Falcons DL Coach Wants 'Ass Kickers' Next to Jarrett, Onyemata

As Jay Rodgers was guided into the Atlanta Falcons' indoor practice facility at team headquarters in Flowery Branch, there was lots he didn't know.

The names of the staff members directing him to the room. The nuances of the players he'll be coaching this season. The plan to elevate Atlanta's defense to another level.

For the Falcons' newly hired defensive line coach, it was all unbeknownst. The style of play he intends on implementing in his defenders isn't.

"We're going to just go kick ass," Rodgers said Feb. 15. "I want these guys to get their hands on offensive linemen and push them back and waffle those guys. That's what I want."

Rodgers brings 15 years of NFL experience to Atlanta, including 11 seasons as a defensive line coach across three stints with the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers fired Rodgers on Dec. 15, 2023, after they parted ways with head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco. Los Angeles recorded 44 sacks in 14 games under Rodgers' guidance this past season.

The 47-year-old Rodgers has overseen several top-ranked run defenses, including posting the NFL's best mark from 2012-2014 with the Denver Broncos and again in 2018 with the Bears.

Atlanta's defense ranked No. 9 league-wide in rushing yards allowed per attempt and No. 8 in pass defense under defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen.

The Falcons' pass rush took a sizable step forward last season, logging 42 sacks, which eclipsed their 39 total sacks accumulated in the previous two years combined. Atlanta recorded 98 quarterback hits in 2023 after just 69 in 2022.

Rodgers hadn't spent much time in the film room when he first met with reporters, but he's heard several positive things about the unit he's inheriting.

"I have talked to a bunch of the people around here and they all talk about how together those guys have been and what a great room, great men," Rodgers said. "Very well-rounded group, have some guys that have experience, some young guys and some guys I feel like can do more than one job. 

"Versatility's huge - when you start having injuries, then you've got to be able to plug guys in. You can't be a one-positional player."

Atlanta's front is led by defensive tackles Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata, a pair of seasoned veterans with a strong track record of success.

Jarrett suffered a torn ACL early in his eighth game of the season, finishing with 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits.

Rodgers remembers watching Jarrett when he entered the draft out of Clemson in 2015 and felt the 6-0, 305-pounder was "a really good player."

Still, Jarrett fell to Atlanta in the fifth round and has flourished, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods while entrenching himself as a team leader.

"He's been here for a decade now and he's played at a high level," Rodgers said. "I have not studied him from a personnel standpoint for a while, other than the fact that he's a very productive player that all D-Line coaches are watching because he has some dynamic things that he does."

Rodgers added he hasn't evaluated Jarrett as in-depth as he needs to in order to build a more complete profile, and the same applies to Onyemata.

The 31-year-old Onyemata battled injury troubles of his own but still appeared in 14 games, recording four sacks, six tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits, the last of which was second-best on the team.

"I've known about him since he came out of Canada via Nigeria," Rodgers said. "I know he's a really good, productive player. Watched him when he was with the Saints. You know who the good players are, and it shows up when you're watching opponent tape."

Jarrett is considered to be on the smaller end of the defensive tackle prototype. Onyemata, at 6-3, 300 pounds, is around league average.

The Falcons' new coaching staff hasn't yet figured out exactly which position group certain players like the 6-3, 256-pound Arnold Ebiketie and 6-4, 240-pound DeAngelo Malone will fall into.

But Rodgers, who will be working with both defensive ends and defensive tackles, is ready to work with a wide variety of body types.

"D-lineman come in all shapes and sizes," Rodgers said. "We've had guys that have been 330 pounds, guys that have been 285 pounds. Guys that are 6-6, guys that are 6-feet. It just depends on what you see on tape."

Defensive end Calais Campbell and outside linebacker Bud Dupree, Atlanta's two leading sack artists from last season, are both free agents. Rodgers said he hadn't begun the process of reaching out to players.

Regardless, the Falcons' defensive front, which is changing from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4, will have at least a few new faces with Rodgers' touch - and he's adamant size won't be a factor in his evaluations.

"If they're able to be physical at the point of attack and get after the passer in rush situations, they're going to have a place somewhere," Rodgers said. "You utilize the body types the best you can. That's the whole key to the offseason through the draft and free agency is finding those pieces of the puzzle so it all fits together."

With different bodies come different traits, but Rodgers ultimately values productivity above else. He coached the Broncos to a league-leading 52 sacks in 2012, led Bears defensive lineman Akiem Hicks to his first Pro Bowl in 2018 and oversaw Chargers star Joey Bosa's 10.5 sacks in 2021.

Rodgers, a former collegiate quarterback in the late 1990s, has grown nuanced on the defensive line. In 2018, he won the John Teerlinck Award given annually to the NFL's best defensive line coach.

He's grown proficient at molding different traits into one cohesive unit with an eye towards accomplishing a certain goal: creating problems for opposing offenses.

"We're the first line of defense, and anything that you do in a combat situation, the tough guys are the first line of defense," Rodgers said. "So, that's our mentality - we're going to line up and we're going to kick your ass."

Sure, measurables are important. But for Rodgers - for the Falcons' defensive line - there are several intangibles that take precedent in the evaluation process.

"From a general perspective - tough, smart, rugged, ass-kickers that want to get after the quarterback," Rodgers said. "Not getting into height, weight, speed, all that kind of stuff - you've got to have those other things. There's football players in all shapes and sizes in the NFL and college.

"If they have the desire to go out there and kick ass, they're going to have a place on the roster somewhere."

Atlanta's defensive line was coached by Nielsen, Lanier Goethie and Dave Huxtable, who's the lone returnee of the trio but will remain as a senior defensive assist.

And so, while Rodgers may not have known his players - or coworkers - well when entering the building, he knows enough to understand he has a solid foundation to build from.

The Falcons' pass rush soared to a new level in 2023. With Rodgers steadfast on adding to the tough, tight-knit group already established, the unit may just take another step forward in 2024.

"There's always room to grow, but I'm also very excited," Rodgers said. "There's some players that I think have done some really good things here. I'm excited to be here."