DJ Eliot: "You Always Play Harder For Someone You're Connected With"

NC State defensive coordinator DJ Eliot met with the media to discuss taking over the position, his expectations for the defense, and much more.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview with coach Eliot.

Opening statement…

First of all, I'm very excited to be here to work at such a consistently winning program under a tremendous head coach in Dave Doeren. He's well respected in the profession, excellent place to live, incredible university, a place that my family is very excited about moving to, and an opportunity to work with some great assistant coaches and some tremendous players. I just, I'm thrilled and I'm appreciative to work at NC State. All right, first question.
 

Quick question for you, just broad terms, how would you describe your plan defensively going into this opportunity? 

So we're going to take the 3-3 stack and we're going to grow from there. We're going to become multiple. We're going to get some four down fronts. We're going to get some 3-4 fronts and we're going to be able to apply pressure out of that. So we want to be multiple to an offense, but simple to our players. So we're building from the defense that they have been playing, but we're going to change a few things. We're going to disguise a few things and we're going to pressure a little differently.
 

So DJ, first of all, congratulations on getting the position. Looking back at the last week, I know there's not, you can't mention everybody that you were able to recruit and sign over the last week, but what has the last week and a half plus been like for you and being able to bring in talent that fits a little bit more into your system too? 

It's been great. We hit the ground running. We knew exactly what we were looking for and we went after them very hard and we were able to land and get some great players here. I'm very excited about the defensive backs that we signed. I'm very excited about the linebackers that we signed this week and the ones I can't talk about too that we're still recruiting. But, I think that we have a lot to sell. We have a tremendous staff. There's tremendous success here and there's a vision now that we're selling of exactly what we're going to do on defense. And I think that's a big part on why we've been so successful this week. 
 

How are you planning to really build trust and buy in, particularly with the returning guys who decided to stay? 

Well, a more connected team is a better team. You always play harder for somebody you're connected with. And so we're spending the first part of this semester getting to know each other. I want to know each player on defense in and out, and I want them to know me. And the same with the coaching staff. And once we get past that, then we'll start selling the vision on exactly what we're going to do, how we're going to do it, and how we're going to use each player. But I think that building relationships is critical in the success of a program and of a defense.
 

For you're kind of coming in and replacing a guy who's been the cornerstone of what this program has been with Tony Gibson over the past few years. What kind of challenges does that present coming in and having to take over for a guy who's had a lot of success here and was able to go on and be a head coach somewhere? Maybe some of that's the relationships like you mentioned. What does that look like over the next few months? Well, Tony did a tremendous job here and, you know, played some good defense.

And so, we're not looking past that. We're looking to build off of some of the things that were done here. And then on top of that, we're selling these players that, you know, sometimes change is good and sometimes,growing is good. And so, not only, like I said, are we building off what they've done last year, but we've been able to sell them or we're working on selling them that some of the things that we're going to do are going to be good for their growth and their production. And they like what they're hearing, and we're looking forward to working with them in the spring. 
 

What have you learned, I guess, over the last few stops that you've made, whether it was at Temple or the Eagles or at Baylor last year, that you can use, you know, going into this new role at NC State? 

Well, everywhere I've worked, I've grown. Every job I've had, whether it's been a challenging job or where it's been a less difficult job, I've grown. And I think that if you have a growth mindset in any industry, that you'll continue to get better. And you have to be a learner, not a knower, right? And so every job that you take, you want to make sure that you're listening and you're learning. And I've learned as much from players as I have from coaches, and especially in the NFL. And I think that each of those jobs has made me a better coach in different ways. The NFL is football all day, every day. There's nothing else. There's no recruiting. There's no fundraising. There's no academics. From the time that you get there to the time that you leave, all you do is work on football. So I grew exponentially as an X's and O's coach and a technique coach in the NFL. And then, working at Baylor with Dave Aranda, I've always run a similar system. And so, coaching with him and seeing how he did things made me improve how I ran that system, because there's different ways to do things and different ways to coach it and different ways to teach. And then, when I was at Temple, we really kind of just bought into the simulated pressures. And that was the first year I'd ever done that. And like I said, I grow every year. And we were able to create a lot of pressure on the quarterback. As you guys know, we were eighth in the country in sacks and ninth in TFLs. And so each one of those stops has made me a better coach in different ways. 
 

And then just to follow up on it, you talk about being a teacher.  Obviously, a lot of coaching is teaching, coming to a new role. What do you kind of view your teaching style as you walk into a room to teach new players? 

I'm very highly detailed in meetings. So I want the players to know exactly what the job description is. I don't want to leave any gray area. And then I believe in high intensity in practice. And so I would like my meeting room to be like an elementary school teacher's room. I want to make sure that I'm coaching in detail, but yet I'm keeping it simple. And then when we get out to practice, I want it to be on fire. I mean, I want guys flying around. I want enthusiasm. I want aggression. I want guys, moving from spot to spot. And then I want to bring that intensity with them too.
 

I have two questions, sir, if you don't mind. First of all, as you've mentioned, NC State winning. As you were navigating through the coaching industry, you see NC State, a school that generally goes to a bowl game, generally retains its coaches. What was the perception of NC State throughout the coaching industry? 

So the perception of NC State is that it's a rarity for what you said, because they consistently win and they consistently retain their coaches and that Coach Doeren has been successful for so long. And that's not very common, in this profession. And so that's one reason why I was so excited to work here. I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of something that is consistent, that has a culture in place where every year, no matter what the team is, they can find a way to win, that they can find a way to compete. Because as you guys have seen, there's plenty of programs that are really high and then are really low. And Coach Doeren has found a way to be a consistent competitor within the ACC. And, that's the perception around college football. And that's a big reason why I'm excited to be here. 
 

And then my second question, sir, obviously college or pro, you either recruit or sign players to fit the scheme. But when you run across that player, maybe who schematically doesn't quite fit, but has unique skill sets. How fun is that for you as a coach to sort of look in your mind and say, okay, let me devise a way to fit this young man so he can be the best version of himself? 

Well, that's a good question, Rob. And, ultimately, you want to get the best players on the field. So if you find a player that's a tremendous player and maybe didn't fit your standard of what you were looking for, then I'll take him. I'll take him. I'll find a place for him. You know what I mean? We'll adjust the scheme if we need to, or we'll have him play within the scheme, just maybe at different dimensions that we expected. You like to have your edge rushers tall, but if Dwight Freeney is sitting out there and he's six foot tall and he can rush like crazy, you're going to take Dwight Freeney. And, that's the way I look at all players and recruits.
 

What is your origin story with Coach Doeren? Obviously, you knew Coach Roper.

And then what is one of your favorite Joe Tiller stories? 

Joe Tiller? How do you know Joe Tiller? Just from following him? 
 

He's a legend. You know that. 

Yeah, I know he's a legend, for sure. So I've only really known Coach Doeren through recruiting. I would run into him in recruiting. I think that we attended some of the same clinics, but I've never worked with Coach Doeren, but I've always respected him. I think he's a tremendous coach, tremendous vision, really hard worker. And then Joe Tiller, Joe Tiller coached me in college, as you pointed out. And one thing that Joe Tiller did is he did an incredible job of getting the freshmen to buy in to the way that we did things there. And, he used to have a rookie skit. So we'd come up there and we'd do this skit. All the freshmen had to do a skit. And then at the end of it, he would have us sing the fight song, right? And then we usually did it for whoever the freshmen were. They did it pretty average. And then he would have the rest of the team stand up and sing the fight song back to the freshmen. And I remember that it really made an impact on me of what it meant to be a part of a team and to buy into a culture. And Joe Tiller was tremendous at that. 
 

DJ, I wanted to ask you about the addition of Charlton Warren as well to the staff over the last week. Just your thoughts on what he brings the staff to. Charlton's a tremendous coach with great experience across the country.

He's very detailed, very high energy. Charlton spent 13 years in the military before he got into coaching. So he has great discipline. He has a plan on how he's going to attack every day. And I think some of that comes from his military training, you know. So it's great to have a guy like that on our staff.
 

Yeah, it's been a couple of years since you ran a defense at Temple. What about this opening was the right one to be the one to come back in as a defensive coordinator?

Well, this job is one, like I said, for all the reasons that I've been very interested in and being a part of it. But then two, I just am at the point where I really want to take something and grow it, and kind of put some of the stamps on it from the last two years that I've learned in the NFL and with working with Dave Aranda. And so this one I felt like was perfect for that. Right. It had the personnel that I was looking for. I had some schematics that were already in place that I was looking for. And then the chance to do it with Coach Doran, too. And then just to quickly follow up, you're talking about personnel. 
 

Tra Thomas is on a team. You coached him at Temple. What's it like to kind of be reunited back with him again? 

Tra's such a great person. You know, I love Tra. And he's a good player. But like I said, he's really got some great attributes off the field, too. It's really good. I'm glad to be with him. He's very talented, hardworking, and very tough. And, it's going to be a good situation for him here at NC State.
 

DJ, you mentioned a couple of times now just the excitement to work under Dave. What about working with Dave Doran has you so excited? And from your perspective, as a defensive coach, is it different getting a chance to work under a defensive minded head coach compared to someone who may be offensive minded? 

Well, I worked for Mark Stoops at Kentucky, and then I worked for Mike MacIntyre at Colorado. So I have experience working with a defensive coach. But it's great. And the reason it's great is there's another guy in the building that you can bounce ideas off of. There's a guy that's been a defensive coordinator that's been in your shoes and can help you, you know, can give you a different insight at times, can find something in film study. It's one that I think is a benefit as a defensive coordinator when your head coach is a defensive guy. 
 

Yeah, DJ, when you look at your defense, I know all positions are important, but is there a spot where you feel like it is often a guy who you really feel has to be very productive for you, week in week out? 

They're like you said, they're all important. If you're playing a team that's running the ball, your D line better bow up and play, right? And if you're playing a team, it's got great wide outs in your corners, better light it on fire. And then, if you're playing a team, it's got great tight ends and your linebackers better be ready to go. So I think it depends on the week where the stress is going to be for each position. And that's why in the NFL and in college, too, you really can't tell who's going to win week to week based on the past record, because the matchups matter so much. So when you're looking at teams and you think, well, this team's beating this team and that team's beating this team, but maybe the matchup is different. And so I'm very cognizant of that. And we're going to try to make sure that we, you know, have our matchups right when we play people and that our guys are playing hard.