Gerald Alexander – August 15, 2020
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Saturday, August 15, 2020
Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander
(You’ve got the unique challenge – or the Dolphins have the unique challenge – you’ve got two former cornerbacks called on to play safety in Eric Rowe and Bobby McCain. What’s that challenge like in terms of helping those players make the conversion and is it one you think is the new wave in the NFL?) – “Well, for me, it’s a very familiar challenge, because I personally went through that myself as a corner in college and transitioned into safety prior to my career in the National Football League. So it’s something I’m familiar with. It’s different but those guys definitely have done the necessary things to transition into that role. It’s just continuing to have them improve throughout practice. When you’re not a safety, you’re not being that primary communicator as you are in that position. These guys have been doing a good job and we’ll continue to develop their communication out there on the field so they can take command and be quarterbacks of their defense.”
(What comes to mind when you think of your stint here as a player a few years back?) – “Probably the cup of coffee that I drank every morning. (laughter) I wasn’t here for that long. It’s good to be back in a familiar setting and being able to contribute in this way.”
(What did you see in the evaluation process in the two rookies you drafted – CB Noah Igbinoghene – what did you like specifically about his skill set? And S Brandon Jones as well?) – “We knew those guys have great athleticism coming in and great tools to develop in our program, and not to mention their athleticism; but just getting a chance to meet them throughout the process. You knew that they were guys that had the football character that we are looking for in our building. We haven’t really had the chance to see that on display on the field, we’re just getting to start practice. But you can tell just by their football character and their makeup that they are willing to be coachable and improve on a day-to-day (basis).”
(CB Byron Jones was on here a few days ago and he mentioned how you had been such a great teacher for him and it’s easy for him and the other defensive backs to learn from you. I was wondering throughout each step of your career, who had been teachers that have helped you out in terms of coaching and mentors and such?) – “I think my experience with Jimmy Lake, who is the head coach at Washington now, and Chris Petersen and his staff were monumental in my coaching career, and really had me think about developing the teaching aspect of being a coach, and really being a great presenter and making sure that I take all of the complexities of the game and make it simple for the guys to be able to comprehend and execute out there on the field, and just try to get better in that way and form. Some of the experiences that I’ve currently had here with the coaching staff has continued to challenge me as a teacher and develop these guys and getting those guys to understand what we are trying to get them to do on defense.”
(I was thinking about how in college football, you have these four or five star recruits sometimes and you’re not exactly sure how they are going to perform when the lights turn on. There’s no benefit of a preseason game. To draw a parallel to the rookies you’re working with, how can you best prepare, how can you best make sure that especially the youngsters – the newcomers – that you know what you have, that you know how prepared they are, without the benefit of those preseason reps?) – “Well, everybody got dealt the same hand in regards to what’s going on. We’ve got to have not only our young players but really everybody, every single repetition that we take out on the field whether it be at a practice setting or a walkthrough setting, or every single meeting or every moment that we spend and energy that we spend towards trying to get ourselves prepared for a season, is valuable. We don’t have those preseason under the lights opportunities to make a trial run at this. It’s going to be live when we get our first opportunity to compete. We’ll just continue to heighten the level of urgency on a day-to-day basis with every single drill. That’s our challenge as a coaching staff, that’s our challenge as a team, to get ourselves ready for a month from now.”
(I wanted to ask you about the young players in terms of S Brandon Jones and CB Noah Igbinoghene. What’s the challenge of getting them to learn this defense so that they can contribute right away? What’s that like?) – “There are so many things that young guys have to learn and it’s just learning really how to practice, how to be a professional – not to mention all of the things and all of the responsibilities and the communication that it takes to be able to feel comfortable and develop in this defense. It’s really going to just take reps. It’s going to take repetition and being able to see different plays and experience different things at practice. Obviously as we start to intensify the practice, they’ll be able to make those full-speed mistakes and learn from them and develop as we go. It’s just going to take time and reps and being able to get those reps to feel ready, and continue to develop from there.”
(How did you and Head Coach Brian Flores first get in touch with each other, maybe when you first met? What was your reaction when he first reached out to you about this job?) “I got a chance to meet ‘Coach Flo’ and these guys really through Tiquan Underwood, who I played with in Jacksonville. I was here really locally and visiting Blake Baker, who I coached with at Arkansas State and who was the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami. While I was in town, I came and visited Tiquan and got a chance to meet some guys in the building and got an opportunity to be here and really kind of shadow in training camp last year during an internship. Going back and taking some of that information to Cal, where I was coaching at the time, it was valuable information just being here for a week. I learned a lot from this coaching staff. When the opportunity came, obviously I was very excited and grateful for the opportunity, which I still am. Now that I’m here, I understand what my responsibility is to be able to lead the secondary and contribute to this team as much as I can.”
(You talked a little bit about the character of the two rookie defensive backs you guys drafted. Head Coach Brian Flores talks a lot about communication as an important trait on his team with an emphasis on players that can communicate on this defense and in this defensive backfield. How much does that help you guys acclimate quickly in this condensed offseason program?) – “Communication is a must in our defense. All guys have to be on the same page, especially at the safety position. We have the depth of the defense and we’re responsible to really get everybody in line, so it’s very important that whether you’re young or an older vet, that the communication is on point. We know that big plays always run through the secondary. Whether it be in the pass game or the run game, the easiest way to give up an explosive play in the backend is lack of communication. What I tell those guys is lack of communication leads to disaster. We have to make sure that all of our communication is on point, regardless of the condensed offseason and not a lot of reps in the offseason. Through practice and walkthrough, we have to understand what certain terminology means and get everybody on the same page. Those guys are going to be the ones that are playing on Sunday. It’s not how much I know, it’s how much those guys know and their awareness out there on display on the field, and understand what words to say and what communication to make, to make sure everybody is on the same page.”
(I’m wondering – the focus is on how players adapt and learn a new system and techniques. As a coach new to the techniques, how did you do it?) – “How I did it is obviously listening to the guys who were experienced in the system. I have great resources with (Defensive Coordinator Josh) Boyer, and ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores). I have experience myself as a player, which really doesn’t matter; but taking all of my experience in coaching and as a player, and really applying it to some of the things that are being taught that we want done in our defense. At the end of the day, taking all of that information and relaying to our players in a simple form, where those guys can comprehend it and go out there and rep it, and continue to develop and get better. I’m looking forward to what that can look like over the next couple of weeks as we start really ramping up the intensity of practice.”
