Who: Lance Guidry, Miami
Title: Defensive coordinator
Previous stop: Marshall defensive coordinator/safeties coach (2021-22)
Why he's important: For my money, Marshall's defense was the best in college football in 2023.
The Thundering Herd were third in yards per play (4.56), eighth in total defense (294.5), sixth in scoring (16.0 points per game), fourth in yards per carry and rushing defense (2.89 per carry, 93 per game), and third in pass efficiency defense (104.67). Furthermore, Marshall finished fifth in takeaways (29), including 18 picks against 12 touchdown passes allowed, and was among the top 20 in sacks, tackles for loss, red zone touchdowns allowed, and plays of 10-plus yards allowed.
Oh, and they led the nation in third down defense, surrendering 44 conversions on 187 attempts -- a 23.53 success rate that stands as the best by any FBS team since 2016.
And now the architect of that defense coaches for Miami.
A native Louisianan, Lance Guidry played at McNeese and spent the first 15 years of his career coaching in the high school and college ranks of the Bayou State. His first out-of-state job came at Miami (Ohio) in 2009. He continued climbing the ladder, to a defensive coordinator spot at Western Kentucky in 2011 to a head coaching job at his alma mater in 2016, but the Miami job represents the 52-year-old's first position at a Power 5 program.
"It was a goal of mine to be at a place where I'd be on a national stage and have a chance to win a national championship," Guidry said this summer. "Being a part of a place that's been there before and trying to get it back, it's a big opportunity for me."
Miami has invested heavily in finally being "back" under Mario Cristobal, investing a $9 million buyout and a 10-year, $80 million contract to the head coach alone.
PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: No. 15: Bryan Nardo, Oklahoma State; No. 14: Chad Bumphis, Mississippi State; No. 13: Buster Faulkner, Georgia Tech; No. 12 Chris Jackson, Texas; No. 11: Philip Montgomery, Auburn; No. 10: Josh Gattis: Maryland
So far, that has resulted in a 2-win decrease from 2021 to '22, and new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Shannon Dawson replaced Josh Gattis on offense, while Guidry steps in for Kevin Steele, who accepted the same job at Alabama. (Guidry had previously accepted the defensive coordinator job at Tulane before leaving for Miami in February.)
In addition to Guidry, Miami will have three new assistants on that side of the ball. Joe Salave'a will coach the defensive line while serving as associate head coach for defense and run game coordinator. Derek Nicholson will coach linebackers, while Jason Taylor moved from analyst to defensive ends coach.
The '22 defense dropped from 47th to 103rd in yards per play in their first and only season under Steele, and one common complaint from the locals was that Miami sat too much on its heels and let the offense dictate terms.
"We'll be a little bit more aggressive with how much we blitz and the different guys that are blitzing," Guidry said. "This defense, they picked it up pretty quick. We'll blitz corners, safeties, backers, drop different guys into coverage. Try to be as multiple as you can, try to mix up things for the offensive line and the quarterbacks."
Miami lost both starting corners to the NFL draft, and the competition to replace Tyrique Stevenson and D.J. Ivey is open. "We want the best five DBs on the field. If it happens to be three corners, one safety and a nickel, we'll figure out where to play them," Guidry said.
Marshall's one defense last season was surrendering long completions, a byproduct of his pressure defense; opponents completed 41 passes of at least 20 yards, putting the Herd in the bottom half nationally. As such, Guidry seeks corners who not only can cover on an island, but players who can tackle when the opponent inevitably completes a deep ball two to three times a game.
Guidry rolls the dice often enough that he can live with the occasional snake eyes, so long as he gets to roll again. “They play a lot of man. He gets to a lot of sub packages. Sometimes, they have four defensive ends on the field with six or seven DBs. It’s an in-your-face defense. Aggressive. The kids play confident," a Sun Belt opponent told The Athletic this winter.
At linebacker, Guidry prefers players who are at least 6-foot-2, in order for those spots to play "not tackle to tackle, but sideline to sideline." Seven of 13 current 'Canes linebackers currently fit that bill, including all four freshmen.
Guidry believes the strength of Miami's defense is up front. Junior end Ahkeem Mesidor, a West Virginia transfer who led the team in sacks while earning Honorable Mention All-ACC honors in 2022, has drawn repeated praise as someone to rush the passer from the inside or outside.
"We've got a lot of big guys, we just don't have the big, big anchor. I think we've got a lot of depth," Guidry said. "I think the D-Line is the strength of the defense."
That strength up front will allow Miami to change fronts pre-and post-snap in order to confuse opposing linemen, while blitzing back-end players as well.
"We try to change up protections for the offense by going from a 4-down to an odd, odd to a 4-down, we haven't got to Bear yet but we're going to, and then from that moving and stunting when the ball is snapped," Guidry said. "It's a lot on offensive linemen for protection, trying to change up their rules. Doing as much as we can to confuse the O-linemen and the quarterback."