For Bulldogs’ defense, spring 2017 is about foundation before function

Fresno State has not been right defensively for a number of years. Even in 2013, when it won the second of back-to-back Mountain West championships, it allowed 30.3 points per game.

It was marginally better a year ago, allowing 30.9 per game compared with 38.1 in 2015.

Orlondo Steinauer, hired by first-year coach Jeff Tedford out of the Canadian Football League to fix what obviously was broken, said the goal when the Bulldogs open spring practices Monday is more fundamental than functional.

“They will understand the expectations, the tempo of practice, how fast we’re going to play,” Steinauer said. “Those things will be ingrained in them. We’re building the foundation first. I think when you jump too far ahead, sometimes, your foundation can get weak and we’re not trying to have any chinks in the armor at the bottom floor. At the end of 15 practices, I think there will be no gray area as to the expectations for the 2017 defense and we’ll have a nice sample of film, plenty of X’s and O’s to coach off.

“But right now, this is what I like to refer to as a deep clean. It’s making sure that everything behind the fridge is clean, too, along with the outside and everything is in working order.”

Steinauer discussed those plans in a Q&A with The Bee.

The Bee: OK, spring ball, a lot to do. Where do you start? What are the priorities going in? What do you feel like you absolutely have to get done?

Steinauer: I think we need to establish our expectations and standards as coaches. That’s the main thing. And then this is a chance for us to actually get out there and get it filmed and then coach off of the film. As of right now, we’ve been installing things, but haven’t got to see the results, just hear about them from the players from the (player-run) practices and that sort of thing. I’m really looking forward to getting to stay out there and coach them through drills and getting through whole practices and then getting better.

After the fundamentals, the expectations and standards, then we can worry about the X’s and O’s and those sorts of things. But, again, it’s establishing the expectations, the tempo of practice, how we want them to practice; the drills, the fundamentals and then we will move forward with the scheme.　

You’ve had a chance to see them work out … were they close to where you want them in that regard or do they still have a way to go to figure all that out?

Oh, yeah, there’s no way to get accurate feedback at this time. That’s what spring ball is for. Getting to know the players, them getting to know us better, that’s been great in the classroom and in their academic meetings and doing tings like that with them. But we’re nowhere near where we need to be or where we’re going to be.　

How do you go about setting that course … with 1-11 (last season’s record) in mind?

Letting them know what our expectations are, what our standards are, and what they are going to be held accountable for. Once that’s established, now when you coach them hard, they understand. I always thought as a player, one of the rough things was, when you don’t know what you’re being held accountable for, but yet you’re getting berated for certain things, or it’s on the fly, it’s frustrating.

So, establishing the trust and the foundation and what our culture as a team is going to be and what our subculture as a defense is going to be, and I think that’s how you start yourself on the right path. Then it’s following through with that. When you hold them accountable, are they being held accountable consistently? And, also, it will be a chance for us to work as a staff for the first time consistently outside of a few minutes, 15 minutes here or there. It’s a chance for us to coach out loud in front of each other and set our own expectations of each other.　

Is that just a coaching basic or is that something that you’ve seen, something they that they might have lacked a year ago?

All we can go off of is the film that we saw. We’re here for a reason and I don’t know why nor do I care to go into why or what happened in the past. This is what I know. I know that I’ve been part of a couple of rebuilds at the pro level and I kind of have an idea what I believe will help us get to the X’s and O’s and ultimately the wins and losses, which is really what it’s about. I just am not willing to compromise on overlooking these little things that will ultimately make a big difference over the next four years with these guys.

As you can tell, it’s super important to where we’re going to be. We get all that ingrained. I’d love to put in 45 defensive calls or four defensive calls and play fast if that’s who we’re going to be. That’s great. But we won’t overlook the small things. That’s what this is about right now. It’s going to keep coming full circle to that.

However many plays or blitzes or base coverages, that’s what it is. It’s not about we’ve got 50 defenses to get in and we have to get through it. It’s not like that for me. There’s a little bit that we have to get through, absolutely, that won’t be compromised. There’s a rate that we wont tolerate, where it’s too slow, But at the same time it’s not going to be accelerated to a point where they’re playing slow.　

How have they taken to that so far? For some of these guys, it’s two defenses and three defensive coordinators in three years?

All I can do is go off of what I’ve seen in the body language and things. There’s definitely growing pains with anything. It’s getting to know one another. It’s not just about sitting them in a room and giving them a 60-minute lecture every day about this is what we’re doing with the X’s and O’s. You have to let them know a little about yourself and your teaching style and the staff. This is the vision, this is where we’re going, this is how we’re going to get there and they’ve done a great job of buying in so far.

They want to know what’s going on. Everything is new and fresh, the expectations. The thing I’m most proud of with my staff so far is that the process, they’re not getting discouraged with. It’s going to be a process. Now, it needs to be expedited at times. It’s not going to be the way we want it tomorrow, after practice one, after one PRP, after one conditioning session. There are just too many variables out there.

That’s the beauty of football – it’s the ultimate team sport and how can you get the majority if not all of the guys heading the same way the majority of the time? There are so many factors. We’re not talking about a basketball squad of 12 or volleyball or soccer. This is the widest variety of people and personalities that you can assemble and that’s what I love about the sport. It’s beautiful. You have to understand that it’s a process. There is no wand that can be waved to make it happen or else everybody could do it.　

We’ve talked about running a multiple defense, so the spring I would think will be very valuable as far as knowing who you have and what they can do to fit that. You have to know where they fit, as well.

That’s why we have an installation schedule and we have a progression that we’d like to hit as we go. Will it be challenging? Absolutely. That’s part of the deal. But we think we have some simple concepts that will appear complex and ultimately those are thoughts right now. It’s about getting the players out there and seeing what they can do and how much they can digest and if they can play fast, not once, not twice, but all the time. That’s what I’m really looking forward to.　

Do any of those pieces, from what you’ve seen in workouts and things, really intrigue you right now?

As far as individual players? It’s an open book. Even the guys that played a lot of time, I’m looking for them to not be satisfied. I’m looking for guys to be consistent. Who are the leaders on this team? It’s not by who had the most tackles. Who when somebody speaks do people actually follow. It’s not who’s the strongest, not who’s the senior. Who is the guy or guys that are going to lead us this year?

Those are the things that you look to surface. I think most people want consistency. Not everybody has to lead by being verbal and loud. Some people are going to lead by example. You can’t always tell that in a conditioning setting or just a few drills for 15 or 20 minutes. I think we have an idea, but over time we’ll have a better sense of that.　

Do you think they have a sense of that?

They may. I couldn’t speak for them, I think there would be based off of last year or previous years. There is a whole group of seniors that are gone and maybe most of those seniors were leaders. I don’t know. I wasn’t here. Looking forward to seeing that this class and everybody who is going ot be involved in the 2017 Bulldogs defense and ultimately team to see how it all shakes out. It’s going to be completely different because, again, you’re talking about a whole class that has moved on.　

Just curious, because I’m running through the guys that you have coming back and who might fit there.

There are guys that don’t want that leadership role, they just want to be told where to go and what to do and they’ll give you their whole effort. That’s part of being a team, Not everybody can be the chief. I’m not going to box anybody into saying this is our leader, this is who it is. There are some people who have stepped up to the forefront, but there’s no sense in naming them right now. It will surface soon enough.　

Is it harder, starting from where you’re starting from? Some places, even where there is a coaching change, you have a level. Here, you’re establishing, or re-establishing a level.

It’s definitely going to be a challenge. But we’re up to it. It’s exciting. It’s not a negative thing, right? We get these standards established, these expectations and the wins start showing up, these guys are going to be responsible for the 2018 class and the 2019 class and the barometer is going to be set for Fresno State football.

But it has to start somewhere, so it’s not discouraging at all. We get to set that foundation and be that piece, that’s why just to get in scheme and stuff like that, we’re not going to compromise on that. We’ll have plenty of defense. I’m not losing sight of that. I’m just saying that early on, that’s what we’re going to be harping on.　

You’re sitting in the big chair there, though, so you have to have an eye on both don’t you? You have to get that firmly established. But you also have to peek ahead and say, I like this guy doing this, but I don’t like him doing this …

Absolutely. We will be moving people around, putting people in different spots. Identifying their strengths and weaknesses. That’s all part of it. That’s part of the process in building the foundation. That’s fun. It’s like putting the pieces to the puzzle together. It will be a transformational-type environment where the whole staff will be involved, defensively sand coach Tedford, and it’s going to be fun. 　

Obviously, you have in mind what you would like to do. Personnel-wise, and numbers obviously are down, but do you see pieces that fit what you want to do?

There are pieces there. There are people. There are body types. But it’s about putting them in motion and then adapting some of your scheme or the majority of it to what they can do. It’s not about a cookie cutter – I am a pressure guy, but we can’t play man to man, or I am a pressure guy, we have to play zone. That’s part of being multiple in my opinion.

You have to adapt to your personnel. You can’t sit there and cry and boo-hoo over what we may or may not have. It’s fix it. They’re part of the program for maybe one, maybe two, maybe three, maybe four years in some cases. You work with what you have and you adapt your system, in my opinion, to what you have. You make the best of it. That’s what we plan to do along this journey, along this spring, we will start identifying pieces of the puzzle and where we can plug them in and we’ll fit the rest around.　

So, at the end of the spring you know what you’re going to practice and play like, but not necessarily know what you’re going to look like?

Nope. It could go a lot of different ways. I’ve just learned over time, you don’t just throw out there what you’re going to be and then find out that you can’t be that. If this were our third year here and we’re having this conversation, I could say this is what we are, this is where we’re going, these are the athletes that we have. Boom. Right now, we’ll find out.

I’m not going to pigeonhole ourselves or make it so broad or so detailed that there’s not room for growth or when the growth happens it’s frustrating. I’m just looking forward to the process. There are certain things that we can control out there without any scheme and that’s what we’re focused on, early in the spring anyway.

You won’t be able to write any articles right now about they are going to show up in a 5-down, 4-down, 3-down, Cover 2, Cover 1, that’s going to be tough to write.

We have an idea, but we will know by the time we kick off against Incarnate Word (in the .　

The players that you have, you’ve seen them do some stuff … what have been your impressions of the group athletically and physically?

My impression so far is that they are open-minded. They are willing to work hard. They want to win. It has to be consistent, though. That’s part of what we’re going to find out in the spring. That’s what I’ve seen from these guys, with the new academic program, with their attentiveness to Coach Tedford, with all the little details, all the signs are pointing very positively.

As far as individuals, yeah, some are taller, some are stronger. We get weight charts. We get how they’re lifting, those sorts of things. That’s all great, but we have to play football. But their willingness to work and be open-minded and really go after the program that Coach Tedford is trying to produce and the programs that (strength and conditioning coach Andy Ward) is trying to implement in the weight room, it has all been positive so far. That’s what I’ve noticed. They don’t want to lose anymore. Those aren’t just words. They’re working toward that. There’s action.　

Any players that have stood out?

I like them all. I do. There are returning players and there is some physical size. But those are just numbers. Who is going to play? Who is going to not jump offside? Who is not going to take the 15-yard penalty? Who is going to lead consistently? Who is going to stay in their gap? Who is going to blitz hard? Who is going to be a sure tackler? That’s what spring is, it’s as much an evaluation as it is this is what we’re going to do.

Let’s find what we do well. I’m not going to sit here and name people, because they have to earn those stripes. They have to earn their name in the paper. They have to earn that credibility. Your year in school doesn’t earn that, in my opinion. Your stats last year don’t earn than for this year. It doesn’t mean it’s not part of your résumé and you shouldn’t be proud, but it’s a new year and I think they all want to get better.

I’m excited for everyone involved. I know it has special meaning to the senior class, obviously, and the importance of everybody under them playing for their own personal reasons plus for these seniors in their last go-round. For the seniors it’s important to pave the way and show what Bulldogs defense is going to be about and ultimately it’s not about Bulldogs defense it’s about Bulldogs football and what we’re going to be about. They’re going to pave the way, show how to do to things. It’s about what we can get accomplished. The personal things will come. If we win the Mountain West, there will be plenty of individual accolades and they will speak for themselves.

That’s the way it works. I’m not focused on the individual. Yeah, there are guys that come with maybe better attitudes or body language than others, but it’s too early to single anyone out. I can just say I’m proud of the progress so far.

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 2:12 PM with the headline "For Bulldogs’ defense, spring 2017 is about foundation before function."