Charles Burks – May 25, 2021
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Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Cornerbacks Coach Charles Burks
(It was interesting last year with CB Nik Needham. He played obviously really well but then struggled like everyone against Buffalo. Then you bring in CB Justin Coleman. I know you can’t speak obviously for Head Coach Brian Flores and General Manager Chris Grier, but is the thinking there that you hope with two guys, one will emerge as a clear-cut slot for you? Is the hope that Coleman’s present will make Needham even better potentially?) – “Really right now, we’re just focused on improving from a fundamentals standpoint. Both of those guys are diligent workers. Justin has been a good football player in this league for a long time. Nik, as you said, has definitely progressed over the period of time that he’s been here. Competition is good for everybody in the building, so it’s good to have Justin. It’s good to learn from his experiences in the same system. Again, those guys are both focusing on improving right now so we’re happy with where they’re at.”
(One of my favorite things to watch at practice last year and games as well was CB Byron Jones just always out there early and getting his work in. He talked a lot about working with you on the ball skills, and he winds up with a career high in interceptions last year. I’m wondering how he’s progressing in that area with the ball skills in this point of his career; but also, what does a player of his caliber and of his resume, working that way, do to the rest of the room and the rest of the players? How does that kind of have a snowball effect on those guys?) – “When you have a guy like Byron Jones, who number one, from an example standpoint, (sets) a great example for everybody in the room from his routine, his attention to detail and he’s definitely self-motivated. For a guy from a ball skills standpoint, it was said that he didn’t have the ball skills or this or that; and he just worked on it and worked on it and worked on it simply because he just wanted to improve. It’s not that he couldn’t do it. He just improved and he made it a focus. He improved, he challenged the ball and I think guys saw that. I think guys saw that he was willing to be uncomfortable to improve his game. That has a ripple effect for everybody in the room, because for a guy like Byron Jones, who has had success in this league and came in, worked and developed, that really just makes all of the younger guys go and raise a level of their game and really follow in his lead.”
(In the last three years here that you’ve been with the Dolphins, how grateful are you for the opportunity to be promoted and how did it come about?) – “I’m very grateful. I came here, like you said, three years ago as a coaching assistant and just did whatever was asked of me. Obviously I had experience coaching defensive backs through my career in college. Working with (Defensive Coordinator) Josh Boyer and working with (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores, those are two guys that not only have been in this defense for an extended period of time but coached in this defense at a high level. To be able to be put into position to learn from those guys, to make myself a better coach in this league, it’s very humbling. It was a difficult process but it made me better each day; so I’m definitely thankful to be here working with these guys that we have in the secondary and really to raise the standard in the secondary.”
(I really like what you just said about CB Byron Jones and how he was uncomfortable to improve his game and it was a ripple effect. Can you speak a little bit more to that ripple effect? How did you see guys trying to be uncomfortable so they can improve?) – “Our approach is to get better, you have to make yourself uncomfortable. It’s everybody. It’s when you’re going to improve your footwork. It’s spending time on it, making yourself uncomfortable to say, ‘this is something that I want to get better at. This is something that I want to spend time doing.’ Once he was doing that, coming out (to practice early), well if you see Byron Jones come out early and I’m a rookie corner, well I’m going to come out early. Not only is this a guy that has played corner in the league, but he’s played corner at a high level and he’s working like he’s a rookie. I think when guys come into the room and they see that, and they come into the room and this guy is asking questions, this guy is taking notes – Byron takes notes and asks questions like it’s Day 1, which for me as a position coach, that’s something I’m very thankful for, to have that guy as an example for everybody in the room.”
(I was looking at your bio and it’s interesting. It says here that you’re from Grand Prairie, Texas. I’ve never been to Grand Prairie. I’ve also never been to West Texas A&M, Texas A&M-Commerce, Southeastern Oklahoma State or Arkansas Tech. Can you just talk about your journey and what you might say to a young coach in the profession who wonders if they can make it from a West Texas A&M to the National Football League?) – “My journey, as you just listed, it started at East Central – my alma mater, it’s Division II. All of those schools you named are Division II schools, so I’m a small school guy. I’ve always wanted to coach at the highest level and compete with the coaches at the highest level and coach the best players. In each stop that I was able to have, the most important thing for me were my players. The most important thing for me was improving them. Southeastern Oklahoma State for me was my USC. It was the best college that I’ve ever been to. (Texas) A&M-Commerce or West Texas A&M, that was my big time. That’s how I really wanted to approach each school because when that next jump happened, I didn’t want to put that jump on a pedestal because football is football no matter where you’re at. In Division II, those guys are on partial scholarships and I have to make those guys peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and have pizza dinners and everything. Now my guys in the NFL, they really don’t want any peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They’re good. They’re good on that. (laughter) That’s definitely been a process and it’s been a really humbling journey. I’m thankful that I took that route because it really makes me appreciate talking to you guys right now a lot more. Then as far as younger coaches that are going through that process, I would just say be where your feet are. The most important opportunity that you have is the one that you’re at right now. I feel that if we take that approach as coaches and we concentrate on the people – which are right in front of us, which are our kids – I think wherever you go will be a fulfilling journey for you.”
(What’s your approach to coaching players? And as briefly as you can, how would you summarize how would you summarize how you try to get that done – the most effective connection with the players?) – “My approach is that players are people. And I think that people, given honesty and respect, if you start there – bottom line before you give any critique, before you give any demand, if you start with honesty and respect, you can really coach the man first and then that gives you a chance to coach the player. I always want to start there with each one of my individuals – giving them respect, earning their respect day-in and day-out with my work ethic and my development or attention to detail to them as a person. I think once I start there from a basis, then I can work on the technique, the footwork, the ball skills. Ultimately, that’s my approach.”
(I wanted to ask if you watched any tape of CB Trill Williams before the draft and what you think you’re getting with him. Also, you have a handful of really young corners who either haven’t played in an NFL game – the CB Javaris Davis types, obviously Williams, etc. – or have played just a little, like CB Terrell Bonds. Is it fun for you? Is it exciting to see which of those you and Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander can mold into productive NFL players? Because this franchise has had success molding guys – undrafted, overlooked like DT Zach Sieler, WR Preston Williams. So that and also Williams, just his skillset there.) – “Yeah, I’m very excited. With Trill, what he brings on his tape coming out of Syracuse is he was a run-and-hit guy. He was a guy that was very physical on his tape. He played some corner and he played some safety, so again in our system, we like guys who are versatile and can do a lot of things. Then as far as Tino (Ellis), ‘JD’ (Javaris Davis), Terrell Bonds and our younger guys, they’re working diligently. They’re doing a good job asking a lot of questions. They work really hard and it’s very, very important to them. I would say all of those guys are really good young men. It’s been a joy to work with them. I’m very excited to see where their development will take them because you never know. We can project all we want but we’ve got to get on the grass and we’ve got to practice. As of right now, they’re doing a great job. They’re learning, they’re asking questions, they’re working well together. I’m excited to see that work itself out.”
(You spoke highly of CB Byron Jones and I wanted to ask you about CB Xavien Howard. What’s your relationship like with him? How do you kind of motivate a player like that who has led the league in interceptions? How do you think he can progress even more from last season?) – “Me and Xavien, we have a great relationship. Again, he’s another guy – the guys learn a lot from Xavien as well. From a preparation standpoint, it’s pretty amazing to watch him. To get 10 picks, it’s not just you go out there and get 10 picks. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. He does a great job with his preparation, understanding his opponent, understanding the situations that he’s in. He’s a guy who asks a lot of questions as well. He’s very diligent with his technique. He’s very detailed with his technique. As far as motivating those guys, when you’re working with top elite corners, just the simple fact that they’ve got to go and match up against the No. 1 receiver, that’s motivating in itself. When those guys go to work, they understand that to be at the top of my game, I’ve got to go dominate the top receiver. When he walks into the building, he’s already ready to go.”
(I wanted to ask you what you’ve seen in terms of progress from CB Noah Igbinoghene from the time you started working with him.) – “I’ve seen great progress with Noah. Noah is a guy who played the position for only two years in college. Obviously he’s a great athlete. He came in, didn’t have an offseason but he just went to work as soon as he got here. Over the time that we’ve had him, he’s done a really good job of understanding the scheme, understanding multiple positions – that’s what he’s going through right now is being again another versatile guy that can do more than just one thing. It’s been a lot of growth. I love where he’s at. Again, he has a tremendous work ethic, attention to detail, day-in and day-out. I believe in Noah and I’m glad he’s here.”
(How much have you seen CB Noah Igbinoghene picking the brain of either CB Byron Jones or CB Xavien Howard?) – “All the time. All the time. As far as picking their brains, they wouldn’t let him sit in a meeting without making him pick their brains. That’s the type of guys and the type of leaders those guys are. Again, when you have a guy like Xavien Howard and Byron Jones sitting in your meeting room, if you’re a corner, you really have no choice but to develop, because those guys won’t let you be average.”
(I wanted to ask you about the duo that is CB Xavien Howard and CB Byron Jones. When you have two guys that can essentially lock down either side of the field, how much of a luxury is that on a defense? And how does that give you freedom to experiment with the defense as a whole?) – “It’s a great luxury. It’s a great luxury. Obviously a lot of teams wish they had that luxury. Both of those guys are different as far as from a skillset standpoint, but they really work off of each other from understanding or studying the specific matchups. At times they may match up against the same receiver in a game. At times they may match up on one receiver in a game, just depending on how we want to attack the offense. I would say just having that luxury, it allows us to concentrate on maybe other areas within a given game plan. Those guys really just allow you to free up other guys to maybe focus on one individual that the offense can attack you with.”
