Lions
Lions DB Ifeatu Melifonwu talked about his “frustrating” season that saw him deal with a host of injuries.
“It was very frustrating,” Melifonwu said, via the team’s website. “Very frustrating battling the injury and coming back and starting my return to play and having a fluke injury keep me out again. I knew I was really close, so I wasn’t going to quit. I was going to come back this season.”
Melifonwu is in a contract year and admitted that finishing the year strong could help him out this offseason, but he’s focused on helping his team reach the ultimate goal this year.
“It definitely can help,” Melifonwu said of finishing the season strong heading into free agency. “End of the year games are more, I’m not going to say more important because every game is important, but stuff gets magnified. But that’s not my mindset. I’m not thinking about contract and everything. I’m just thinking about each week and what I can do to help the team and play the best and contribute in any way I can.”
Lions
Lions OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn are both in high demand in this year’s head coach hiring cycle. Dan Campbell thinks both of their work “speaks for itself.”
“Their work speaks for itself,” Campbell said, via Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. “It has nothing to do with me. Both of those guys, they’re smart, they’re grinders, they’re strategic, they understand how to teach, communicate, motivate and so their work speaks for itself. Both of those guys are more than worthy of being head coaches. They’re ready. They ask the right questions. I’ve tried to give them everything I think they need to be head coaches and I believe that both of those guys are more than ready.”
Lions senior defensive assistant Jim O’Neil is astonished Glenn isn’t already a head coach somewhere around the league.
“I can’t believe he’s not already a head coach,” O’Neil said. “He’s one of the best leaders of men I’ve been around. His relationships with the players and how they respond to him, just how organized he is, how he can think like a player and a coach. For me, because I knew him his first couple years in coaching, and then to see where he’s at now and how his understanding of the offense, of special situations, of the D-Line and the run game, how to attack protections, obviously he knows all the coverage stuff, how he can coach technique and still get in front of a microphone or get in front of guys and motivate them — I just, there’s no doubt, it’s a no-brainer he’s going to be successful when he gets that opportunity.”
Johnson said he has a “burning desire” to be a head coach.
“I think there’s a burning desire in every man to find what he’s made out of, push the limits and see if he’s got what it takes,” Johnson said. “So, yeah, there’s a fire there. Now, when that time is, I don’t know when that’ll be, but there’s certainly a fire there.”
Vikings
Vikings DC Brian Flores formed a strong relationship with senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Grigson since coming to Minnesota in 2023. Flores said he had a lot of collaboration with Grigson about players he wants for his system.
“We have a lot of dialogue about different players, thought processes, schematics (and) talent evaluation,” Flores said, via Michael Silver of The Athletic. “And he’s really good at what he does. He’s worked hard to kind of get a feel for the types of guys that I like, which is maybe a little bit different than some other people — just because I like guys who have versatility. But I think we were both in the same world of, ‘What does the player do best, and can we get him to do those things and stay away from the things he doesn’t do well?’”
Grgison reflected on his career path to Minnesota and the things he picked up during his time with the Browns and Seahawks.
“It was going a more unfamiliar route versus a familiar route,” Grigson said. “Because even though you’re drawn to being around similar ways of thought and similar type of people, I knew that in order to grow, you’ve got to learn some different things. You kind of got to get outside your comfort zone. There’s a willingness to, you know, ask a dumb question. There’s a lot of vulnerability in that, because you’re venturing into an area that you don’t have any background in, and you’re actually trying to learn it, and it takes some time.”
Grigson mentioned how they have a collaborative process for decision-making in Minnesota.
“You’re not really allowed to be reactionary (here), because you have to go through a process,” Grigson said. “And by doing so, you’re going to collaborate, you’re going to hear other opinions, and it forces you to slow down. I find myself actually stepping back and then kind of taking myself out of the moment and thinking through things more. And I think you come to better decisions that way.”
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