The Washington Commanders officially introduced Daronte Jones as their new defensive coordinator earlier this week. Here are five takeaways from his press conference.
He’s going to take influences from different philosophies.
Jones’ most recent experience is with Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings, and expectations are that he will bring some wrinkles from that pressure-heavy system to Washington with him.
However, Jones has also learned from several other defensive minds, from Vance Joseph to Lou Anarumo and Mike Zimmer. And when it comes to rebuilding Washington’s defense, everything is on the table.
“There aren’t too many schemes that I have not been a part of,” Jones said. “Everyone comes from some type of tree. And so, because of that, I’ve been able to…implement various things from each scheme that I like, and I want to pull from.”
A key example of this is how Jones has been influenced on bringing pressure. Last year, the Vikings were at the top of the league in blitz rate at 44.3% — nearly 11 percentage points higher than the next team on the list. Jones said Flores’ aggression comes on every down, while other coaches, like Zimmer, saved bringing pressure to third down. Zimmer liked “mug” looks (a linebacker lined up over the center or in the “A” gap), while Flores prefers offset looks.
Jones didn’t reveal much about his plans but did confirm that they will take on a versatile and adaptable approach.
“We will try to dictate the terms and change the math.”