Q & A with new Salukis' defensive coordinator Jason Petrino
01/31/2019 | 10:54:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Jason Petrino was named defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois on Dec. 10 after serving three seasons as head coach at NAIA Rocky Mountain College in Montana, where he led the program to a conference championship and playoff berth in 2018. Prior to Rocky Mountain, Petrino coached four seasons in the Missouri Valley Football Conference at South Dakota (2011-14) as the team's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.
You have a couple of older cousins (Bobby and Paul Petrino) who are well known in the coaching world. What influence have they had on you?
Obviously, a lot of influence, but I think it would start with both of our dads. Their dad was a successful head football coach at a small college in Helena, Montana — Carroll College. I was fortunate enough to get to play for him. My dad was always my coach, too, he coached my older brother, my younger brother. Growing up in that family, you were always around sports, just really competitive, always trying to find ways to get better, but more importantly, put in the work, the long days that it takes. Bobby and Paul have been very successful. There's a pretty big age gap between myself and them, but I've always followed what they've done and the success they've had. Being offensive guys, I couldn't read the option, so they threw me over on the defensive side of the ball, whereas those guys were both great option quarterbacks in high school and college. I'm very close, especially with Paul when he was at Idaho and I was in Montana, I got a chance to go over and visit with him a lot the last couple years.
Explain how Carroll College was the starting point for your playing and coaching career, just like it was for your cousins.
Montana is the fourth, least-populated state but it still didn't prevent it from having a lot of college football schools. I was very fortunate, and I believe things happen for a reason, and I spent my first four years playing for my uncle, Bob Petrino. My last year, my senior year, I got a chance to play for Mike Van Diest. He had a lot success nationally and won six national titles. I was a part of one of those as a coach. My first three years in coaching at Carroll College I made about $2,000 a year and was a substitute teacher, bartended, coached basketball, whatever it took to make ends meet, because I loved it.
Which coaches have shaped you the most and in what ways?
First, I'd say my dad. He was my basketball coach when I was young. I was the kid who wanted to scrimmage the whole time and he made us do fundamentals for 95 percent of practice and the last five was saved for scrimmaging. I've always been a big believer in base philosophy and base fundamentals and techniques. It doesn't matter what position you play, you have a skillset that you need to master in order to be great. Mike Van Diest was a great mentor in terms of the Xs and Os and getting kids to play with discipline and passion and fire and for each other. I got a chance to work with Joe Glenn at Wyoming and South Dakota. He's won three national titles. You talk about a guy who just treated kids the right way, they always played hard for him. What he was able to do with the kids in the program getting them to believe and play and fight, and understand the direction of the program and what was important. He was a major influence. In my career, I've been very blessed and fortunate to learn from guys who have won at a national level.Â
Southern has run a 4-3 defense in recent years. Is that something you plan to continue?
Defensively, it's about using the pieces that you have. You need to have a base structure. I've played a lot of Cover 4, Cover 3, some Man Free, but ultimately it's about your players. We transitioned at South Dakota from a 3-down (linemen) and had a very high-level player in Tyler Starr who was defensive Player of the Year. After he graduated, we kind of morphed a little bit and became more of a 4-down (linemen). We had two big D tackles and didn't see ourselves taking them off the field. We had Andrew Van Ginkel, who ended up being Freshman of the Year and finishing at Wisconsin. It's taking the personnel on your team and putting them in places where they can be successful. That's been my belief and philosophy. It's been good to get here and see the guys, talk to the coaches, watch all the film. I've seen them work out here the last couple weeks, see who are the guys that move well, watch the film and see what they do well. We'll have a chance once recruiting is done to really sit down and say, ok, these are the guys that have played the most, what do they do well? How can we help them perform better? Who has gotten bigger and stronger that maybe didn't get a lot of film but has had a great off-season? It's about taking those guys and putting them in places where they can be successful.
After looking at film of last year's defense, what were your impressions?
I've watched every game defensively in the month I've been here. Yeah, there's talent. I go back to my days when I was at South Dakota — Southern Illinois has always had a lot of talent. We didn't play Southern my first couple years because of the rotation, but you'd see them on film and they always had guys that played hard and were very long and athletic. We have those guys here now. It really comes down to what do we want to emphasize here during this off-season and spring ball? We're emphasizing three base things and every day we have to get better at these three things. We'll really go back to what the base, fundamental philosophy of what college football is, and on defense that's finding the the football, getting off blocks, tackling, and finding ways to take the ball away from the offense. If we're able to do that, we'll feel very good about the progress we'll make over 15 practices.Â
With spring ball less than a month away, what are your priorities between now and then?
First and foremost, it's getting together with the other staff that's come in. We've all come from different programs. Whether it was Coach (Marty) Rodgers here, or Coach Chuka (Ndulue) from Nebraska, Coach (Spencer) Brown from North Carolina State, we'll come together and talk about our personnel, talk about who can do what well, and then identifying where guys can fit in terms of schemes. We'll all get on the same page so that we're speaking the same language, terminology and verbiage. We need to get our players prepared mentally and get them accustomed to the terminology so when we get into spring ball we can give our guys some base tools, understanding and teaching.
Talk about the challenge of trying to stop the wide range of offensive styles that you find in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
You have to start at the top with the teams that have been successful for the last 3-5 years. If you're not very good up front, defensive line-wise, that's got to be the strength of your defense to have success. There's talent here between both defensive ends who've played a lot of football, also at defensive tackle we have a number of guys who have played a lot of reps. We need to be a lot better at that position. When you talk about spread teams, you have to be able to play in space, to be able to cover, to tackle in space. Honestly, if you look at this league, if you're not good up front it makes for a very, very long year. If you're not good up front in terms of talent, then you have to look at ways to help at the second and third level to make those guys better and at least get them isolated on one-on-one blocks.Â
What's the most rewarding aspect of being a coach?
I think relationships. The recruiting process is awesome. You get to meet kids and find out what their passions are, get around their families and see how they were raised. I just left a group of a hundred-plus kids that I developed real strong relationships with the last three years. The relationships you build and watching them grow and develop from the time they come onto campus at 18, 19 years old, to the time they graduate. There's nothing more important than those two days. Watching them go on and be successful — with social media you can keep up with everybody — who's got a family, who's gotten engaged, who's finishing a master's degree. Relationships are the most important part of life and the most important part of coaching. Ultimately, if you have a strong enough relationship, they're going to believe. If you see what their strengths are and know what their passions are, you can do a lot of things in terms of coaching to those so they can be successful.
What convinced you to join the staff at Southern Illinois?
It's a place that I've seen from afar. I grew up in Montana and I remember the Salukis coming up and playing in the playoffs. Being a head coach the last three years was phenomenal, I got to be around a lot of family, I coached with my brother, we had a lot of success, had great kids, great staff. We were able to win a championship and you kind of build up to that. It was tough to leave. My wife encouraged me. She's a rock star for what she does for myself and the kids at home. Getting a chance to be on campus and seeing the talent — I watched a lot of film leading up to the interview, visiting with Coach Rodgers on the phone, asked a lot of questions while I was here, visited with some of the senior leaders and top guys on the defense. I got to visit with Coach Kill. Southern Illinois has won before and I know in due time it will win again because of the leadership. Any time you go to a school, you have to have people above you that want to see things be successful and provide you with the tools necessary for that to happen. Ultimately, it makes recruiting a lot easier when you can show the plan, here's what's going to be happening for you as a student-athlete at Southern Illinois. You have to have that support from the top. Visiting with Coach Kill, competing against Coach Hill when he was a coordinator and those battles, knowing the success he's had on offense. The last piece for me and my family, Coach Hill not only preaches family first, but he also backs it up. It's great to know as my family transitions down here, we'll be welcomed with open arms, they'll be allowed to be around the building and out at practice. It was tough (to leave) because of the relationships and getting to coach with my brother, but I'm a believer that things happen for a reason and I'm fortunate enough to take the path God has me on. I'm fired up to be here and excited to find out what's to come for Saluki Football.Â
You have a couple of older cousins (Bobby and Paul Petrino) who are well known in the coaching world. What influence have they had on you?
Obviously, a lot of influence, but I think it would start with both of our dads. Their dad was a successful head football coach at a small college in Helena, Montana — Carroll College. I was fortunate enough to get to play for him. My dad was always my coach, too, he coached my older brother, my younger brother. Growing up in that family, you were always around sports, just really competitive, always trying to find ways to get better, but more importantly, put in the work, the long days that it takes. Bobby and Paul have been very successful. There's a pretty big age gap between myself and them, but I've always followed what they've done and the success they've had. Being offensive guys, I couldn't read the option, so they threw me over on the defensive side of the ball, whereas those guys were both great option quarterbacks in high school and college. I'm very close, especially with Paul when he was at Idaho and I was in Montana, I got a chance to go over and visit with him a lot the last couple years.
Explain how Carroll College was the starting point for your playing and coaching career, just like it was for your cousins.
Montana is the fourth, least-populated state but it still didn't prevent it from having a lot of college football schools. I was very fortunate, and I believe things happen for a reason, and I spent my first four years playing for my uncle, Bob Petrino. My last year, my senior year, I got a chance to play for Mike Van Diest. He had a lot success nationally and won six national titles. I was a part of one of those as a coach. My first three years in coaching at Carroll College I made about $2,000 a year and was a substitute teacher, bartended, coached basketball, whatever it took to make ends meet, because I loved it.
Which coaches have shaped you the most and in what ways?
First, I'd say my dad. He was my basketball coach when I was young. I was the kid who wanted to scrimmage the whole time and he made us do fundamentals for 95 percent of practice and the last five was saved for scrimmaging. I've always been a big believer in base philosophy and base fundamentals and techniques. It doesn't matter what position you play, you have a skillset that you need to master in order to be great. Mike Van Diest was a great mentor in terms of the Xs and Os and getting kids to play with discipline and passion and fire and for each other. I got a chance to work with Joe Glenn at Wyoming and South Dakota. He's won three national titles. You talk about a guy who just treated kids the right way, they always played hard for him. What he was able to do with the kids in the program getting them to believe and play and fight, and understand the direction of the program and what was important. He was a major influence. In my career, I've been very blessed and fortunate to learn from guys who have won at a national level.Â
Southern has run a 4-3 defense in recent years. Is that something you plan to continue?
Defensively, it's about using the pieces that you have. You need to have a base structure. I've played a lot of Cover 4, Cover 3, some Man Free, but ultimately it's about your players. We transitioned at South Dakota from a 3-down (linemen) and had a very high-level player in Tyler Starr who was defensive Player of the Year. After he graduated, we kind of morphed a little bit and became more of a 4-down (linemen). We had two big D tackles and didn't see ourselves taking them off the field. We had Andrew Van Ginkel, who ended up being Freshman of the Year and finishing at Wisconsin. It's taking the personnel on your team and putting them in places where they can be successful. That's been my belief and philosophy. It's been good to get here and see the guys, talk to the coaches, watch all the film. I've seen them work out here the last couple weeks, see who are the guys that move well, watch the film and see what they do well. We'll have a chance once recruiting is done to really sit down and say, ok, these are the guys that have played the most, what do they do well? How can we help them perform better? Who has gotten bigger and stronger that maybe didn't get a lot of film but has had a great off-season? It's about taking those guys and putting them in places where they can be successful.
After looking at film of last year's defense, what were your impressions?
I've watched every game defensively in the month I've been here. Yeah, there's talent. I go back to my days when I was at South Dakota — Southern Illinois has always had a lot of talent. We didn't play Southern my first couple years because of the rotation, but you'd see them on film and they always had guys that played hard and were very long and athletic. We have those guys here now. It really comes down to what do we want to emphasize here during this off-season and spring ball? We're emphasizing three base things and every day we have to get better at these three things. We'll really go back to what the base, fundamental philosophy of what college football is, and on defense that's finding the the football, getting off blocks, tackling, and finding ways to take the ball away from the offense. If we're able to do that, we'll feel very good about the progress we'll make over 15 practices.Â
With spring ball less than a month away, what are your priorities between now and then?
First and foremost, it's getting together with the other staff that's come in. We've all come from different programs. Whether it was Coach (Marty) Rodgers here, or Coach Chuka (Ndulue) from Nebraska, Coach (Spencer) Brown from North Carolina State, we'll come together and talk about our personnel, talk about who can do what well, and then identifying where guys can fit in terms of schemes. We'll all get on the same page so that we're speaking the same language, terminology and verbiage. We need to get our players prepared mentally and get them accustomed to the terminology so when we get into spring ball we can give our guys some base tools, understanding and teaching.
Talk about the challenge of trying to stop the wide range of offensive styles that you find in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
You have to start at the top with the teams that have been successful for the last 3-5 years. If you're not very good up front, defensive line-wise, that's got to be the strength of your defense to have success. There's talent here between both defensive ends who've played a lot of football, also at defensive tackle we have a number of guys who have played a lot of reps. We need to be a lot better at that position. When you talk about spread teams, you have to be able to play in space, to be able to cover, to tackle in space. Honestly, if you look at this league, if you're not good up front it makes for a very, very long year. If you're not good up front in terms of talent, then you have to look at ways to help at the second and third level to make those guys better and at least get them isolated on one-on-one blocks.Â
What's the most rewarding aspect of being a coach?
I think relationships. The recruiting process is awesome. You get to meet kids and find out what their passions are, get around their families and see how they were raised. I just left a group of a hundred-plus kids that I developed real strong relationships with the last three years. The relationships you build and watching them grow and develop from the time they come onto campus at 18, 19 years old, to the time they graduate. There's nothing more important than those two days. Watching them go on and be successful — with social media you can keep up with everybody — who's got a family, who's gotten engaged, who's finishing a master's degree. Relationships are the most important part of life and the most important part of coaching. Ultimately, if you have a strong enough relationship, they're going to believe. If you see what their strengths are and know what their passions are, you can do a lot of things in terms of coaching to those so they can be successful.
What convinced you to join the staff at Southern Illinois?
It's a place that I've seen from afar. I grew up in Montana and I remember the Salukis coming up and playing in the playoffs. Being a head coach the last three years was phenomenal, I got to be around a lot of family, I coached with my brother, we had a lot of success, had great kids, great staff. We were able to win a championship and you kind of build up to that. It was tough to leave. My wife encouraged me. She's a rock star for what she does for myself and the kids at home. Getting a chance to be on campus and seeing the talent — I watched a lot of film leading up to the interview, visiting with Coach Rodgers on the phone, asked a lot of questions while I was here, visited with some of the senior leaders and top guys on the defense. I got to visit with Coach Kill. Southern Illinois has won before and I know in due time it will win again because of the leadership. Any time you go to a school, you have to have people above you that want to see things be successful and provide you with the tools necessary for that to happen. Ultimately, it makes recruiting a lot easier when you can show the plan, here's what's going to be happening for you as a student-athlete at Southern Illinois. You have to have that support from the top. Visiting with Coach Kill, competing against Coach Hill when he was a coordinator and those battles, knowing the success he's had on offense. The last piece for me and my family, Coach Hill not only preaches family first, but he also backs it up. It's great to know as my family transitions down here, we'll be welcomed with open arms, they'll be allowed to be around the building and out at practice. It was tough (to leave) because of the relationships and getting to coach with my brother, but I'm a believer that things happen for a reason and I'm fortunate enough to take the path God has me on. I'm fired up to be here and excited to find out what's to come for Saluki Football.Â
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