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Vic Koenning prepared for bittersweet return to Clemson
Sep 7, 2016, 5:21 PM
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Dan Hope, daniel.hope@independentmail.com 4:05 p.m. EDT September 7, 2016
For the second time in three years, former Clemson defensive coordinator Vic Koenning is set to return to Memorial Stadium for a game against the Tigers.
In 2014, Koenning was the defensive coordinator at North Carolina when the Tar Heels played Clemson in Death Valley. Now, Koenning is the defensive coordinator at Troy, which plays at Clemson at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Returning to Clemson, where Koenning coached from 2005-08, is an experience he describes as “a bittersweet deal.”
“There’s probably not a better environment in college football than there at Clemson on gameday,” Koenning said. “The people are fantastic. Great, great home crowd. So it’s bittersweet in a lot of respects. I had a great time there.”
Koenning’s time at Clemson came to an end after the 2008 regular season, when Dabo Swinney was named the permanent head coach and informed Koenning he would hire a new defensive coordinator.
Swinney, who coached Clemson’s final seven games of 2008 as an interim coach after Tommy Bowden resigned, said he respects Koenning for how he handled what Swinney acknowledges was an “awkward situation.”
“He could have walked away and said no (after Bowden’s departure) … but he really was professional and did a heck of a job,” Swinney said of Koenning. “I’ll always have an appreciation for the role he played in helping us at that time."
Swinney and Koenning have not maintained a close relationship over the past eight years. But Koenning says he does have friendships with a number of Clemson’s current assistant coaches, including co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott, defensive ends coach Marion Hobby and defensive tackles coach Dan Brooks.
Koenning says he is happy to see the success Clemson has had in recent years.
“I have a lot of friends that are still there,” Koenning said. “I know they’ve realized that if you invest in something, you can get rewards at the end. They’re really reaping the rewards of their investment.”
As for Saturday’s game, Koenning is focused on having his defense as prepared to compete as it possibly can be. He doesn’t want his unit to be embarrassed like his North Carolina defense was in its 50-35 loss to Clemson in 2014.
“There’s no animosity or no vengeance (in playing Clemson),” Koenning said. “This is a game we’re trying to compete in and compete at every snap. It’s a great environment, it’s going to be good for our young players to go in there and play and hopefully we’ll grow from it.”
Troy’s defense ranked 57th in yards allowed per game (391.3) and tied for 78th in points allowed per game (28.3) in 2015, Koenning’s first year with the Trojans. Koenning knows his unit is in for a tough challenge against the Clemson offense, which ranked 11th in yards per game (514.5) and 16th in points per game (38.5) last season.
“We can’t afford to make mistakes, because it’ll be deadly,” Koenning said. “They’re so talented … any mistakes are going to cost us points.”
Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said Koenning will likely use unorthodox combinations of pressure and coverage in an effort to confuse Clemson.
“He may bring a different amount of pressure than he’s been bringing in the past, but the big thing is he plays a trap technique that was successful in the past, so he’s got some things that he does that are kind of unique to him that we got to be prepared for,” Elliott said.
Knowing from the experience of working with him, Swinney expects Koenning to have his defense ready on Saturday.
“I think he’s been very consistent as far as who he is and what he believes in,” Swinney said. “He did a lot of good things here ... and he’s had a long, successful career at a lot of really good places.”
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