Tennessee football: Five positives from Vols moving Brian Niedermeyer to ILB coach
1. Strong record of working with linebackers
Brian Niedermeyer is not just more experienced coaching defense. He also has a particular strength coaching linebackers, and that’s proven given his track record. As a result, Tennessee football may have struck gold.
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During his time as a defensive assistant under Jeremy Pruitt, the strongest performances on the defenses he was helping to coach were from linebackers. You can see that through the lens of the NFL Draft and players who have achieved national recognition, most notably Reuben Foster of the Alabama Crimson Tide back in 2016.
Of the eight All-Americans he has coached in some way, three are linebackers, and there are no more than two players who were at any other position. That includes wide receiver, by the way, which he coached specifically at East Texas Baptist.
Meanwhile, 13 of the 28 NFL Draft picks Niedermeyer coached were linebackers specifically. It could be that just things lined up in his favor, and he was coaching at Alabama, which loads up with elite linebackers. But but the stats don’t lie. Alabama loads up on elite defenders all the way around, and there was a specific surge among linebackers when Niedermeyer there.
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That has to count for something, and we’re going to say he has a proven track record of helping to produce talent at linebacker. As a result, Tennessee football may have a budding star when it comes to coaching this position, and we’re about to find out just how effective he can be.