Partridge 'chomping at the bit' for full return of Reb football


                                                                                                                Chris Partridge
 
Ole Miss first-year co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chris Partridge stopped by Reb Talk with voice of the Rebels, David Kellum, this week to discuss a wide range of topics, from his relationship with Lane Kiffin and thoughts on the Ole Miss safeties, to his recruiting philosophy and DJ Durkin. Here’s everything he had to say …

On his experience as a member of the Michigan coaching staff: Michigan, it was awesome for me. Jim (Harbaugh) took a chance and hired me in an off-the-field role, which, if I had to go back again, I’d do it the same way. He was just getting to Michigan at that time, coming from the (San Francisco) 49ers, and I was his Director of Player Personnel, so really the right-hand man (and) seeing how everything was built from the guts, right? That was a great year of experience for me, to see how a program was developed and stuff. Some things you don’t want to have to deal with — being the liaison with the school in terms of budgets and all that and academics and stuff. But it gave me a good view. I was fortunate. Any time I could, I’d work really late into the nights doing that job, and when the coaches were in early in the morning, I got to sit in on all their meetings. I was in with DJ Durkin every single day — in his office, in his meetings. The special teams coordinator at the time was John Baxter, so I really got the gambit for that year. It was awesome. From there, coaches left and I was promoted to linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. I did that for two years and moved back to the safeties for my last two years there. Really good experience, really good people. I loved the program, I loved the kids there. It was all good. But I’m excited to take on this new challenge as well.

On his relationship with Lane Kiffin and what prompted him to make the jump to Ole Miss: I had talked to Lane a couple of years ago. He was at FAU and looking for a defensive coordinator. We got on the phone and talked a little bit. For me, it wasn’t the right move. At that time, it was moving back to the safeties, which I wanted to do going into my fourth year at Michigan. But kept in touch, and when I saw he took this job, I was the one that really got excited about it. I have the utmost respect for Lane and his father (Monte), being the defensive coordinator that he was. I studied him a ton, and knowing he’d be in the building. Just being able to coach in the SEC was something that I was looking at. I wanted to take that step and be in this conference. When he got the job, I immediately got in touch with him and talked about his vision. What really got me excited was the vision of (Ole Miss athletics director) Keith (Carter) and Lane. They want to take this program to the top. They want to win a national championship. It’s not just about getting to 6-6 and making a bowl game. Why can’t we be these guys in the SEC West? That plays to me and who I am. I like to build something and be part of something special. When Lane started talking to me about the staff, it became a no-brainer. The staff he’s put together, he had a vision for it and knows what he’s looking for. That excited me even more. I was ecstatic.

On Lane’s father, Monte, a decorated defensive coordinator: For me, anybody I can touch that has done and been as successful at that high a level that long, anything you can learn, any little piece of knowledge, is going to make me a better coach and a better person. He’s a genius, and he’s great to have in the building. He tells these stories that are awesome and funny. When it comes down to it, if you have a football question, you can go to him. He’s got all this tape on his system. I don’t even know how they converted the reel from when he started coaching. They did it somehow. Just to pick Lane’s mind. He’s one of the best offensive minds there is. From a defensive standpoint, to be able to go against that every day in practice and see how he dissects a defense and what you’re doing, I think it’s a special thing.


On recruiting: Recruiting’s no different than coaching. You’ve got to love people. If you don’t love different types of people coming from different backgrounds with different beliefs, philosophies, things like that, I don’t think you can be successful as a coach, and I don’t think you can be successful as a recruiter. I enjoy people. I enjoy getting to know these kids, getting to know these parents, talking to them, finding out about them, hearing about what their thoughts and beliefs are. That’s one big step of it. I really, really enjoy it. A lot of coaches don’t. They feel it’s a burden. It’s football, that’s what they want to do, and recruiting is a burden. That’s wrong. Recruiting and people are what you do. I really want to know the guys that are going to be brought in and play for me at my position and in the program. I enjoy that. We’re educators. That’s what we are. We’re tasked with growing young men into men. Through recruiting, you don’t have to start educating when they join your program. You can touch so many different kids, whether they come to your program or not. If you believe and love the fact that you’re educating, you can do it all day, every day, with your players, with your family and when you’re talking to the recruits. Continue to educate the whole time. I feel like I’ve touched so many more kids, even if they haven’t joined the program. I feel good about that. One of the most important things, too, and it goes hand in hand with being a coach and having a position and being a father and having a family, is you’re always honest, right? Be up front and honest with the recruits, with your players, with your family. It’s things you can live by but go hand in hand together. I think my beliefs relate to the players and anyone in recruiting. I’ve been fortunate to be successful, but I’ve also had great people around me that I trust and believe in so that when I’m talking to a recruit, I can have them talk to another coach that you believe in. That’s important, too. I had this saying that it takes a village to recruit a top athlete. As an individual, you can only do so much. They touch so many people in a football program. You have to believe in those people and have those people send the same message as you.

On building lasting relationships in recruiting: I’ve always said anyone that chooses to play for me or with me in the same program, I will be there for life. I’ve really tried to live by that. I feel really good about it. I have great relationships with any kid I’ve recruited or I’ve coached and their families. I was a high school coach, and I heard it all the time, ‘Well, I jumped to college and now you don’t have to deal with the parents.’ Bull. I’m going to deal with the parents. The kids, when they’re 17, 18, 19-years-old, they’re still leaning on their parents. If you cut their parents off, you can’t get the relationship with the kids that you need to. I talk to the parents in my position group, the kids I recruit. I’m constantly talking to parents. Now, not all those conversations are great. ‘Why isn’t Johnny playing?’ Well, I’m going to tell you exactly why he’s not playing, and I think the honesty goes a long way, too. But I try to build those relationships for long-lasting. Sometimes it’s not all what they want to hear, but they respect the honesty at the end of the day.

On co-coordinating the defense with Durkin: One of the main points when I was talking to Lane and we were deciding on this whole thing, if I was going to make the move, as soon as I heard DJ Durkin’s name was involved, there was no question about it. It was a done deal. I didn’t care about anything else. I have the utmost respect for him. He’s one of the greatest football minds I’ve been around, but he’s a great human being. I was so fortunate that year at Michigan that I got to be with him. He went on to be a head coach and had offered me a job with him. It was in the back of my mind, ‘I wish I could work with him again.’ This is the opportunity to do it. He’s a really good friend of mine, a good person. He’s done so much and coached so much in a short period of time that I try to learn from him every day. It’s a great working relationship and a great relationship off the football field as well.

On the Ole Miss safeties: Obviously we lost the spring, but the main thing I want you and the fans to understand (is) everybody’s going through this. We’re not going to put our heads down at all. We’re going to attack it, and we feel like we’re going to be ready and play great defense, play great offense, play great special teams. Here’s what I’ll tell you about the whole defense, the whole team: These kids are hungry. They want to be really good. They want to be successful. They’re looking for the guidance to do that. That’s what I felt in the three months that we were with them at least. It’s our job to get them pointed in the right direction, because they’re puppies with their eyes open. ‘Coach me, coach.’ That’s the first step of this thing. It’s not always like that when you come into a new program. Sometimes there’s some animosity or whatnot. For this, it’s been incredible. I really like them. They’re sponges for information, and we’re educators for every second of every day. They’re taking it all in. They’re chomping at the bit. We’ve gotten to see them run around a little bit. We haven’t gotten to see them play football, but I have watched the guys that have played, on tape, extensively. I think we’ve got some really good guys back there, some really good players. We’ve got some leaders, some older guys. Jon Haynes is going into his senior year. I’m excited about him. Jaylen Jones is another guy, an older guy, that has big aspirations. I’m excited about him. We’ve got some younger guys that have gotten some experience — A.J. (Finley), Jay (Stanley). Those guys are playing safety for us and have been really, really good and attentive and learning and all that stuff. They’re chomping at the bit, I’m chomping at the bit. When we can get back at this thing, we’re going to hit it full speed and play some real, good aggressive defense.


SOURCE: Garrett, Ben. "Partridge 'chomping at the bit' for full return of Reb football." OMSpirit - 247Sports.com, https://247sports.com/college/ole-miss/Article/Partridge-chomping-at-the-bit-for-full-return-of-Ole-Miss-football-146949423/