Steven M. Sipple: Groh says Diaco's organizational skills will be tested

That might mean little to you. But it surely means something to Nebraska defensive coordinator Bob Diaco. After all, Diaco worked as a linebackers coach under Groh at Virginia from 2006 through 2008. Learning the 3-4 defense under Groh "was a spectacular education," Diaco said during his introductory news conference at NU in January.

The 73-year-old Groh, now retired from coaching and living near Boston, will serve as an analyst for Westwood One's radio broadcast of the Wisconsin-Nebraska game Oct. 7 in Lincoln.

By the way, Wisconsin also employs a 3-4 defense.

"Between the two teams, I'm looking forward to doing my preparation on both and getting a much deeper understanding of how each team is utilizing their 3-4 concepts," Groh said last week.

In our HuskerExtra college football preview edition, which comes out Sunday, Groh essentially provides a tutorial on the basic concepts of his 3-4 system, much of which he learned from Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells.

Then there's the Pittsburgh Steelers/Dick LeBeau/Dom Capers 3-4 that dates to the early 1990s, as well as the Wade Phillips-style 3-4.

Each system has its own nuances. Each has been extremely effective.

Groh surmises that Diaco, 44, has been influenced by many coaches.

This much is certain: Diaco is extremely organized, Groh said, and that organization could be particularly important this season.

During our 60-minute conversation, Groh mentioned something that applies to both Nebraska and Wisconsin, but especially to the Huskers because they're in the midst of transitioning from a 4-3 to Diaco's defense.

"Whatever scheme you're running, so much of the importance is not just the ability of coaches to teach the playbook to the players, but to have a deep working knowledge of your scheme so that as things happen in a game, you can make the immediate adjustment in your calls," Groh said.

Diaco's challenge this season will be to clearly and quickly communicate adjustments in the heat of battle. He will work on gamedays in the press box, where there are far fewer distractions than on the sideline, he said. So his assistants on the sideline obviously will play a critical role in communicating to players — on the fly — any changes in game plan.

And, yes, there will be changes in plan.

How well Nebraska's newly configured defensive staff, with three new faces, makes adjustments will be something to monitor closely.

Wisconsin also has a new defensive coordinator in Jim Leonhard, the Badgers' third coordinator in three years. But Leonhard was on the Badger staff last season as secondary coach, and his philosophy is very much in line with the approach used by Justin Wilcox last season — when UW finished fourth nationally in scoring defense and seventh in total defense.

Wisconsin may also have a slight advantage on Nebraska in that the Badgers have been recruiting players to a 3-4 since 2013, when Dave Aranda was in charge of the unit.

Along those lines, Groh brought up Alabama, which has been using a 3-4 for years.

"So every player who is brought in to play defense at Alabama is brought in to fit the model," Groh said. "They don't have to adjust the model based on the personnel. They've been recruiting to the model for so long that they go after guys who can do the job that the model requires.

"Does that make sense?"

It makes a ton of sense. And it perhaps tells you that if Diaco remains in Lincoln for an extended period, his system likely will improve as he recruits defenders with specific skill sets.

Groh noted that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been using a 3-4 since Bill Cowher was head coach (1992-2006).

"It's changed a little since (former Steelers defensive coordinator) Dick LeBeau left there (in January of 2015), but not much," Groh said. "A Steelers coach told me eight or nine years ago, 'We've been running this defense here for so many years that every defender on the roster can do what we want him to do because if he couldn't do what we want him to do, he'd be on someone else's team.

"But when you get constant transition (of coaches in a program), sometimes you're trying to implement a scheme with players that don't quite fit the job. Either it's challenging for them (the players), or you're trying to manipulate the scheme a little bit to fit the players' skills.

"When you have places that have a lot of continuity, you have players who have a lot of experience in the scheme and therefore are able to maximize their development."

He again cites Alabama, which obviously has enjoyed abundant success. Groh is familiar with the Crimson Tide's system because in the early 1990s he coached alongside Nick Saban on Belichick's Cleveland Browns staff. In addition, Groh's son, Mike Groh, once was an assistant at Alabama.

"(The Tide) 3-4 is more of the Parcells/Belichick 3-4," Groh said.

Is there anything in particular that distinguishes the Alabama defense?

Groh chuckled.

"Yeah, the players," he said.

Groh, by the way, hasn't talked to Diaco since he took the Nebraska job.

"I always feel it's not my position to impose myself on guys," Groh said. "But I'm always available if somebody wants to ask a question."

He genuinely means that. In fact, he's flattered when people — media included — take time to call with questions.

"You get to a certain point in your career when you accumulate a certain amount of knowledge about your field, and all you can really do with it is pass it on," he said. "And, yet, so often hardly anybody is interested. …"

Count me as interested, and I have a feeling I'm far from alone.