Simply put, Northwestern’s defense wasn’t very good last season.

Trailing far behind its offensive counterpart – which was among the best in the conference – the NU defense ranked last in both scoring defense and total defense, coughing up 37.5 points and 470.5 yards per game to Big Ten opponents.

“The offense, I’ll admit it, they’ve carried us the past couple of years,” senior linebacker Pat Durr said. “It’s frustrating because as a defensive player, it’s not (that) you want the glory, but you want to hold up your end of the bargain.

“It’s always offense winning the games. Defense, we’re just kind of holding on. Bend but not break.”

So during the off-season, head coach Randy Walker decided it was time for some different looks on defense.

“There’s significant change going on,” Walker said. “We’re doing some different things with coverage, different things up front, some different blitz deals, playing more nickel, dime.

“We’re going to be a little more diverse on that side of the ball. It’s going to require a lot of work on our defense’s part, but I see real good progress right now.”

In order to design and implement that new defensive strategy, Walker hired Greg Colby to replace Jerry Brown as defensive coordinator. Colby, who previously held that position at Kent State, is one of two new coordinators this season. Former tight ends, H-backs and special teams coach Mike Dunbar was promoted to offensive coordinator after the departure of Kevin Wilson at the end of the 2001 season.

Before Colby was hired, Brown was given the title of assistant head coach. In his 10th year with NU, Brown will also serve as the defensive backs coach in 2002, a position he held during the Wildcats’ 1995 Rose Bowl season.

Even though Brown is still on the NU coaching staff, there is no question about who is in charge of a defense sorely in need of new ideas and new blood.

“I’m coordinating the whole thing,” Colby said. “I want to have input into every phase of what we’re doing. (Brown is) fitting his philosophy into my philosophy.”

Colby developed his defensive philosophy during his 16 years in the Big Ten, playing and coaching at Illinois and coaching at Michigan State. His most recent position, however, was in the lesser-known Mid-American Conference.

Colby views his years at Kent State – where he started in 1998 – in the same light as he sees his Big Ten career.

“In the MAC, it was a good brand of football, we just didn’t have the depth that they have in the Big Ten,” Colby said. “I think the quality of the ball was fairly similar, it’s just not something they could sustain for as long.

“Football is football whether you’re playing there or here or wherever. It’s just you have a few more guys to play it with (in the Big Ten).”

Walker’s off-season search for a defensive coordinator was cut short when he met Colby.

“My intention was to bring several people to campus and talk to them,” Walker said. “Greg was the first one I brought in and I was so impressed with him in the interview, I didn’t go any further. I offered him the job while he was here.”

Colby guided the Golden Flashes to third in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense at 25.5 points per game. Kent State was less potent in terms of total defense, a category in which the team finished ninth, allowing 395.0 yards per game.

Durr, the de facto leader on NU’s defense, has been impressed in his limited time under the tutelage of the new defensive coordinator.

“The quiet storm,” Durr said, laughing. “That’s what I call him. He walks around, doesn’t say much, but he’ll explode like a volcano.”

Colby will have to use some of that energy to guide inexperienced defensive players in the fall.

“We’ve showed signs,” said Raheem Covington, one of the few returning senior starters on defense. “We’re young, and a lot of people say we’re going to have trouble. If we put it together, we’ll be better (than last year).”

Colby said the team will use at least 11 underclassmen in the initial two-deep.

At NU, the biggest defensive change – other than the youth movement – will be the use of an extra man on the line of scrimmage to further protect against the run, Colby said.

Colby will also increase the use of nickel and dime packages to improve matchups with opposing offenses.

“Even though we’re a 4-3 defense, we play more of a five-man front,” Colby said. “We put a linebacker up on the line where in the past there were three stacked linebackers. It gets the things done that we want to get done, which are: No. 1, stop the run and No. 2, be aggressive.”

And Durr, for one, certainly has faith in the new boss.

“It’s our turn,” Durr said. “(They) brought in a great defensive coordinator. I can’t wait to run this defense. It’s our time to step up. It’s our time to pay back the offense for what they’ve done for us the past two years.”

Despite NU’s offensive success, Walker was forced to make changes on that side of the ball as well after Wilson left for Oklahoma to serve as offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Dunbar, in just his second year at NU, was tabbed to fill the vacated offensive coordinator slot. Dunbar has an 83-24-1 career mark as head coach at Central Washington and at Northern Iowa.

In 2001, NU’s offense put up 24.6 points per game, which ranked eighth in the Big Ten.

Dunbar won’t be making any radical changes in the Cats’ offensive scheme. He’s content to work with Wilson’s system, gradually implementing different looks.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘new’ (to describe the offense),” Dunbar said. “We’re evolving. We’ve been four wideouts, but we’d like to be more multiple formation-wise so hopefully we can create some problems for defenses. We think we can do that with the use of our tight ends.”

Dunbar cited four tight ends – junior Eric Worley, sophomore Trai Essex and freshmen Taylor Jones and Joe Wohlscheid – who will battle for playing time. Jones, who redshirted last season, is being converted from linebacker.

But NU will continue to use the spread, an offense that has been the team’s bread and butter for the past two seasons.

“Change can be a good thing,” senior wide receiver Jon Schweighardt said. “We had a good offense last year. There are just some structural changes (in this year’s version), and it can be a better offense than it was last year.

“We’re all learning with the new staff. It’s a great offense – a lot of receivers get the ball. The running plays are the same. By the end of spring ball, we’ll be rollin’.”