JasonS
Football Moderator
Cincinnati officially lost co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks to Illinois on Wednesday.
The Illini finally announced Banks would run their defense, a move that had been anticipated for the last several days.
Banks spent the last five seasons working with Cincinnati coach Butch Jones -- three at Central Michigan and two at Cincinnati. He shared coordinator duties with Jon Jancek in Cincinnati, but was in charge of calling the plays. The Bearcats defense showed a major improvement in 2011, a big reason why the team was able to win 10 games and a share of the Big East championship.
One understands why Banks left. This is an opportunity for him to run the show on his own, at a program in a bigger conference.
As for Cincinnati, what Jones decides to do without Banks remains to be seen. He could just make Jancek the lone defensive coordinator, he could bring in another assistant or he could turn over the play-calling duties to somebody else on staff. Jancek also coaches the linebackers, and has done a solid job with that position group when you look at the emergence of several players alongside JK Schaffer this season.
Cincinnati won't change what it does no matter what happens, so there should not be a worry about how a new scheme impacts players. Remember, it took a while for them to get adjusted when Banks and Jones first came in for 2010. Their growth in the scheme in 2011 is a tribute to the belief the players had in Banks and Jones, and the way they got them to buy in.
The Bearcats were stronger up front, and more aggressive. Though they only allowed an average of 13 fewer yards a game in 2011, they were vastly improved in three major categories: negative plays; third-down defense; and turnovers created. Getting better up front was a huge key, and Cincinnati had much more depth and a better rotation along its line, which helped the defense in a huge way.
So forget about the total yards allowed. Being No. 1 in the nation in tackles for loss (111.5), No. 2 in the nation in sacks (45), No. 6 in rushing defense (96.23 ypg) and No. 9 in turnover margin were the biggest reasons why Cincinnati was vastly improved.
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/29139/illinois-hires-cincinnati-co-dc-banks
The Illini finally announced Banks would run their defense, a move that had been anticipated for the last several days.
Banks spent the last five seasons working with Cincinnati coach Butch Jones -- three at Central Michigan and two at Cincinnati. He shared coordinator duties with Jon Jancek in Cincinnati, but was in charge of calling the plays. The Bearcats defense showed a major improvement in 2011, a big reason why the team was able to win 10 games and a share of the Big East championship.
One understands why Banks left. This is an opportunity for him to run the show on his own, at a program in a bigger conference.
As for Cincinnati, what Jones decides to do without Banks remains to be seen. He could just make Jancek the lone defensive coordinator, he could bring in another assistant or he could turn over the play-calling duties to somebody else on staff. Jancek also coaches the linebackers, and has done a solid job with that position group when you look at the emergence of several players alongside JK Schaffer this season.
Cincinnati won't change what it does no matter what happens, so there should not be a worry about how a new scheme impacts players. Remember, it took a while for them to get adjusted when Banks and Jones first came in for 2010. Their growth in the scheme in 2011 is a tribute to the belief the players had in Banks and Jones, and the way they got them to buy in.
The Bearcats were stronger up front, and more aggressive. Though they only allowed an average of 13 fewer yards a game in 2011, they were vastly improved in three major categories: negative plays; third-down defense; and turnovers created. Getting better up front was a huge key, and Cincinnati had much more depth and a better rotation along its line, which helped the defense in a huge way.
So forget about the total yards allowed. Being No. 1 in the nation in tackles for loss (111.5), No. 2 in the nation in sacks (45), No. 6 in rushing defense (96.23 ypg) and No. 9 in turnover margin were the biggest reasons why Cincinnati was vastly improved.
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/29139/illinois-hires-cincinnati-co-dc-banks
