Mike Nolan says Falcons will stay with 4-3 defense

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH — Mike Nolan is not going to change the Falcons’ 4-3 defensive scheme. About that the new coordinator is adamant.

The Falcons have built toward that scheme in the draft and free agency, and Nolan considers it a “solid foundation.” Nolan has been known to use a 3-4 defense, but said Wednesday that his 14 seasons as an NFL coordinator have been equally split between the two schemes.

“We are not trying to move this toward a 3-4,” Nolan said in a conference call. “I will flat say that.”

Nolan said he could use some 3-4 alignments, as he has in the past. He also said he was not told by coach Mike Smith that the team would work from the 4-3 scheme during his interview. The two, who worked together for a year in Baltimore, watched film together as part of the process, and Smith asked Nolan for his opinion.

“I do believe that the vision for them and the target they’ve been hitting is one we want to stay consistent with it and go forward in that respect,” he said. “If I felt like it could easily be tweaked to get to something else because I felt it could be better, I would obviously suggest it. But I think the track they’ve been on is a good one. 4-3 or 3-4 is very relevant as long as you are doing what your players allow you to do.”

Nolan has spent 25 seasons in the NFL, four as a head coach with San Francisco and the rest as an assistant with Denver, the New York Giants, Washington, the New York Jets, Baltimore and, most recently, Miami. His passion for football and being a coordinator is part of the skill-set he considers an asset to the Falcons.

“I think the best job in football is coordinating,” Nolan said. “I’ve been a head coach before, and there is a lot of thrill in that. But when you get to put your hands on players and coach them and teach them and see them have success and you get to call plays, that’s a great job.”

Two of the bigger issues facing the Falcons’ defense are the secondary, which ranked 20th in the NFL last season, and the pass rush, which was tied for 19th with 33 sacks despite the free-agent acquisition of Ray Edwards (3.5 sacks). Nolan reiterated those two work in tandem on a successful defense.

Nolan said he couldn’t speak to the individual members of the secondary. He did say that secondary is much more important today than it was 15 years ago, as the NFL is trending toward a pass-first league with quarterbacks putting up record numbers.

“People always talk about having four starting [defensive backs], but I think the future is there are really five starting [defensive backs], if these quarterbacks keep doing what they are doing,” he said.

A secondary that is good in coverage allows the defensive front more time to put pressure on the quarterback. Nolan explained his philosophy is not necessarily to have a couple of players with big sack numbers.

“I would rather have 10 guys get four sacks than only four guys get 10 sacks each because it’s a lot more difficult for an offense to look at your entire defense and say ‘We’ve got to block all them guys. That guy might come, that guy might come,’” Nolan said. “That’s a real stress for a quarterback.”

Nolan said he expects to arrive in Atlanta on Thursday to begin his new position. He will sit in on meetings before the staff departs next week for the Senior Bowl as part of its draft preparation. He said he plans to evaluate film of every Falcons game this season before he starts implementing his defense.

Although he referred questions about the remainder of the defensive staff to Smith, Nolan said he believes the rest of the coaches will remain.

The Falcons still need a quarterbacks coach and an offensive line coach to fill out their staff.