Peter King sat down with Brandon Staley. Below are a few excerpts from his article.
On Staley's journey:
"Meeting his players on their terms is part of Staley's deal. His rise to be a head coach is one of the most amazing stories in the league right now. Five years ago today, he was preparing to coach the 2016 John Carroll Blue Streaks. But not as head coach - as defensive coordinator of the Division III school in the Cleveland 'burns. He was not a normal Division III assistant coach. He used his connections, for instance, to wrangle a week to learn inside New Orleans Saints camp in 2009. A football-nerdy notebook with drawn plays from that week sits on his desk in Orange County today. "God bless my wife," Staley said. "I spent every last dime we had to make that trip. I soaked in everything."
On Staley's attention to detail:
"Lots of teams loved Staley after his lone year as defensive coordinator with the Rams, when they finished first in the league in yards and points allowed. "He's the best defensive coordinator I've had in the NFL for sure," said all-pro Rams Corner Jalen Ramsey, who spent just one season with Staley. The man who hired him to coach linebackers in Chicago out of John Carroll in 2017, Broncos coach Vic Fangio, told me: "Some players, some coaches, see the game through a straw. They see how the game affects them, or their group. They've got tunnel vision. Brandon sees how it affects all 11, all 22."
On Staley as a leader:
"Make it a great day today, guys," Staley said at one point. "Physical. Fierce. I want the quarterback to feel the consequences of something bad happening. Show 'em how we practice. Keep reinforcing it with your players. Talk to them. Talk about competition all the time. Talk about playing the game the right way."
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