return convinced him.
Enter Matt Guerrieri.
The former Duke defensive coordinator, also known as Coach G, is IU's new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He will join with co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Chad Wilt to build a difference-making unit.
And to call defensive plays.
Guerrieri will follow the example of former IU defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, who handled that role before becoming the South Alabama head coach in 2020.
"I will be heavily involved in the defense," Allen says, "but (Guerrieri) will be the play-caller on game day. That will allow me to be a better head coach.
"With everything we have here and the dynamics of college football, that's the best direction to go, but it had to be the right person."
Why is Guerrieri the right person?
First, he coached nine years at Duke, including the last four years as defensive coordinator. He left during the Blue Devils head coaching transition from David Cutcliffe to Mike Elko in December of 2021. He spent the 2022 season as a senior advisor and analyst at Ohio State, then briefly took the Tulsa defensive coordinator job before Allen made an offer he couldn't refuse.
Guerrieri was one of three finalists for the 2020 American Football Coaches Association assistant-coach-of-the-year award, and was a 2018 nominee for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's best assistant coach.
Duke's 2019 secondary ranked third in the ACC in pass defense. Its 2017 defense allowed 20.23 points, the program's lowest since 1977.
Most importantly, Guerrieri called plays for four years at Duke. That experience was huge for Allen, who says there was only a short list of coaches he felt comfortable with in the role. Guerrieri was on it.
"It worked out for everybody, which was awesome," Allen says.
Last year, IU allowed 33.9 points and 175.1 rushing yards a game in a 4-8 season. That was a big blow for a coach who seeks top-25-in-the-nation defensive units.
"Last year wasn't what we wanted," Allen says. "We've got to make some adjustments.
"Matt is a creative guy. We need as many sharp guys as we can to help us have a great defense and get back to where we need to be."
Guerrieri's approach aligns with Allen's, including the 4-2-5 defensive scheme Allen prefers, although he's also well versed in 3-4, 4-3, and 3-3-5 formations. He's a firm believer in Allen's emphasis on tackling, takeaways, and effort.
"Those are the three pillars of who we are," Guerrieri says. "That's not going to change."
As far as coaching style, Guerrieri says he focuses on what his players do best, from pass coverage to rushing the quarterback to stopping the run. Then comes utilizing what the coaching staff does best, what's the best way to implement the system and then the best way to attack offenses.
"It still comes back to the fundamentals -- how we tackle, how we take away the football, and the effort that we have," Guerrieri says.
He says he has three coaching keys -- relationships, competency, and consistency.
To build the first, he quickly began one-on-one meetings with players that went well beyond Xs and Os. He wants to know about their families, classes, and girlfriends. It's about the person first, then football.
"It starts from that," he says. "How do you build trust -- it's built through caring."
Then comes competency and consistency. Players want to develop elite skills and success, individually and as a team. That requires consistency and not chaos.
"Does a player know that I'm going to help them get better? If not, they're not going to work hard.
"And am I the same person every day for those guys? That goes both ways."
Guerrieri uses the stagecoach analogy of taking players from where they are now to where they want to go.
"I take that role very seriously," he says.
Guerrieri says he joined the Hoosiers because he wanted to coach at the highest level, because of his decade-long relationship with Allen, and to be closer to his family in Ohio.
Guerrieri says he attended Allen's special teams meetings at Ole Miss when Allen coached there a decade ago. While at Duke, he recruited Allen's son, Thomas.
Add it all up and he calls it a "perfect storm" of an opportunity.
Guerrieri says he and Wilt, along with the other defensive coaches, will work together like a fist for maximum impact.
"I'm impressed with who Chad is as a man. I want to learn from him. Coach Allen has built a tremendous staff. I'm encouraged about the process."
As far as his early impressions of the defense, he repeats Allen's "hungry team" impression.
"There's a good mix of veterans and youth. We have the pieces we need, the raw material we need, to build a high-level defense."
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