Defense finding comfort in Cosgrove's approach
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
His players call him “Coach Coz.”
Away from the Nebraska football complex, it becomes only “Coz.”
The nickname illustrates a high level of player-coach comfort, which gets to the essence of Kevin Cosgrove’s strong suit as a defensive coordinator, as a leader of young men.
The Huskers’ young men on defense dig the guy. Coz is their guy, they say. He’s their coach, but in many ways he’s one of them. Coach Coz is at once a snarling bulldog and a fatherly shoulder on which to lean, players say. He’s a mentor to his players, a meticulous and hard-driving taskmaster in practice, but also a friend and in some cases a close friend.
“If they feel that way, then you have a chance,” Cosgrove said this week as 21st-ranked Nebraska, coming off a shutout of Troy, prepared for tonight’s Big 12 Conference opener against Kansas.
Coach Coz doesn’t want this story to be all about him. After all, it’s not just Coz’s defense, he said.
“It’s our defense,” he insisted.
Make no mistake, though, Husker defenders rally around Coach Coz.
As for the woebegone 2004 season, when the new band of Nebraska coaches arrived? Oh, that was one mammoth struggle on both sides of the ball. Ugly at times. Husker Nation howled as losses mounted. Coach Coz endured his share of criticism. In media interviews, he typically remained calm and philosophical, often saying unfamiliarity between the first-year Husker coaches and players didn’t help matters.
They needed time to form relationships, he said. Only then could the defense gel.
Now that a relationship has been formed, defenders say they’ll run through walls for Coach Coz.
They don’t want to let him down because they like him, Nebraska senior linebacker Stewart Bradley said.
And isn’t that what defense is all about — running through walls and snorting fire and performing with unyielding emotion and doing it for each other? Oh, sure, schemes and alignments are important on defense. But even veteran football guys tell you that the basis for Coach Coz’s success comes not from performing wizardry with X’s and O’s, but from the wonderful and perhaps underrated simplicity of being a good guy, hard worker, loyal friend and confidant. Hell, perhaps someone with whom to party.
“We were joking last weekend that he should come out on the town with us after the game,” Bradley said.
Coach Coz, 50, had to draw the line there, though he surely appreciated the sentiment.
“Coz, he’s a smooth guy, a smooth cat,” Bradley said. “Some guys are cool and some guys aren’t. Coz is cool. He’s an awesome guy. It’s his aura. He has it.”
Part of what “it” entails takes you to the crux of why Coz has been successful.
It won’t necessarily be found in a thick playbook. It’s not always a well-disguised zone blitz or secondary coverage that matters most on defense.
“He’s a players’ coach,” said Nebraska cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian, a 30-year coaching veteran. “He’s a genuine guy. No B.S. That’s what it is.”
OK, no B.S. Nevertheless, Cosgrove and his defenders clearly appreciate humor in their lives. Which explains some ongoing fun they have with walk-on linebackers Kyle Moore of Elkhorn and Tyler Wortman of Grand Island.
Just for kicks, Nebraska middle linebacker Corey McKeon said, the players have morphed Moore and Wortman into one — Kyler Wortmoore. McKeon loves this kind of stuff. He said Coach Coz on occasion will scream “Kyler!” and both Moore and Wortman will snap to attention. Everybody will giggle, not quite sure whether Coach Coz is being serious or having fun, which is part of the beauty, of course.
“It’s got to be fun,” Cosgrove said. “But this is a hard game. So when it’s time to work, we have to work.”
McKeon, a 2006 preseason All-Big 12 choice, got a taste of Cosgrove’s serious side a couple years ago. McKeon’s priorities were amiss, he said, and Cosgrove helped straighten them out.
Partying, football and school — in that order — dominated McKeon’s life in 2003 and into 2004. After some tough love from Cosgrove, the order was reversed. Last season, McKeon led the team with 98 tackles and he is tied for the lead this season.
“It was like he was my dad,” McKeon said. “If I needed to be punished, he’d punish me. It was a pain in the ass back then, but it all worked out. I’m a better person for it. I’m a better student and better athlete because of what he’s done.”
McKeon spearheads a unit that ranks 15th nationally in scoring defense (11.3 points per game) and 21st in total defense (257.8 yards per game). Cosgrove’s charges have enjoyed a steady rise — the Huskers finished 71st and 56th in the same two categories in 2004, and 25th and 26th last season.
Improvement didn’t occur by accident.
Cosgrove is a perfectionist when it comes to playing with proper technique, said senior defensive end Jay Moore.
“He’s very, very picky about certain things — small details that make a world of difference,” Moore said.
For instance, Cosgrove preaches the importance of taking the correct first step.
“If you take a wrong step and get your body out of balance, all of a sudden you have poor body control and you’re not in an athletic position to make a play,” Moore said.
Above all, Cosgrove said, he wants his defense to play physically and be fundamentally sound.
“You want to see guys playing in good football positions, playing square and staying off the ground,” he said. “And you want a defense that plays fast. Not just because your players have speed, but because they understand what they’re doing so their reactions can be faster.”
Nebraska features a front seven on defense that many regard to be among the nation’s finest. Last week, the Huskers limited Troy to 140 yards, fewest by an opponent since Baylor gained 84 in 2000.
“We’ve played good this season, but we haven’t played up to our potential by any means,” Bradley said. “We obviously played well last week, but we can be scary if we play as good as we can.”
Cosgrove orchestrates the Blackshirts’ mayhem after strongly considering an offseason jump to the NFL. Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress, a longtime friend, wanted Cosgrove to coach linebackers and made a tempting offer.
“Financially, it wasn’t even close,” Cosgrove said.
He decided to stay at Nebraska in large part to avoid disrupting his two families — his wife and three children and his Husker football family. Leaving would have caused too many problems, he said.
After a rocky start in Lincoln in 2004, he said, he’s grown to like it here. He said he plans to coach at Nebraska “for a long time.”
“It’s as big-time as it gets. I appreciate it.”
Initially, Cosgrove said, he was taken aback by Husker fans’ extreme level of passion. Of course, that passion sometimes manifested itself in vitriol directed his way when the defense struggled.
“It was very tough when I got here,” he said. “I’m man enough to admit that.
“I haven’t changed,” he added quickly. “I’m the same guy, the same coach.”
The same “Coach Coz.”
Perhaps nobody appreciates it more than his players.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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