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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Football: Aggies Confident Dunn Can Improve NMSU Defense
By Tim Korte
Associated Press
LAS CRUCES — Joe Lee Dunn has made a name for himself as a turnaround specialist, salvaging struggling defenses by installing the 3-3-5 scheme he is widely credited with inventing.
His current job could be his biggest challenge yet.
Dunn took over as defensive coordinator at New Mexico State, which has had four winning seasons over the past four decades and hasn't reached the postseason since a win over Utah State in the 1960 Sun Bowl.
The challenge? Improve a unit that allowed an average of 429.9 yards and 36.2 points per game last season, when the Aggies were 4-9. New Mexico State was outscored 153-68 in the fourth quarter.
Could the 3-3-5 finally turn a key for New Mexico State? Head coach Hal Mumme believes so, noting Dunn has been highly regarded for his work in the past two decades. Plus, the scheme offers a good fit for the program.
"I just think it's a terrific way to play, especially in this part of the world where you can't always get the big guys who run fast," Mumme said. "If you can't have both, you may as well have speed and pursuit."
Dunn was defensive coordinator at South Carolina (1987-88), Memphis (1990-91, 2002-05), Mississippi (1993-92), Arkansas (1995) and Mississippi State (1996-2002). Before all that, he was head coach of the rival New Mexico Lobos (1983-86).
"People up there in Albuquerque said I got fired. Well, I didn't get fired. I resigned before I got fired," Dunn said, his Southern drawl dragging out the words.
Dunn and his defense shared the national spotlight after a headline-grabbing upset in 1991, when Memphis traveled to Los Angeles and stunned Southern California for a 24-10 upset at the Coliseum.
"We used the 3-3 defense the whole ballgame. It was interesting," Dunn said.
"Then, later when I got to Mississippi State, we ended up in a place where we didn't get defensive linemen. We could get super-good defensive backs and super-good linebackers, so I decided to play a three-man line," he said.
The pairing of Mumme and Dunn in Las Cruces is interesting because the two regularly matched wits during their days in the Southeastern Conference, when Mumme was Kentucky's head coach from 1997-2000.
And they should make an excellent match. Since Mumme arrived in 2005, his wide-open "Air Raid" offense hasn't been New Mexico State's biggest liability.
"It always intrigued me to be on a team Hal coached, to see what we could do defensive-wise," Dunn said. "I know Hal can move the ball and score some points, so that means now we can try some new things on defense."
Consider that cannon-armed quarterback Chase Holbrook returned for his senior season after being projected as a late-round NFL draft pick, and it shifts a measure of expectations for this fall onto Dunn and his new defense.
"If you look at Joe Lee's resume, every place he's gone he has done really well the first year," Mumme said. "I think he's got a good chance to come in and do that here."
Dunn's name came up when NMSU's former defensive coordinator, Woody Widenhofer, retired after last season. Mumme wanted to call Dunn, who last year coached at Ridgeway High School in Memphis.
Mumme said his initial plan was to ask Dunn to suggest a few young defensive coaches who have embraced the 3-3-5 scheme.
"I'm looking for a young guy to run your schemes," Mumme told Dunn.
"How about me? Am I young enough?" the 62-year-old assistant replied.
"Well, come on out and talk to me about it," Mumme said.
About 15 minutes later, the phone rang again. It was Dunn, concerned because his wife had advised him to wear a jacket and tie for a formal interview.
"I told him, 'Joe Lee, this is a recruiting trip, not an interview. If you want the job, it's yours,'" Mumme recalled.
"That was probably the most upsetting thing to him about coming out here," Mumme said. "He was afraid I'd make him wear a coat and tie."
So far, the new scheme is getting high marks from the Aggies, who initially struggled with some concepts in spring practice but reported feeling more comfortable as fall workouts began.
"It's a very fast, very smooth defense. Every play there's nine or 10 guys flying to the ball. It's going to be fun," said cornerback Davon House, who had four interceptions and started all 13 games last year as a freshman.
During two-a-days a year ago, the Aggies talked openly of securing the school's first bowl appearance since 1960, currently the longest such streak in the nation. They fell short, saddled by injuries that exposed depth issues.
At this season's media day, the bowl goal wasn't such a prevalent theme, though there remained an undercurrent of confidence.
"We have a lot of talent," said speedy receiver Chris Williams. "We feel we can make a run at our conference title but we need to bring it together on the field. Our biggest goal is to come together as a team. If we do that, we'll be fine."
Copyright ©2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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