Rob Leonard – November 5, 2019
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Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Linebackers Coach Rob Leonard
(After the win, Head Coach Brian Flores talked about how he’s proud of the staff for putting in all the extra time that’s required to help find the small advantages that can help the team win. So I’m going to ask two philosophical questions about how you approach your job and how it fits into what you and your colleagues are doing. What have you learned entering this experience and also being around these guys about what the best way to find even the smallest advantage vs. an opponent is?) – “Really the level of detail. People say that, but what does that look like? I guess – can you specify how you’re…”
(When Head Coach Brian Flores talks about finding an advantage vs. an opponent, I’m assuming that he means you guys are putting in tons of hours, both self-scouting and also trying to identify any possible weakness in individual matchups and scheme matchups, so I guess the question is, what have you learned in your coaching career that has been helpful to succeed in those areas? Like LB Jerome Baker, we think this week, ‘he can blitz through the middle’ – which he did – ‘and create a pressure,’ or this week we think ‘Bake’ can really cover the Jets’ tight end all the way down the field which he did on a third down.’ Take me inside the coaching profession a little bit to understand how a coach best identifies edges.) – “I’m going to be honest with you. The starting point from my experience in my seven years in the league has been the like-minded thinking that we have first, that everybody’s on the same page; so therefore everybody knows the tools and adjustments that you can make versus certain things as opposed to being on a coaching staff (where) one guy has one idea, the other guys aren’t following that idea, another guy has another idea, another guy brings something that he did from somewhere 10 years ago that has no idea about it. That being said, we kind of all – in learning the system together – we talk in those terms. Now everybody is kind of centralized thinking, like, ‘okay, what can we do vs. this guy or this coverage?’ Just that continuity. The continuity so then my idea sparks an idea from ‘Hobbs’ (Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby) or it sparks an idea with ‘Pats’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham) and we’re all kind of on the same page. We’re not bringing stuff out of left field.”
(On being on the same page.) – “It starts with that. We have a good identity of what we want to do, of who we are. Then you can go from there and be detailed, but if you don’t have the – as you said – philosophically understand what we’re trying to accomplish, then it’s hard to be detailed.”
(Who on this staff, if anyone, had you worked with before and where?) – “I worked with (Defensive Coordinator) Patrick (Graham) with the Giants.”
(Now with Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham and Head Coach Brian Flores and you guys all getting to know each other, what is unique, if anything, about the approach to the week and coming up with a plan that ‘Flo’ really sets the table for? In other words what is most important to ‘Flo’ when you all come in on Monday? What is most important? What is most interesting to you or unique?) – “What I think he does such a great job of is the overall vision of things. He’s great at seeing that limit of what’s too much or we can add more stuff here and great at seeing if we’re executing. That’s kind of your red light or your blinker so to speak, is if you have all this stuff in, you go out there and you’re not executing it, then we’ve got to back off. He has a great feel for that, of where we are as a team and what’s too much, what’s too little. I’m learning that and I go back to this whole staff having known each other in the past, a lot of them, and you can’t beat continuity and conversations that have taken place that you’re not having in Year 1 that they brought from the get-go. To be 100 percent honest with you, this business is about people. I wanted to work with Pat from the moment I knew him at the Giants when I knew he was going to get a shot as a coordinator. I met ‘Flo’ through him and I just – who they are as people first and then the way they see the game of football, I just wanted to be a part of that. It always starts there at its core.”
(In the NFL what is the biggest “here is our install, this is what we’re doing” day? Is it Wednesday night? Is that when you get pizza and sit around? Is there pizza?) – “I’d say volume-wise maybe Wednesday, but then it gets detailed when you do third down, red area. Just because it’s not as (heavy) volume-wise, the detail may be more. Really all of them are big, but I guess volume-wise Wednesday (is the biggest).”
(Does the whole defense sit around a big table?) – “Yeah, like a typical defensive staff meeting.”
(Do you get food like sandwiches or pizza?) – “(laughter) Yeah, they feed us. They feed us well. It’s the NFL so last week we’re coming off Monday night and it’s a short week so it’s always changing. Whether the players are here, who’s in the building, you go down and check on your guys. It’s kind of fluid, but you know when you have to have your area prepped and ready to present and that’s kind of steady.”
(What is your approach to making sure or increasing the odds that LB Jerome Baker, LB Raekwon McMillan, LB Sam Eguavoen, all these guys reach their potential?) – “That’s kind of easy for me. You have to make them see it. You have to make them see what you see in them to get the best version of themselves. I’m always trying to paint that picture whether it’s film or just speaking to them as men because that’s where the confidence comes into play. Who you are as a person, who you are as a player – you’re always painting that vision of how I see them so they can fulfill their potential, but they have to believe it. It comes from them.”
(We’re not sure if we’ll see LB Andrew Van Ginkel this year, but what did you see from him in May, June, August where you came away with thinking what about him and his skillset?) – “Honestly it starts with ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) as a person. He’s smart. He’s physical. He’s tough. He’s versatile. He can do a lot of things. He’s still in meetings. He’s doing all the things he needs to do and we’ll see where he’s at physically when he comes back. It really kind of starts there for me, honestly.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Jerome Baker. From our vantage point at least it seemed he was fairly quiet in the early weeks and the last few weeks has really shown up. What are you seeing? Are there any differences in what you’re seeing or just more opportunity?) – “(I see) a guy that’s played more football and is building confidence with the snaps he’s played and building confidence amongst his teammates and the trust. I talk to the guys a lot about (how) there’s a difference between knowing what to do and where it becomes second nature and you’re just reaction. There’s a difference. Just because you give me the answer doesn’t mean it’s going to happen that fast on the football field. He’s starting to – after things are starting to repeat – his confidence is coming. He’s just naturally reacting which is the goal. We’re just playing football. In my mind, he should be the fastest one – out of my room, he should be all over the field. He’s slowly getting there and it’s encouraging.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Raekwon McMillan also. He’s a guy again from our vantage point – he’s been pretty steady all year. What has he done well to get himself involved in so many plays?) – “Again, I always start off with intangible stuff first – the leadership, controlling the defense, all the pre-snap stuff first – because the No. 1 thing in this league is not beating yourself and he’s done a good job of that and then physically showing up and tackling. Being physical at the point of attack, in all honesty. That’s kind of what jumps out to me – controlling the defense and being physical.”
(This might be a better question for Head Coach Brian Flores or General Manager Chris Grier, but since they’re not around today, did you all have any sense when you all acquired LB Vince Biegel for former LB Kiko Alonso, what you all were getting? Had you gotten feedback from Chris or had you seen him before in evaluations pre-draft to know, “this is a young man, we think there’s something more that can be tapped into.” Had you known that Labor Day weekend when you made the trade?) – “That definitely would be a better question for them. Again, I remember evaluating him coming out of college from Wisconsin – he played across from T.J. Watt, right – so I kind of had a vague picture in my head of who he was as a player and knew he was a high-motor guy. I was excited in all honesty to get him, but that would be a better question for them.”
(And LB Vince Biegel played well in our eyes, but in your words what’s your evaluation of him?) – “(laughter) He has. In my mind with ‘Biegs’ the more – he just has a long way to go. Mentally, every day to be learning to play outside backer, inside backer, all the different techniques we’re asking him to do. Pre-snap stuff is big for him and he can’t get enough reps. He’s only going to get better in my opinion because any guy that has a motor that burns hot like that is – you’ve just got get it pointed in the right direction.”
(Quick LB Jerome Baker and LB Raekwon McMillan combo question. Does the fact that they played together in college help them at all on a Sunday in the NFL?) – “Of course. In my opinion, just in terms of communication and giving each other a hard time or whatever it may be, you have trust right off the bat. You know where the other person stands. Just watching the way they interact is like watching two brothers at times. That only helps.”
