John Thompson said he is not happy to leave Georgia State, but the Panthers’ former defensive coordinator is excited about going home to Arkansas and joining friend Gus Malzahn at Arkansas State.
Thompson, an Arkansas native, joined coach Bill Curry’s first staff as defensive coordinator in 2008. He resigned Saturday to take the same job with the Red Wolves.
“Nothing here had anything to do with me going,” Thompson said. “It was all about the situation there and where it is, what it is.”
Curry said Thompson’s decision may affect the team’s plans to install a different defensive scheme, a 4-2-5, to replace the various systems used last year when the Panthers gave up 31.2 points and 403.3 yards per game. The Panthers begin spring practice March 6. Curry said he has some preferences for the defense, but declined to say what they are because he doesn’t want to lock the team into something.
Curry said he will interview Anthony Midget, already on staff as defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator, for the job. He said he also expects a lot of applicants.
Midget was an original member of Curry’s staff, joining the program after spending the 2007 season as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Virginia Tech. Other than Thompson, no one on Curry’s staff has experience as a college defensive coordinator.
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