By Keith Grabowski
Carthage did not become a fast, confident defense because of a new playbook. They became one because their coordinator, Adam Weber, embraced adaptive defense simplicity and changed his approach when the system he knew best was not delivering what his players needed. The shift was not about the scheme itself. It was about fit, clarity, and the courage to let go of what felt comfortable.
Building a Defense Around Who You Have
When Weber arrived at Carthage, he installed the quarters structure and four-down front he had coached for years. The system looked sound on paper and felt familiar to him, but the players weren’t playing fast. Communication lagged. What made sense to him didn’t translate to the field.
That disconnect forced him to adjust. He moved into a bear structure and later a three-high look, not to chase the perfect scheme but to find one that let his players react without hesitation. The shift demanded humility and honest self-evaluation, ultimately redirecting the defense’s trajectory and reinforcing the value of adaptive defense simplicity.
“It takes a lot to sit in the mirror and say this is not comfortable for me, but my players are playing faster and more physical.”
Creating Clarity That Produces Speed
Once the system matched the roster, Weber stripped away anything that slowed his players down. The staff trimmed the call sheet, tightened the rules, and drilled only the plays and routes they expected to see on Saturdays. Practices carried a clear purpose. Meetings became more focused. Instead of preparing for every possibility, the defense prepared for what truly mattered—another example of how adaptive defense simplicity drove improvement.
The results showed up quickly. With fewer moving parts, players processed information faster and triggered without hesitation. Their physicality increased because uncertainty disappeared. Clarity pushed their speed, and that speed soon defined the entire unit.
Weber’s approach shows that great defense doesn’t come from volume. It comes from giving players a system they can execute with complete conviction. When a coordinator aligns the scheme with the roster and teaches it with precision, the defense gains a clear advantage—fast, decisive, confident play that holds up every week.
About Coach Adam Weber
Adam Weber, Defensive Coordinator at Carthage College, brings a broad coaching background shaped by roles at Fairleigh Dickinson, Rutgers, and Ohio State. He has coached defensive backs and linebackers and worked in offensive quality control, giving him a wide lens on the game. His attention to detail and advanced film-study habits have helped him build a reputation for adaptability, clear teaching, and the ability to elevate player performance.
Track and improve your athletes progress with Tully!
Schedule a meeting to learn more about Tully today!
Related:
System Design and Adjustments: Insights from Karson Pike
Creating a Consistent Player – Adam Cushing, Run Game Coordinator/OL Coach, Duke University
More on Coach Adam Weber
Transcript
John Snell (00:01)
Next up is our defensive coordinator of the week, Adam Weber from Carthage, where they finished with a great win to end the season. Adam, congratulations on the win and for being recognized by Logan and Keith. We’re awful excited to have you and again, welcome to the show.
Adam Weber (00:18)
Thanks for having me, John. It’s a pleasure to be here.
John Snell (00:21)
Well, as we’ve discussed, we talked about and we’ve had all of our coaches share a coaching topic or a coaching thought, coaching idea with our listeners. ⁓ And I’m sure you have something good to share as well. You talked about adapting your scheme to your personnel. ⁓ So let’s talk about that a little bit and share that with our listeners, Adam.
Adam Weber (00:48)
Yeah, so for me, ⁓ when I got to cartridge two years ago, we were a quarters four down team. ⁓ that’s kind of what I was around most of my career as a young coach and got here and try to instill that into our players. And it just wasn’t clicking for them for some reason. So last year, about the fifth game of the year, we ended up changing the whole scheme and really trying to get our players to play.
fast and physical, you people talk all the time about players not plays or, you know, simpler is better. And it’s all good in theory until you get that situation where, you know, you’re trying to get the best out of your players. And, you know, we were a four down quarters team. We came in and it wasn’t clicking for our guys. So we had some connections with some other college coaches and just trying to get it more simpler. ⁓
You know, we got into this bare front, kind of run with motion and then get into cover two. You know, and that worked for us last year. And then coming into this year, going into the spring ball, we did the same type of thing. We added some tweaks where we weren’t going to always run. We were going to spin with the motions ⁓ and then pop out into cover two sometimes. And the first three weeks of the year this year, for some reason, it just didn’t click with our guys. ⁓
So we ended up adapting again, you know, into a three high safety ⁓ look with four down. And, you know, we played really fast. We let our defense align really have some line games and stuff and movement to kind of, you know, make things difficult for the offensive line, but make it simpler and make our guys play fast. It worked out great for us. I mean, we had some really good guys up front. I think the one thing that allowed us
You get into weeks of game planning and you’re like, what do they do against us? What do they do? And by the last three weeks of the year, it wasn’t a whole lot of like, hey, we need to do this, we need to do that. Hey, we know what we’re gonna run. This is what we’re gonna run and how are they gonna attack us? And then getting into the practice and knowing, hey, they’re gonna run stretch the field against us. So let’s get a mini-reps against that as we can. So our guys know, hey, this is how we’re gonna fit it. This is how we’re in coverage.
And so that’s kind of how we adapted. Our guys, last, I mean, two, six quarters, we gave up nine points. Last week we had a tough game against Carroll, gave up three ⁓ in the whole game. And I probably called three different calls that whole game, but it allowed our guys, they knew where they were supposed to be. They knew how to fit the run. They knew where they were in pass coverage.
and we had seen the routes that we were going to get hit. We’ve seen the runs that we’re going to get and allowed our guys to know where to be on those certain plays and to play fast and to play physical. So it really was a great thing for us to kind of just, hey, we’re going to be more simple. So our guys know what they’re doing. We’re going to rep those plays in practice those problem plays, so that ⁓ we know what what we’re going to get and know how we’re going to fit in, how we’re going to stop it. So that’s kind of how.
We have adapted. Hopefully we had seven all conference guys, five on defense defense. Hopefully those guys will get more comfortable in this style and we won’t have to change again again. And this is what we know and how we’re gonna do things.
John Snell (04:22)
Tell me, Adam, you know, as young coaches, we, you know, we always seem to think that ⁓ the more is better. We’ve got to have all these different coverages and fronts. And ⁓ if I’m understanding you correctly, you have kind of come to the realization that that’s not always the best thing. Maybe we need to simplify, do less.
⁓ And we’re going to be more successful. The old saying less is more kind of seems to be applying to what you’re talking about.
Adam Weber (05:01)
Yeah, for sure. That’s 100 % correct. And it’s one thing to say that, but it really takes a lot to sit in the mirror and say, hey, this is not comfortable for me to move on for what I’ve known for so long and what I’ve done. Because if it’s a quarter’s four down defense and some pressure is off of it, me and Coach Papino, we know the problems. We know how to fix them. And then putting yourself in a situation where you’re not as comfortable with the scheme, but you’re
your players are playing faster, they’re playing more physical, they understand it better. That is a big thing. And I think it’s all about the players. I’m a really good coach when I got really good players. When I got Michael Snead ⁓ and Jermo ⁓ Rowlett playing for me, I’m a better football coach. I got Marion Talaméz playing for me at safety as a freshman, I’m a better football coach. ⁓ Those guys…
And if those guys don’t understand what I’m trying to coach them, ⁓ I gotta change how I’m coaching them one or I gotta make them understand what we’re trying to do. So I think and for me, think simpler is better at times, and it’s paid off for us. They’ve played with confidence and when you have confident players playing, you can be successful. So a great coach told me one time, a confused player makes a coward of us all, right? Confusion makes cowards of us all. ⁓
Try not to let them be confused and let them play fast and physical. That’s what it’s all about.
John Snell (06:34)
Well, there’s no question that clarity of purpose allows them to play fast and allows them to play with confidence. If, as you said, if they’re confused, then they’re not playing fast and they’re not playing confident. So clarity of purpose is critical. And it sounds like, again, you guys have come to that point in realization of the value in that for your players.
Adam Weber (07:00)
For sure, no doubt, 100%.
John Snell (07:03)
⁓ I’d be remiss if we didn’t give you a chance to give some props to your defensive staff, Adam. So take a second to do that if you want.
Adam Weber (07:14)
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I’m so grateful for my staff. They work really hard. ⁓ Will Flaherty, our graduate assistant, I mean, that guy has done so much this past year to get us prepared. I mean, he’s staying up two o’clock in the morning trying to find tendencies for us. ⁓ Jose Ramirez, who’s a part-time guy who came in, who played at Carthage. was a high school state champion defensive coordinator, came in this year and he’s really helped us. ⁓
with the defensive line who was probably our strong point ⁓ of this year. Connor Gibson, our strength coach and our linebacker coach, really an unbelievable guy, unbelievable strength coach and really bought into what it was to be a linebacker coach, a wide receiver ⁓ at Hanover College and then ⁓ coach and linebacker and our strength coach. ⁓ And then Zach Kodorski who helped us out this past year, he played at Indicott last year and kind of just played for Coach Papino.
And then I wouldn’t be here without Coach Papino. mean, he brought me in here and he’s our head coach. He’s our leader. He helps on the defense probably more than he needs to, but he loves football. He loves coaching and he loves coaching defense. So really those guys, I couldn’t do it without them. They helped me out so much day in and day out. I really owe them a lot. So ⁓ would be remiss if I didn’t say anything great about those guys. They really helped me a lot.
John Snell (08:39)
Well, we appreciate that. And again, we appreciate your time. Appreciate you being on with us, Adam. Congratulations on the end of season victory. Congratulations on being recognized by Logan and Keith. And we obviously wish you the best in the off season. And hopefully we’ll have a chance maybe to have you back on next year as well.
Adam Weber (09:01)
That would be awesome. Thank you guys so much. It’s such an honor to be able to talk to you guys a little bit. And I’m grateful for what you guys do for Division III football.