Not surprisingly, O'Brien reaffirmed during his radio show:
Do you honestly feel the defensive scheme State is running is the best for what you want to achieve with the Wolfpack?
Certainly I do. We've been convinced of that no moreso than after this last evaluation. We're going to continue to work the scheme and get better at it. We're going to recruit players to help us be better at it, and we're going to coach it better.[snip]
Can you tell us why you chose Mike Archer as your defensive coordinator three years ago? Do you feel he's been the coordinator and recruiter you thought he'd be?
Certainly. He has a lot of experience coaching defenses and running defenses. He was a part of coach Cowher's staff when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers and has a great wealth of knowledge. He was a part of our staff when we were at the University of Virginia so we got to know what type of person he was... great character guy, great teacher, great family guy.He was a part of building a defense at the University of Kentucky. As they improved, a lot of it he did with the defense at the University of Kentucky, not a place known as a traditional power, and he did a great job creating turnovers.
We're committed that he's the guy to coach the defense here. Certainly he's had some hurdles and obstacles to overcome, but he's doing the job that can be expected of him and we'll get better as a defense as time goes on.
He also tells various callers that, yes, we'd thought of that thing you'd thought we should think about. What are the odds that by the end of the season O'Brien goes all Roy Williams on a caller? This is what we're paid to do. We're football coaches. We aren't accountants. We aren't bartenders. I am rolling my eyes at you right now because sweet Christ of course we've already considered that. I'm going to say 4:1 against.