University of North Carolina Athletics
A Q&A With Coach Jim Fleming: Part I
July 22, 2003 | Football
By: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue: Was it much of an adjustment last year going from being a head coach to being an assistant coach?
Coach Fleming: "Before I became a head coach I was an assistant, so it's not a big adjustment. There are differences when you go back to a position group as opposed to a whole team. There are things that are slightly different.
"You have your own little piece of the puzzle, and you live and die by your guys' performance. The adjustment wasn't really from going to head coach to an assistant's position. The adjustment was going from winning a lot of games to not winning a lot of games. That was difficult on everybody in this building.
"Last year was the roughest year I've ever been through. Needless to say, nobody wants to do that again. There's a lot of hunger not only on the football team, but this staff is hungry. It's not acceptable to play like we did.
"Everybody shoulders their responsibilities, and you go on and work hard to try to make things right. Coach Bunting's done a good job in focusing the team in the right direction. We haven't looked back.
"You look forward both on the field and in recruiting. I think we had a very good recruiting year, time will tell.
"This summer Coach Connors is putting this team in position to physically do what we need to do. We'll come into camp, we'll have a good camp, we'll line up and go get ready to play."
TarHeelBlue: Did last season actually bring the staff closer together?
Coach Fleming: "We're all creatures of the same mold to some extent. We've worked extremely hard to correct the problems and move on. We know that you can't waste any time or energy pointing fingers at anybody. All our energy needs to be focused on correcting our problems and moving on.
"Our most important job begins on August 5. What we do between August 5 and August 30 will determine how good a football team we'll be."
TarHeelBlue: What is your most distinctive characteristic as a coach?
Coach Fleming: "I enthusiastically approach the game. I love the game of football. There's too many headaches involved with this profession to do it if you don't love it.
"I love watching the kids become successful, that's what gets me going. I love to stand there in the locker room after a big win and just look at their faces. I care about the kids, and I hope that comes through.
"If the kids know that you genuinely care about them, then the motivation and the teaching aspect of the job become easier. I hope that my enthusiasm and passion for the game transfers to the kids."
TarHeelBlue: Lets look at your group of defensive backs, starting with the free safeties.
Coach Fleming: "Let's start with Dexter Reid. That's an easy one. He's a team captain, a guy who we're counting on to have an unbelievable senior year. What he's done in the weight room during the off-season is very impressive, he looks the best he ever has. He's up to about 200 pounds, he's strong, he's working out like a fiend.
"Dexter just has to continue to put himself in the right position to make plays for us. Obviously I'm not overly concerned with him breaking a tackling record, I'd just as soon he not have to make 200 tackles for us to win ball games.
"The biggest thing for Dexter this year is to get his hands on more balls. My emphasis for him is to put himself in position to take the ball away more than he has the past couple of years. We need to increase our number of interceptions, they've been on the low end the past couple of years.
"We need for him to be able to take some balls out of the air. As for the rest of his skills, he's got the whole package as a defensive back."
TarHeelBlue: Do you think he'll play at the next level?
Coach Fleming: "Yes, without a doubt. He's focused on that as a goal. That's probably been a goal of his since he was 10 years old. He'll get a shot at it just based on his past track record, but how he puts himself in position for next April will be a function of how he plays this fall.
"This is a big season for Dexter, it's a big season for us. If he takes control back there it will help the whole defense to perform better."
TarHeelBlue: What about the rest of the free safeties?
Coach Fleming: "We've got Rashaad Tindall coming off a knee surgery. He's got a good spring under his belt. He showed a lot in the high school tape I've seen of him, it was very impressive.
"He has yet to show me the player he can be because he's in the typical stage of recovery coming off of major knee surgery. He did put himself in position to make some plays last spring, I was impressed with the way he was able to move.
"As with all young guys, he needs to get a full grasp of what he needs to do, then he needs to go out and make the play. I'm hopeful that he can be a big-time special teams guy for us, as well as get some quality snaps on defense. Hopefully, he can spell Dexter every once in a while so Dexter doesn't have to play 90 snaps a game.
"I'm excited about Rashaad, just as I'm excited about all these young kids. They're good kids who are working extremely hard, their best football is still ahead of them."
TarHeelBlue: Please discuss your strong safeties.
Coach Fleming: "Michael Harris can play either free safety or strong safety. He's a guy everybody needs to be looking for. He could really emerge, maybe not as a starter but as a guy who can give us quality snaps. He made a number of plays in the spring. He's very focused, he wants it in the worst way. He has a tremendous amount of desire. It's going to be hard to keep him off the field because he wants it so much. It will be interesting to watch him come along in August.
"I'm excited about having Mahlon Carey working with me now. He's only had fifteen practices on defense and that's it, but he's got the right attitude and the physical skills that will allow him to be successful. Just as with the other young guys, there's a lot he has to learn mentally. There's a lot to playing the safety position here.
"Tommy Richardson got his feet wet as a true freshman last year, then followed up with a good spring. He's got good size and decent speed.
"Ronnie Bryant is a guy who's in his third season here and it's time for him to play. He's another guy who was an offensive player who's learning to play defense. Physically, he looks the part, it's the knowledge and understanding of the game that he needs to work on. He's a guy you have to throw in the mix.
"All of these guys have got to be heavily counted on to be great special teams players for us as well. You look to build special teams with strong safeties, fullbacks, tight ends and the skill kids who can get the speed down the field.
"Ronnie had a pretty solid spring, and I'm interested in seeing how he pans out in fall camp.
"You have the makings of one heck of a competition in August for the strong safety position. That's going to be the first game for those guys, not Florida State. Competition makes you a better football team. I look forward to seeing who is going to emerge as the guy.
"There's a lot of raw material there. It's a question of taking it and seeing who's going to be the guy out there beside Dexter. I don't want Dexter to have to spend time worrying about is the other guy going to be in the right position. We've got to find a guy who will in the right spot at all times."
