Bye week gives Clune a chance to fine tune

For the Hawaii football team’s first bye weekend of the season, defensive coordinator Kevin Clune has plans.

He will watch videos of the following week’s opponent, review the past week’s practices and analyze everything that went wrong in the first four games.

"That’s football," said Clune, who was hired by coach Norm Chow in January. "That’s the way it goes. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I moved across the ocean. I love (Hawaii), but it’s not about enjoying it. It’s about making UH a winning football team and doing my best for Coach Chow."

Chow recalled poring through hundreds of applications and recommendations in seeking a replacement for Thom Kaumeyer, whose contract was not renewed.

"You don’t just hire a guy," Chow said. "We did our homework. We did our due diligence. (Clune’s) name kept popping up time and time again."

At every stop — linebacker coach at Utah State the previous five years; defensive coordinator at Weber State and Southern Utah — the word was out on Clune.

"Grinder," Chow said of Clune’s work ethic. "That’s his reputation."

The past two games, UH has forced 22 punts and 13 three-and-out drives.

"We are forcing punts," Clune said. "But in a game, there’s typically 14 to 17 drives (for an opposing offense). I think about baseball this time of year, and every drive is like an inning. I’ve got to pitch the right inning and get it back to the offense. Even though we did OK last week (in a 21-12 loss to Colorado), there were three drives we weren’t good. We’ve got to do better. What can I do as a coach to call a better game? What can I do as a coach to emphasize the things that need to be emphasized better? During the week, you think you’re there, but game day is the great judgment."

Even after a victory, Clune will replay each drive in his mind, then replay the video cut-ups in his office or meeting room.

"I’m going to be my own worst critic," Clune said. "Every play call I have that doesn’t work, I’m always thinking about it Saturday nights after the game."

Clune analyzes his play-calling for tendencies, or in poker parlance, "tells."

Opponents have computer-generated printouts of the percentage of plays the Warriors call in certain situations.

"Everyone has everything," Clune said of statistical breakdowns. "There’s a lot of science, but there’s an art to how you feel about things during the game. Is that successful or not? Do I box myself into some tendencies that I have to break? It’s never ending."

At the start of training camp, Clune spoke of the 200 to 300 steps the defense needed to take.

"I think we’ve come a long way," Clune said. "I think there’s still, obviously, some more steps we have to take before we’re playing great defense. I’m not going to be satisfied until we get there. … I think the effort is there, the toughness is there. There never will be a final goal on playing smart. It’s always life-long learning in football. There’s always something new."