It didn’t take long for Washington Redskins safety Landon Collins to be sold on the new coaching staff. After spending a season under defensive coordinator Greg Manusky in his first year with the Redskins, Collins now has the chance to learn from Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio, two heralded defensive coaches.
And he plans to do just that — learn.
In a conversation with NBC Sports Washington, Collins said that what impressed him the most in his first meeting with Del Rio wasn’t that the heralded DC compared his game to that of Hall of Famer Ray Lewis; rather it was Del Rio’s immediate suggestion that there are a few things Collins could do to better improve his play on the field.
“He said, ‘Now, there are some things I need you to change up in your game,'” Collins explained, via NBC Sports Washington. “And I was like, ‘All right, cool, yeah.’ And that’s what I love about him: He was straightforward with me. Don’t beat around the bush… My best seasons came when I heard that from my coaches.”
As a three-time Pro-Bowler and a First-team All-Pro in 2016, it wouldn’t necessarily be a shock for someone of Collins’ stature to be a bit turned off by Del Rio’s suggestion that he could get better. However, on the contrary, Collins seemed to be rejuvenated by the prospect of taking orders from a new coach and being placed in a new defense.
“I like his defense,” Collins said. “It’s a 4-3 concept. That’s what I think we needed from the get-go with these guys. We have great run stoppers, but these guys want to get upfield and make plays themselves, and stop holding people for the linebackers.”
According to Collins, the marriage between coach and player will start to really take off in Washington, as well, and it will come once success becomes an attainable goal.
“That’s one thing I told coach Del Rio: ‘These guys aren’t going to give up on you,'” he recalled. “I say, ‘I’ve been a part of a team that’s like forget this, their season’s over with after six games.’ These guys finished all 16.”
If Del Rio can be the defensive leader off the field, Collins will make sure his message is heard on the field. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect backbone for a defense to build off of.
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