It’s time to sack the UW defensive coaches

Published 11:12 pm Sunday, November 25, 2007

SEATTLE — It appeared that the Huskies’ front seven were on a blitz, while the secondary was playing Cover Two, defensive schemes that work together about as well as President Bush and Congress.

When Alex Brink faked a handoff, the UW secondary bit and left receiver Brandon Gibson so alone that he’d have needed psychotherapy had he not had the company of the football in the end zone.

“We just blew the coverage,” UW coach Tyrone Willingham said of Washington State’s decisive touchdown with 31 seconds left in the 100th Apple Cup. “Our communication was not good, not complete across the board. We had some guys playing one thing and some guys playing something else.”

No kidding, Ty. Astute observation.

The question is why.

It looked as though they were playing their first game together. Only it was the 12th.

Those are the screw-ups that coaches usually take care of by Game No. 2.

But not this bunch.

Gibson’s game-winner off a simply embarrassing gaffe by Washington’s defense defines the Huskies’ 2007 season. It’s been a year of one nightmare after another.

The Husky defense has given up 42 or more points five times this season. It had epic meltdowns against Oregon, Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State and now Washington State, which became the fifth foe to roll up at least 500 yards.

For the second time at home, Washington folded like a lawn chair in the fourth quarter against a beatable opponent.

The Cougars coughed up the ball eight times the previous week in a 52-17 loss to Oregon State. Washington couldn’t cause a turnover. Not one. The Huskies dropped three would-be interceptions in the first quarter alone. They could have rattled Brink with some doubt early in the game; instead, Brink got more confident as the game went on and closed out his career with a victory on two TD passes in the last 71/2 minutes.

Accountability is a tricky thing. Are the players or coaches to blame? Do you point fingers at the teachers or the students on the field?

“Blame us,” UW defensive tackle Jordan Reffett said. “Hold us accountable. I’m taking this whole loss on my shoulders because obviously, I didn’t do enough to get us a win and neither did any of the players. We had our chances and we just didn’t make the plays when we had a chance. It really cost us.”

“It” has cost them all year. “It” has been the same mistakes over and over again. And when that happens, it means the coaches aren’t getting through to the players. Or — and this certainly is possible as well — the players are not physically or mentally capable of doing what the coaching staff teaches them, which also falls on the coaching staff for recruiting them in the first place.

Defensive coordinator Kent Baer has been the most obvious object of UW critics all season. It’s difficult to argue with them.

Going into the WSU game, Washington was 83rd out of 119 Division I teams in scoring defense, at 30.4 points a game. The Huskies were 93rd in total defense, 99th in rush defense and 70th in pass defense. All should descend after Saturday’s debacle.

Many are calling for Willingham’s head. I won’t for now — not this season. I can see athletic director Todd Turner keeping Willingham another year, with the stipulation that the team have a winning season in 2008 that ends in a bowl game.

I’d keep Willingham and the entire offensive coaching staff intact because the improvement throughout the season has been obvious. This could be a very dangerous offensive team next year.

Special teams have been OK, but not spectacular. They haven’t been bad enough to sack special teams coach coach Bob Simmons. As for the defensive coaches, it’s difficult to make the argument for keeping any of them. The defense has been abysmal across the board. The front seven gets little pressure on the quarterback. Linebackers are out of position and take strange angles at the ball-carrier. The secondary regularly gets beaten like an egg. The coaching staff has proven to have no answers.

I hate firings because it messes with continuity. Players have to learn new systems and coaches have to uproot their families. There’s a lot of hardship there, all the way around. Almost always, changes mean a program takes a step back, at least in the short term.

But this is a results-oriented business. Coaches understand that when they enter the field.

It’s time for Washington to make changes.

Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. To reach Sleeper’s blog, click on cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/danglingparticiples.