Using Change As a O n behalf of Mount Union College, our
head football coach Larry Kehres; our
defensive staff, Joe Leigh (defensive tack-
Proponent for Success les), Vince Kehres (defensive ends, Marty
Cvelbar (linebackers), Jeff Wojtowicz (sec-
ondary) and our outstanding players, it is
an incredible honor and privilege to be able
to contribute to the AFCA 2002 Summer
Manual.
One factor that I have learned during 25
Don Montgomery years of coaching is that change is both
inevitable and necessary. It is necessary
Defensive because our opponents are adjusting their
Coordinator schemes to beat our strengths. It is
inevitable because without it, there would
Mount Union be no improvement or growth in our pro-
College gram. Yes, change can be intimidating and
cause a good deal of adversity. However, if
Alliance, Ohio you see it as a challenge and an opportu-
nity, it can be profitable for everyone
involved.
The change that we are going to share
with you refers to the reasons and advan-
tages of changing from the 4-4 defense to
the 4-3 defense following the 1999 football
season. After all, we had just set the record
for most consecutive wins in NCAA history
at 54 straight and won four Division III
Vince Kehres
national titles (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998). So
why the change? Read on!
Defensive Ends
There Must Be an Atmosphere!
A. First and foremost, there must be a
reason established for the change.
B. Second, there must be total staff
commitment and dedication to adapt the
changes to your scheme and personnel.
C. Third, your players must believe that
the changes being made are beneficial and
necessary for their future success.
The changes made by our football staff
prior to the 2000 football season proved to
be beneficial to our football program. They
were based on the following criteria:
Advantages of the 4-3 defense
1. Better Matchups: More teams are
throwing the ball and using the spread
offense. We were having a variety of
matchup problems based on alignment and
personnel. Linebackers were matched up
on wide receivers in the perimeter of our
Diagram 1
Total Run Pass Comp
Year Scheme Record Def. Avg. Avg. %
1999 4-4 10-0 312.3 119 193 49.5 13
2000 4-3 10-0 272.8 92 181 45.5 16
2001 4-3 10-0 216.1 109 106.8 38.7 17
• AFCA Summer Manual — 2002 •
defense. Moving to the 4-3 defense allowed
us to match up more efficiently. As a result,
the number of passes completed against our
defense has dropped dramatically.
2. Adjustment Efficiency: With the
wide variety of formations that our oppo-
nents were using, we found that the 4-3
scheme allowed for more efficient adjust-
ments made by our secondary instead of
our linebackers. We have found that we
spend less time on adjustments in practice
and more time on practicing our schemes.
3. Deception and Versatility: We are
able to execute a wide variety of cover-
ages, zone dogs and man blitzes from the
same look. By utilizing pre-shifts and the
field clock, we can confuse the quarterback
and disrupt the offensive game plan. When
we were in the 4-4 the quarterback only
needed to look at the FS and weak OLB to
determine what coverage that we were
executing.
4. More Efficient Run Support
Angles: The 4-4 enables you to commit 8
defenders to the run. The 4-3 enables you
to commit nine defenders to the run when
the situation exists. We have found it to be
an enormous advantage to get our sec-
ondary involved in run support.
5. More Aggressive up Front:
Because of better matchups and run sup-
port in the perimeter by our secondary, the
4-3 defense enables us to be more aggres-
sive with our defensive line and linebackers.
6. Practice efficiency is increased:
The 4-3 defense can adjust to anything
your offense needs to see for execution
purposes in practice. This is beneficial to
our offensive practices. With our terminolo-
gy we can simulate any defensive scheme
that our offense needs to see in practice.
Below, (Diagram 1) is a brief statistical
analysis of our defensive performance for
the past three years (based on 10-game
schedule).
Based on the statistical analysis of our
defensive performance, the changes that
we have made proved to be beneficial to our
defensive execution and success. What
cannot be seen is the overall enthusiasm,
commitment, dedication and fun that the
change has brought to our football program.
TD Pts Per Overall
Int Pass Game Record
13 16.3 12-1
14 14.2 14-0
5 8.6 14-0
 A scheme is nothing without players that
will carry out their responsibilities and a
philosophy that is used to attack our oppo-
nents. Our philosophy has remained con-
sistent but small changes had to be made
emphasizing the execution and benefits of
the 4-3 defense.
Defensive Philosophy
1. Play 11-as-1: do your job first and
contribute to team success. Run the ball,
team pursuit, be relentless.
2. Defend and attack (PFP) Players,
Formations and Plays. Make them beat you
left handed by taking away what they do best.
3. Stop the run.
4. Force them to pass, harass the quar-
terback by deception and pressure.
5. Win the third down battle.
6. Create turnovers.
7. Score on defense.
8. Win the kicking game.
9. Keep it simple to maximize performance.
Keeping it simple has proved to be a
vital component to our execution and suc-
cess. We align in three fronts. We have a
reason for executing and aligning in each
of them.
Diagram 2: Tiger
Diagram 3: Lion
Diagram 4: Eagle
Note: Linebacker alignments are based
on coverage.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce
our defensive ends coach, Vince Kehres.
Vince has done an outstanding job coach-
ing our defensive ends. Both of our ends
were All-Americans last year and were a
vital part of our defensive success. I
attribute that to Vince. Moving to the 4-3
scheme has been beneficial to the execu-
tion of their techniques. Vince will share
with you some of the coaching philosophy
he employs coaching our ends.
The transition to the 4-3 defense has
allowed us to be more aggressive with our
defensive line particularly the defensive
ends. In the 4-4 defense our ends were
taught to read first and then react. In the 4-
3, we teach our ends to go on the snap of
the ball and react on the move. Our phi-
losophy is “Play Fast.” We drill all of the
defensive linemen to burst out of their
stance on the snap. This puts them in a
better position to rush the quarterback on a
pass. It also enables them to make plays
from behind and aggressively attack any
trap or kick out block, forcing the ball to spill
outside to our perimeter defender(s).
I often read defensive schemes that
emphasize defensive linemen occupying
blockers so that the linebackers are free to
run to the ball and make tackles. At Mount
Union we emphasize to all of our players
on defense the importance of defeating
blocks and running to the football. We
expect our players to be productive and
that is a major factor in our evaluation of
them. Simply occupying a gap of responsi-
bility without making plays is not good
enough.
The defensive linemen are evaluated
through a point system in which their score
is determined by dividing the number of
points they scored on the production chart
with the number of plays they were in the
game. This system has motivated the play-
ers to compete for those points on the field
and to thoroughly prepare themselves each
week so they can anticipate what is coming
from the offense in the game.
I like to consider our defensive staff as
“do” coaches as opposed to “don’t” coach-
es. Instead of constantly telling the players
what we don’t want them to do (i.e. get
reached, get chopped) we are constantly
telling them what we want them to do and
how to do it. By constantly giving positive
reinforcement when they do what we want
them to do they gain a great deal of confi-
dence. I also feel that players will perform
better when they are not afraid to take risks
• AFCA Summer Manual — 2002 •
and if they have a say in what they are
being asked to do. After all, they are the
ones playing the game.
Allowing our defensive ends to play
aggressively in our 4-3 style of defense has
been very successful for us. In 2001 both of
our starting defensive ends had 18 tackles
for loss during the regular season. In 14
games the defensive line had accounted
for 35 of our 44 sacks. Aggressive play
from our defensive front still allowed us to
play solid against the run and intensified
our pass rush as we held our opponents to
under 39 percent completion percentage.
In closing, the change to the 4-3
defense has been beneficial and challeng-
ing. We hope that this article will prove to
be beneficial to you by giving you some
ideas and hope for future success. We sin-
cerely appreciate the opportunity to con-
tribute to the AFCA Summer Manual and
wish all of you continued success.
100 Percent
That’s what a coach asks of
his players and that’s what
the American Football
Coaches Association is ask-
ing of football coaching staffs
at all 700 plus institutions
fielding college football teams
throughout the country.
One hundred percent mem-
bership in the AFCA by
coaching staffs will result in a
more effective voice in mat-
ters affecting the game and
the coaching profession,
from rules legislation to
coach of the year voting.
Set the standard. Be sure
every member of the football
staff at your school is a
member of the AFCA.
 American Football Coaches Association
Code of Ethics Summary
“The ultimate success of the principles and
standards of this Code depends on those for
whom it has been established — the football coaches.”
Ever since the AFCA adopted its first formal “PURPOSE: The Code of Ethics has been
Code of Ethics in 1952, the organization has developed to protect and promote the best inter-
had a keen awareness of its importance and ests of the game and the coaching profession.
has done all in its power to keep the public Its primary purpose is to clarify and distinguish
aware of the AFCA’s concern with morality and ethical and approved professional practices
integrity. from those considered detrimental.

A complete copy of the Code of Ethics is sent to
every member.Vital tenets include:
“PREAMBLE: The distinguishing characteristic of
a profession is its dedication to the service of
humanity.
“Those who select football coaching must
understand that the justification for football lies
in its spiritual and physical values and that the
game belongs, essentially, to the players.
“Its secondary purpose is to emphasize the pur-
pose and value of football and to stress the
proper functions of coaches in relation to
schools, players and the public.”
The AFCA Code of Ethics deals at length with
the following subject areas:
Article One: Responsibilities to players
Article Two: Responsibilities to the institution

“The welfare of the game depends on how the
coaches live up to the spirit and letter of ethical
conduct and how the coaches remain ever
mindful of the high trust and confidence placed
in them by their players and the public.
Article Three: Rules of the game
Article Four: Officials
Article Five: Public Relations

“Coaches unwilling or unable to comply with the Article Six: Scouting

principles of the Code have no place in the profes-
sion... Article Seven: Recruiting

“The Code should be studied regularly by all
coaches and its principles should always be fol-
lowed. Violations of the Code should be report-
ed to the Ethics Committee.”
Article Eight: Game day and other responsibili-
ties
Article Nine: Acceptance of all-star assignments
and other all-star coaching honors

Be A Responsible Member Of
The Football Coaching Profession
Follow The AFCA Code Of Ethics