I did ask him the reason for the making the change at DC and he basically did not answer with any specifics. He did say that any move they make is intended to make the team better in all phases and that's what he hoped he had done here.
In terms of specifically why Andy Avalos, here are my notes on his reasoning and what he was looking for in the interview process:
"We don’t hire friend and acquaintances we hire people that are best for the program."
- The new DC must be able to tie the back four to the front seven
- He has to be a clear and concise teacher and have a presence
- How do he scheme for concerns that Coach Cristobal has
- Recruiting – The guy has to be a strong recruiter
- Days of having some coaches on staff that don’t recruit are over
- He must be demanding without being demeaning
- Entire organization was involved in the process
- Avalos was familiar with the West coast being a California guy
Here are my notes on what Avalos had to say:
- The number one thing for defense is mentality
- Oregon's defense under Leavitt was similar to what he will install
- He wants the defense going full speed Day One of spring ball
- For game planning, number one for him is stopping the run
- How the Ducks go about attacking the football will be a big part of his defense
- Despite his success at BSU "When Coach Cristobal reached out to me for this job, I'm not going to lie, I was really, really excited."
- The one thing he is doing so far to make it easier for the players is changing his defensive verbaige at BSU to what the Ducks are used to calling things here
