University of North Carolina Athletics
A Q&A With Coach Gary Tranquill: Part II
July 28, 2003 | Football
By: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue: Did you have any pleasant surprises in the spring?
Coach Tranquill: "I thought Chad Scott had a very good spring, and we were very pleased with Ronnie McGill. McGill picked things up very quickly, he's a smart kid. It is a different pace in the spring, it's going to speed up quite a bit in the fall.
"Brian Chacos had a good spring, hopefully he can contribute. Jarwarski had a very good spring. That really wasn't a surprise, it was something I expected of him. But, Chacos was a very pleasant surprise.
"I don't think we came out of the spring with anything bad other than the fact that we're short at a couple of positions and we're going to have to do something to shore them up. We may have to go with an extra tight end or maybe one of the other fullbacks can come through or maybe we play two tailbacks. Plus, we have to come up with that seventh offensive lineman."
TarHeelBlue: What would you say is the single biggest problem you had with the offense last season?
Coach Tranquill: "It was probably our inability to sustain anything, then when we lost Durant we lost a lot of confidence. Also, our inability to run the ball hurt us. I don't think we had much toughness on offense. We couldn't line up and say 'Stop this' or 'Stop that' to the opponent.
"The biggest thing that hurt us and caused us to slide was that Virginia game. It was like popping a balloon, we never responded after that.
"Football's still a game of toughness, both mentally and physically. I think that in a lot of cases toughness overcomes athleticism. You don't have to be a great player, but if you're tough you can hang in there longer. Obviously what you want is a great player who's also tough.
"Two years ago we had some tough players on defense, then on offense we had a guy like Adam Metts. Metts was one tough guy. He played hard all the time, he didn't always do the right thing, but he was tough. That kind of stuff permeates throughout the whole group. I don't think we had anything like that last year.
"The front seven on offense and the front seven on defense are the two areas that dictate the game. That's where the mental and physical toughness starts. Football's still a game of blocking and tackling and that's never going to change."
TarHeelBlue: Who are you looking for to provide leadership on offense?
Coach Tranquill: "I hope it's Darian, and I think he's ready to do that. I hope Bobby Blizzard can also, then whoever else wants to jump up. Jeb Terry will provide leadership.
"I hope those two or three guys can pick the other guys up by their bootstraps and pull them along. Jason Brown's got a good year under his belt so hopefully he can be a leader.
"Durant has got to be a leader."
TarHeelBlue: You've coached in both college and the NFL. Do you coach the guys any differently at the different levels?
Coach Tranquill: "Speaking purely for myself, I don't think I've coached them any differently. You do have to remember that it's not always easy being 18 or 19 years old. Sometimes we as coaches lose sight of that.
"When I was with Cleveland I had Bernie Kosar, who had 10 years in the league and was still eager to learn. That's what you want. You can get into a discussion with a guy like that and it's like two coaches talking, rather than coach to player like it usually is in college.
"Kosar helped me every week. Every game you played he could tell you what you could do with this corner, what you could do with this safety, how you could beat a guy on a certain route, whatever. You don't get that in college. I try to coach that way sometimes, I'll say 'Do you feel good doing it that way, will it work?' Most of the time the college guy will go 'Sure, whatever you say.' The college kids are still a little wide eyed and afraid to speak up because they think the coach knows everything and they're afraid to speak up.
"I had a meeting in room in Cleveland that had white boards on three walls. Kosar would come in on Tuesday, which was supposed to be his day off, and spend the whole day in there looking at tape and writing on the boards. I would go in there on Tuesday night and he'd have all three boards covered. Not many of them do that. Very few college players will do that. Of course football's not a full-time job at this level like it is in the pros.
"My experience in the NFL was that those guys still wanted to learn and they still wanted to perform, so they listened to you. One necessity to be successful at either level is that your players trust you in a coaching sense."
TarHeelBlue: You've been coaching for over 40 years. How does last year rank?
Coach Tranquill: "I've never had a year like last year. It was the most frustrating year of my life.
"Fortunately there was no dissension on the staff. We've obviously got to do better this year. I'm really looking forward to this year.
"We've changed some things, maybe we can execute some things we haven't done in the past. We've got to get the ball to the guys who can make plays. Last year we didn't have a whole lot of guys who made plays for us. Sam did, and Chesley Borders had some games where he did, along with Jarwarski, but we didn't have anybody run the ball with any consistency. That makes it tough.
"Some times players make plays that overcome things that may not look so good on paper. We may say we can't run this against that defense, then the running back makes four guys miss and goes for a touchdown. Then you go 'Maybe that wasn't so bad after all.'"
TarHeelBlue: Focusing in on your position, is there any single thing that's the toughest for guys coming in out of high school?
Coach Tranquill: "Yes, the speed of the game. Things happen a lot faster than anything they've ever been accustomed to, plus there's more things that happen. They'll see a much greater number of different kinds of blitzes and coverages than they've ever seen.
"The speed of the game is the biggest difference for all freshman, no matter what the position. Then, if you're good enough to go to the NFL, you'll experience it at that level.
"The combination of the speed of the game combined with a totally new terminology takes a while to learn. I also think maybe it's easier with basketball than football. Freshmen who play basketball have a chance to get their feet wet in school before they begin practice, but that's not the case in football. Everything happens at once in football. You're away from home for the first time, classes are underway and you've got the pressure of football. It's not easy."
TarHeelBlue: When you're handed the box score after a game, is there any single stat you look at first?
Coach Tranquill: "The first thing I look at, and I usually already know the answer, is turnovers. The second thing I concentrate on is how many yards we had rushing."
TarHeelBlue: You've coached on both sides of the ball. Is there any position you haven't coached?
Coach Tranquill: "I've never coached offensive line. I've coached wide receivers, quarterbacks and running backs on offense. I've coached defensive backs and linebackers on defense, but I've never coached the line on offense or defense. I have been coordinator on both sides of the ball."
TarHeelBlue: You get very fired up during a practice. Do you love the game as much as ever after all these years?
Coach Tranquill: "I still particularly love the games and the practices. I like coaching, I like to be around my fellow coaches, I love to be around the players. I may get on them kind of hard at times, but it's to make them better. There's nothing better than seeing them improve.
"I'm looking forward to getting started. I'm looking forward to meeting with the coaches and the players, seeing what we can and can't do. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing a good game plan come together.
"It's almost here. I'm ready to get started."
