There is an old maxim in defensive football coaching: coverage determines the front.
That is to say, a defensive coordinator should work from back to front. The back end is where defense should begin. Former FSU football head coach Jimbo Fisher always said defenses should be run this way.
Defensive coordinators usually come from a background coaching defensive backs and linebackers for this reason. All of the current great defensive minds in college football come from the back end: Nick Saban, Mark Dantonio, Kirby Smart, Brent Venables— the list goes on.
The first two of the list are where we will focus, because of their influences on FSU’s past and present.