Detroit Lions defensive assistant coaches meet with the media | June 11, 2024

Detroit Lions defensive assistant coaches meet with the media | June 11, 2024

um got some some young defensive T you have this reputation you built to a resume you and working with defensive Tech this league and maximizing the potential what have you seen from from some of the younger guys in this group in your first couple months with them I mean it’s a it’s a hardworking group um you know a lot of guys with some um with a lot of potential you know we I thought felt like we had a good a really good spring but we’ll more once training camp rolls around but I really like what I’ve seen so far I mean the I guess we’re still considering um Alim mcneel a young guy he is a young guy who’s played a lot of ball but I think there’s there’s a lot lot lot lot left there and and I’ve been excited about the way he worked Levi I mean really all of those guys I felt like have gotten um gotten better um you know broadrick all those guys are really really hard workers P Pascal and he’s kind of a guy that plays inside and outside but overall I think the group’s been been really good you know it’s a guy that played a lot of one and zero early in his care moves to three drops a bunch of weight has a has a pretty good first full season there what what do you see as the next logical step in his progression probably just consistency um you know the the the really good ones in this league can play the run and they can get after their quarterback and I think doing that at a consist at a consistent level is kind of what we need to see from Mack and it really starts with practice I mean he’s got to do it on a consistent basis and he understands that and he’s been challenged and knows exactly what we’re looking for now the LA toward the end of last year um eron had to call a lot of lenses to generate some pressure um how confident are you you guys to generate pressure just with basic FL well I think I mean here here’s the thing about good pass rushers is whether you Blitz Rush three Rush two or Rush however many you rush you can get to the quarterback and I do believe we have some guys that can that can get to the quarterback sometimes blitzing is not just about having a lack a pass rush but it’s also about putting pressure on the offense I mean if you ask me if we could Rush uh 10 guys I’d rather Rush 10 guys now that might put the coverage in Jeopardy but I mean that’s just what it is now what called cover yeah there there you go with with BR you know when he was drafted his first year they never Shi away from the fact that was development really year for him spent most of his his years a healthy scratch on on game Bas you see him out there he just he stands out in terms of size just looks different thing next to of the defensive lineman what what is the the approach for you as as a coach when you’re you’re still kind of building a foundation of the young player like where do you start to you get to the point where you can start building the building blocks on top of that Foundation well he’s still he’s still a rookie in my mind because like you said he didn’t play uh very many snaps so uh developmental player sometimes guys look at that as a negative um I look at it as a positive and truth be told if you’re a great great player you’re still developing and some guys are just coming from a little further back but I think um broadrick is is his game is going to have to be with pads come on you know and again we do what we can do out here but but you can’t it’s hard to judge a nose tackle uh without shoulder pads on completely because I mean they can do you can get away with some things out here right now that you can’t hide from in training camp and in football games but we’ll find out long before the game start whether whether to see how far he’s come but I think it’s you know I think everybody looks at where a player was drafted and think okay well this player should be this but everybody um learns and develops at a different rate so I still see him as a developmental player just like I see Lee mcneel and Hutch and all those guys are still developing players because they’re all just so young I mean I was looking at it the other day I mean it’s a lot of 25 23 that’s a lot of young dudes um in that room which is a good thing I’m excited to work with all those young guys now what do you do with really quick what do you do with BR D with the I mean what pads the one is most important to him but what are you doing to get hitting the sled um just watch and and honestly watching a lot of tape I mean um just watching tape on how things should be done um hitting the sled just constantly working with him on his Pad level um and doing those things and I think you know he’s got 35 in arms or something crazy like that it’s just he’s got to learn how to use them um violently is is is kind of what we’re we’re looking for now you guys got got like Marcus in the building what does he bring to what talk he’s a big long athletic guy with a lot of position flexibility and um he has a history of playing very very physical um in this league and and you know having two big I mean we got two two really big defensive ends and with him and Hutch two long athletic um dude so I mean that that’s really what we’re expecting for him to play like he looks so that we’re excited about that was the enticement and just the young Talent on the defensive line a reason for you wanting to come here to it was a big part of it and I and I mean I I looked at the roster and um and I know the coaches here and I know what they want and so it was an easy transition but it had a big it was a big part of it I mean looking at uh Al and looking at Hutch and and looking at Pascal and all these guys that I feel like um are getting better and my job really is to just give them a little shove and kind of see where they go now you know you mentioned the young dudes and when it comes to Hut is as good as he’s been uh how much better can he be is there another year can he do it on his own or does he need help from the other side or someone inside well I I don’t I don’t know who can do it on their own I mean I I’ve coached some really good players and those players if they’re honest will admit that they need other people um and so Hutch Hutch has been he’s been unbelievable this off season and I think he’s made huge huge huge strides um um from the time I arrived and and and to where we are now and it’s not me it’s him studying tape it’s him asking questions he’s a you know everybody sees a big tall 97 with long arms and Mr Michigan and all this other stuff but what you don’t see is the the time that this guy puts in and and he’s constantly asking questions and studying tape and studying other players and working on his craft and and and he is an extremely coachable player like I love the guy because of what he’s about like he’s about getting better he’s not about the Glamour and G and and Glitz he’s just a grinder and and you know we we need a lot more guys to have that mentality now it seems like going into each line season the past few years a lot of the talking Focus has been on the offensive line how good they are top five how good they can be does the defensive line start to kind of that Swagger a little bit uh yeah I don’t I mean you know what the film will tell all of that that’ll tell the story you know you you can have all the Swagger you want in May and early June but when when you put pads on that’ll tell the story you know I know that we’ll play a certain way like I I believe that strongly and I believe our players feel like they’re going to play a certain way so you know my job is is to help them get better but also to build up their confidence because when you you talk tell them that they’re bad and they’re this and they’re that then they start to believe it and and and it’s important that they listen to who they need to listen to which is Us in this building and you know no offense but not you guys like you can’t you can’t Define them will Define them and what they are and who they are and the way they walk and the way they talk and the way that they play football that’ll come from us in this building so are you more teddy bear than tough love how would you describe yourself as a coach let’s let’s let’s see how teddy bear I am when we put pads on like we we we’ll figure that out quickly mention that Robert stands out there Wingo stands out in a different way right you know he’s knock shot away from IND he’s been a small defensive tackle for his entire life I’m just wondering what what players have you coached that have maybe had that that skill set and um you know is there a trick to finding out the best fit for that player within your scheme yeah I don’t want to really compare him you know make comparisons because we start thinking well this player should be like that player the one thing I’ll say is that he’s an explosive player that understands what his um what his limits are and he also understands what he can use to his advantages and so he’s an explosive guy that’s extremely quick hands he can rush the passer and I believe he’ll be a good run Defender um for us so I’m I’m excited I mean what where we got him and and what he’s been able to do so far I’m super excited about that player cple more guys Qui that you’d love to rush 10 but even you know experimenting with wingo and and onz a little bit on the edge Dan said that that’s you know to make it so you have to rush fewer in some situations you know what what is the value of having I guess the flexibility where you can have some those those thre men heavy fronts to give you some schematic flexibility you know sometimes rush and a passer is pairing up the certain guys with certain players and if you got a guy that’s a speed guy and he runs you know up the field then you need a guy opposite him that can crush the pocket so we don’t create uh big seams in there so um I’ve always liked to put big bigger guys on the edges sometimes and put some of the smaller guys inside so um you know it it’ll be fun because I do think that we have some flexibility with our with our personnel and what they’re able to do now right talked after the draft about just his eyes really being open by window and what you can do outside on the edge see inside how do you sort of enion inside and outside like that’s just I mean it’s simply put because again when you have guys that have position Flex that makes it um tougher on offenses because they don’t always know where those go where those guys are going to align so he he’s done a good job so far and um you know he’s really Advanced for a rookie as far as just understanding um how to use his hands and and Pat level and how to rush and where to rush and and I think when you’re a guy like his size you have to play a certain way and he plays that way and so I mean we’ve been excited with his development so far playing does that how do you have to play for that you got to use your hands and and and be where you’re supposed to be and that can apply for any position but that player um it definitely applies to him yeah y last one how would you describe yourself as a coach I’m um adaptable as what I’ll say is I I can um pretty much coach in any scheme I can coach in any environment and and I um I think that if if all the players get from me is what we do on this field then I’ve missed you know I care and I love the guys that I coach and if that makes me a teddy bear then that’s what it is but I but I will say we’re going to play with a certain um a certain style and that style fits what this what this football team is all right I’ll start a little bit with my bio I guess uh this will be my 22nd year coach in 12th in the NFL uh I’m fired up to be here I could tell from uh from day one that this place is special uh just being around Dan being around the staff love the love the energy love the uh the sense of urgency the attention to detail so uh it’s been something I’ve been really looking for my whole career and uh I’m fired up to be here so whatever questions you guys have you have Dan I didn’t I had had a pass with Aaron Glenn um I worked with Aaron when he was in Personnel at the New York Jets I was coaching in the secondary and then when I had a chance to be the defensive coordinator to Cleveland Browns AG was one of the first guys I wanted to hire just because I thought that much of him as a person and as a coach so that’s really where the history lies and so what do you sort of see your role as sort of you know providing to the guys the coaches yeah I think I’ve had every title on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL D coordinator secondary coach linebacker coach everything except dline but uh right now I’m assistant Shay and I’m coaching the safeties what you seen in a thought to you haven’t seen Curby too much but that opportunity to play at the end of last year how important is that for a player coming into spring to have some of the success that he had obviously confidence what was the beginning of your question yeah with ify being able to play at the end of the year and get those reps like he did and have some success with it how much has that maybe made no I I think right I think it’s I think it’s awesome and it it speaks a lot to the to the players resiliency as far as he was banged up his first two years he had a position switch and then he just kept fighting and he kept fighting and he got his chance halfway through last year and we all saw the results of that and and he did a lot of really good things as far as sacking the quarterback intercepting the football being down in the Run fit so uh he still has a lot a lot to learn with the safety position but I thought he had a great spring I thought um the fact that Kirby and BB weren’t out there at the safety position really allowed him to step up and take on a leadership role as far as communicating and I thought it allowed him to play a lot down in the box also up high at the Deep you know the Deep part of the field which you know if Kirby was out there he’d probably be more down in the box and that kind of stuff so I thought I thought this spring really allowed him to grow as as a player I’m excited to see how that how that competition take shape coming into a training camp is there something that’s exciting to you about if you having a lot of room to grow and you being able to to kind of Coach them up to help get that sure yeah I mean anytime you as a coach you get a good young player with a lot of talent you know you get excited about it and just hey what are you seeing here this is what I’m seeing anytime you could coach a guy in helping them make plays or develop as a player it’s fun it’s why you do it it’s why we Sorry good how much Mar to see Brian maybe potentially be back there switching RS between the and how interchangeable are those positions in you guys’ defense the safy well I I think if you if you asked AG would he prefer his nickel come from the safety position or the corner position he’s going to say over his history he’s he’s preferred it from the safety position because of how much we asked those guys to get into the Run fit um I I think obviously in my opinion the nickel position is one of the hardest positions to play uh in the NFL on the defensive side of the ball just because you got to cover like a corner you got to you got to fit the run like a linebacker and you got to communicate and do multiple jobs like a safety so I think last year they were a little more hesitant with BB to just kind of fix them at one spot whereas now that he’s going into year two uh I think we’ll be more aggressive with him and I mean he’s the type of player you want to see out there on all three Downs so we’re going to push him to that uh but at the end of the day he still got to come out in training camp and he’s got to take that job how good do you think he could be Brian Branch I think he could be really good I think he could be one of the better ones in the league um coming off the rookie campaign that he just had some of the things he did coverage wise some of the thing he did run fit wise Blitz wise uh I’m excited about him I’m really excited about him is there anything specific that lies ahead for him as far as the the challenge of you know being that versatile weapon defense I I think it’s just learning it now you know take he did he’s had an awesome off season in the classroom um you know we’ve forced him to overc communicate with us as as a secondary group and as coaches so now he’s just got to be able to take it to the grass which you know in the role he had last year I thought he played really well as a rookie now it’s that can he make that next jump as a second-year player and can he make that next jump maybe just being fixed as a safety or maybe being a safety and a nickel you know that’s all things that we’re going to figure out in training Camp would he that Brandon Joseph had a solid spring what have you seen from him yeah this is my second stint with Brandon so we worked together at Northwestern for a year and it’s been it’s been really cool to see how much he’s grown as a football player but yeah I thought he did a really good job stepping in with uh some of the injuries we had and running with the ones I thought you know he had nice interception on a double post the other day I thought he did some really good job communication wise uh I think everything with with Brandon is going to be about when we put the pads on and how he shows up tackling and how he shows up in the Run fit didn’t get a chance to see Kirby obviously on the field but just the success he’s had I think back to back for interception Seasons which isn’t easy to do as a young player in this league just where can he Ascend to in this league with with his ball skills and maybe some of his instincts yeah I mean to me he does the two best things you want out of a deep safety he takes the ball away and he makes the middle of the field a scary place so I I mean when you possess those two characteristics as somebody who’s going to roam the Deep part of the field you’re going to scare offense players and you’re going to scare quarterbacks so he has those two traits so it’s going to be interesting and it’s going to be fun to work with him going into you know the rest of his career here how important has it been that he’s been kind of mentally out there and obviously can’t do everything physically but he’s out there doing you know walkthroughs he’s just communicating with everybody it’s huge and he’s he’s done an awesome job with all of our young rookies as far as asking them questions make sure they’re taking notes um he’s very vocal in our meeting rooms he’s been able to do the pre-practice walkthroughs which is is good for him to kind of keep building that chemistry with the rest of the defensive guys because we do have a lot of new pieces this year so just him being out there and getting those 20 to 25 reps before the practice starts uh has been huge for him it’s a really young room he kind of been the veteran of the group would you say he is really right him and Carlton Davis are the two I mean I think Carlton Davis might be the only second contract guy we have in that room everybody else is first contract so it’s good you know there’s not a lot of you always want to explain the why but you know you just kind of put it in and they they listen and they get it done so it’s it’s it’s easier than than uh than working with an all veteran group like that as a as a coach that you have all these multiple players I like the mix I like the mix you know I think when when when guys understand the why they know how to get themselves out of trouble when they’re out on the field when you know if something bad happens from maybe your from maybe your early look is this NFC North uh group of wide receivers among the most talented you’ve seen yeah I mean J Mo’s had an unbelievable spring um Saint is Saint you know I’ve been watching him for years now and I mean he he’s a headache on third downs and his route running has been awesome and they’ve had some young guys emerge so and then you put leaport in the mix and we haven’t seen Gibbs out there but I know the plan is to use him more in the in a receiver type role so it’s it’s going to be exciting and it’s fun to go against because if we’re going against the best you know it’s only getting us better and speaking of that too the division as well with Jefferson Vikings is the division set of receivers as well I think everybody’s upgraded this off season so it’ll be it’ll be fun we don’t we we don’t see those guys for for a while though right it seems like we get them towards the middle to the end of the year so we’ll have a lot of film see which way they’re going and see how they’re doing by then but we’ll see what were your impressions of of Dan from afar and then have they changed or not now you’ve been around for a bit well I mean I was I I came out here last year and watched two OTAs and um Dan didn’t know me and he probably sat down with me and spent 25 to minutes on two separate occasions so that right there I was like wow I I don’t know if that would happen in any other NFL building and then when I came out for my interview we just sat and talked for about four and a half five hours and it wasn’t necessarily football it was more philosophy about my family and he’s just a guy that you want to you want to work hard for he’s a guy that kind of he’s he’s what works in this leag it it’s what you see is what you get and and like I said in the opener it’s it’s kind of what I’ve been searching for my whole career and I’m glad that glad to be a part of it now can can you articulate it all what is it about him that seems to draw people from just all sorts of backgrounds yeah I I kind of people I I think he if you’re not exactly who you are in this league people are people are going to smell you out and you’re not going to work it it happens every year right at the head coaching position or at any level right as a player as a as a as any coach but I just think he’s got an awesome leadership quality I mean we’re we compete in everything we do we’re in staff meetings and all of a sudden he’ll have board a board game you know where we’re we’re the football and we’re knocking down pins in the in the uh indoor you know competing against the offense defense versus offense or trivia games it just he he finds a way to make it fun and he’s passionate at the same time when we’re trying to get work done when it comes to special situation stuff and how we coach team ball and how we coach situational ball I think that just his leadership style um it’s just it’s infectious it is it’s it’s hard to it’s hard to explain you know I’m it’s probably why the whole nation was rooting for the Lions all last year during the playoffs it’s just people want to be a part of it what was the nature of your visit last year um so I wanted to I took the year off and I wanted to uh just reconnect with some people who uh who I might have known and you know from previous staffs and do Detroit was one of the stops that I decided to come to and I spent a few days here and I knew they were going to be good off of the two days just because of the practice style and and the detail that was into it and uh I’m glad I glad I came out on the visit because it got you know gave me a chance to meet some guys and reconnect with some guys and then obviously it worked out for me this year last year last one a I believe is the top R coordinator by The Players Association y I guess just what have you seen from him his career grown what excites the most about yeah I he’s a no-brainer head coach in this league first of all but um he uh he’s got an unbelievable work ethic uh I mean he’s he’s there early he’s he’s out late even in the off season uh he’s truly truly passionate and I think that because of his history as a player he can hold these guys to a standard that some coaches struggle to hold guys to and um he does a great job balancing the he can get after you but he also can put his arm around you and kind of explain you in two different ways why you need to get better at that specific thing and he knows all three levels of the defense I mean even though he played a corner uh in the NFL he knows all 11 guys out there so he’s I’ve been really impressed having whatever it’s been a 5year window away from him to now come back and see how knowledgeable is with how to stop the run with the front how to attack protections with the with the uh with with his pressure packages you know how to how to game plan coverages all that stuff so he he is he he is he’s awesome I’m glad I’m working for him offensive defensive chemistry know help a relationship with your team’s quarter your development oh no that’s good you know especially veteran guys any any veteran guy that could that can help a young guy out is always a positive thing and then especially just being able to communicate with your quarterback and those different ways what he sees it’ll help him but any veteran reaching out to a young guy that’s what that’s what they’re here to do you’re in P help you get better well B Ben was a little younger than me so you know when he got there I been in six years but it’s always good to to help you know I’m saying just be a good teammate just from the outside looks like’s got Advanced confidence I know all good corners but he just seems like he’s a very confident guy you notice that as well n you bet you you better be confident you know just about you know whatever you do if you don’t believe it nobody else will but you know he he works the right way he ask the right questions and meetings and and he just has fun on the field so you know the the confidence is is you know one of the most important things of a corner um he does have that but you know that’s why he’s here a time obviously but you what’s your sense already of how impactful can be no they have a lot to learn you know it’s early um but you know they’ve done some good stuff so far they’ve they’ve done some bad stuff as well so you know that’s just a part of the learning part of of being a DB but you know both both have potential to be really good players for that yeah now Carlton’s been you know he’s a quiet leader you know um they watch how he works they watch how he comes in every day and and prepares but he does a good job with him you know he’s not going to be one you know that’s going to be just out here raah Rob but you know in the room you see him talking to the young guys and that’s what it that’s what it takes that’s that’s his strong suit you know to be a big guy that uses his size to his advantage and you know that’s you know he’s been a star in the league for a long time so maybe the complete opposite is is a leque in terms of the size part of it but still a guy that just hands out a lot of football plays a lot bigger than his size what what do you like about his game how he fits no just what you saw you know you saw the the you know the the Feist the toughness that he plays with the grit that he plays with and then his just demeanor you know he has that he has that demeanor like he’s 6’8 so you got you have to love it you have to love it and it seems to be kind locked into the slot early on he has inside is their intent I guess and kind of letting him learn one spot as opposed to maybe overwhelm him as he young to play well you know he hadn’t done much but walk through so you know that’s the that’s the thing of of not having him out but it’s you know he he’ll do what whatever is acts you know he plays outside inside but you know for him um it’s just good to get reps you know that’s what it’s about just just reps meaningful reps every rep counts walk through practice all the it counts and it’s just good to see them be able to do both when you get around setting that rotation in the fall what’s the most important thing figure out who’s a starter who’s man the good thing about it is you know you have to prove it you know what I’m saying so the the rep doesn’t doesn’t matter when you start is it’s when you get it and you have to make the most of it and um then that’s what we’re here for we’re here to compete we got a a group a room full of of players that’s that’s ready to go out there improve it and and that’s what we have to do every day consistency ability versus May yeah you know you you have to be consistent you know what I’m saying at DB you can’t be here and there that’s you know if we have a bad play at seven you know that’s so that’s never the never the thing you want to be as consistent as you can every day and know what you’re going to get every play you know and and that’s what practice is about you know what I’m saying building that consistency that muscle memory of reps that you need and uh that’s why we all need those plays not asking for an injury update like how’s a man mostly doing com now e man you know and and injuries you know that go to the head coach but just good to see him moving around and ping and and I love his mentality in the meeting room you know he’s one of those guys that you can see why he’s a pro and why he’s lasted this long in the league so far last of keep that to keep that he ready for a bigger safety world oh man branches you know anytime you going from your first year to second year it’s going to be some improvement especially mentally just learning a different Playbook Playbook learning you know what’s expected you in the league and and then seeing his Improvement in the classroom so far this year has been has been major and uh you know he’s a football player so whenever he’s needed he’ll be able to play what the benefit throw some safety in there and some yeah you know that’s that’s that’s our room you know what I’m saying a lot of times when you can’t you can’t dress everybody you have to have guys that have position flex and and that’s a that’s a testament to who Brian branch is you know he’s a guy that you know that can play nickel and as you know he can play safety it’s just what is best for the team got a lot of young guys every team does you know draft the guys at this time of year seems like Morris has made some plays and looks like he got some extended opportun that the last practice just what have you seen from as a young player ah man you see his athletic ability you know that’s the one thing that does Flash right away is him in coverage you know getting able to get his hands close to you know to the football and seeing the way that he moves and you know and then you know the middle part is just going to come with reps but you the thing that jumps off the initially is just his movement skills what’s been like working with oh it’s been great you know it’s been great you know that’s that’s one thing is you know when you’re pulling a rope the same way no matter who it is and Jims as a guy he’s a true football guy you know a good person good coach and U that’s what we’re here to do just find ways to get guys better all appreciate y’all appreciate y’all million doll question everybody wants to know is how Campell looking so far even know in pajamas right now yep uh it’s hard to get a full tail obviously physically on the line backer position during this time of year uh due to the physical nature that we play especially here uh but he’s exceeded my expectations which were already high uh but he’s come back further along than where I expected because you don’t have meetings during the Gap from the last game to now and really those guys with the length of the Season him coming off a rookie campaign and all that stuff typically you see those guys take a chunk of time off and come in kind of Steal raw but this player you could tell Dove right back into it even told me took minimum time off I’m sure his fiance hated it uh but he got right back engulfed in ball and it’s paying off for him right now he’s with Alex being out the majority of all season Jack led the Huddle made the calls everybody looked to him he was making the checks and to be honest he set the tone for the offseason defensively is that a mentality that you seen from him day one of being that kind of player or has it grown over time he’s always had it inside of him I told you he he was my favorite and one of my favorite to this date going on my fourth year now doing the combine interviews it started at the combine interview uh I’m at the foral interview upstairs Dan Brad and all them alluded to it that guy lit the room up with his energy his his excitement when he talks about football but now I’m telling you it’s at another level this guy here is operating like a eight-year vet as far as making the calls how he sets the standard of how we practice as a defense and I think other guys are starting to look towards him now is that a result of independent film study or gu how did how oh it’s like Jack Jack’s one of the most coachable players I ever been around in my life and I’m talking as a player or coaching it’s alwayss I mean you can literally tell him the sky is green right now and he’ll say yes sir I’m like Jack no it’s not why’ you just say he’s just got that level of respect for authority uh and it and it’s just the way he lives his life to be honest with you so it makes it easier when you take guys in like that as a coach trying to set standards trying to show guys the way you do things taking a guy first round pick a guy people already look to because of the stature of the player he’s in but it’s about the person that he is that I’m able to coach him hard so Hey listen here Rook if I talk to Jack like that you better get your butt in line kind of thing so it’s good to have a guy like that along with the other setting example for the room in the team those reps last year can set him up for maybe a big year this year absolutely uh like I said although he was a first round pick a thing our front office has stood by since day one since I’ve been here was guys got to earn their keep and earn their Ros around here and I think is evident Derek bnes did an outstanding job cuz we call a spade a spade in my room it’s hard to hold off a first rounder a guy that gets taken first round of your rooms expected to play well Derek bnes like like I stated last year had something to say about that so it’s not so much Jack wasn’t prepared for the full load it was more so credit to Derek bnes and what he was doing to allow himself to have a role in those guys like I tell you it’s the craziest thing in there because you lose sight of a guy like like Malcolm you lose side of a guy like this when you’re sitting up here talking about Jack Campbell Jack Campbell well those guys are his biggest fan and he’s their biggest fan like it’s times where I’m pulling guys off the field and I’m like I got to get him three reps he’s like it’s all good coach I want him to play and you rarely find that in this sport where guys are competing for monetary prizes and things like that but we’re fortunate to have that there been a lot of talk about continuity within the coaching group but let’s talk about the players You’ been be able to have a most of these players for for a few years like how does that build for you the program they trying to establish trying to teach them and I think that’s something that you’ll see and you saw this offseason the biggest jump we’re making I can tell you firstand as a defense and then that bleeds more further to the team is the chemistry the collectiveness when you talk about the defensive scheme this is the first time in four years we’re carrying over the same system for the most part for the bulk of it so guys has been in it now it’s not installing basic one-on-one stuff we’re now hitting the three four 500 level nuances of the ins and outs of it which allow these guys to play faster make plays that you probably couldn’t make learning it first day brand new and then these guys jelling together knowing how alen mcneel plays and how I’m going play off him knowing how Hutch plays these guys now have had two three four years some of them in instance the Levis of the world these guys been here since 2021 so when you have that obviously it’s natural growth and progression within it PL Corners that can you know match up in man cover be a priority this off season what can that do for the guys in your R oh it can do wonders because and just overall I mean we’ve had a reader we’ve had it davp I mean these guys are high-end players in this NFL who’s proven it already so it’s not skepticism you’re not looking over your shoulder and not saying that’s what’s happen but it is what it is guys’s trying to overcompensate for what they thought were places they needed to help instead of doing their job and that bit a bunch of people in the uh butss last year just getting off the bus knowing you got guys and it’s the confidence thing too like I say like being on this practice field hearing corner talking trash out the Huddle saying I got this guy and it’s nothing you going to do about it I haven’t been around that since I’ve been here and I really been around it in the league it’s rare you get guys like that that walk talk and act with that type of confidence and we have multiple of them right now so it’s so it’s a thing of beauty for sure so is that peace of mind for linebackers oh absolutely absolutely and then it and then in turn these guys are saying they’ve never been around a linebacker room where the average height 63 62 and these guys getting into these intermediate throwing Windows because in turn just like they’re helping us deep to short we’re helping them short to deep with insulating those intermediate throwing Lanes so now they can stay top shoulder know the leverage they play and things like that knowing these guys are going to be in those windows underneath with d and the the year he had last year culminating with the the interception against the Bucks is that one more satisfying coaching projects since You’ been in the league just to see his growth ands com up absolutely like I I said like dbor like Dorn is like a little brother to me he really is like when I took him on in 2022 we knew the challenge ahead and I told him let’s scratch 2021 and let’s start brand new and let’s just try to do this piece by piece don’t try to do the whole thing I think that’s what happened to him as rookie honestly I wouldn’t say it’s coaching it wasn’t a player fault or nothing like that it was trying to just do the whole thing at one time which you can’t do when you’re trying to develop players who D bornes didn’t have a lot of time on tases St backer at Purdue he was that hybrid Edge roll stacking back type thing so when you’re dealing with guys like that in this league how fast it moves there’s a progression that takes place I talk about that a lot but it’s a real thing Malcolm Charles has and it could happen with veterans talk to Alex anzalone he had to take on some of my personality and things that I asked him to do that he kind of didn’t do in his first four or five years in his league and I always put it back to the players cuz I could have all these fancy plans I could have all these power points I could have all these drills but until they buy in and choose to trust me you have nothing with uh with Alex New Year he had last year what does the what does the next step for him what are you asking for for from him this year we’re only going up and he knows that whether you want to stay stagnant or go back those are only other two options so we’re going forward I expect that player to have a All Pro Caliber season and I mean why not he’s progressed each year each year each year and in my opinion Alex is now in the prime of his career playing some of the best ball he’s ever played knock on wood he’s as healthy as he’s ever been so why not you is what I tell them all like why not you why do you always why do you have to look to the name house Michel Parson why can’t anybody be raving and saying Alex andalon like you’re a player you get every opportunity those guys get so that’s the standard and that’s what we live by I expect these guys to operate like all pro linebackers then J uh just the way he was able to to thrive in his limited snaps last year do you see more of an opportunity for him maybe this year at least that’s hard to talk about until we get to Camp really the roles on like game day and going into the season but these guys know I played in the five deep in my room last year I’ve done that consistently since I gotten here and I take pride in it because I’ve been that player at some games where you go and you’re standing on the sideline watching a game and you got the best seat in the house but your clees never touch the grass in my opinion these guys work too hard for that to ever happened so if a guy’s established that he can help us on game day that may be five plays like I tell Malcolm he went from playing 60 plays to 5 to 10 plays if you ever a roll in the game get in there and maximize your opportunities think Willam Vision destru enough to doer what can those guys do for the guys well tell I Envision it too so he better make it happen like like that sounds good but we got to put the pass on and make Happ DJ reader’s been if not the best one of the in my opinion top five defens tackles defending the run in this league for a while we all know that but again that’s what he’s done in the past before he put on this uniform Al is a guy on the come the same thing out of Al I know the expectations T have for Al we feel like he still hasn’t tapped into his full potential and he knows that so you make sure the next time you talk to Le C and I said he better put that Vision into reality because that’ll be a thing of beauty for guys like Jack anzo D bornes because it frees them up it allows if you got to hang on double teams on those guys who’s blocking us you know what I mean kind of thing so it’s going to be a pleasure playing behind him and Levi unzer is another D linan I want to uh shout out a guy his work through injury and he’s really progressing a guy that we’re excited to play behind this year as well couple more guys what does coach Williams spring to the table Big T T well I got history with t I’ve actually played behind his defensive line in Miami when he had Sue Olivier Vernon Earl Mitchell all these guys so I know the style of play these guys play with so it was like a natural thing when T got here he text me what up Chef reunion he walked in the door we sat down for a couple hours talked about we was going to do the front seven talked about how we were going to play already knew a lot of his terminology so it was really just me getting in the classroom my linebackers and letting them know the standard that man lives by and the way he coaches and the way he demands certain things of his players uh I think you’ll see again nothing to what’s happened here before but tease the top of the echelon when you talk about dline coaches in this league and the standard and his expectations he’s never going to deviate from them so I expect that room to rise as well and it’ll be good for all of it already has been when you guys have those conversations about the front seven do you set goals at all for for the group uh before you can set goals you have to set a foundation so I think right now the things we’ve been discussing this offseason has been foundationally I think we all know where we’re at as an organization and what the goal is this year Dan The Whole Enchilada he’s been eating a lot of Mexican but but that’s that’s that’s that’s what we’re all in this year is for the whole enchilada and that trickles down to rooms uh the defense offense run stopping things like that well we were I believe we were second last year or something like that so you never want to stay stagnant to go backwards so you like Mexican I do like Mexican food not a big enchilada guy but I guess I am now all right no problem

Hear from Detroit Lions run game coordinator/defensive line coach Terrell Williams, defensive assistant Jim O’Neil, passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend, and linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard as they meet with the media on June 11, 2024.

0:00-12:56 – Terrell Williams
12:57-25:12 – Jim O’Neil
25:13-31:16 Deshea Townsend
31:17-42:46 Kelvin Sheppard

Subscribe to the Lions YT Channel: https://bit.ly/2OABzdx
More Lions NFL Action: https://bit.ly/3epKf5l

#DetroitLions #Lions #NFL

Keep up-to-date on all things Lions:
Visit https://www.detroitlions.com/
Follow: https://twitter.com/Lions
Follow: https://www.instagram.com/detroitlionsnfl/
Like: https://www.facebook.com/DetroitLions