Both D-1 teams in the state had some degree of coaching change this offseason. Let’s explore! Starting with Detroit…
Out with the Old
In a surprising turn of events May 30, the only head coach Detroit has ever known resigned. From the initial press release, there wasn’t much detail as to why:
DETROIT (5/30/14) — University of Detroit Mercy men’s lacrosse coach Matt Holtz announced today (Friday, May 30) his resignation after six seasons as the Titans’ head coach. Holtz compiled a 26-60 overall record and a 15-17 mark in MAAC play during his tenure.
In his penultimate season, UDM made the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history, and though the Titans never seemed to take the next step to become a consistent MAAC contender, it certainly didn’t seem like they were on the verge of losing their coach, either.
In with the New
To fill Holtz’s place, Detroit did what seemed (to me, at least) to be obvious in promoting top assistant and defensive coordinator Chris Kolon to the head job. He took the position on an interim basis June 2, and formally accepted the permanent position July 14.
Kolon led Titans recruiting efforts during his time as the defensive coordinator, and the Titan defense was consistently good once the Division I talent arrived, the one area of the program that was outside of the bottom of the nation on a regular basis (other units, including the offense, had a year here and there among the realm of the competent).
To fill the assistant coaching vacancy created by Kolon’s promotion, UDM hired Jeff Turner to coach special teams (some of which – basically all except the man-up – could use some work) and faceoffs (which could definitely use the work). That certainly seems to imply Kolon will continue coordinating his own defense, with Graham Adams continuing as the offensive coordinator.
What it Means
Here’s a look at Detroit’s overall tempo-free ratings on offense, defense, and possession over the past five seasons:
| Year | Offense | Defense | Poss% | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 50 | 49 | 50 | 53 (of 59) |
| 2011 | 46 | 17 | 51 | 42 (of 60) |
| 2012 | 51 | 34 | 55 | 50 (of 61) |
| 2013 | 55 | 23 | 42 | 48 (of 63) |
| 2014 | 56 | 22 | 48 | 47 (of 67) |
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That’s a lot of middling-or-better defenses (and, despite the fact that they’re going against poor offenses on a regular basis, the schedule adjustment accounts for that), and a lot of offenses/possession games that are… not good.
Assuming Kolon’s ability to install and have his players execute a solid defensive gameplan doesn’t suffer from the ascension to the top spot – there’s no reason to believe that’s the case, but it’s a possibility with more on his plate – that side of the ball should continue to do well.
Now the Titans have an assistant dedicated to improving their special teams at the very least there will be someone whose primary job is to focus on a struggling faceoff unit and clear. Whether Turner can improve those units is unknown (as a student assistant at Michigan, his impact was buried in a lesser role), but there is someone dedicated to doing just that.
One of Turner’s biggest contributions could be an improvement in the amount and type of statistical data the Titans will use in their gameplans, practices, and player development. At Michigan, one of his largest impacts (albeit from an outsiders perspective) was in developing and implementing some advanced statistical techniques – including some that overlap with Tempo-Free Lacrosse principles – to help the Wolverines’ program use every bit of data they could. The Detroit program has been underdeveloped in focusing on that side of things, so there’s room to make a quick impact there.