After unsuccessfully chasing former Florida head coach Will Muschamp, who chose to join Auburn, Texas A&M got the flashy hire they were looking for to take over from the fired Mark Snyder. It appears John Chavis will join the Aggies after spending the last six seasons at LSU working under Les Miles as defensive co-ordinator.
In his time at LSU, John Chavis was renowned for creating a tough physical defence that regularly ranked amongst the best in the nation. Texas A&M is well aware of this as they have never beaten LSU since joining the SEC. Jonny Manziel was shut down by the disciplined LSU defence in both games he played against them. In that time LSU also won the SEC in 2011 before losing the national title to Alabama. Chavis won the Broyles award that year for best coaching assistant. Previous to that he did a stellar job with the Tennessee Volunteers where he helped to win the national title in 2008.
When the Aggies joined the SEC, their first season saw an opportunistic defence survive due to their ability to create turnovers and sacks. That took the pressure off the offence and led them to the Cotton Bowl where they defeated Oklahoma. But in the past two years they have really struggled to find consistency and that is why Mark Snyder ultimately lost his job. The Aggies were ranked 103rd nationally in yards allowed per game and that included a schedule with four cupcake non-conference games.
Kevin Sumlin was keen to find an experienced defensive mind who could improve the defence straight away whilst they continue to heavily recruit on that side of the ball. If the Aggies are to take the next step and become a genuine challenger for the national title and the four team playoff then the defence needs to make some big improvements in the next few seasons. The hiring of John Chavis would be the first crucial step in doing that.
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