re: Rumored/Hired Assistant Coaches (Rocker Out, Eason In)

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Q: Your job here is a new role for this staff. Describe your job as senior defensive analyst.

What's an analyst do on a college football staff? Mizzou staffers talk shop
Missouri senior defensive analyst Ted Monachino

A: During the week I’m working ahead. I’m on the next opponent. By Sunday I’ve got some ideas in the can that I’m ready to present to the guys from a situational standpoint. First and second down. Third down. The red area. The things we’ll talk about as a full staff. I’ll give them some ideas about not only what (the opponent) does but things I’ve seen on tape or that I’ve done in my past I’m able to give input on.

Then during practice I stand back and my job is to assist, support and simplify. Wherever I can do any of those three things is what I do. I can’t give any instruction to a player on the field. Now I can stand back and point out big things effort-wise, but I can’t really coach on the field. Now in the building, when I walk by guys I can talk football with them. They can come watch tape. They can do a lot of things. But out there on the grass I can’t (coach). The majority of my time has been in film study. It’s been a great lab for me. It’s not like I’m doing all the giving. Coach (Odom) gave me the opportunity to come in here and learn a lot of football. College is a completely different game than pro football right now.

Q: So at this point, you’re an expert on all things Georgia your next opponent?

A: I’m on the track to getting there. I’m not there quite yet. It’s still early in the week. By Friday I’ll have a really good feel for a lot of things they do. I’m watching as much film as I can get my hands on. Historical film still plays because those guys have a DNA. You like to figure those things out. What do they like to do on second and 7-plus? What do they like to do on blitz downs? What do they do on downs when they think they’re going to get pressure? When they do get pressure, can we design something that’s unblocked?

Q: What’s your role on game day?

A: I stand as far away from the ball as I can with a little notecard and a wet erase pen and I write a note or two on every snap that occurs with our call in mind and with the structure of what the offense does in mind. If there’s something I need to get in the staff between series I get that to them. There’s a couple ways I’ve done that. I’ve gone to one of our younger coaches and said, ‘Are we talking about A, B and C? Because these are the three things that came up in that series. We lost an edge. We had a guy running free in Cover 2. And we had a bad blitz track.’ If (defensive grad assistant) Grant (O’Brien) gives me the thumbs up that we’re covering those things as we speak I know I can move on, erase my card and get ready for the next series. If it’s something I need to get to (defensive coordinator) Ryan (Walters) specifically, ‘Hey, don’t forget you’re now in this situation: It’s a heavy run-pass tendency in this direction,’ then I can get that to them before the next series.

Q: But you can’t be on the headsets with the other coaches?

A: No. I have no access to any electronic communication. Anything I can do has to be face to face.

Q: You’re also not allowed to coach players on the field. You’ve been doing that all your professional life, so how different is this role?

A: It’s completely different. It’s a different role that I’ve learned to enjoy. My DNA is I want to coach players, so that part has been a little difficult. But the staff has been great and they’ve allowed me to have some input where it was warranted. During training camp I took copious notes every day during practice and did a write-up of what I saw during the course of practice for how we were doing in individual (drills), how we were doing in small groups and team (drills), how we were communicating as a staff and from player to player and coach to player. There’s a lot that goes into it, and I get to stand back and take a broad snapshot of what’s going on. That’s a good place to be.


Q: These positions are usually short-term. Does that make it difficult not knowing what’s next?

A: If I keep my priorities in order the length of this job really doesn’t matter. If this becomes a five-year job or a five-month job, as long as I keep my priorities to assist, support and simplify, there’s going to be a need for that in perpetuity. There’s always a need for that. Right now, the thing I’ll tell you is my family stayed in Indianapolis so we didn’t have to move twice in five months. Our expectation is less than a year from now at the end of the season there are going to be jobs that move. Whether those jobs are in college football or pro football, we’ve got to be in tune to what those movements are and willing to go where the job is.

Q: College staffs are so different, so much bigger now compared to when you played. Is it because there’s so much more information available, more resources, more at the coaches’ fingertips?

A: That’s the thing. That’s why you need those bodies. You’ve got so much data you can manipulate and crunch in many different ways. You need enough guys with eyes on all those beats. It’s completely different. Even as a college coach. When I was last a college coach, there were nine of us and the head coach. We were it. We were the recruiting department. We were the academic department. There was compliance and the people who helped us in academic support, but we were responsible for everything the kids did from the moment their feet hit the ground until they went to bed at night. That part of it is good. Our coaching staff has a chance to really focus in and soak in football more during the day than what I did when I was coaching in college. It’s different for sure. There’s so many people here who all they want to do is help. Because of Mr. Sterk and what Coach has done, we’re not lacking in any area in terms of finding guys who can get answers when you need them.

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"Assistant to the Head Coach"

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