In May, why would he bet on Staley (1:03 mark)
“It’s hard for me to justify hiring a defensive-minded head coach. I just think it’s a bigger obstacle to being a good team every year, year after year. But after talking to him and thinking about him – – and he as a teacher, a communicator, like a football thinker, all these things – he’s the guy I’d bet on as a defense coach. Just because of the conceptual ways he built that Rams defense and how that defense was almost an expression of his value system around football and the way he thinks about the sport.
“… This is not just a defensive coordinator who has a ton of good talent, who is using guys in familiar ways and bringing that talent to success. Obviously, the Rams had Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald, but some of the things that they were doing it schematically at the limit; it was really pushing further into some of these things than any other defensive coordinator in the NFL.
“So, I think a guy who is thinking at the forefront and as progressive as Brandon Staley is, is the only area where I would say, ‘You know what? I would be willing to hit the defensive coordinator or defense coach here just because I think he sees these things a little differently. ‘”
About how Justin Herbert benefits from having a defensive-oriented coach (8:13 mark)
“Bill Belichick still needed really good offenses to consistently win every year. But I also think that the comparison with Belichick – although I’m not trying to say that Brandon Staley is Bill Belichick – one of the strengths that the Patriots had in all. season is that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick would sit down every week, several times, and go over the ways the defenses would try to attack Tom Brady, and they had the best guy in the world there to explain the ins and outs and the complexities of defense for he.
“I would have to assume that Brandon Staley would be able to do something similar to Justin Herbert throughout his career. If they could have a dialogue or communication in which Staley is ignoring the defense, obviously and that is his scope, but at the same time time is able to say, “Okay, this is what they are trying to do to you. When they do that, this is what they are trying to do.” And I think that understanding the defensive rules is one of the most important parts of offensive coaching. And Brandon Staley absolutely understands the defensive rules, and he also understands the offensive side, because he is a former defender who spent a lot of time on that side of the ball .
“I just think that, again, it is difficult to thread a needle where I would like to hire a defensive-minded head coach in 2021. That’s my way of looking at things. But I think that if you want, he checks every box that you would like someone to check. “