Chris "Belt To" Ash - Defensive Coordinator

[RipWheeler]

Should I change the title to "Chris Ash - Shows up to Work"?

Every pic of this dude, he looks like a toddler shitting their diaper in the corner.

 

[NDdomer2]

View attachment 3060300

Weekly don’t yell at me it’s just a chart use it how you want post

Am I blind or is Miami not on here.

 

[NDBoiler]

Am I blind or is Miami not on here.

Under Houston and South Carolina

 

[NDWarrior]

Reading this is frustrating when you see all the new DCs hired within the last year and how great they are doing so far for their new teams.
The two worst-performing and therefore lowest graded DCs are Clemson (Tom Allen, C-) and (you guessed it!) ND (Chris Ash, D+)

Grading college football's new coordinators

- Miami DC Corey Hetherman, A:
"He's an elite teacher, and his care factor, it just screams out of him," Cristobal told ESPN of Hetherman. "Our guys have learned a lot of football. They're playing with physicality and playing fast, and communicating at a much higher level. We're just consistently getting better on that side of the ball."

- Ohio State DC Matt Patricia, A:
"The guys just love Matt," Ohio State coach Ryan Day told ESPN this spring. "He's been a defensive coordinator for Super Bowl teams. He's been an offensive [assistant]. He's been very much involved, like a GM. One of the reasons why we brought him in was because of his background of doing multiple things on defense that fit the skill set of the guys that we have..." Linebacker Sonny Styles echoed Day, saying of Patricia, "He's able to adapt to whatever personnel he has."

- Texas Tech DC Shiel Wood, A:
"I wanted a guy that was a multiple, that wasn't just a three-down guy, wasn't just a four-down guy, who could fit our current players in and then the guys we were going to bring in," McGuire said. "And I wanted somebody extremely detailed and organized. If anybody asks me what Shiel Wood is like, I'd say he's extremely detailed and organized and then, boom, he's got all kinds of juice for the players to rally around."

- FSU DC Tony White, B+:
"One of the things that's most attractive for me bringing him here, is that you've seen so many different variations, the philosophy, the mindset, really it's the style of play that I love more than anything else," Norvell told ESPN. "He does a great job utilizing personnel and showcasing his playmakers, but the style of play is something that definitely holds true."

- Arizona DC Danny Gonzales, B:
"I've had to coach against Danny Gonzalez defenses for lots of years, so there was zero hesitation about what I thought he was capable of doing," Brennan told ESPN. "Everybody's on the same page. The standard is extremely high for how hard we play and how people execute."

- GT DC Blake Gideon, B+:
"They've taken on Blake's personality," Key told ESPN this spring. "He's a fiery, roughneck guy. The first time I talked to him, we talked for an hour and 30, hour and 45 minutes, and just kind of hit it off. Then when he came and presented, it was very uncut, raw, just, 'This is who I am. This is what I do, just how we're going to do it.' He's been a really good addition."

- PSU DC Jim Knowles, B-:
Knowles' defense started very strong, holding Oregon to three points in the first 42 minutes. But then the Ducks mounted consecutive touchdown drives of 80 and 75 yards... Knowles is arguably the nation's best defensive architect, and Penn State should be fine on that side of the ball. But the grade is weighted down by the loss to Oregon.

 

[IrishTusker]

Why did Day hire Patricia? Did Urban Meyer also make a recommendation to Day? It's pretty clear which coach got good advice and which one didn't.

 

[Dale]

 

[NDVirginia19]

Reading this is frustrating when you see all the new DCs hired within the last year and how great they are doing so far for their new teams.
The two worst-performing and therefore lowest graded DCs are Clemson (Tom Allen, C-) and (you guessed it!) ND (Chris Ash, D+)

Grading college football's new coordinators

- Miami DC Corey Hetherman, A:
"He's an elite teacher, and his care factor, it just screams out of him," Cristobal told ESPN of Hetherman. "Our guys have learned a lot of football. They're playing with physicality and playing fast, and communicating at a much higher level. We're just consistently getting better on that side of the ball."

- Ohio State DC Matt Patricia, A:
"The guys just love Matt," Ohio State coach Ryan Day told ESPN this spring. "He's been a defensive coordinator for Super Bowl teams. He's been an offensive [assistant]. He's been very much involved, like a GM. One of the reasons why we brought him in was because of his background of doing multiple things on defense that fit the skill set of the guys that we have..." Linebacker Sonny Styles echoed Day, saying of Patricia, "He's able to adapt to whatever personnel he has."

- Texas Tech DC Shiel Wood, A:
"I wanted a guy that was a multiple, that wasn't just a three-down guy, wasn't just a four-down guy, who could fit our current players in and then the guys we were going to bring in," McGuire said. "And I wanted somebody extremely detailed and organized. If anybody asks me what Shiel Wood is like, I'd say he's extremely detailed and organized and then, boom, he's got all kinds of juice for the players to rally around."

- FSU DC Tony White, B+:
"One of the things that's most attractive for me bringing him here, is that you've seen so many different variations, the philosophy, the mindset, really it's the style of play that I love more than anything else," Norvell told ESPN. "He does a great job utilizing personnel and showcasing his playmakers, but the style of play is something that definitely holds true."

- Arizona DC Danny Gonzales, B:
"I've had to coach against Danny Gonzalez defenses for lots of years, so there was zero hesitation about what I thought he was capable of doing," Brennan told ESPN. "Everybody's on the same page. The standard is extremely high for how hard we play and how people execute."

- GT DC Blake Gideon, B+:
"They've taken on Blake's personality," Key told ESPN this spring. "He's a fiery, roughneck guy. The first time I talked to him, we talked for an hour and 30, hour and 45 minutes, and just kind of hit it off. Then when he came and presented, it was very uncut, raw, just, 'This is who I am. This is what I do, just how we're going to do it.' He's been a really good addition."

- PSU DC Jim Knowles, B-:
Knowles' defense started very strong, holding Oregon to three points in the first 42 minutes. But then the Ducks mounted consecutive touchdown drives of 80 and 75 yards... Knowles is arguably the nation's best defensive architect, and Penn State should be fine on that side of the ball. But the grade is weighted down by the loss to Oregon.

How many of those DCs were already hired by the time Golden left? I do think we were in a bad spot by having to replace Golden as late as we did.

 

[NDFAN2008]

Reading this is frustrating when you see all the new DCs hired within the last year and how great they are doing so far for their new teams.
The two worst-performing and therefore lowest graded DCs are Clemson (Tom Allen, C-) and (you guessed it!) ND (Chris Ash, D+)

Grading college football's new coordinators

- Miami DC Corey Hetherman, A:
"He's an elite teacher, and his care factor, it just screams out of him," Cristobal told ESPN of Hetherman. "Our guys have learned a lot of football. They're playing with physicality and playing fast, and communicating at a much higher level. We're just consistently getting better on that side of the ball."

- Ohio State DC Matt Patricia, A:
"The guys just love Matt," Ohio State coach Ryan Day told ESPN this spring. "He's been a defensive coordinator for Super Bowl teams. He's been an offensive [assistant]. He's been very much involved, like a GM. One of the reasons why we brought him in was because of his background of doing multiple things on defense that fit the skill set of the guys that we have..." Linebacker Sonny Styles echoed Day, saying of Patricia, "He's able to adapt to whatever personnel he has."

- Texas Tech DC Shiel Wood, A:
"I wanted a guy that was a multiple, that wasn't just a three-down guy, wasn't just a four-down guy, who could fit our current players in and then the guys we were going to bring in," McGuire said. "And I wanted somebody extremely detailed and organized. If anybody asks me what Shiel Wood is like, I'd say he's extremely detailed and organized and then, boom, he's got all kinds of juice for the players to rally around."

- FSU DC Tony White, B+:
"One of the things that's most attractive for me bringing him here, is that you've seen so many different variations, the philosophy, the mindset, really it's the style of play that I love more than anything else," Norvell told ESPN. "He does a great job utilizing personnel and showcasing his playmakers, but the style of play is something that definitely holds true."

- Arizona DC Danny Gonzales, B:
"I've had to coach against Danny Gonzalez defenses for lots of years, so there was zero hesitation about what I thought he was capable of doing," Brennan told ESPN. "Everybody's on the same page. The standard is extremely high for how hard we play and how people execute."

- GT DC Blake Gideon, B+:
"They've taken on Blake's personality," Key told ESPN this spring. "He's a fiery, roughneck guy. The first time I talked to him, we talked for an hour and 30, hour and 45 minutes, and just kind of hit it off. Then when he came and presented, it was very uncut, raw, just, 'This is who I am. This is what I do, just how we're going to do it.' He's been a really good addition."

- PSU DC Jim Knowles, B-:
Knowles' defense started very strong, holding Oregon to three points in the first 42 minutes. But then the Ducks mounted consecutive touchdown drives of 80 and 75 yards... Knowles is arguably the nation's best defensive architect, and Penn State should be fine on that side of the ball. But the grade is weighted down by the loss to Oregon.

If Mickens doesn't get the job I think you start with a few guys on this list. Wood, White and Gideon are all intriguing

 

[NDFAN2008]

How many of those DCs were already hired by the time Golden left? I do think we were in a bad spot by having to replace Golden as late as we did.

Well rumors are we tried getting knowles but he was set on going to Penn State

 

[ulukinatme]

Well rumors are we tried getting knowles but he was set on going to Penn State

Fuck Knowles. We're overdue to beat his defense, 4 straight losses in 4 years. Hopefully Carr is the one to do it.

 

[NDIrish88]

I would rather let Mickens go to work. He becomes and extension of MF original defense before Chris Ash put this crap on the field.

Find a young, hungry DB coach who will be a relentless recruiter.

 

[IrishLax]

How many of those DCs were already hired by the time Golden left? I do think we were in a bad spot by having to replace Golden as late as we did.

Yup, basically everyone except Knowles and by extension Patricia. One of the issues with a deep playoff run is that you are wayyyyyy behind on programmatic stuff relative to your peers that stopped playing football a month+ ago.

We went big at Knowles, just not quite what PSU offered and he was already leaning that way before we got involved.

 

[Mavericknyc1980]

let’s see how this goes this week

 

[irishnd31]

 

[SportsingHard]

From the files of I SHIT YOU NOT:

Curious about Boise State's defense, I decided to look up a quality advanced, opponent-adjusted, garbage time-adjusted, overall defensive efficiency metric (DFEI.) Let me know if anything jumps out at you.

Rk	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Texas
3	Penn State
4	Texas Tech
5	Oklahoma
6	Oregon
7	Georgia
8	Iowa
9	Alabama
10	Notre Dame
11	Texas A&M
25	Miami
37	Pittsburgh
54	Boise State
62	USC
72	NC State
73	Navy
74	Syracuse
86	Boston College
90	Arkansas
91	Stanford
101	Purdue

2025 DFEI Ratings — BCF Toys

 

[ab2cmiller]

Purdue’s defense sucks.

 

[SportsingHard]

Follow-up to my DFEI post above. Take from it what you will.

Year	New Defensive Coordinator	Players & Previous Scheme	DFEI Rk
2007	Corwin Brown	Unfamiliar	36
2009	Corwin Brown/Jon Tenuta	Holdover/Holdover	62
2010	Bob Diaco	Unfamiliar	14
2012	Bob Diaco/Kerry Cooks	Holdover/Holdover	6
2014	Brian VanGorder	Unfamiliar	56
2016	Brian VanGorder/Greg Hudson	Holdover/Unfamiliar	47
2017	Mike Elko	Unfamiliar	12
2018	Clark Lea	Holdover	18
2021	Marcus Freeman	Unfamiliar	11
2022	Al Golden	Unfamiliar	33
2025	Chris Ash	Unfamiliar	10

 

[Jeffwantpoppers]

Why did Day hire Patricia? Did Urban Meyer also make a recommendation to Day? It's pretty clear which coach got good advice and which one didn't.

Given what we have seen from Patricia over the last decade, nobody thought this was a good hire at the time.

 

[FWIrish4]

From the files of I SHIT YOU NOT:

Curious about Boise State's defense, I decided to look up a quality advanced, opponent-adjusted, garbage time-adjusted, overall defensive efficiency metric (DFEI.) Let me know if anything jumps out at you.

Rk	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Texas
3	Penn State
4	Texas Tech
5	Oklahoma
6	Oregon
7	Georgia
8	Iowa
9	Alabama
10	Notre Dame
11	Texas A&M
25	Miami
37	Pittsburgh
54	Boise State
62	USC
72	NC State
73	Navy
74	Syracuse
86	Boston College
90	Arkansas
91	Stanford
101	Purdue

2025 DFEI Ratings — BCF Toys

Hey Chris, kickoff is in 5 hours we need you locked in, not on the message board!

 

[Dale]

Follow-up to my DFEI post above. Take from it what you will.

Year	New Defensive Coordinator	Players & Previous Scheme	DFEI Rk
2007	Corwin Brown	Unfamiliar	36
2009	Corwin Brown/Jon Tenuta	Holdover/Holdover	62
2010	Bob Diaco	Unfamiliar	14
2012	Bob Diaco/Kerry Cooks	Holdover/Holdover	6
2014	Brian VanGorder	Unfamiliar	56
2016	Brian VanGorder/Greg Hudson	Holdover/Unfamiliar	47
2017	Mike Elko	Unfamiliar	12
2018	Clark Lea	Holdover	18
2021	Marcus Freeman	Unfamiliar	11
2022	Al Golden	Unfamiliar	33
2025	Chris Ash	Unfamiliar	10

I’m not sure what any of this is supposed to mean

 

[CoachB]

I think it means that sometimes the nerds that come up with all these metrics get it wrong.

 

[NDQuebec]

This article from ESPN today tells us all that needs to be said about Chris Ashe's defense.

 

[SportsingHard]

I’m not sure what any of this is supposed to mean

Well, the defensive coordinator is the guy the head coach puts in charge of the part of the team designed to stop the opposition from scoring. The players are the guys in helmets. The numbers are the years since Jesus was born. If there's anything else you'd like cleared up, just let me know.

 

[FOTY977]

From the files of I SHIT YOU NOT:

Curious about Boise State's defense, I decided to look up a quality advanced, opponent-adjusted, garbage time-adjusted, overall defensive efficiency metric (DFEI.) Let me know if anything jumps out at you.

Rk	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Texas
3	Penn State
4	Texas Tech
5	Oklahoma
6	Oregon
7	Georgia
8	Iowa
9	Alabama
10	Notre Dame
11	Texas A&M
25	Miami
37	Pittsburgh
54	Boise State
62	USC
72	NC State
73	Navy
74	Syracuse
86	Boston College
90	Arkansas
91	Stanford
101	Purdue

2025 DFEI Ratings — BCF Toys

Now that’s what I call “agent math”

 

[MacIrish75]

From the files of I SHIT YOU NOT:

Curious about Boise State's defense, I decided to look up a quality advanced, opponent-adjusted, garbage time-adjusted, overall defensive efficiency metric (DFEI.) Let me know if anything jumps out at you.

Rk	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Texas
3	Penn State
4	Texas Tech
5	Oklahoma
6	Oregon
7	Georgia
8	Iowa
9	Alabama
10	Notre Dame
11	Texas A&M
25	Miami
37	Pittsburgh
54	Boise State
62	USC
72	NC State
73	Navy
74	Syracuse
86	Boston College
90	Arkansas
91	Stanford
101	Purdue

2025 DFEI Ratings — BCF Toys

 

[Dale]

Well, the defensive coordinator is the guy the head coach puts in charge of the part of the team designed to stop the opposition from scoring. The players are the guys in helmets. The numbers are the years since Jesus was born. If there's anything else you'd like cleared up, just let me know.

 

[SportsingHard]

Learn to communicate like a big boy, and I'll treat you like a big boy.

 

[Dale]

Learn to communicate like a big boy, and I'll treat you like a big boy.

Kinky

 

[NDpendent]

Hell of a start for Ass. He has to be the best defensive coordinator we have had since Al Golden

 

[Dale]

Two minute drill defense is easily the worst part of this defense