Birmingham Stallions head coach Skip Holtz has likened the change in his defensive staff to “getting on the roller coaster three-fourths of the way down the hill.”
And after the exit of defensive coordinator John Chavis following Week 7, it sure looked like the unit might derail.
In the first game after Chavis was no longer with the club, the Stallions gave up 311 yards in a 35-28 victory over the Houston Roughnecks, a team with only one win on its resume.
A week later Birmingham went down to its first defeat in more than a year, yielding 329 yards in an 18-9 loss to the San Antonio Brahmas.
These days, however, the defense appears to be back on track.
With Corey Chamblin calling the shots, the Stallions have rebounded with back-to-back victories over Michigan (20-19 and 31-18), the last setting up a rematch with San Antonio in Sunday’s United Football League Championship Game in St. Louis.
During that stretch Birmingham has allowed just three touchdowns, and effectively shut down the Panthers in the second half of both games.
“I think Corey Chamblin is an excellent football coach,” Holtz said. “I’ve always felt that. He’s been a head coach up in Canada (the Saskatchewan Roughriders), he’s been a defensive coordinator … I’ve told him all along that if that position ever becomes vacant – and I love John Chavis, and I wanted him to stay here forever – but I told Corey, ‘If that position ever becomes available, I’m not even making a phone call or interviewing anybody. You’re my guy.’”
The players have rallied around the new DC, and the crew once again is playing like one of the best in the UFL.
“The defense has made some great adjustments at halftime,” Holtz said. “As it’s evolved, I think our players have great confidence in our defensive staff. I think Corey and Bill Johnson (defensive line) and Daric Riley (linebackers) and the addition of Anthony Blevins (assistant) have really come together since they got on the roller coaster three-fourths of the way down the hill, and I think they’ve done a great job.”
Birmingham leads the league in defending the run, allowing just 77.3 yards per game, and is second in rushing touchdowns given up with eight.
During the regular season, safety A.J. Thomas ranked first in the circuit in interceptions (three); linebacker Kyahva Tezino was third in tackles (38 solo, 70 in all); and nose tackle Carlos Davis tied for second in sacks (seven).
In last Saturday’s USFL Conference Championship Game, the Stallions forced four turnovers, with defensive back Ike Brown snagging two interceptions, fellow DB Daniel Isom picking off another, and defensive lineman Dondrea Tillman forcing a fumble.
Brown said players on both sides of the ball are there to lift each other up.
“We’re all a team, so we all have to get behind each other,” he said. “When the offense is on the field, the defense is on the sideline rooting them on and when the defense is on the field, the offense is on the sideline rooting them on. It’s just the mindset we have.”
A boost in the title clash will be the return of JoJo Tillery, who was activated last week.
Even though the safety appeared in just five regular season games, he has an interception and 16 tackles and gives the resistance another solid weapon.
“JoJo is more than just a football player, JoJo is a leader,” Holtz said. “He’s vocal, he’s outspoken. You don’t ever have to ask, ‘Where’s JoJo on the practice field, or on the game field,’ you know where he is.
“He’s the one that’s running his mouth. He communicates. He’s loud … he’s vocal.”
Although Tillery didn’t play in the loss to San Antonio, he hopes to get a chance to help his team reverse their fortunes in the battle for UFL hardware.
“We always talk about the next game being the most important game, so we always try to go 1-0,” Tillery said. “But for me it’s more personal because I didn’t get to play the first game. So, just sitting at home and not being able to help my guys fight and try to get that win, it hit hard. So, yeah, it’s definitely trying to, I guess, get some revenge.”
Ultimately, Holtz said the defense has embraced Chamblin’s style and he’s confident the unit is in good hands going forward.
“Corey’s experience is certainly coming into play with a lot of the adjustments that they’re able to make,” Holtz said. “To sit the players down and say, ‘OK, they’re doing this, so we’re going to do this. They’re doing this, so we’re going to do this. And these are adjustments we’re going to make.’ And the players buy into it, and they go out and they execute it. They’ve done an excellent job with it.
“In the second half of the last two games, they’ve given up three points – none last week. They’ve done a really nice job with that.”
Sunday’s game is set for 4 p.m. CDT on FOX.