Greg McMackin officially becomes Defensive Coordinator

Providing his informative monthly schedule update (note the sarcasm), Herman Frazier said:
"We'll announce our schedule when the schedule is completed." (HSB)


After officially being named UH's new defensive coordinator, Greg McMackin said:
"It's just great to be back. I really came here for two reasons. One, to work with June Jones. The other is to help coach Jones and the players and coaches get a WAC championship. What June has done here is amazing. I'm really excited and humbled to be back." (HA)


About McMackin's return to UH, JJ said:
"We had fun in '99. As I tell all of my coaches, I try to make their job the best job they've ever had. That's what has happened. Every coach who has ever left has called and wanted to come back. Greg's lucky enough it worked out so he could do that." (HA)


About Advising McMackin to take the $350k offer from Texas Tech after the 1999 season, JJ said:
"He had to go. He had 350,000 reasons to go. I told him: 'There's no decision. You have to go.' " (HA)


About leaving UH after the 1999 season, his only season at UH, GM said:
"I came here (in 1999) to stay for life with June. I bought a house here. I brought my whole family over. And then life happens, and I got an opportunity I wasn't looking for. Texas Tech made a great offer, and June even knew I had to go." (HA)


About how he followed UH, even when he was assistant head coach for the SF 49ers, GM said:
"I even canceled meetings when I was at San Francisco to watch Hawai'i's games. Anytime it was on pay TV or ESPN, I watched every game." (HA)


About how his wife will join him in Hawaii but his daughter and grandchildren will stay in Lubbock, TX, GM said:
"My daughter has a good situation in Texas. She has her own business." (HA)


Expecting to stay at UH as long as JJ stays at UH, GM said:
"I'm going to be here as long as June's here. This is the last guy I'm going to coach with. He's like family. We were together a long time in the USFL. He's from Oregon. I really think he's the best coach in the game. I really do, and I've been with a lot of great coaches." (HA)


About the change to 4-3 defense after using 3-4 under Glanville, JJ said:
"The change won't be great. We'll run the same blitz schemes. Jerry added some things, just like (defensive coordinator Tom) Lempa added some things. But all of the calls and all of the principles are the same as they were in '99. Amani (Purcell) has the same assignment (as a defensive end) as he had last year (as an outside linebacker), but he's got a hand on the ground." (HA)


Contrasting McMackin and Glanville, JJ said:
"Greg and Jerry have different ways of doing it. Jerry's one of a kind that way. But we look at the way the kids took the ball away in '99, and Greg had an uncanny way with that (34 forced turnovers). You know, when we got to looking at tape we're really still doing the same things as in '99, with zone blitzes and all that kind of stuff. So it's going to be a fast transition for the players." (HSB)


Cal Lee, who now is in charge of all the LBs instead of just the inside LBs, talked about the change to 4-3 defense:
"If you've got 11 guys who love to play defense, they'll make any system work. We've got guys who love to play defense." (HA)


About the switch from 4-3 DE to 3-4 LB to back to a DE in the 4-3 again, Karl Noa said:
"Sort of (the same), with some little tweaks in there. The fundamentals are all the same." (HSB)


About his philosophy of getting speed onto the field, GM said:
"We try to get the fastest guys on the field. It goes back to the Miami days. We really only have two defensive linemen. The ends are like outside linebackers. They can run. So we have two linemen that are big, 280-300 pounds, like Mike's (Lafaele) a great example. And we have about six of those guys. They're going to get up the field and set another line of scrimmage. Basically we have guys who can run and blitz. The kids are picking it up already." (HSB)


Praising the job that Glanville did, GM said:
"I really thought Jerry did a great job. He got them hitting, causing turnovers and running to the ball." (HSB)


About practicing yesterday as a tight end, 6'2", 265 pound Cameron Allen-Jones said:
"It's like a wing tight end." (HA)


About being switched from DE to TE, Cameron Allen-Jones said:
"Coach Jones approached me, He said he wanted to run some tight ends. I said, 'OK, whatevers.' He's trying to do some new things next year." (HA)


About switching Cameron Allen-Jones' position, JJ said:
"We were going to move him to running back. I said: 'Let him play o-line and I'll teach him some pass routes. He's very athletic. He'll do fine. He never caught the ball (previously) but he's a good athlete. He'll learn to catch it." (HA)


About being used at DE, S, and LB, potential UH recruit David Pedersen said:
"They keep mixing and matching." (HA)
Note: David Pedersen is a minute older than his twin brother Erik Pedersen, a UH safety.


About his confident statements last summer (saying things like "wherever they want someone to come in and dominate, that's what side I'll go on"), CB J.P. Davis said:
"I was more confident without putting the work in last year. This is more of a quiet confidence," he said. "I know what's going to happen when one-on-ones come around. I know what it's going to take. But that's why I didn't get down when they set the initial spots. I'm just waiting my time. Can't get no worse than last year, that's how I feel." (HSB)


About how Colt inspired him while he was on the scout team last season, Davis said:
"I was just happy, I was seeing what Colt was doing. ... I was just seeing how it can happen. He's from the Bay, and I'm from the Bay. He's from the same area of the country that I'm from and he blew up even with his circumstances." (HSB)


About how he is more dedicated now, Davis said:
"I wasn't working as hard as I should have been working." (HSB)


About his fresh start with GM as DC, Davis said:
"I didn't have nothing against (Jerry) Glanville. He was a good coach. It was real hard-nosed, it was good for me. But now it's ... now, you can make mistakes and he'll (Greg McMackin) still give you a chance." (HSB)


Contrasting McMackin and Glanville, Davis said:
"I don't want to say it's total opposite, but Glanville, you mess up you're out of the game. (McMackin's) like, you mess up, we've got the best player in there." (HSB)