Kevin Steele: D "absolutely" will get job done vs. the A&M's and Clemson's of the world ... "Just push 9-1-1 when you need us"

You never want to hear your defensive coordinator say the words “Push 9-1-1.”

But, in this one instance, perhaps, it all makes sense.

New Miami Hurricanes coordinator Kevin Steele puts it into perspective.

On defense, he says he simply wants his players focused in … whether Miami’s leading or losing … and whether the offense has put the D in a bad position or not.

“We’re firemen, we’re first responders,” Steele said. “You don’t want the firemen pulling up to your house saying `Who started this?’ `How did it happen?’ `It looks like it’s burning pretty hot, I don’t know if I want to fight that.’ That’s not what happens. They run, put the fire out, get back on the truck. So whatever (the situation, including being put in bad situations by the offense), just push 9-1-1 when you need us. We’re good.”

Steele has been around the block once or twice. And he doesn’t mind letting you know he’s an older guy. In this case, age certainly equals wisdom.

Steele has seen it all on both sides of the ball.

So, when he came into this University of Miami program, he was able to assess the pieces he inherited, got some more added in the transfer portal, has seen much of what he has by coaching 15 spring practices and is now gearing up for fall drills.

Oh, and along the way he’s studied some opponent film and what he expects to see from those offenses as well.

So does he think the pieces he has at UM, under his tutelage, can get the job done as needed to perhaps upset Texas A&M and Clemson, the teams most see as the Canes’ biggest challenge on this year’s schedule?

“Absolutely,” Steele said. “You can’t flunk our tests. If you flunk an English test they fire the student, okay? If you flunk our test…

“The test is to get aligned with a group of guys that are mentally and physically tough, that have worked hard enough that they will not surrender what they work for. That’s No. 1. And then put them in position to take away what offenses do best. Make them play left-handed.”

Steele does that by running a multiple defense that he describes as “complex, yet simple.”

Some changes in terminology as it pertains to position groups: Miami now has a Mike and a Mac designation in the middle, the latter in nickel and dime. And there’s a WILL and a Money, denoting the same. Plus he brought in the STAR position, which is essentially a nickel back.

“You get the right players in the right position so they can be successful,” Steele says. “That is a process we are still in. This fall camp is going to be huge.”

So does the above mean a guy like James Williams could move into the box and you get a Kam Kinchens and Avantae Williams playing behind him?

“We can put safeties in the box and go dime defense where we have seven DBs out there,” Steele says. “So we can do that.”

Steele cautions, though, that he views Williams only as a safety.

“We are going to put the best guys out there, and in some scenarios you could see that combination (of the three safeties on the field together),” Steele said.

As for personnel?

A lot will hinge on the attack up front, and the D line was helped by several transfers. Akheem Mesidor and Mitchell Agude are likely starters at end unless Jahfari Harvey can hold them off. Mesidor also is able to work inside. Then you have transfers Jacob Lichtenstein, Darrell Jackson and Antonio Moultrie who will push Leonard Taylor and Jared Harrison-Hunte for starting roles inside.

Asked if there’s an upper echelon Power Five front four, Steele said, “With a lot of work. But we go to the same church every day, hear the same sermon every day: Work, work, work. That’s part of the culture, the lead facet. Here’s the thing We have the guys that can get it done. But the key is with hurry-up offense, you saw a lot of tired defenses in the fourth quarter. It’s going fast and the hurry-up team breaks away at the end because (the defense) is worn out. So when you’re 290-320 (pounds out there) you have to get the notion that there is two starting defensive tackles (out of your mind). Yeah, there’s the scoreboard `He’s the starting defensive tackle for today’s game.’ Well, he may play the first series and someone else the second and someone else the third and he plays the fourth. We have to have more than two starting defensive tackles. We have to have four, five, six starting defensive tackles.

“With the work we’ve put in, we’re getting to that point right now. We feel comfortable with it today. Now, 21 days from now there’ll be a different assessment.”

Steele says players are buying into the concept that there is no true starter on the D line.

“You cannot have two starting defensive ends, you better have more,” Steele says. “So you mentally condition them, `Hey guys, look, there may be games we play 80, 85 snaps. Do you want to play all 85 of them? You have to prepare multiple starters. I hate the scoreboard announcing the starting lineup. Some kids gets upset, `I didn’t get announced,’ so he feels like a second-teamer.”

At linebacker UM brought in transfer Caleb Johnson to be the starter in the middle, but there are question marks at the other two spots with returners like Waynmon Steed, Keontra Smith, Gil Frierson and maybe Chase Smith needing to help shore that up.

And don’t rule out returning MLB starter Corey Flagg from getting on the field perhaps with Johnson.

Steele wants the best players on the field. Period.

“If we have two Mikes that are better than any of the WILLs, then we have to tweak things,” Steele said. “I don’t care if we call them `Lion, Tiger, Giraffe.’ For the situation in the game, we have to get the best 11 players on the field.”

The secondary was hurt last year by the lack of an elite pass rush up front, allowing opponents to average 250.6 passing yards with 21 TDs and eight INTs. We don’t see that repeating, and in fact we think this can be one of the top defensive back groups in the ACC led by talented safety trio James Williams, Avantae Williams and Kam Kinchens. All three flashed last year. And at corner the team returns Tyrique Stevenson, who was solid last season, and brings in transfer Daryl Porter, Jr. to man the other corner spot. There’s also plenty of corner depth that will provide some great competition in fall drills with DJ Ivey, Al Blades, Te’Cory Couch and Marcus Clarke all experienced.

“Coming out of spring the most surprising advancement just in looking at things was probably the corner position,” Steele said. “We were pleasantly surprised.”

And that was with Stevenson out banged up and Porter not on board yet.

The bottom line on D?

“We can run, we’re a fast football team,” Steele said. “Coach (Aaron) Feld has done a phenomenal job in dealing with body mass. Bigger, stronger, faster with the guys we had. When you start seeing body fat going down in huge numbers and strength going up and speed and workload going up with all the computers that tell you how fast he ran…”

Steele also addressed the tackling issues of last year. And he pointed to an interesting aspect: A lot of the missed tackles were in one-on-one situations.

“Tackling in this day and age with the space game as it is, the first thing you have to do is minimize the times you have one-on-one tackles,” Steele said. “When you take missed tackles in a season and take a cutup, which I have watched of every team I’ve been on, this team included, you would be surprised at the percentage of missed tackles that is one guy, a one-on-one tackle. Well, the thing is 53 ½ yards wide. One guy one-on-one and you’ve got Waddle with the ball, that’s a hard tackle. So you have to minimize the times you’re in one-on-one. How do you do that? Through structure, teaching pursuit angles, effort and getting hats to the ball. It’s hard to miss tackles when you have three, four, five people on the tackle. It’s very easy to miss tackles when you have one guy on the tackle. We improved that in the spring.”

If you want some perspective on where this UM program is coming from and where it wants to get, perhaps Steele is your guy.

It’s no secret that for 20 years this Miami Hurricanes program hasn’t fared particularly well.

Steele can relate to one of his personal coaching stops. He came in with Nick Saban at Alabama in 2007 as defensive coordinator. That program was coming off a 6-7 season and three years prior was 4-9.

That year the Crimson Tide went 7-6, and thereafter the team hasn’t had less than 10 wins in a given season.

Steele was also there in 2008 before leaving for Clemson.

As he put it, at ‘Bama, it was a case of “it had been, and three years later it was again.”

For Miami, it’s also a case of “it had been,” with the program working to get it back.

The secret formula that Steele’s gleaned over his years?

“It’s physical and mental toughness backed up by hard work,” Steele said. “It’s not magic. It’s good players, and they have to buy in and change the culture. It’s been done here before, it can be done again. It will be done again.”

There you have it.

No need to call 9-1-1.