Rob Leonard – February 15, 2019
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Friday, February 15, 2019
Linebackers Coach Rob Leonard
(Where did you go to college?) – “N.C. State.”
How did you choose N.C. State?) – “My head coach in high school, Mark Capuano, played with Chuck Amato, who was the head coach at N.C. State. Then, my dad took a job in the Raleigh area and I kind of had my sights set on playing D-1 ball and that kind of was a good fit and I had an opportunity to go down there.”
(And then you became a coach later down the road. Why coaching?) – “To be honest with you, I’m kind of shaped by the coaches I had. My head high school coach had a big impact on me. I actually wasn’t sure that it was for me. Then when Coach (Tom) O’Brien asked me to come back and be a GA, I had a coach that really had a big impact on me. I actually was going overseas to play football in Germany, in the GFL. I was leaving in two weeks and Coach O’Brien asked if I wanted to come back and be a GA. I was like, ‘You know what? Okay.’ Then there was a coach there, Jon Tenuta, who took me under his wing. He’s kind of a legendary college coach. He was like, ‘You’re with me.’ I think he accelerated and gave me a foundation of ball – I know he did – particularly with how he sees the front and the run game and stuff, that accelerated my learning curve in this profession, in my opinion. I was with him for three years and he was very good to me and he taught me a lot.”
(So you never got to Germany?) – “(laughter) Never got there. It’s a silly story, but that’s kind of how I ended up in it. I wasn’t sure (what I wanted to do). I coached a year in 2009 after I was done playing. I tried out with the Steelers, had a tryout briefly. I worked a bunch of different jobs – coached high school ball, was caddying at a golf course, working at a couple of bars at night and not sure what I wanted to do. I did a sales job during the day, and then when Coach O’Brien called, I was like, ‘I’m going to give this a try.’ Once I was with Jon, after that first year, I was like, ‘This is what I want to do.’
(You mentioned sales and bartending. What is the craziest job you had in that time?) – “Shoveling horse stalls at the state fairgrounds. Two dollars a stall if you cleaned out the hay out of the stall. You’d get there on Sunday nights. I’d go in there, I think there were maybe 250 stalls, and you would just clean the horse stalls. It was two dollars a stall but it was straight cash. I was living in Raleigh, a year out of college, not sure what you wanted to do and doing a lot of everything to put money in your pocket.”
(How many stalls could you go?) – “I can’t believe I’m telling this story. This is crazy. (laughter)”
(You couldn’t do 250, could you?) – “No. It was like a landscape company that had the contract and we would show up – you would knock it out in about two and a-half hours. I’d say if you did over 30, you were starting to feel it. Then you got money for raking up after, so we would make like 100 dollars cash in two hours, which wasn’t bad.”
(So you built up the biceps?) – “Yes. Then I was caddying, too. I was caddying a lot at a golf course right there in Raleigh.”
(What excites you about this opportunity and this job?) – “The people. Being at a great organization. In my opinion, this profession is all about people, and I’m excited to work with Coach ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores), first and foremost, and (Defensive Coordinator) Patrick (Graham), who I know well. I know that it’s going to be a team-first atmosphere. And those aren’t empty words, that’s how it’s going to be – that’s what gets me most excited, in all honesty. The culture is going to be right.”
(Can you describe how it all came to be, you hooking up with Brian Flores and him saying ‘Come to Miami?’) – “I worked with Pat (Graham) straight from New England. His first year – Pat Graham – when he came to the Giants as d-line coach, I was QC (quality control) and I worked with the linebackers. In his second year, I got moved to assistant d-line, so we were like this (close) every day, just in the same room. Me being a curious young coach, I would pick his brain a lot about how they did things up north. We just had good conversations and stayed in touch after that and I met ‘Flo’ (Flores) through Pat. Obviously, I never worked with him but got to know him I feel pretty well, and that’s kind of how it came to fruition.”
(How do you describe your coaching style?) – “Being myself, being genuine, being honest. Really, kind of like Coach ‘Flo’ said, holding people accountable to, especially if it’s something that we made clear that they should or shouldn’t know. Being consistent and honest.”
(You sound a lot like Brian Flores.) – “Yeah, that’s just my philosophy.”
(Brian Flores had mentioned about how he wants to build trust with players and then once you do that, you can push them that much more because they trust that you’re doing the right thing and they want to work that much harder. It sounds like you’ve experienced that type of thing as well.) – “Absolutely.”
(In Brian Flores’ introductory press conference, he mentioned versatility, how he wants to adjust on the fly if need be on a Sunday afternoon to whatever game conditions require. How does that put pressure on you and the linebackers to be able to do all these different roles that may or may not pop up on any given Sunday?) – “To be honest, you better not have tunnel vision. You better understand concepts from a schematic standpoint and see the big picture in what we’re trying to accomplish, whatever we need to do to win a game. That’s the ability, to be able to adjust. Yes, I understand my job, but when you teach, and I believe this is just part of being a teacher – you teach concepts, not just your job. This is your job and this is how you tie into the big picture, and so doing that allows you to be a little bit flexible, a little bit multiple – the things you hear us talk about a little bit more. But in terms of being able to adjust to weather conditions…”
(No, just adjusting to various game conditions, whether you’re going against a team that’s running the ball all down your throat or a team that – one thing that’s happened down here a lot in many years is that they’ve had trouble covering tight ends. A lot of tight ends have really burned the Dolphins badly, and some of that responsibility falls on the linebackers.) – “Absolutely. Understanding, in that case, it would be mismatches. Understanding situations. Really, you need to, I guess, broaden your scope for how you see the game. It’s very important to lock into your job, how you fit and just do your job – the old ‘Patriot Way’ philosophy – but with that being said, understanding what the call is trying to accomplish, if that makes sense, so you’re able to do a different role if need be.”
(Have you had any experience with any of the linebackers currently on this roster?) – “I have not. I’ve evaluated them in the past, but no.”
(So you’re probably just starting out on the evaluation?) – “Just starting. Honestly, I’m just swimming, trying to get my family here, the whole deal. We haven’t even dove into it yet.”
(Where is the family now?) – “In New Jersey. My wife flew down last night with my oldest boy, so it was nice to see him. It was the longest period of time I’ve gone without seeing him, so that’s been good.”
(Do you prefer Rob or Robbie? Which way should we go?) – “Both. Coach (Tom) Coughlin called me Rob. He said he wasn’t calling me Robbie. Some of my good friends call me Rob. My parents will call me Robbie because Rob’s my dad. I’m good either way.”
(I know it’s very early in the tape-reviewing standpoint, but would you mind speaking in general about your group in terms of what stood out to you from what you’ve seen initially?) – “I’m excited to work with these guys. I had the chance to go up to Ohio State to meet Jerome (Baker) last year when he was coming out, so just getting him as a person, he’s a smart kid. I’m excited to work with him, for sure. (He’s a) great athlete. It doesn’t take a genius to see that off the bat. I’m very excited. Our whole room overall, in my opinion, is very athletic. They’re young and overall, through watching them, it’s a tough group of guys. It’s a tough, athletic group of guys overall, in a general sensel.”
(The speed LB Jerome Baker has – how much of an asset is that in today’s game at that position?) – “Absolutely. It can only help you. The game is a space game and he’s able to do that. I can’t tell you how excited I am to work with him.”
(LB Raekwon McMillan came on late last year. Have you gotten to his December tape to get a sense of improvement?) – “I have. In terms of that, he did improve. I just hope to build off that with him, in all honesty. He’s another physical, tough guy, and he can run and hit. He finished the year strong. I’m excited to work with him.”
(The challenge of finding linebackers who can play both 4-3 and 3-4? General Manager Chris Grier talked about that. He said it’s a little bit of a challenge but it’s exciting, too, because you can be multiple with teams. How tough is that to find guys who can be 4-3 ends and 3-4 outside linebackers, and are you going to be involved with that process with the draft?) – “I’m sure we will. It’s just what you value. When you look at players, I see them as football players first. I don’t try to put – and I don’t think anybody here does, either – I don’t put people into a box – 3-4, 4-3. (I look at) how are they as football players first in terms of evaluation, in building our team.”
(Is there anyone on the roster you’ve seen that you think could be a 3-4 outside linebacker? You have a lot of guys who are skilled at playing inside.) – “I’m not really there yet, in all honesty. I wish I could give you a better answer, but I’m not really there yet.”
(One other guy – Stephone Anthony. Obviously, talented enough to be a first-round pick. Any impression of him? Have you seen him through the years?) – “I actually was at N.C. State when he was coming out as a recruit and he went to Clemson. Stephone – he can run and hit. If you were to draw them up, that’s how they look. I’m excited. I think he’s free right now, but he’s a good athlete that can play football and is a former first-round pick. He’s a good football player.”
(On LB Kiko Alonso, just the skills that you like?) – “Kiko plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. That’s evident even if you haven’t watched any film. He plays fast, plays physical, plays with a motor. That’s not much not to like there. He’s a good football player.”
(What’s the number one trait you look for in a linebacker?) – “When I watch the tape and put it on, I’m looking for is the guy a good football player. Does have natural instincts? Or am I looking at a height-weight-speed guy? How does he play the game? Is he always around the football? Basic things. If I were to just click on a tape and you were to go to a high school game, you could say, ‘That guy can play.’ That’s how I kind initially start watching in terms of linebacker play in a very general sense.”
