The Atlanta Falcons introduced defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen on Monday. The former Saints assistant previously served as defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator in New Orleans.
Falcons fans have been wondering what kind of defense Nielsen will implement in Atlanta, and they finally got some answers Monday. Here are five takeaways from Nielsen’s press conference.
1
Nielsen won't blow everything up and start over
“Dean [Pees] has done a great job here. We don’t just want to blow everything up and start over again. We’re gonna take what we’ve done well here the last couple of years, we’re gonna implement some new things, put in some new ideas and just kind of marry it — we’ve got some coaches on the staff right now that have coached a lot of good football. The most important thing is when we get out on the grass and we start playing, it’s the Atlanta Falcons defense.”
2
Nielsen feels he aligns well with Smith, Fontenot
“Hard, tough, physical, aggressive, you know, those are all the things that I believe in and coming up in all the places I’ve been in, you just kind of take a little bit out of every place and every culture you’ve been around and you try to take the best of that and kind of marry that into your philosophies. Obviously, Terry and I have had a relationship in the past and so that was easy. And getting with coach, you know, I believe in everything he’s saying. His beliefs, his philosophies. It was very easy, I mean really, when he offered, I about jumped through the phone. I said ‘I’m in.'”
3
Nielsen on his defensive philosophy
“I don’t wanna give too much away. Again, they’ve done some good things here. And some of the places that myself and other coaches have been have done some good things. So we’re just gonna marry what we’ve all done. It’s going to be the best Falcon defense. What’s best for these players, and take it out on the grass and implement it into games.”
4
Nielsen wants to build upon Falcons' foundation
“Coach Smith has a great foundation, and all we want to do is just build on that. Let’s just raise this defense every day, just a little bit better and a little bit better. And if we can do that as a coaching staff and players — you know, OTAs to training camp to the season. What we’ve really got to look at is the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Did we get better from Game 1 to Game 17?”
5
Nielsen believes coaches should adapt to personnel
“The most important thing is: there are some good players here. So however that player looks, we’re going to find a fit. And wherever that fit is within the system, we’ll make that work. It’s a players’ game and there’s a ton of different ways to do it. And so, if he’s a little bit undersized, or a little bit bigger or whatever the case is, we’ll find somewhere in the system for the player to fit.”
6
Watch Nielsen's full press conference
Watch as we introduce our new Defensive Coordinator, Ryan Nielsen! https://t.co/xgDI0nn3DF
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) February 6, 2023
