Chavis was my wish all along. He's a great coordinator who's been in the SEC and knows the conference. To me that is a big advantage over let's say a Walker, who comes in from a different conference with a different style of play. Patrick Peterson should be a star in a John Chavis defense. Since 1995 through 2008 - Chavis has produced eight first-team All-Americans, including three linebackers. Here's a list of Tenn. All-SEC performers: 2008 Eric Berry Defensive Back (AP, Coaches), Robert Ayers Defensive End (Coaches) 2007 Jonathan Hefney Defensive Back (Coaches), Jerod Mayo Linebacker (AP, Coaches) 2006 Turk McBride Defensive Tackle (AP) 2004 Jason Allen Defensive Back (Coaches), Kevin Burnett Linebacker (AP, Coaches), Jesse Mahelona Defensive Tackle (AP) 2002 Rashad Baker Defensive Back (Coaches), Julian Battle Defensive Back (Coaches) 2001 John Henderson* Defensive Tackle (AP, Coaches), Andre Lott Defensive Back (Coaches), Will Overstreet Defensive End (Coaches) 2000 John Henderson* Defensive Tackle (AP, Coaches), Will Overstreet Defensive End (AP), Eric Westmoreland Linebacker (Coaches) 1999 Shaun Ellis Defensive End (AP, Coaches), Dwayne Goodrich Defensive Back (Coaches), Deon Grant Defensive Back (AP, Coaches), Raynoch Thompson Linebacker (AP, Coaches), Darwin Walker Defensive Tackle (AP, Coaches) 1998 Raynoch Thompson Linebacker (AP, Coaches), Darwin Walker Defensive Tackle (AP), Al Wilson Linebacker (AP, Coaches) 1997 Jonathan Brown Defensive End (AP), Terry Fair Defensive Back (Coaches), Leonard Little Defensive End (AP), Al Wilson Linebacker (Coaches) 1996 Leonard Little Defensive End (AP, Coaches) 1995 DeRon Jenkins Defensive Back (AP, Coaches)
Don't forget that he and Stoops are the guys responsible for bringing the zone blitz to college football.
Something that stood out from another board: Vol blogger Clay Travis where he talks about the LSU hire of Chavis.
In that same blog entry, he wrote: Let me be succinct: great hire for LSU....this is one hell of a hire for LSU. Put it this way, I think Les Miles still has more questions to answer about his abilities than John Chavis does. Great hire. From an insider's perspective Chavis's defensive players never quit and give everything they have for him. It's one of many reasons why I said my ideal situation at Tennessee would be leaving Chavis with complete control of the defense and making Mike Leach UT's head coach. I don't know very many Vol fans who weren't sad to see him go. Earlier, when asked by an LSU fan what he thought of Chavis, he responded: I really think LSU would be crazy not to hire him. I've been talking with some of my Georgia friends lately and telling them the one hire they could make that would really scare me would be replacing Martinez with Chavis. ... Put plainly, Martinez is not a top-caliber coordinator. Chavis is. So I'd say if LSU can get him, you should thank your lucky stars and start saluting him on the sideline.
On the second front, Chavis does have a history of allowing more third and long conversions than you would like to see. But that also means his defenses put offenses into third and long situations fairly consistently. I'll take that and mix it up with our talent
Kelvin Sheppard and his dad (who were impressed with Chavis when Chavis recruited Kelvin), gave these quotes to the Advocate: “John Chavis is the man,” said Kelvin Sheppard Sr., the father of LSU linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. “If this is the decision coach Miles has come to, and if we can get our quarterback situation going, LSU will be right back in the national championship picture next season.” The Sheppards, along with Perry Riley and his father Perry Riley Sr., got to know Chavis well when he was recruiting both players [both Sheppard and Riley went to the same high school in Georgia]. Sheppard Sr. said his son took LSU and Tennessee hats to his announcement because he hadn’t made a final decision. “We love coach Peveto and how hard he worked to recruit Kelvin and Perry, but Chavis recruited them just as hard,” Sheppard Sr. said. “He was very sincere in what he was saying. The thing he talked about being the most important to him was getting kids educated. Football is second to him. He said he can’t promise that a kid is going to start, but he can promise a kid is going to graduate. That really stuck in my mind.” Sheppard Sr. said Chavis is comparable to former LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini because “he won’t hesitate to kick some behind.” “This guy is aggressive and intelligent and gets the best out of his players,” Sheppard Sr. said. “He never had the kind of talent at Tennessee that he’d have at LSU. He took two- and three-star guys and made them five-stars. Now he can start with four- and five-star guys. He’s going to get in their face when they need it. If a player makes a mistake, he’s going to deal with it right then whether it’s at practice, on the field or in the classroom. He’s going to push guys to be as good as they can be.” http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/36834844.html?index=27&c=y
