Marion Hobby – February 15, 2019
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Friday, February 15, 2019
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(How has the transition been so far?) – “I’m trying to get settled in. I’m excited about it.”
(Have you been in this part of the nation before, coaching or just living or anything?) – “I’ve been down here a few times just vacationing and recruiting in this area, but not really ever lived in this part.”
(I wanted to ask you about rebuilding this defensive line, if it needs to be rebuilt. I’m making an assumption that some guys might not be back but how do you view the defensive line right now? Do you know generally who might be back?) – “Not this early with who’s going to be back. Of course, being a defensive line coach, you kind of pay attention to where some of the guys are, so you’re familiar with them and how they played at times. It’s a little too early in the process of evaluating what role they’re going to play.”
(What are you going to be looking for as far as 3-4, 4-3, versatility, guys who are multiple?) – “Guys who are multiple. We always talk about we want guys who give you great effort in the classroom and on the field. Those guys have to be open-minded to doing different things and probably being multiple than anything.”
(As far as your defensive ends, what do you look for?) – “I like good ones. (laughter) You always want those guys that are going to show some natural toughness. That position just requires toughness. Everybody thinks it’s just about agility and speed but those guys have to have some toughness. They have to be willing to play stout at the line of scrimmage and play the run as well as the pass, and being very versatility in their approach too, being just as important stopping the run as they are in the pass world as well.”
(Do you have any idea about rotating players in? Do you have an idea of what you might need in general?) – “No. You always want to be in a situation where you have your best players on the field in certain situations. Hopefully you can get one and two deep where you can get guys where you can stay fresh the whole game. A good defensive lineman, we want to wear down the opposing team over time. Sometimes that guy who plays behind me is just as important as the guy who runs out there first, so building some depth there is big-time important.”
(The defensive line’s role, has it changed over the years? We know the offense – the rules, as far as you can’t hit the quarterback or unprotected receiver – has that upped the importance of the defensive line or pass rushers?) – “I think it’s a combination. It’s kind of like in the early downs, we want to be able to rush the passer two snaps in a row, and that comes with playing physical on first down and second down to get them in those passing situations as well as dictating the game, as far as the score and all those things pay a dividend in that. I don’t think the role has changed much. I think it’s just more of a fact of it’s just different philosophies that each team has. Some teams play pass to run and some people play run to pass. In order to rush the passer – and every d-lineman wants to rush the passer – you have to work hard on those early downs to force them to throw the football.”
(How did you end up here with Brian Flores?) – “You were kind of hearing the rumors of who might be getting jobs and this, that and the other, but you just kind of start getting your feelers and who knows who. Can you talk to him and put my name in his ear? I knew he was very busy with the Super Bowl, but it really just came down to being very fortunate.”
(Being very fortunate because you and Brian Flores knew mutual people?) – “More or less, we knew mutual people. I knew a lot of mutual people, guys who probably worked with him before and current guys who had worked with him. (It was) more or less from that.”
(What is that first contact with Brian Flores like? Do you exchange philosophies? What do you do when you first talk to each other?) – “You listen. (laughter) You do a good job of listening because before you can sell yourself, you’d better find out what they’re looking for. So, you do a good job of listening. It was a positive conversation. You do a good job of listening because I think when you get a chance to be around Brian, he’s direct with what he wants and what his vision is, and you just hope that they match.”
(Brian Flores seems like a very direct guy. He seems like he has a presence and he doesn’t seem like he’s one for mincing words. Is that kind of square with what you see in him?) – “I think he makes it clear of what he’s looking forward. He wants to build that winning culture, the cultural belief. Everybody in the building is very important to him and how you treat people. He was interested in hiring great people and that was a compliment to get a call knowing that’s what he’s looking for. He makes it clear of what he wants.”
(I guess that’s what you would want, right?) – “Exactly. It’s exactly what you’re looking for. Especially coming into this situation, you definitely want to know where you stand and being on the same page.”
(What excited you most when you got the call about this opportunity with the Dolphins?) – “I guess it’s the new opportunity that faces itself, a new head coach (Brian Flores) coming in and knowing the success that he’s had being in New England and being a coordinator. It’s somebody you can grow from and learn from. Then, Miami, it speaks for itself. This has always been a tough place to play. (It has) definitely been a tough place to win. All of those situations kind of add in and the history of this franchise and where it’s been and being a part of something like that is always important.”
(Have you been able to take a peek at some of the guys that are on the roster, especially the young guys on the defensive line and your assessment of what they can provide?) – “One thing I think you think of is those guys are aggressive. I think they have some right body types that you like. Guys play at the line of scrimmage. They play tough football. You kind of know as a d-line coach, you kind of know where the d-linemen are. We say this all the time in the NFL, you take your summers and you take a little time and say ‘I want to go look at this guy and see how he progressed from college,’ or ‘This guy has been playing in football for a long time, I’ll study him a little bit and what he’s doing.’ Because you look at his success in the past and you want to grow as a coach too, so you kind of take looks at different people.”
(Is it good for you coming from such a program that’s been so successful in Clemson not so long ago and having that in your mind to be able to take a look at young guys that are coming out, guys that you’ve either played against, prepared for or coached at that level?) – “Yes. A lot of times there are a lot of guys you tried to recruit. Some you got, some you didn’t, but to know these guys are progressing … That brings you back to that “We’ll see how he’s playing. How is he progressing? Was I right on this guy coming out of school?’ (laughter) It’s funny. You come into a meeting room and you see a guy that you really tried to recruit and you go ‘Hey, I finally got you.’ They might have chosen somewhere else, but to see how they progressed and stuff like that is always good.”
(I think it’s pretty obvious that you know how to spot a good player. What are some things that go into your philosophy of looking for guys like this, especially at a team like this where there’s going to be a lot of defensive linemen that are coming in, in the next draft or so?) – “One thing, and it’s always hard to do, is judge what kind of character they are. What kind of character do they have? What kind of self-discipline do they have? Mental toughness is probably one of the things and what people around them say about them. Then, you break into the person, because you probably already have seen tape. You’ve identified this guy has big-time talent, but has he reached that talent level and does he still have room to grow? Then, it’s whether he’s ready to grow. Everybody has their own different trait, as you would say. Mike Williams comes from a really small school and getting to know Mike and seeing him play basketball was probably the one thing that reassured you to say, ‘This kid right here, I think he has a chance to be special,’ because you didn’t really see a lot of it just on the football field. Then spending time, getting the guys to camp, being around them and that kind of thing, all of that stuff is important.”
(How did you get in touch with Coach Flores and General Manager Chris Grier to end up working here? How did you know those guys and how long had you guys been in touch with each other?) – “Just kind of this business, it’s who’s working with them. The rumor starts to get out that he has a chance at the Dolphins job. Did you start reaching out to your people to say ‘Who knows him? Can anybody put my name in with him?’ But under the rules and stuff, you can’t have conversations. I’ve known Chris for a while, but his hands were tied. You really just kind of try to maneuver in a position that hopefully he’ll pick up the phone and draw interest in you.”
(So you knew Chris Grier for some time before this?) – “I knew his dad. His dad coached me when I was at the Patriots back in the day – Bobby Grier. I was a defensive lineman and he was the running backs coach back then. So, I knew Chris from then. He was a little younger, but I just kind of knew him from there. Like I said, his hands were a little tied too.”
(How do you think Chris Grier is going to try to go about his job?) – “If you know anything about him, he’s a coach’s son, born and raised in this business. I think his eye for talent, as you can see since he’s been here, has grown. In his days (as a scout), he did come through Clemson and what he was looking for in players always stood out. When he got you in the office, he wanted to know the same thing – what about his character? Is this guy a flat-line guy? Does this guy have intensity? Will he grow? All those things there.”
