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Rob Leonard – May 9, 2019 Download PDF version

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Linebackers Coach Rob Leonard

(Can you go through the importance of being assertive to the linebacker crew of saying the play call once they get it?) – “Playing in the NFL is all about communication, especially at the linebacker positon, so that’s essential. All those intangibles, not just communication but the way you say things, you are the quarterback of the defense. If you sound hesitant, people may not believe your communication even though you may be saying the right thing. It’s all in your presence, your demeanor and what you say. The way we’ll say it on defense, ‘We’re all wrong. We’re all right.’ So if you say something, it may be wrong; but if you say it the right way and we believe it and we execute it, then that’s okay. We can live to play another down. Communication is essential for us.”

(Do you think the linebackers have added pressure with a linebackers coach, the defensive coordinator has coached linebackers, the head coach has coached linebackers at one point? Everybody has a feel for the linebacker positon.) – “There’s no doubt. They understand. There’s one thing, they’re going to get coached. They’re going to get coached. They don’t have to doubt that. That’s a great thing, in my opinion. Nothing is going to go unseen. We’re going to get the best out of you. You’re always being evaluated by the first level, second level, third level. To me, that’s how you be great. That’s how you’re going to be great.”

(Have you faced a situation in coaching where two teammates like LB Raekwon McMillan and LB Jerome Baker played in college together and now they’re here? It’s almost like a little brotherhood before they even came here.) – “Absolutely. For whatever reason off the top of my head, I can’t think of one. I’m sure I have; I’m almost sure. But for how close they are in age as well, they not just went to the same school. No, not that I can think of. It’s great. When you know somebody like that, there’s a trust, there’s a transparency from day one when you walk in because you know somebody. You know who they are as a person first and foremost. That’s only a bonus for us.”

(You have a new addition through the draft with LB Andrew Van Ginkel. What do you like about him when you were evaluating him?) – “I think I may have said this last time but overall, he’s a football player first. He’s always around the ball. He’s a good tackler. We could go through all the traits, but he’s a productive, instinctive football player that’s physical. All of the things that we say we value from a personnel standpoint, he is those things. He’s tough, he’s physical, he’s athletic, he’s versatile. In my opinion, what’s there not to like?”

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