Everything New Defensive Coordinator Corey Hetherman said in Opening Press Conference

The Hurricanes have a new defensive coordinator and he looks to turn the program around.

Justice Sandle | Jan 13, 2025

The new defensive coordinator of the Miami Hurricanes Corey Hetherman during his first press conference for the Miami Hurricanes. / Justice Sandle — Miami Hurricanes on SI

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Miami (FL) Hurricanes

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes have found its next defensive coordinator and he is a star in the making.

Former Minnesota defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman is now in the Orange and Green and gives off the presence of a nail-chewing coach who also loves to teach. The perfect person for the Hurricanes as they look to play fast, aggressive, and smart with Hetherman at the lead.

He spoke for the first time today after his move from the snowy plains of Minnesota to the sunny South Beach.

On what led him to Miami...

You know just looking at you know the opportunity to compete for a national championship. What the program is what coaches done here looking at the roster I think I'm excited about the opportunity and what we can do you touch on the roster.

On his style of defense he will implement...

We're going to be aggressive. We want to be an attacking style defense we're going to be very multiple and you know everywhere I've it's you know kind of go evaluate who's in the room you know who can we attract to the to where we are and then you know figure out how to plug it in from there and you know I think there's a lot of really good athletes I think there's a lot of talent there's a lot of speed on the defensive side of football and I think um you know I'm excited about you know trying to figure out exactly where everyone goes and where everyone will work but you know we're going to be attack attacking aggressive style defense. we'regoing to try to dictate the tempo.

On playing on the other side of the ball and ending up being a defensive coach...

That was one of those things it was I had an opportunity in coaching early and it was going to take going the defense to kind of learn a little bit more to go back to offense and I never go back to offense. I've kind of been stuck on defense since that day but it's been awesome and you know one thing I feel like I've learned on defense is you know maybe on offense it was I played the position it was a little bit more comfortable maybe I didn't have to do as much work or be as detailed because there were things that I did as a player and now it's been you have to study you have to research you have to learn. You have to test things and find out how it works what you know every little detail in it and I think that's been something that's really been a blessing for me on the defensive side of the football working there there's also a par that you have here obviously you play you coach.

On the Similarities between Cristobal and his former coach...

h I mean in a very short period of time see a little bit of that. I'm still trying to get you know find out everything that's going on

On beginning as a Linebacker coach to where he is now...

I was very lucky in high school. I had a teacher who's a head football college coach right now that you know as a history teacher kind of helped me out and kind of at that point I was like I want to get the coaching so you know I want to do education. I want to be a teacher. I want the coach and when I first graduated he helped me get out to Kings College in Wilbury Pennsylvania where coach Manelo had like a whole program that was designed to teach you how to recruit to teach you how to coach. You get your own room. You get to learn how to develop and you learn everything about the program and from there I went to Springfield College where Mike dong and now Mike Saraso, they did an unbelievable job you get your own position room you get out on the road um you know as a young coach there would be a lot of opportunities that how do I do this or hold on what just happened. Everything in recruiting and managing your own room and practice planning and drawing the cards or whatever area it was and it really helped me as a coach start to learn exactly what I want to do. You know how to how to work with the players and how to be planned for a practice or how to get out and recruit and um you know speak with families and recruits and I think it really developed me as a young coach and then playing division 3 football I didn't have a network you know in the ACC or the Big 10 or any of those conferences and that was an opportunity to kind of grow and learn. I got lucky enough to get an opportunity at Northeastern through the Springfield ties and kind of went from there and you know kind of been lucky as I keep going with connections or different people that we've crossed paths

On having to grind his way to the spot that he is in now...

you know where I started with some of those programs then you know I've been dirty lucky you know get to the University of Maine, James Madison, you know Ruckers, and coach Fleck at Minnesota. I've been able to work with unbelievable people and then like the players, you know that that's the biggest thing like I look at the guys that I had at Minnesota. I love those guys like those guys would play so fast and you know the way that they love the sport of football. Same thing as the guys I felt like I had at Rucker's. I've been blessed to have really good rooms or really good guys on the side of the ball that love the sport of football, they love playing, and that's that's the thing that you know I think has really helped me you know get to who I am or where I am and I've been blessed with guys that just love the sport of football, love to play fast, and love to take coaching and get better every single day and work on their craft. when I was a younger coach you know some of my guys I've been in Tex chains the last couple days or you know even in the fall as we go through games and you know coach remember you tried to do this at one point or there' be different things and you just learn you know and everything all right well I can't handle can't do that okay we need to learn and do something else here you know there been a lot of failures that you just keep learning and growing and trying to build and get better from as I've gone through the process but I've been fortunate with great people around me you know people in Minnesota were were unbelievable and really every step of the way I've had unbelievable people around me.

On what he is bring coming from the Big 10 and now in the ACC...

I think we want to play fast. We're not going to be very complex you know I think let the guys go out and play football. I think you know when I watch the film and I kind of see who's on the roster and the guys that are available to us you know I think that's something we can do and I think you know whatever logo it is or whatever opponent it is it doesn't matter you know what game it is what where it is in the season I want to make sure our guys can just play fast and as long as we can do that we communicate, we play together, we play with each other, I think um we'll have a great opportunity to play any team in the country.

On being able to turn program defenses around quickly...

I think different places I've been you know early on in my career it may not have been that way and I think that's been different learning experiences and I know some places we tried to do things I was like can't do this and then you know at Maine I think we had we had some good talent there at the end. James Madison was a very good situation we walked into and had an opportunity to compete for a national title that first year and then the same thing I think Minnesota. You know that thought that defense those guys there's a lot of Talent on that roster and you know I thought those guys the way they competed the way they work the way they competed with each other to make everyone better you know really helped it so last year we you know had a really good season and um you know that defense I thought made some really big plays

On his recruiting background in Florida...

I think especially at Ruckers we we did a lot of things in Florida um so you know um maybe not always at my position of linebacker but different recruiting trips down here and you know different schools like even when I was at Springfield we used to start the recruiting fairs so I got to at least have an understanding. I know it's a different level but the last couple of years being in the programs I've been in we've been down here a lot in Florida getting to learn the coaches in the area and the competition and I'm excited about getting down here even more the recruit.

On his teacher background and how he will use it...

I think teaching, I want to make sure the guys understand why we're doing things and yesterday in our meeting it was I the X'sand O's don't matter right now. Everything is going to be about the technique the fundamentals you know why am I stepping here my hand placement my pad level my bend. Those are the biggest things we want to teach is the details within everything and then you know as that goes then we can get into the football then we can get into the scheme or the X's and O's but I want to make sure our guys are technique sound fundamental sound they understand the wise they understand what they're doing and what's going on around them and I think that's you know coming from a teaching background you know that's we can put it on the board we can give them a playbook we can show them on film we can break it down in Indie and teach them the pieces of it or the segments of it um you know then maybe go into a group period where you're doing the part and then when you finally get to a team period you have to go and you know you can walk through it you can do it. Tempo and you know when you finally go against the offense now it's a full-speed pitcher but by the time they get there they've broken it down so many times they know where their first step should be. They know where their target should be they know where their pad level is they know how to tackle or how to defeat a block or what know you know where their eyes are supposed to go in their progression and that's how we want to teach it every single day and you know when we get you to know to Spring football want it where they can teach the other guys in the room you want to make sure they know it well enough where you know if I wasn't in front of the room or if their position coach wasn't in front of the room they could go up and talk to the younger guys or talk to a new guy coming into the program and be able to be detailed enough to tell them exactly all the steps in the process before they get on the field to play. I think that's you know how we detail it out and how we're going to teach our guys I think that's the same thing when you know as I was coming up as a history teacher how you go on presenting it.

First impression on arriving...

I don't know what 14 and snowing when I flew when I took off and I was 74 or something when I landed so no it's um you obviously both city environments you know um you know large population but the weather will be the biggest thing.

Learning more about the players

I think you know number one it's going to be all about us you know it's what do we have what do. We need to get better at every area of defense is it? How do we move to the football, how do we defeat block show, do we tackle what's our progression how you know what coverages we playing but it's going to be all about us right now I want to learn the roster I want to learn who the guys are. I'm going to watch film and I'm going to get with the staff and kind of have them sit down and tell me okay this was what was going on here Heres what you know what the progression was or what the call was and what we were trying to do but then I'm also going to be able you know as we keep watching workouts and you know as we get to Spring football and spring we get to actually put the guys in positions and see them play I think that'll be the most important thing is finding what can we do you you know and I don't want to look at it right now so much as hey this guy's a defensive tackle this guy's a linebacker it's want to find out who can bend who's explosive who can run who can tackle who can cover and then try to figure out what positions they go from there and you know just I know seeing the guys on film you know I'm excited about you know a lot of the things that you see on tape from those from the tacklingand leveraging the football and playingthe ball and seeing those differentthings um now we just got to continue tofind out exactly where they all go what goes into

On great red zone defense in Minnesota...

that's one of those stats I always try to figure out how much I need to you know want to look into that one I remember one year we were very good in red zone defense and I think like five teams ended the game by taking a knee in the red zone so it a stop now. That's not not the case always but you know I thinkfor us it's all going to be aboutstopping the run and number one thingthe number one goal is we want to getahead of the sticks we want to stop therun we want to try to make an offenseone the and you know when you get downto the Red Zone you know I think Eliteteams run the football on offense and Ithink Elite defenses stop the run in theRed Zone you know the quarterback'sgoing to be a runner down there so it'sa little bit harder you know now you'regot to defend all 11 and I know a lot ofteams now you know the quarterback'sgoing to be a runner anyway but itdoesn't matter who you're playing everyteam down there the quarterback's goingto be involved in the Run game so now alittle bit harder CU you got to defendeverything um you know now it's a littlebit harder to throw the football downthere so we'll try to do some differentthings you know coverage wise or conceptwise to challenge that and take awaysome of the excess throws but um youknow I thought this year I thought ourdefensive line did a really good jobstopping the Run getting us ahead of thesticks um forcing offenses off track andand that really gave us a lot of successdown there in the in the uh Red Zone

On his philosophy of what he wants out of the players...

We're going to talk about being physical and we're going to talk about swarming the three things I talked to them yesterday. I want you guys to love football when you walk in the building I want you to be excited to be here you know I want it to be the I can't wait to get to the football building I can't wait to you know lift run eat whatever it is. Practice watch film I want themto enjoy being here and then when weplay I want to be the most physical teamyou know we want to strike first we wantto strain all the way through we want toyou know finish you know on the ballcarrier on the ball in the air um but wewant to be a physical football team andthen we want to play fast we want toswarm and I don't want it to be a thingwhere we're constantly thinking or we'reyou know there's a lot going on we justwant to line up you know understand whatyour job is know my alignment know my job you know make sure my eyes are inthe right spot and then go play fast andthat's the biggest thing we want to getacross and and I told the guys yesterdayI was like listen there's going to be mistakes there's going to be times we'rewrong I don't care in Spring football Idon't like go do it but be 100 miles an hour because now you'll learn from it and now that won't happen in the fall you know as we get through Springf ootball into fall Camp you know by the end of fall Camp we'll get that out we'll get that behind us so now you just have confidence you have trust in the defense you have trust in your teammates around you and you just have a belief that we're going to go and get a stomp every single time. I think that's been kind of how we've done it in this system in the past and I think the guys just believe in one another they play fast they trust it and you know there'll be mistakes there'll be things that are wrong but if we play fast and we play physical.