FILM STUDY: Inside defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman's defense, with his Miami Hurricanes hiring expected to be announced Sunday

The Miami Hurricanes have Lance Guidry’s replacement: Minnesota defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, whose hiring is expected to be finalized and announced Sunday. Hetherman has his work cut out, of course, taking over a unit that faltered throughout most of the ACC schedule. This is a Canes team that allowed an average of 30.6 points and 363.4 yards over the eight conference games … and then gave up 42 points in the Pop-Tarts Bowl loss to Iowa State.

While Lance Guidry’s defense got significantly worse from 2023 to 2024, hence his firing, it was the opposite for the Minnesota defense that Hetherman took over for his lone season at the helm last year. His group made big strides from the prior year, going from ranked No. 70 in the nation in points per game allowed to No. 9, from 59th in pass yards allowed to 10th, from 64th in rush yards allowed to 12th and from 56th in total defense to No. 5.

Now he’ll look to have a similar jump at Miami.

Young up-and-coming Minnesota coordinator Corey Hetherman expected to be Lance Guidry’s replacement for Miami Hurricanes

So what will Hetherman’s defense look like at UM? Well, we’ll look at his one year as Minnesota’s coordinator in 2024 for clues on that. For starters, Hetherman runs a 4-2-5 that is very aggressive, and he puts an emphasis on getting game-changing plays like sacks, interceptions and forced fumbles while playing physical football.

As you turn on the tape from Minnesota’s season, you’ll see a difference between his and Guidry’s styles within the 4-2-5 scheme. For instance, Hetherman keeps it a bit more simple. He’s not going to line up six guys at the line and drop three into coverage and bring a safety or linebacker on that play. He isn’t as worried about trying to confuse the QB as he is about playing good, sound defense.

Also of note is he has experience in the past running a 4-3 and 3-4, and you’ll see elements of that at times. For instance we highlight a play where he used three linebackers once we get into the film study. He will do whatever suits his personnel and the opponent/game situation.

“Really for us it’s who are our best 11 and how we get the them on the field, and we’ll tweak our scheme and make it fit to get our best 11 guys on the field to make sure we’re flying around playing fast,” he said heading into his Minnesota job. “We are an attacking style defense, want to stay ahead of the sticks, create TFLs and sacks, try to stay on top of the offense all game on, make sure we’re trying attack them all day long, looking in the backfield. The No. 1 goal for us is stop the run. … We want less than three yards a carry.”

Hetherman says runs of 10 yards or more or 16-yard passes or longer are considered losing the explosives battle.

He wants a defense that will “swarm” and “fly around to the football.”

“We want to create takeaways, always be plus-two in that column,” he said. “Tracking, punching the football, capitalizing on any interceptions.”

Below are some examples of his scheme from Minnesota’s season that we could see brought over to Miami:

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This example is from a team that will see Hetherman’s defense again this year. Virginia Tech was Minnesota’s opponent in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl game.

This play is a typical Hetherman blitz, and he brings it in the early moments of the game. You see the four down linemen with the nickel and linebacker showing blitz and off coverage on the outside and one safety high. At the snap you see the front four get a nice push with the blitzing linebacker Devon Williams (9) getting picked up by the back but bouncing off and then descending on the QB for the sack. You also see the nickel doing a good job waiting for the outlet man (in this case the tight end) to come out as the safety valve. He picks him up. It’s a very well designed blitz with safe coverage behind it, not the press man we’d see with Guidry that could bust badly if the blitz doesn’t hit.

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This play is just a good example of Hetherman’s base defense in that same bowl game vs. Virginia Tech. Again, note how there isn’t all the pre-snap shifts on defense or post-snap linemen dropping into coverage while a linebacker blitzes, etc. This is just a good, sound system that players seem to generally understand and make it work. There’s press coverage at the snap seen to the top of the screen with safety help if needed, a four-man rush and then the defense drops into zone. If you freeze the screen at the end of the route trees (photo below) you’ll see all the receivers are well accounted for and the pass rush has the pocket well contained and is bearing down on the QB.

As you see in this play, it’s just a very solid, sound approach.

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This game against Michigan shows how Hetherman’s players really responded well to his scheme … and understood it even against a complicated play.

Here you see the Wolverines showing a potential jet sweep from the receiver at the top, but it becomes a read option keeper for the QB. As you watch this play, note how the defense is focused on its player by player assignments. The jet sweep draws nickel Jack Henderson’s attention as well as OLB Maverick Baranowski, and it’s Henderson that picks him up off the snap. When the play doesn’t go to the receiver, Baranowski reacts to the handoff, but is picked up by a lineman. But that frees up the defensive tackle to ward off one blocker and make the play on the keeper. Meanwhile the running back who didn’t get the handoff would have been smothered for a loss by charging DE Anthony Smith. And the two high safeties help the defense prevent any big play from popping out if something does break free. Again note the difference from Guidry in the same 4-2-5 and how there is none of the crazy post-snap dropping/blitzing or one-on-one coverage of receivers down the field by DEs/LBs. It’s just sound reactionary defense being played.

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We’ll use this clip to illustrate how Hetherman deals with third-and-long situations. Here you can see that he wants to show pressure at the snap to get Nevada’s QB to make a quick read and subsequently a pass that will be short of the sticks. It was a great look to force that. And at the snap you will see some of that Guidry-esque dropping off the line, but in this case it’s a linebacker and he only backs off a yard or two into zone … not the way Guidry would task linemen or linebackers with falling back five or 10 yards or sometimes even into trying to cover guys one on one. Again, you see his players fully understand their roles in this clip and all the receivers are covered up in man coverage with safety help over the top. The only mistake here is from DL Danny Striggow, who doesn’t hold the edge and charges upfield too quickly. But his mistake doesn’t cost Minnesota because the team has held up in its downfield coverage.

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Here you see an example of an intricate blitz with solid coverage behind it. And Hetherman is using three linebackers on the play. LB Mason Carrier (48) is showing blitz at the bottom of the screen at the snap and winds up dropping back several yards into zone. And there is some complexity here, with another linebacker Devon Williams (9) blitzing at the snap despite being five yards off the line – he is picked up by the RB and has no major impact on the play. The third linebacker, Cody Lindenberg, takes zone coverage in the middle along with the safety, a good move by Hetherman knowing the QB will be looking for his tight end running into that spot vacated by the blitzing Williams. So it’s man to man on the outside, zone in the middle and the linebacker blitzing with two high safety help just in case. On this play the QB is pressured, doesn’t have anyone open and throws it up with the interception the result. And what got the QB pressured? Well, Hetherman brings five and the left guard was beaten by DL Jah Joyner (17). So really it was a sound defensive scheme behind a little pressure that got him one-on-one blocking matchups for his right end and right defensive tackle.

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Just for the sake of fairness, we’re not going to pretend everything is perfect with any defense, Hetherman’s included. Above you see how even in the bowl game against Virginia Tech there is still confusion and a big bust. In this case the four man rush doesn’t get there fast enough and WR Ayden Greene (26) is wide open for a huge gain to the one. Greene lined up in the slot next to the right tackle, and LB Maverick Baranowski picks him up initially and then thinks he’s handing him off to a safety … but there is no one there. So, as is the case with any coordinator, players have to know their responsibilities … and the pass rush has to get there.

Now back to Hetherman’s philosophy.

He said he stresses the need for his players to study opposing offenses so that they can “understand the concepts from the opposing teams.” He also said last season that he ties things in from the front to the back in terms of where pressures come from and how he protects behind that.

“It has to be tied in – whether you’re trying to move the quarterback off the pocket, collapse the pocket, where you’re trying to push the windows from the throws based on how we’re rotating,” he said. “Where maybe the strength of our coverage is or the weakness of how that offense tries to attack you (are considered).”

Hetherman also said prior to taking the job at Minnesota that he stresses a 4-2-5 “attacking style defense” that can “stop the run, win the explosive battle, create takeaways,” and also emphasizes “discipline” and limiting penalties.

“Discipline is a huge thing for us,” he said. “We want to make sure we are playing disciplined football, limiting our penalties. One out of 30 in a game usually is a goal for us – all those mental mistakes, penalties, the offsides, different things just have to make sure our guys are discipline and follow through with everything we teach.”

Overall Hetherman says the goal is to “be violent” and “intimidate our opponents.”

“We want to give them no hope right from the very start of the game,” he summed up.

No hope? That sure would be nice for Miami fans that pretty much had no hope watching this Miami defense in 2024.