2006 Washington Defensive Coaching Staff

Washington has one of the most experienced, and talented defensive coaching staff's in the West. Husky fans didn't immediately take to Ken Baer in his first year at the helm, but as the season progressed, as the players, and coaches started to gel, we started to get an enjoyable glimpse of what the future will bring.
Husky fans have always loved an attacking, aggressive, defense, and with a lot more depth coming into the season this year we are going to see exactly that. The Husky defense on paper looks to be among the top five defenses in the conference. More depth at DB will allow Washington to show a lot more looks.

Baer, and Willingham have been around each other for the past 11 years, and at three different locations. Baer also has been the DC of four different Pac Ten schools, UW. Stanford, Cal, and ASU. Husky fans relax, this guy can coach, and we will see a lot of progress made this season by his defense. We saw improvement all year from a depleted defense, and that is the mark of a good coaching staff.

Chris Tormey of course is almost every Husky fans favorite assistant. He started coaching under James, then moved on to Navy for his first stint as a DC. He was a head coach at Idaho, and Nevada, plus he was probably the runnerup to Neuheisel for the Washington job. He then went on to be a head coach for nine years at Idaho, and Nevada. Tormey was brought back by Gilby, and retained by Willingham. Currently he is in charge of linebackers, and recruiting. Tormey held the fort down after Gilby was let go, and his hard work helped salvage a recruiting season that had been shut down in September. From what we hear, Chris likes the kids he has at LB currently, and we are going to see a much more mobile group on the field this year. As are recruiting coordinator he is one of the best on the coast, and I think we will see better results in February 2007.

If there is tenure in the coaching profession Randy Hart has certainly earned it at the university of Washington. Hart came to us from his alma mater Ohio State, and has been here 19 years. That may be the longest tenure of a Washington football coach other than Jim Lambright. Hart is recognized as one of the best position coaches in the country even though all Husky fans haven't agreed on that one lately. A testimony to Hart is the amount of talent and depth he currently has at his disposal. Kid's want to play for him because he can help them play on Sundays. the kids know that even though some of the fans don't. This is a year where he has a lot of horses who have finally gained their experience. I think you will all be suprised by how well they play.

The lone newcomer this year may be Washington's biggest recruit of 2006. JD Williams steps in as Secondary coach this year. Curtis's older brother has a great reputation nationally, and the move from California to Washington suprised quite a few people, but DJ felt it was the right move, at the right time. It is always a plus when you bring in a guy who has four super bowl rings to do a little recruiting. Another asset is that he is well established in the rich central valley region of California. He has a lot more talent than his predecessor did to work with. More depth will be a blessing to him in his first year at UW. Williams is a class act and he is just a perfect fit for this staff.

In summary I think it would be tough to find a defensive staff with this much talent and experience anywhere in the country. People can debate the Hart, and Baer till they are blue in the face, but both of those guys are excellent coaches with tremendous experience. This should be a year where the defense shines and leads the team. I am not talking about a Rose Bowl, but five to eight wins is very possible. They say your best offense, is a good defense, giving the offense a shorter field to work with this year should help the cause.