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In American football, a nickel defense (also known as a 4–2–5 or 3–3–5) is any defensive alignment that uses five
defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
s, of whom the fifth is known as a
nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Hanna, Alberta. Throughout its history, it has consisted of lead guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan ...
. The original and most common form of the nickel defense features four down linemen and two
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
s. Because the traditional 4–2 form preserves the defense's ability to stop an opponent's running game, it has remained more popular than its variants, to the extent that even when another formation technically falls within the "nickel" definition, coaches and analysts will refer to it by a more specific designation (e.g., " 3–3–5" for a lineup of three down linemen and three linebackers) that conveys more information with equal or greater conciseness. The nickel defense originated as an innovation of
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
defensive coach Jerry Williams in 1960 and used successfully in the Eagles' Championship victory over
Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( ; June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be among the greatest coaches and leaders in Ame ...
's
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
that year.''Philadelphia Daily News''. September 25, 1986 He later employed it effectively as a measure to defend against star
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...
of the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
, holding Ditka to a single reception in the Eagles' 1961 victory over the Bears. The nickel defense was later used by then Chicago Bears assistant George Allen, who came up with the name "nickel" and later marketed the idea as his own. The nickel defense was popularized by head coach
Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...
and defensive coordinator
Bill Arnsparger William Stephen Arnsparger (December 16, 1926 – July 17, 2015) was an American college and professional football coach. He was born and raised in Paris, Kentucky, served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, and graduated from ...
of the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
in the 1970s and is now commonly employed in obvious passing situations or against a team that frequently uses three+
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
sets on offense. In the 2010s and 2020s,
Sean McDermott Sean Michael McDermott (born March 21, 1974) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL coaching career as an assistant for the Philadelphia E ...
has primarily used a base nickel defense for his teams due to opponents largely focusing their offenses on the pass. As defensive coordinator of the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
, McDermott had hybrid linebacker/safety
Shaq Thompson Shaquille Green Thompson (born April 21, 1994) is an American professional football linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies, earning first-team All-American ho ...
play as his "big nickel", while as head coach of the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
, he has utilized cornerback
Taron Johnson Taron Johnson (born July 27, 1996) is an American professional football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Weber State Wildcats and was selected by the Bills in the 4th ro ...
in the designated nickel spot due to his tackling and coverage abilities. In college football,
TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...
is known to use a nickel defense as its base set, typically playing three safeties and two linebackers. Former Horned Frogs coach
Gary Patterson Gary Allen Patterson (born February 13, 1960) is an American college football coach and former player. He served as head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) from 2000 to 2021, compiling a record of 181–79. Patterson led the TCU ...
installed the nickel partly out of necessity upon finding that larger and more prominent programs, most notably those of the large public universities in Texas, were able to "recruit away" most of the large athletes who would otherwise be available to the TCU program. As it turned out, the nickel proved to be a very good set against the
spread offense :''"Spread offense" may also refer to the four corners offense in basketball.'' The spread offense is an offensive scheme in gridiron football that typically places the quarterback in the shotgun formation, and "spreads" the offense horizontal ...
s proliferating throughout college football in the early 21st century. A common defensive front adjustment for 3–4 teams to accommodate the nickel backfield involves putting the two outside linebackers into a three-point stance shading the offensive tackles (i.e., a 5 technique). To complete the adjustment, the 3–4 defensive ends are moved to face or shade the offensive guards. The nose tackle is removed for a defensive back. The purpose of this is to leave the four best pass rushers on the field in a long yardage situation. This is not the only adjustment that can be made. Bill Arnsparger would often remove linebackers from a 3–4 to create nickel and dime sets, replacing them with defensive backs.Arnsparger, Bill (1999). ''Coaching Defensive Football'', St. Lucie Press, Chapter 6.


See also

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Dime defense In American football, the dime defense is a defensive alignment that uses six defensive backs. It is usually employed in obvious passing situations. The formation usually consists of six defensive backs, usually two safeties and four cornerback ...
*
3–3–5 defense In American football, the 3–3–5 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen, three linebackers, and five defensive backs. The 3–3–5 defense can also be referred to as the 3–3 stack or the spread defense. It is ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickel Defense American football strategy American football formations