Marion Hobby – December 3, 2019
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Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(A little birdie told you guys have a nice little family dinner every Tuesday with the coaching staff?) – “Oh, yeah. Family night?”
(Yeah. Hope important is that do you think to help you guys as a coaching staff get to know each other during this first season?) – “It gives a chance to see people as more than coaches. We’re seeing some of the guys with their kids, seeing how they interact with their families and stuff like that. My kids are a little bit older now, so it’s good to see some of the other guys interact with their families, the camaraderie of it all. I think that’s big in football and in life.”
(Is that a Head Coach Brian Flores thing that he kind of inspired?) – “Yes. It definitely comes from him. I don’t know if they did that in the past here before; but yes, it was definitely something that was – we’ve been doing it all year. I think it’s really worked out well. We’re working long hours this time of year so to get a chance to see your kids in the daylight, get a chance to come out here and see the guys throwing the ball with to their kids, it’s always good. It really is.”
(How has that helped the working relationship?) – “Like I said, you get to see people in different lights. Sometimes in the coaching role, we’re talking X’s and O’s, it’s strictly business. It gives you a chance to see some guys relax and be fathers and meet their wives. It’s good.”
(You seem to be the lighthearted guy on the defensive coaching staff. I feel like you and Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham, you guys get to joke around a little bit. You guys have a couple laughs, lighten things up, but also you work really hard too. Who are some guys on the coaching staff that really makes things a little bit easier for you guys, lightens the mood?) – “I think we’ve got a lot of different personalities on this staff. Sometimes things are real serious and intense. They might not be funny right when they say that; but then when you think about it, you think about the situation and maybe the next day I’ll come back and say, ‘What you said yesterday was crazy.’ It’s the same thing even dealing with the players. At that point, some of the comments they make might not be funny at that moment because you’re…”
(Then you come back around?) – “Yeah, you come back around and you go, ‘That was pretty funny.”
(So you come back around the next day you’re like “Man,” you think back on it?) – “Yeah. Maybe an hour later. Maybe at that point it’s just so funny you can’t – it just kind of lightens the mood a little bit. Being intense for 10, 12 hours, it’s kind of hard to turn it on and off.”
(Assistant Quarterbacks Coach Jerry Schuplinski told me that Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo is delivering those one-liners. Who’s some of the guys on the defensive staff that’s lightening the mood?) – “(Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks) Josh Boyer is pretty good. (Safeties Coach) Tony Oden has his own way of explaining things, which is always pretty funny. Everybody has got their – (Linebackers Coach) Robbie Leonard. Everybody has their little deals no matter what that subject is. But it’s good that we can actually laugh and get the work done as well.”
(How important is that for you guys to tone down Head Coach Brian Flores a little bit? I feel like he is – maybe headstrong is the wrong word but he’s strong. He’s the one that’s putting the face on and leading everybody but how important is it for you guys to keep him level too?) – “I’ll tell you what, he does a great job. I think everybody’s personality is different. Everybody’s humor is a little bit different. Sometimes when ‘Coach Flo’ says something, you have to look down to see if he’s pulling your leg. When you do look down there, he’s got a big smile on his face. He’s kind of like, ‘Alright, I’m pulling your leg right here.’ It’s just different personalities. That’s what makes a good staff. If we were all the same, how boring would that be? Being on the same page is important, but being the same person, I think you’re asking for it. It’s just like asking all our players to be the same. They’re never going to be the same.”
(That’s probably helped you guys a lot this season right?) – “Yeah, different personalities. It’s kind of like in the meeting room, I want everybody to be themselves. Be yourself. Be your own personality. But when we jog on the field, let’s just be one.”
(Is Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham also kind of done this thing where he’s divvying up tasks to everybody and let everybody bring their input in? You guys feel like the defensive effort is a collective one?) – “Yes. That’s one thing about it whether it goes good or goes bad, that’s what we agreed on so we all can take accountability for it. We call can – just as long as we agree on it, that’s important.”
(I’m going to ask you on a couple of the young guys. On DE Avery Moss, do you have a sense yet of what you have with him as far as what he does well, what he could be?) – “I’ll tell you, he was really heading in the right track before he got injured earlier this year. Getting him back to playing speed again is good. Avery, football is important to him. He’s very conscientious about his job and what he has to do. He’s not afraid to ask questions if he doesn’t understand. We keep developing him as he goes. It’s a new system for him, new expectations. He’s been an outside linebacker, he’s playing d-end, slash, he’s moving around. I think right now, he’s better against the run than he is against the pass. But I think he does a lot of good things. He’s a tackler. That’s one of the things I like. He is a tackler. There’s something to be said about those guys. They might not do everything perfect, but you find a way to get him on the ground. He is a tackler.”
(From being around DE Jonathan Ledbetter only in the offseason program before he got hurt in Week 1, did you emerge from watching him thinking we might have something here as far as a run-stopping end? What had you thought about him up to the point he got hurt?) – “I thought he was doing really well. He’s another guy that comes from a great high school, a tougher high school in Georgia, went to the University of Georgia. He’s a football guy, so this is right in his element. We’re asking him to play physical at the point of attack, doing the dirty work. That’s kind of what he’s done his whole career. (I was) very pleased with the way he was progressing. It’s a brutal game in there. He ended up getting injured, not able to bounce back and I could see that was wearing on him because he really wants to play football. But I’m very pleased with him.”
(We know DE Taco Carlton can rush the passer. Do you think he needs to prove that he’s more stout against the run to be viewed as an NFL starting defensive end on a good team?) – “I’ll tell you on any team, this is the National Football League. I don’t think any player wants to be labeled as a pass rusher. I don’t think a running back wants to be labeled as a pass catcher. They want to be labeled as, ‘I’m a defensive end. I’m a running back.’ We also know everybody has their specialties, but to be a three-down starter at this level, you want to be labeled as a defensive end, not a hybrid. I think that hybrid pass rusher, that guy is basically – that’s for the older guys who’ve gotten old now. But nobody wants to be labeled one side or the other. His development – keep working at it.”
(Is there physical ability there for DE Taco Charlton to be stout against the run and setting the edge?) – “He’s beautiful. He’s 6’6, he’s 270 pounds. He’s got long arms. He’s coming from a system where they were more pass to run in Dallas and now we’re more run to pass. You have to make those adjustments. You think about his days in Michigan. He’s been out of there for what three years now? So three years, it takes transition.”
(As you watch tape with DE Taco Charlton, what reasons can you identify as to maybe why his run defense isn’t at the level of his pass rush?) – “I didn’t say that.”
(Just from a laymen’s view.) – “I think he’s got to be more consistent with it, because there’s times where you see him and go, ‘Oh you lock out the big lineman, you handle the big tight ends, you throw your body in there, you make the tackle,’ and also he’s a tackler. He finds a way to get his hands on the ball. It might not be pretty the way he gets it done sometimes, but he does find a way to get to the football. But he’s just got to be more consistent. I think that’s with everybody. That’s not a glamour position. Too many times guys are judged on just sacks. Too many times guys will just – the production sheet. What are they really doing to help their team win is what’s most important.”
(On these ends, with what you’re trying to establish, you said you want them to be run first. So the key is to hold the point and set the edge for the defensive ends. And then the tackles, what are their primary responsibilities or roles outside of I know you want them to take on two?) – “I’ll tell you it’s kind of – we’re a big situational team. What is that situation? Is that a run? Is this a run down? Does that dictate the run or is that a pass? In this level, in every level, if they can run the ball, you’re never going to get a chance to rush the passer. As a defensive lineman, from the age of 6 to 30, they all want to rush the passer; but you got to do the dirty work in order to rush the passer. It’s the same thing inside. ‘Hey man, I’ve got to do the dirty work of playing the double teams, getting off the blocks and being physical at the point of attack,’ and then hopefully you can get in a situation where you can rush.”
(How much does it bother you that you guys have ranked amongst the bottom of the league in stopping the run all season?) – “I wouldn’t know.”
(Why is that?) – “Because when the season starts – my college coach told me something a long time ago: he said, ‘You’re never as good as they say you are. You’re never as bad as they say you are. I suggest you not read the media during the season.’”
(But you’ve only limited three opponents to less than 100 rushing yards.) – “Yeah. That’s what he told me. I’m just telling you. I’m not into that. I know one thing, I don’t know about them three opponents, I know we have three wins.”
(But if you stop the run better you might have more wins?) – “But that’s the past. That is strictly the past.”
(So what is the key to getting better against the run?) – “We’ve got to be on the same page. We’ve got to put our guys in the best position. These guys have got to do what they’re coached to do. The combination of coaching and playing and everything, we’re all in it together. We’re all in it together. That’s why I don’t get really caught up in the stats. At the end of the day, I want to look up at that scoreboard when it’s said and done and it says, ‘Dolphins win.’ And then the next day I can come in here on Monday, I feel like anything on tape can be fixed if you’re willing to fix it. There’s 10 guys doing what they’re supposed to, one is out of position. And give credit to the other guys on the other side too because they’re all pro football players. I really don’t get into the stats. That’s a stat you just told me about.”
(It’s an important stat, especially every defense says they want to stop the run. They always say the main priority is to stop the run. You guys have not been able to do that consistently this season.) – “Yeah and score. And holding them to one less point. Right? That’s just kind of my mindset. Because when you’re coaching the defensive line and they start reading about (how) they don’t have sacks, they don’t have whatever, then you get guys starting to doing their own thing. So as a coach, you kind of do the same thing. You’re kind of like you have to stay laser-focused too because they will feed off of you. So in my meeting room it’s more or less, ‘Let’s play together. Let’s complement each other. Let’s play with good motors. Let’s find a way to get this thing to the fourth quarter and find a way to win.’”
