PDA

View Full Version : Coyer speaks softly, but his "D" carries a big stick



Lonestar
12-13-2009, 03:27 AM
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/12/2009 01:00:00 AM MST


Former Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer, left (Denver Post file photo)There are big guys who couldn't knock a petal off a flower. There are small guys who would ruthlessly unload on their brother. There are Einsteins who can't rethread a chain on a bicycle and there are middle school dropouts who can rebuild an engine with no more than a wrench and a quarter.

And then there is easygoing Larry Coyer and the tenacious defense he coordinates.

The defense Coyer ran for the Broncos in 2003-06 and the Indianapolis Colts now is a stark contradiction from Coyer the person.

Coyer the man is a 66-year-old grandfather who had his share of hip pain in his final two seasons with the Broncos.

An "old soul," as former Broncos defensive lineman Ebenezer Ekuban once called him, Coyer was raised along the hills of the West Virginia-Kentucky border. Coyer is a pipe smoker — the ultimate hobby in casualness — and speaks politely and softly, if he says anything at all.

This week, he said nothing at all. Coyer respectfully declined an interview request as his Colts' defense was preparing to play the Broncos in a matchup of AFC playoff contenders Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Coyer the defensive coordinator is heavy on stunts, aggressive with the blitz, and a strong believer in one athletic characteristic above all others.

"He's always been about speed," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "When he was here, we had a much smaller team. But he liked it when those guys up front could run."

Particularly at linebacker. In 2005, the Broncos' trio of Ian Gold, Al Wilson and D.J. Williams was arguably the league's fastest set of linebackers.

It's clear to Broncos coach Josh McDaniels that the 2009 Colts defense has Coyer's influence.

"They play faster than any team in the league," McDaniels said. "Everybody on this defense is fast. Their front is fast. They play fast. They stunt fast. They blitz fast. They cover fast. Everything that they do is about speed."

Looking back, one of Mike Shanahan's most debatable coaching decisions was dismissing Coyer from his defensive coordinator duties after the 2006 season. Under Coyer's watch, the Broncos ranked fourth in total defense in 2003 and 2004, third in scoring defense in 2005 and allowed a Denver Doomsday-like 7.3 points per game through six games in 2006.

Yes, the Broncos' defense slumped badly in the final 10 games of 2006. But it was a defense trying to adjust without star defensive linemen Trevor Pryce, who had been lost to free agency, and Courtney Brown, who suffered a season-ending injury.

And Wilson, the defensive captain, was playing with what eventually was diagnosed as a career-ending neck injury.

The Broncos replaced Coyer in 2007 with Jim Bates, who was replaced in 2008 by Bob Slowik. The defensive results from those two seasons were so abysmal that Shanahan got himself fired after last season.

Coyer, meanwhile, moved on to Tampa Bay for two years as an defensive assistant before getting a call from one of his former players to become an NFL coordinator again. In 1974, Coyer was the University of Iowa's defensive coordinator when Jim Caldwell was a two-year starting sophomore at defensive back.

Thirty-five years later, Coyer had a job waiting for him and now runs a defense for a 12-0 team.

"Larry has done a tremendous job of giving us flexibility within our scheme," Caldwell said this week. "Because he was very familiar with what we were doing, he was able to come in and blend maybe a little more aggressive style than what we were accustomed to. He's a guy who's a real sound teacher. Really committed to what he believes in."

Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13981611