John Butler woke up Wednesday as Penn State's secondary coach, he went to bed as the team's defensive coordinator.
Butler was promoted by coach Bill O'Brien to lead the Nittany Lions' defense after Ted Roof abruptly left his post for the same position with Georgia Tech. Butler accepted the job, and Thursday he said he feels prepared to take on the new role thanks to his 18 years of coaching.
The Philadelphia native noted he shares many of the same defensive coaching beliefs and he said there will be "a ton of consistency" between his defense and the one Penn State ran in the 2012 season. Butler said he plans on having an aggressive defense that can change its look to disrupt the opposition.
"One of the biggest things we're going to try to do is create problems for the offense, make it a difficult defense for our opponents to prepare for," Butler said.
Butler said O'Brien is still in the process of finding a coach to take over the secondary, but Butler will still have a coaching role with the secondary as he makes the jump to defensive coordinator. Butler said he will be heavily involved with recruiting in his new role, and added he was one of six coaches who worked with the Lions' special teams in the 2012 season, but he wasn't sure what his role with the unit would be next season.
He also said he expects linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden and defensive line coach Larry Johnson — who are the two longest-tenured coaches on Penn State's staff — to remain in their positions moving forward.
"You have one of the best linebackers coaches in football, one of the best defensive line coaches in football with you, helping you put together a plan," Butler said. "What a great opportunity, working with those guys and whoever else we hire to continue to maintain the standard of excellence we have here at Penn State on defense."
Be sure to check Friday's Daily Collegian for more about Butler's promotion.
