Niners Hire Tony Oden as Secondary Coach

We've spent a lot of time talking about D, but little about our new DB Coach. Rereading his 3 short original pages , you gotta love NFL coaching fraternity. Somebody always knows somebody that coached with someone else that they both knew. Here, Coach Tony recommended Saleh for an internship with Texans at (don't laugh) $5.25/hr. Making money tike that, why bother to even pay him? Anyway there was that link. As noted above they had briefly overlapped at Central Michigan.

Later Tony spent 4 yrs with Coach Kocurek in Detroit, so there is another link...and somehow, Coach Tony knew our own Marty Mayhew from before. There were other stops over the last 14 yrs, but interesting how coaches remember guys they coached with previously and Coach Tony both gave and got. And as noted earlier , being released by Miami...well they let COach K go also. Go figure.

As an aside, as noted above by Willisfn4 life, he briefly coached receivers but then went back to DBs. Whatever, he has had good exposure to almost half a dozen different teams, and let's hope he brings some new blood to our DBs. His biggest , maybe hardest job will be bringing younger guys up to par. Let's hope he succeeds. Funny how our pass D was #1 but it was primarily due to the front 7. And when they got gassed in SB , 4h qtr. our DBs got picked apart by Mahomes...of course for Patrick, that was nothing new.

Still it will be interesting to see how Coach Oden does, and i am hoping we see some nice improvement. One disadvantage will ahve been this damn virus. Coming in as a new position coach does not make his job any easier if he can't get to his DBs. Covid besides being a killer, sure hacked up the NFL season and new position coaches such as Tony O.

Originally posted by Mertonschickendance:
At least brought something back from Miami

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
We've spent a lot of time talking about D, but little about our new DB Coach. Rereading his 3 short original pages , you gotta love NFL coaching fraternity. Somebody always knows somebody that coached with someone else that they both knew. Here, Coach Tony recommended Saleh for an internship with Texans at (don't laugh) $5.25/hr. Making money tike that, why bother to even pay him? Anyway there was that link. As noted above they had briefly overlapped at Central Michigan.

Later Tony spent 4 yrs with Coach Kocurek in Detroit, so there is another link...and somehow, Coach Tony knew our own Marty Mayhew from before. There were other stops over the last 14 yrs, but interesting how coaches remember guys they coached with previously and Coach Tony both gave and got. And as noted earlier , being released by Miami...well they let COach K go also. Go figure.

As an aside, as noted above by Willisfn4 life, he briefly coached receivers but then went back to DBs. Whatever, he has had good exposure to almost half a dozen different teams, and let's hope he brings some new blood to our DBs. His biggest , maybe hardest job will be bringing younger guys up to par. Let's hope he succeeds. Funny how our pass D was #1 but it was primarily due to the front 7. And when they got gassed in SB , 4h qtr. our DBs got picked apart by Mahomes...of course for Patrick, that was nothing new.

Still it will be interesting to see how Coach Oden does, and i am hoping we see some nice improvement. One disadvantage will ahve been this damn virus. Coming in as a new position coach does not make his job any easier if he can't get to his DBs. Covid besides being a killer, sure hacked up the NFL season and new position coaches such as Tony O.

and don't forget the Shane Day link too from the Miami staff.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
We've spent a lot of time talking about D, but little about our new DB Coach. Rereading his 3 short original pages , you gotta love NFL coaching fraternity. Somebody always knows somebody that coached with someone else that they both knew. Here, Coach Tony recommended Saleh for an internship with Texans at (don't laugh) $5.25/hr. Making money tike that, why bother to even pay him? Anyway there was that link. As noted above they had briefly overlapped at Central Michigan.

Later Tony spent 4 yrs with Coach Kocurek in Detroit, so there is another link...and somehow, Coach Tony knew our own Marty Mayhew from before. There were other stops over the last 14 yrs, but interesting how coaches remember guys they coached with previously and Coach Tony both gave and got. And as noted earlier , being released by Miami...well they let COach K go also. Go figure.

As an aside, as noted above by Willisfn4 life, he briefly coached receivers but then went back to DBs. Whatever, he has had good exposure to almost half a dozen different teams, and let's hope he brings some new blood to our DBs. His biggest , maybe hardest job will be bringing younger guys up to par. Let's hope he succeeds. Funny how our pass D was #1 but it was primarily due to the front 7. And when they got gassed in SB , 4h qtr. our DBs got picked apart by Mahomes...of course for Patrick, that was nothing new.

Still it will be interesting to see how Coach Oden does, and i am hoping we see some nice improvement. One disadvantage will ahve been this damn virus. Coming in as a new position coach does not make his job any easier if he can't get to his DBs. Covid besides being a killer, sure hacked up the NFL season and new position coaches such as Tony O.

Personally, I'm not so gung ho on the front seven vs the back four. In other words, Id like maybe a bit more talent on the DB side and maybe a bit less talent on the LB side. Don't get me wrong, I love our front seven and I love our Linebackers, I wouldn't trade those three LB's for any other LB corps out there in the NFL. Its perfect for the defensive style we play.

Having said that, I think more talent on the DB side *and* the DLine side would make this Kocurek/Saleh hybrid defense work much better. Specially with more zone blitzing. *I think* having two lock down corners (I know they are hard to find) would make this defense much stronger against the pass. I think it would have made a difference in the Super bowl. Now, finding these lock down corners are probably as hard as finding elite defensive ends. But we *did* get two elite DE's. We did get two elite edge rushers in Dee Ford and Bosa (ShanaLynch used both free agency and the draft). I'm thinking maybe instead of locking up so much free agency money on the Linebacker corps, you shift that more towards the DB side and get those Lock Down corners. I think we can get by defensively with drafted LB's and need to devote more resources to the DB side. I think we can do this because the NFL is a passing league more than a running league nowadays. The only outlier our there I can see is Baltimore and it's RPO offense that didn't even make it past the first round in the playoffs.

I also wouldn't mind upgrading the DB coach, should Oden doesn't work out.

Whos the first coach if hes the secondary one?

Since he was never a coordinator, it's hard to find information about him and what he specializes in. One thing that seems to happen is his DB squad getting INTs. This early 2018 (pre 2018 season) article is an introduction to Oden when MIA first hired him.

https://www.miamidolphins.com/news/top-5-tony-oden-20327484
In Oden's first 14 years as an NFL assistant coach, his teams have finished in the top five in the NFL in interceptions five times, most recently last season (2017) when Detroit was fourth with 19 picks.
--------------------

In the 2018 season, MIA did this:
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article225487220.html
The Dolphins finished second in the league last year (2018) with 21 interceptions with 17 of those coming from Oden's secondary.

Originally posted by thl408:

Since he was never a coordinator, it's hard to find information about him and what he specializes in. One thing that seems to happen is his DB squad getting INTs. This early 2018 (pre 2018 season) article is an introduction to Oden when MIA first hired him.

https://www.miamidolphins.com/news/top-5-tony-oden-20327484
In Oden's first 14 years as an NFL assistant coach, his teams have finished in the top five in the NFL in interceptions five times, most recently last season (2017) when Detroit was fourth with 19 picks.
--------------------

In the 2018 season, MIA did this:
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article225487220.html
The Dolphins finished second in the league last year (2018) with 21 interceptions with 17 of those coming from Oden's secondary.

Excellent find! And it sounds like this message is already reaching the players too...both Ward and Tartt have talked about having the goal to focus more on PBU's and esp. INT's which is inexcusable to have such low numbers behind our pass rush.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:
Since he was never a coordinator, it's hard to find information about him and what he specializes in. One thing that seems to happen is his DB squad getting INTs. This early 2018 (pre 2018 season) article is an introduction to Oden when MIA first hired him.

https://www.miamidolphins.com/news/top-5-tony-oden-20327484
In Oden's first 14 years as an NFL assistant coach, his teams have finished in the top five in the NFL in interceptions five times, most recently last season (2017) when Detroit was fourth with 19 picks.
--------------------

In the 2018 season, MIA did this:
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article225487220.html
The Dolphins finished second in the league last year (2018) with 21 interceptions with 17 of those coming from Oden's secondary.

Excellent find! And it sounds like this message is already reaching the players too...both Ward and Tartt have talked about having the goal to focus more on PBU's and esp. INT's which is inexcusable to have such low numbers behind our pass rush.

If K'wan develops along side Sherman, and Mayo's *Kin* is as good as advertised -- this pass defense will probably be #1 again. Key there is developing that secondary, I hope Oden can do it. Woods (I think) could have done more but he took off to Cleavand.

I checked out all of MIA's interceptions in 2018 when they were second in the NFL with 21 INTs as a team (17 from Oden coached defensive backs). A bunch of those INTs were off rookie Sam Darnold (6!) and rookie Josh Allen (3), and most of those 9 were lol throws - just terribly thrown INTs where I give little credit to the defense. But there were three INTs that stood out, against good QBs, that deserve credit for well taught coverage scheme/skill that could be attributed to Oden. I'll show those three.

Originally posted by DRCHOWDER:

Whos the first coach if hes the secondary one?

paraag marathe

Originally posted by BMoore56:

Originally posted by DRCHOWDER:

Whos the first coach if hes the secondary one?

paraag marathe

Winner.

Originally posted by thl408:

I checked out all of MIA's interceptions in 2018 when they were second in the NFL with 21 INTs as a team (17 from Oden coached defensive backs). A bunch of those INTs were off rookie Sam Darnold (6!) and rookie Josh Allen (3), and most of those 9 were lol throws - just terribly thrown INTs where I give little credit to the defense. But there were three INTs that stood out, against good QBs, that deserve credit for well taught coverage scheme/skill that could be attributed to Oden. I'll show those three.

Makes sense since TO's can vary do wildly from one year to the next. Look forward to it.

He has to earn his keep by getting Witheringspoon to play decent. And if he can get Verrett on the field without skid mark on his ass, that would be assistant of the year material.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:
I checked out all of MIA's interceptions in 2018 when they were second in the NFL with 21 INTs as a team (17 from Oden coached defensive backs). A bunch of those INTs were off rookie Sam Darnold (6!) and rookie Josh Allen (3), and most of those 9 were lol throws - just terribly thrown INTs where I give little credit to the defense. But there were three INTs that stood out, against good QBs, that deserve credit for well taught coverage scheme/skill that could be attributed to Oden. I'll show those three.

Makes sense since TO's can vary do wildly from one year to the next. Look forward to it.

This was the most impressive INT from MIA's 2018 season imo. 2019 saw the 49ers defense diversify their zone coverages more, but this play here shows a form of trap coverage and a playcall designed to create an INT. No doubt familiarity helped MIA succeed here since NE is a division rival, but anytime you trick Brady into seeing something that isn't there, it's a big win for the defense.

(not shown): NE had a RB split wide and MIA aligned a CB across from the RB to give a 2 deep zone coverage presnap look. NE then motioned the RB into the backfield. To the left, Brady has a three level vertical stretch. The player to watch is the red slot CB.


Safeties stay two deep so Brady could be reading Cover 2 Zone to his left. The route combination is designed to vertically stretch the orange LB. Brady sees the orange LB squat on the underneath orange route to the flat. Brady also sees the red slot CB with his back turned running with the red WR. This gives him the green light to target the yellow Dig.


Just as Brady is mid throwing motion, the red CB peels off of the red WR and robs the yellow Dig. Red CB has his back turned to Brady so he is not reading Brady, he's setting a bait and Brady falls into the trap.


It's not a normal coverage call. We usually think of creative blitzes to manufacture INT's off of pressured throws.


It's impossible to know what role Oden had in this. Whether he's the one that gameplanned this or whether it was the DC. Either way, adding an element of trickery to coverages, outside of rotating safeties around, would give this already potent 49er pass defense another tool in the kit.

This play isn't as exotic when it comes to the coverage call, but it shows good awareness on the CB, Xavien Howard, who had 4 INTs total in his first two NFL seasons, then 7 in 2018 when Oden came to MIA.
MIA is in Cover6, playing Quarters to the boundary. Howard is the yellow CB - he and the safety will execute a 'cut' call. The Cover2 side is in man coverage.
IND has a variant of the 999 route combination which is designed to bust 2 deep coverage shells.


When the red WR releases inside, the red safety comes down to man cover him (cut call). Yellow CB (XHoward) is no longer is responsible for red WR. Howard gains depth and replaces the red safety.


Luck sees that the yellow TE (Ebron) is matched up on a LB - this is a win for Ebron. Luck also sees that the red safety has vacated the area.


What Luck doesn't see is XHoward replace the safety. By Howard being aware to continue to gain depth, he puts himself in position to help his LB and make the INT.