University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Football Press Conference (1.12)
January 12, 2016 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee head coach Butch Jones and defensive coordinator Bob Shoop spoke to reporters on Tuesday in the Ray & Lucy Hand Digital Studio.
Click the above player to see what Coach Jones and Coach Shoop said!
Coach Jones Opening Statement
"Good afternoon, it's good to see everyone again. I appreciate you coming out. Today is a great day, a great opportunity. I'm excited to introduce our new defensive coordinator, Bob Shoop. When you look at one's track record, we want an individual who has a great track record. I think that success speaks for itself. The last five years he produced top 25 defenses. At Penn State in 2014 they were ranked 2nd in the country. He's obviously very sought after, and I think that it has a direct correlation with him being a great teacher, motivator, leader, recruiter, and an even better person. I've had the opportunity to compete against him on two occasions, and I left very impressed with their style of play, the way they attacked, the effort they gave, the details, and the fundamentals that they played with in every game that we saw. Not only playing against them, but on video as well. In preparing to play Northwestern in the Outback Bowl, we were able to see them on video as well. I'd also like to thank Dave Hart, and our entire administration for making this a possibility, and a reality today. This was a great group effort. We are excited about it. Everything is critical. We're looking at everything on how we can continue to grow and elevate our football program. The progress we've made in three years is staggering. There has been a lot of work and effort that has gone into it, from all accounts of everyone involved. We have to step back and look at how we can take the next step, and how we can continue to get better.We believe that Coach Shoop helps us in that process to building it brick by brick, and to continue to grow and elevate our football program."
Coach Shoop Opening Statement
"First and foremost, I just had a couple things I wanted to share. I want to thank Mr. Hart and thank Coach Jones for the opportunity they've provided for me and my family. I can't begin to tell you how excited we are to be part of the Vol Nation. I'd like to thank the incredible fan base for the reception they provided over the past 48 hours on social media. Transitions, as you can imagine, are never easy, especially when family's involved, and you've made me and my family feel very welcome. I look forward to serving you to the best of my ability.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Coach [James] Franklin. He took a chance five years ago on a 1-AA defensive coordinator. He helped me get to this level. I'm appreciative of that. Together, we went to five straight bowls. We had five straight top 25 defenses. I'm very, very proud of what we accomplished together.
"Why was this job appealing to me? This job was appealing for many reasons. Having lived in Nashville for three years, you can't help but become aware of the most recognizable brand in all of college athletics - the Power T. You grow to realize that Tennessee football is a way of life, and that was appealing to me.
"I was at Vanderbilt in 2013 when Coach Jones was hired. I never had the chance to meet him until last week, but I always admired his process - the Brick By Brick mentality, the attention to detail, the intensity, the passion, the toughness, the championship culture that he's created here, the steady improvement - from 5-7, to 7-6, to 9-4 - and a top 25 finish this year, winning two straight bowl games, winning six games to end this season. I knew it was just a matter of time, and I think this team is poised to compete for SEC championships and playoff berths.
"Spending time with Coach Jones and his staff last week certainly validated those feelings, and I really felt like I was a good fit and could fit in, and help the program get to the next level. Last Friday was a unique interview process. Coach [Jones] locked me in a room with the defensive staff and said, `You guys figure this thing out.' I spent 12 hours with [Coach Stripling], with [Coach Thigpen] and [Coach Martinez], and it reinvigorated me. It was great. We really enjoyed it. The chemistry was great, and I was sold. This is a big time defensive staff. These guys are good coaches.
"I like the fact that this isn't a rebuild. I think the parts are in place for this to be a championship unit. I really think that. My man is sitting somewhere in here, Jalen Reeves-Maybin. He's the undisputed leader of this group. He's a special guy, and he knows that. We've got big time players up front. Derek Barnett's a guy I've had a relationship with from being at Vanderbilt. Cam Sutton is certainly a premier corner, and there's a lot, lot more.
"After visiting with the defensive staff, we sort of concluded, Coach [Jones] used the term before, `enhance.' Because this wasn't a rebuild - our philosophy, our identity was somewhat similar - we felt this was a pretty easy deal right here. We could certainly mesh the ideas and the things that the UT defense did very well with the things that we did well at Vanderbilt and Penn State over the last five years. We felt if we mesh those together, we had a chance to be a special unit.
"What can you expect from the Tennessee defense, from a Bob Shoop coached defense? I say this all the time. I came here, and I've been charged. I know what the expectations are here. We're here to build a championship caliber defense, let me be clear on that. From the first time I meet with the unit later on today, we're going to establish that championship mindset in all that we do. That's something that's important to me.
"I thought when I met with Coach Jones, the core values of our defensive unit were consistent with the core values he has for the program. We want players to play the game with tremendous passion, play with great toughness, and play with a team-first mindset - guys that understand how their job fits into the unit, doing their job.
"What will we be? We'll be an in-your-face style of defense that's built on relentless pursuit and never-ending pressure. Coach [Jones] also said, one of the things we talked about a lot was techniques over tactics - really coaching fundamentals, really coaching techniques, really coaching Football 101 - and I look forward to doing that this spring.
"Our formula for success, it's stood the test of time whether it's the Tennessee Titans, whether it's the Vols, whether it's the local high school. Stop the run. We're very committed to stopping the run, eliminating any and all explosive plays, and create takeaways. That's an area we think we can do better in. We want to be disruptive. We want to get after the quarterback. We want to create tackles for loss, something we were very good at last year at Penn State.
"As Coach [Jones] said, there's a big difference between playing well and playing winning football. All I want to do is win. I want to play winning football. Someone asked before about the role of a defensive coordinator when you have Alabama and Clemson, and these teams are scoring in the 40's and making 500 yards. To me, how you define winning football on defense has changed over the past few years. It's all about third down stops. It's about playing well in the red zone. It's about playing well in the clock situation. It's about creating takeaways. Those are the things that we're going to emphasize to the guys. It's not just about playing well. It's about playing winning football. We want to play our best when the game is on the line.
"When people talk about the scheme, I am a big believer in rather than recruiting players to fit a particular scheme, you tailor the scheme to what the players are capable of doing. You put them in a position that they can make plays. I assure you guys that it's going to be a fun style defense to watch, and even more fun for our guys to play.
"Once again, I would like to say thank you to everybody. I am very proud to be a part of Vol Nation and I am very proud to be your defensive coordinator."
