Good writeup on the Chiefs' OLBs and coach Mike Smith.
Quote:
In early June, I wrote about how the Chiefs had decided to part ways with linebackers coach Gary Gibbs, splitting the room into two—Mark DeLeone with the inside linebackers and Mike Smith with the outside linebackers.
It probably does not get talked about quite enough, but the job Smith has done may be directly leading to the success that we have seen from Ford, who is in the midst of the best season of his career, as well as the room as a whole.
“It’s helped tremendously,” Ford said earlier this season regarding the linebacker coach split. “Mike is great. He is a student of the game. Everything is repetitive. Every day, we do the same thing and we are getting better at smaller things. It is crazy, we’ve played for so many years, and Justin (Houston) and I talk all the time with our steps being awful at times.
“We are just so athletic and strong we can just get away with it. But now, having that coach, Mike is phenomenal.”
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I get in arguments about football and baseball occasionally with other posters who say stuff like "All pros should already know how to tackle/field/footwork/etc." - which basically means position coaches are barely even required.
I don't agree with that. I think coaching can still make a huge difference - even at the pros. Either by teaching new skills or keeping existing skills from slipping - which can always happen when you're trying to perform at the absolute outer limits of human athleticism.
I remember the Royals defense going from really good under John Wathan - to utter crap under Hal McRae - same players. And it wasn't immediate, you could see the defense slowly deteriorate throughout the year under McRae. It really seemed like their fundamentals just slowly slipped, not being drilled enough or in the right way.