Jerry Gray To Interview For Detroit

I agree with you on Blache and Gray. Looks like Gray will also get a shot at DC in Houston (which probably is a better shot - and a better job - than HC in Detroit).

Gray a Wanted Man in Houston? - Redskins Insider (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/2008/12/jerry_gray_a_wanted_man_again.html)

I agree. I think the job in Houston is where he ends up. I also think we're making a big mistake by letting him get away. G. Williams thought enough of him to make him his DC in Buffalo and he's done an excellent job with our secondary. I don't know what his contract status is but I would'nt be surprised to see Jackson go with him. If we do trade Rogers, as close as him and Gray are, he could end up in Houston too. They have a great pass rusher in Mario Williams and I think Gray would be very successful in Houston.

Jerry Gray will not get this job HC job in Detroit. But it would not surprise me to see him move on.

Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 01/ 3/2009
Gray Happy Here but Would Like to Move Up

Redskins secondary coach Jerry Gray interviewed for the vacant head coaching position in Detroit yesterday, flying back late last night after a day of meetings with ownership and team management. Gray, who interviewed for Houston's head coaching position three years ago, said that, while he very much enjoys his current position, he would like to move up the coaching ladder.

Gray, who has coached in the league for 12 years and was Buffalo's defensive coordinator before joining Washington's staff in 2006, said he has not been contacted by any other teams for coordinator or head coaching vacancies.

"If you do a good job in what you're doing, in your current job, and you have some ambition to be a coordinator or a head coach, then you hope that your work is recognized," Gray said.

I agree. I think the job in Houston is where he ends up. I also think we're making a big mistake by letting him get away. G. Williams thought enough of him to make him his DC in Buffalo and he's done an excellent job with our secondary. I don't know what his contract status is but I would'nt be surprised to see Jackson go with him. If we do trade Rogers, as close as him and Gray are, he could end up in Houston too. They have a great pass rusher in Mario Williams and I think Gray would be very successful in Houston.

agree 100%. Big step backwards!

ComCast is reporting that Jerry Gray will interview for the Detroit Lions vacant head coaching position and various defensive coordinator positions around the league. We may be losing a guy who could very well be an excellent defensive coordinator. Your thoughts?

Dude, this is bad news. If there is one area of the coaching staff that has been getting it done its the secondary. They have drafted well, they have developed talent, they've been a discplined unit, they have been the backbone of the defense.
Especially when you consider Blache's disdain for schemes you know that Gray was the mastermind behind the schemes in the secondary that have made this defense repectable.
The schemes he ran against Dallas won us the game.

*(Off topic but IMO Blache's or Palermo's lack of schemes prevented the defense line from being a more productive unit )
We need to keep Coach Gray.
Elevate him to Assistant DC.

or:

Maybe we can make him "DDC" (designated defensive coord) when Blache retires? Similar to the deal when Holmgren retired.

Then tell Blache he better retire next year. :)

It would be a huge mistake to let Gray go.

Dude, this is bad news. If there is one area of the coaching staff that has been getting it done its the secondary. They have drafted well, they have developed talent, they've been a discplined unit, they have been the backbone of the defense.
Especially when you consider Blache's disdain for schemes you know that Gray was the mastermind behind the schemes in the secondary that have made this defense repectable.
The schemes he ran against Dallas won us the game.

*(Off topic but IMO Blache's or Palermo's lack of schemes prevented the defense line from being a more productive unit )
We need to keep Coach Gray.
Elevate him to Assistant DC.

or:



Then tell Blache he better retire next year. :)

It would be a huge mistake to let Gray go.In context, I would say the DL was very productive this year. They were asked to clog all initial gaps against the run, and get quick pressure on QBs against the pass, forcing the ball to come out quickly. They did that.

And of course, taken out of context (i.e. sacks), you are totally 100% right. People want sacks, and our scheme prevented our lineman from being able to break down offensive protections in the way that 80% of defenses do these days. We don't believe in that kind of thing. As long as the QB throws before deep passes develop, the front seven has done it's job. We just tend to blame individuals in the secondary for the holes in our scheme.

I agree that this is a better defensive unit with Jerry Gray here.

30gut*(Off topic but IMO Blache's or Palermo's lack of schemes prevented the defense line from being a more productive unit )

In context, I would say the DL was very productive this year. They were asked to clog all initial gaps against the run, and get quick pressure on QBs against the pass, forcing the ball to come out quickly. They did that.


Gtripp I’m not saying that the line wasn’t productive.
Just not as productive as I think they could/should have been.

I thought Montgomery played better under Blache/Williams then this year with Palermo/Blache.
And I think it showed in the play of the overall defense.
Blache/Williams really had Montgermy playing well last year and i expected more from him this year.

Last year Andre Carter had 10.5 sacks.
I thought Chris Wilson was coming on.

I'm not sure about the intent of the scheme as far as clogging gaps but i remember having difficulty stopping the run when we needed to.
And i didn't think the tackles did a good enough job of keeping lineman off Fletcher and Co.

I'm not sure what you mean by getting 'quick pressure' because the defensive line often times didn't even touch the opposing QB.
It seemed to me that the d-line rarely forced a QB to get the ball out quickly without having to blitz an extra man.

And of course, taken out of context (i.e. sacks), you are totally 100% right. People want sacks, and our scheme prevented our lineman from being able to break down offensive protections in the way that 80% of defenses do these days. We don't believe in that kind of thing. As long as the QB throws before deep passes develop, the front seven has done it's job. We just tend to blame individuals in the secondary for the holes in our scheme.

I think the d-line rarely got quick enough 'pressure' to force many QBs to throw the ball before long passes developed.
I think'll you'll agree that sacks are good right? A pressure isn't gonna get you a fumble or cost the team yards. Pressures are good, but pressures AND sacks are better.



Also, I’m not sure about the scheme on the defense line. But, I don’t think stopping the run and getting pressure AND sacks are mutually exclusive. And if that is indeed the design of the scheme well then the scheme is flawed.

30gut, the scheme is flawed by our standards. We as fans are expecting sack, sack, sack no matter where it comes from. Our DT are not as big as some in the league and large O-lineman push them around. When you get no push up the middle then the opposing teams can double our DE's which also are kinda small. Our D was built by Williams to be fast which meant smaller D-line. Most of the pass rush comes from the LB, CB or safety. We were the highest blitzing team in the league with the lowest or second lowest success.

I think a couple of things need to happen. We need to beef up the DT position in order to get a better push up the middle to collapse a pocket and that should help out or DE's and pass rush from the other positions.

30gut, the scheme is flawed by our standards. We as fans are expecting sack, sack, sack no matter where it comes from. Our DT are not as big as some in the league and large O-lineman push them around. When you get no push up the middle then the opposing teams can double our DE's which also are kinda small. Our D was built by Williams to be fast which meant smaller D-line. Most of the pass rush comes from the LB, CB or safety. We were the highest blitzing team in the league with the lowest or second lowest success.

I think a couple of things need to happen. We need to beef up the DT position in order to get a better push up the middle to collapse a pocket and that should help out or DE's and pass rush from the other positions.

IMO we need a little change in scheme, better play from the DEs, better play from the DTs. If our defense could consistently get pressure and sacks we would get more TOs.

I don't expect 50 sacks, but expect more then 24.
Last year with virtually the same line we had more sacks.
Our 'scheme' is flawed because we don't get sacks.
I completely understand about lack of push in the middle, which is why Montgomery was a disappointment this year, but look at the Colts for example they're DT aren't any better then ours yet their ends can still get sacks.

You mentioned how often we blitz, that's another thing that bothers me our blitzes are obvious.
They almost always get picked up, our blitzers rarely come free.
Again our blitz 'schemes' are lacking.

I agree. I think the job in Houston is where he ends up. I also think we're making a big mistake by letting him get away. G. Williams thought enough of him to make him his DC in Buffalo and he's done an excellent job with our secondary. I don't know what his contract status is but I would'nt be surprised to see Jackson go with him. If we do trade Rogers, as close as him and Gray are, he could end up in Houston too. They have a great pass rusher in Mario Williams and I think Gray would be very successful in Houston.

53 Fan - I remember a while back in 2006 that there were issues about the secondary and the safeties and corners were having separate meetings and often were not on the same page - although injuries played a big part in effecting the defense that year.

Don't most teams have one secondary coach to begin with anyway? I think the only reason we got 2 coaches back in the secondary is that this was carried forward from the time when Joe Gibbs came in and hired a ton of coaches and all types of assistants and seemed pretty overkill as to the amount of coaches on the team. Wouldn't having one secondary coach make more sense anyway?

I hope we can reach an agreement with Gray to keep him here by giving him a big salary increase and promising him the DC job when Blache retires (assuming Blache retires sometime soon).

I honestly think our defense would be better with Gray as DC now - we would keep the system in place but have a DC who actually had some balls. Blache is far too passive in his play-calling. A young guy like Gray would probably be more aggressive and he could coach our defense for years to come.