- 3 days ago
Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator Christian Parker joined Shan, RJ, Bobby, and Broaddus live from the NFL Scouting Combine. Parker broke down his shoe collection, how he evaluates players’ instincts, and more.
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00:00He's sitting down with us right now here on 105.3 The Fan.
00:02Brian brought us. He is very embarrassed.
00:04Let me smell you. Come here.
00:06He's got great cologne.
00:07You know what?
00:08It's kind of got that.
00:09I think it's lotion.
00:09I think it's more lotion and not cologne, Christian Parker.
00:12No, I'm not a sensitive lotion guy. I'm a cologne guy.
00:14God damn it.
00:15You know what that is?
00:16See, you missed it. You missed it.
00:18That's got a hint of Mandalay Bay.
00:20Casino.
00:20Smells good.
00:21I like it.
00:22Good morning, Coach.
00:23How y'all doing?
00:24We're doing well.
00:24Thank you for sitting down with us.
00:26Bobby said, you know, everyone's trying to go out and about and social scene.
00:29And he was at a place the other night, and he said, when you walked in the room, you had
00:34the aura.
00:36And the room was looking at Christian Parker.
00:39Bobby, did you feel it?
00:40He just commands it.
00:41Everybody knows Christian Parker, it looks like.
00:43They're like, oh, CP, they're all dapping him up.
00:45It's a very popular man around town.
00:47Yeah, kind of got to lay low a little bit right now this week.
00:50It's been a lot.
00:51But, yeah, I mean, it's good to see everybody.
00:53It's really the only time you get to see everybody around the league in one location.
00:56So it's been cool.
00:58I got Cowboy fans very angry at me on night one.
01:02I want to see if you support this move.
01:05I took a selfie with Big Dom, and I posted it, and it backfired.
01:11Yeah, I mean, that's my guy.
01:13What does he do?
01:14He does it all.
01:15He does it all.
01:16See, to me, he was like the white whale around here.
01:18I want to interview him.
01:19I don't care about anyone.
01:20Well, besides you.
01:21I don't care about anyone.
01:22I want to hear Big Dom's voice.
01:24I want to know what he does because he's like the fixer.
01:27He's like a mythical character.
01:28What does he do?
01:29Literally everything.
01:30I mean, from helping players in the building to out of the building to families.
01:39He's security.
01:41You know, escorts.
01:43Like, you call him at 2 in the morning, 3 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon.
01:46Like, he's available.
01:47Great dude.
01:48He really wants to lay low-key.
01:49He doesn't like being out too much, but he's the best I've been around in terms of just
01:54managing everything for the organization.
01:57Does he have, like, an endless supply of Fila suits?
02:00Is that Fila?
02:01Well, he mixes them up.
02:02You know, so I've seen Puma.
02:04I've seen Fila.
02:05I've seen Nike.
02:06I've seen the team issue.
02:08Yeah.
02:08Because you still got to wear the logo when you're at work.
02:10So, he has a couple different ones.
02:12People used to joke about, you know, because I wear a lot of track suits, too.
02:14So, I don't wear Fila.
02:17I'm a little too young for that.
02:20But, I did back in the day.
02:22I understand.
02:22As an older guy, I understand what he's saying.
02:25Let's see your shoes today.
02:27This is a low 11s, Concords.
02:30Okay.
02:30So, it was one of my favorites.
02:32How many shoes do you have?
02:34This is what Shadi said.
02:35You got the shoe game.
02:36Yeah.
02:37It's close to 400.
02:39400 pairs of shoes?
02:40Yeah, it's close to 400.
02:41Yeah.
02:42Gosh.
02:42That's my thing.
02:43If it wasn't for football, I'd probably be doing something with kicks.
02:46So, how many don't?
02:48You don't know Nico, do you?
02:49Nico Harrison?
02:50No.
02:51Okay.
02:51Okay.
02:51Good.
02:52I know his affiliation with Kobe, though.
02:53Yes.
02:54Did you see the Kobe story the other day?
02:55The Mamba story?
02:56I did not.
02:57I saw it.
02:58I saw it.
02:59Something popped up on YouTube about it, but I didn't watch it.
03:01I know the story, though.
03:02The origin of it when Michael Jordan turned it down and then it kind of pivoted.
03:05Oh, you knew that?
03:06I've never heard that.
03:07So, the Black Mamba campaign was for MJ.
03:11So, even my guy Kobe copied that.
03:13Oh.
03:14He couldn't even have that as his...
03:15It was built for Michael.
03:17Michael has my level fear of snakes.
03:20Right.
03:20I'm about to sneeze.
03:22So, it was before Air Jordan they were going to call him the Mamba?
03:25No.
03:25No.
03:26He was...
03:26This is...
03:27I think it might have been 2002 or something like that.
03:29But, they were kind of building that campaign.
03:31They used to call Michael Jordan the Black Cat.
03:34So, they have a Black Cat pair of Jordan 4s that are just all black.
03:38And, kind of like one of his, like, alter ego logos is like this, like, Panther.
03:41If you go to Grove 23, his golf course in Florida, it kind of has a big one and everything
03:44there.
03:44They're impressive, Coach.
03:45I went there.
03:46I did not play.
03:47I'm not a big golf guy.
03:48But, I do have some Jordan golf shoes.
03:50Yeah.
03:51But, I don't play golf.
03:52They're supposed to be the most comfortable ones.
03:53What's your top two most...
03:54And, then these guys are going to take over football.
03:56What's your top two most prized shoes?
03:59Um...
04:00Top two.
04:00I have an original pair of the Jordan 1 breads from 1985.
04:05Unworn.
04:05Those are saran wrapped.
04:06Whole deal.
04:07That's my...
04:09That's my baby right there.
04:11I mean, those shoes are six years older than me.
04:14They have not touched any form of pavement or anything else like that.
04:19I would say second are probably the Yeezy Red Octobers.
04:23I was able to get those back in the day.
04:25I haven't worn them.
04:25I almost wore them for the Super Bowl parade.
04:27Um, we won in 24 when I was in Philadelphia, but, uh...
04:30Yeah, we need to talk about all that.
04:31I decided against that.
04:32So, when will you wear those?
04:33Because you have 400 pairs.
04:34When will you wear those again?
04:35Are they...
04:36Oh, good question.
04:36Um, it just depends.
04:37Like, certain shoes I'll go years without wearing.
04:39I'll randomly think about them.
04:40I'll pop those out.
04:41You know, some, um...
04:43You know, kind of stay in, like, a little bit of rotation, but...
04:45Do they have to match?
04:46Choppy.
04:47No, I think, you know, because you wear a lot of neutral colors anyways, you know, like
04:50all black, you know, something like that.
04:52So, you just wanted to be...
04:53I mean, you don't want to be going crazy, you know, having stuff clashing.
04:56Yeah.
04:56You know what I mean?
04:56But a lot of stuff that's more neutral, you can do that.
04:58Coach, Will McClay sat down with us and said the term has stuck in his head in interacting
05:03with you early on.
05:05What does brain works mean?
05:08Uh, I mean, I think you just see that in the player.
05:10You know, when their brain works, you just see them, um, progressing through things, eye
05:14discipline, communication.
05:16During the down, you see those wheels turning almost, but it's not slowing them down.
05:20So, when you say somebody's brain works, you can just watch the tape and know that
05:23they're a very cerebral player, um, with instincts.
05:26You know, when you say that term, you think about somebody who's a good mental processor.
05:30Who's somebody that, over the time that you've coached guys since you've been in the
05:33league that you say, that's an example of, like, I like guys who play like he does.
05:37Or who process and read like he does.
05:39Yeah, um, I would say, when I was in Green Bay, Tremont Williams was probably the first
05:43one I was around in the DB room.
05:45You know, he was so experienced.
05:46So, we had him at nickel, and he, I mean, Tremont had seen every route concept in the
05:50world by then.
05:51So, when, you know, when two went out, he knew one was going quick.
05:54When, you know, three blocked, he knew the route was going 12 plus.
05:57Like, a lot of those different intricacies of route detail, um, some of them I learned
06:00from him when I was, uh, actually in Green Bay as quality control.
06:03And then I would say, um, at corner, Pastor Tan just, you know,
06:07it's like things move in slow motion for him when he starts seeing things develop.
06:10He's never in a hurry, but you can tell that the wheels are turning.
06:14Um, and, uh, Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, both of them at safety, just had a really good
06:19feel for that.
06:20Especially a good feel off of each other.
06:21The chemistry was significant.
06:23Um, and then, you know, to, to, to Philly the past two years, um, Cooper Dejean's probably
06:29the, the fastest processor I've coached.
06:32Hmm.
06:33Once, once something happens, you know, his feet and his brain are connected.
06:36He can just react and go get it.
06:37And his confidence is, it's, it's precise.
06:41Um, he just knows what he's looking at.
06:43So, you can tell him something Tuesday during the week or whatever.
06:45He goes and, uh, finds it.
06:47So, um.
06:47What about N'Kobe Dean?
06:49Oh, N'Kobe Dean, he, he, he's a, he's a very quick processor as well.
06:52He, he does a lot of work in the film room during the week.
06:54Um, so those things trigger fast for him too.
06:56When you, when you start to, we, we're trying to kind of pin down your scheme or what you're
07:02going to do.
07:03What, if you were to just explain it in like layman's terms to like our audience, how
07:08would you describe what you're trying to do in a way that's going to pertain with the
07:13players they currently have on the roster?
07:15Um, well, I mean, I think by, by structure in the three, four,
07:18structure in base with four defensive backs, but typically you're in nickel, right?
07:22So it's four, two, five, essentially.
07:23Okay.
07:24Um, up front, you want to be in more of an attack and react style.
07:27So what I mean by that is the attack front is kind of known as you're flying at the field.
07:31Everybody's hot in the gap, single gap fits on the second and third level, you know,
07:34so you can create disruption, but sometimes you create vertical seams in my opinion.
07:37Okay.
07:38So we're more of the create knock back up front, you know, resetting the line of scrimmage,
07:42but squeezing blocks at the point of attack.
07:44So guys have to be able to play with their hands, their feet, and their eyes essentially to do that.
07:48So is that, so when you're looking at, say, your front seven, you're talking about playing
07:52and you're playing attack, you know, do you play, is it downhill with your linebackers?
07:56Are they more of a...
07:57Well, they have to play more downhill than flow stacking and tracking the ball.
08:02You know, I think when you can play the attack front and the D-line perspective,
08:05you can go with quicker, faster guys.
08:07They don't have to ground block, grind blocks as much.
08:09They don't have to hold double teams because they're jetting up the field.
08:11Right.
08:12Which means that your linebackers, you know, there's still an element because they have to play,
08:16you know, play action pass.
08:17Usually those fronts are associated with true spot drop zone coverage.
08:21You think about like San Francisco, for example, the things that Fred Warner does in space and things like that.
08:26But when you do it that way, you know, sometimes with certain run schemes and certain things like that,
08:32I just feel like there's more just a space.
08:33So if somebody gets kicked out, then things can wind back.
08:37And you have to, like, the resources.
08:38Those teams that are really good in that front, you look on the front seven, it's like three, four first
08:42rounders.
08:43Sure.
08:43Like, you got to pay to play for that.
08:45Sure.
08:45And so, like, people I've heard describe your, and I might be wrong about this, but I want to ask
08:50you,
08:50and I appreciate your response, you play like a gap and a half.
08:54So can you explain, when they start to talk about gap and a half to you, what does that mean?
08:59So you want to have an attacking mindset in your primary gap.
09:02So you want to create knockback in that primary gap, but you're not just finishing up.
09:05You just have, that's your primary.
09:07When the ball shows up in another location, then you have a secondary gap.
09:10So it's primary, secondary, and typically the secondary gap is shared with somebody else's secondary gap, right?
09:17So if I'm an A-gap player and I'm going into the opposite A,
09:20then the linebacker's probably a B-gap player that's falling into that A-gap as well.
09:24So then that's when you're able to kind of eliminate that space and converge on the football,
09:27but you're playing it with your hands.
09:29At the second level, obviously, that's those guys being able to work lateral
09:32and then punch a hole in the front there.
09:34But up front, you want guys to be aggressive because you have to convert to pass rush and everything like
09:38that.
09:38But, you know, so when you think about, like, this is when I was in Green Bay with KC,
09:43he was the best nose in football, in my opinion, at doing this style
09:46because he plays with good length and he has a good anchor.
09:48You know, Quentin Williams, this is how he played at Alabama.
09:50This is what Saban does in the mint front and everything else with that.
09:54You know, you're getting guys off the ball, but it's just how you play the blocks in the run game
09:58in terms of just constricting that space and being able to use your hat and hands
10:01to arm over and fall back into another gap.
10:04Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker joining us here.
10:06Thank you, Coach. I appreciate that.
10:07So, Coach, you know, when you're talking about these different responsibilities
10:11and reading and reacting, would you say that the scheme that you're envisioning,
10:16you would say, hey, biggest priority for me is the mental side of it
10:19and the ability to read and react even more than just raw athleticism?
10:25Yes and no.
10:26I mean, I still think that you want a lot of athletic fast guys
10:29because there are going to be times where there's space and you have to eliminate it.
10:33So, you don't want to – we're not trotting out a team of, you know, a YMCA basketball team.
10:39You know, we still want to be fast and aggressive,
10:41but I will say there's a premium on instincts.
10:43There's a premium on the brain.
10:46At different spots, they have to handle a different mental workload
10:49in terms of where their eyes have to be, what could potentially happen if this happens.
10:53If three blocks, then it's this.
10:54If two blocks, then it's this.
10:55If everybody goes vertical, then this changes my job here.
10:58But it also affects these guys over here.
11:01It might be two guys looking at one person that kind of affects how we're playing three over, for example.
11:05So, you want guys to be able to kind of process those things quickly.
11:10But you can't go out there just like with a bunch of height, weight, speed guys either.
11:13Yeah.
11:13You know, this is not an operation where we're going to roll the ball out
11:15in the Whataburger parking lot and just play seven on seven.
11:18You know what I mean?
11:18We got to be able to process and do those things the right way.
11:21That was smooth.
11:22That was.
11:23That was very good.
11:24That was a nice smooth Whataburger reference.
11:25That was good.
11:27I'm a spicy ketchup fan.
11:28Oh, really?
11:30Oh, my.
11:30YouTube just blew up.
11:32You're blowing up the fan text.
11:34So, I'm curious.
11:35How much have you seen?
11:35We've heard you are a big note taker.
11:38You keep a lot of records.
11:39You are very big on seeing things and learning from them and things like that.
11:42How much have you seen over your course in the NFL that hybrid nickel safety position
11:48changed just in the last five years?
11:50Yeah, a lot.
11:51I mean, I think when I first got in the league in 2019, that position was seen more so as
11:55like, you know, the corner who's not fast enough.
11:58You know, seventh round pick, undrafted guy.
12:01You throw him in there.
12:02He's only playing half your snaps.
12:04And you kind of have a role for him.
12:06He's a passed down guy.
12:07You know, 5'10", 180, 5, whatever.
12:11As time has progressed, especially as stuff has started moving from the college game, you
12:16know, that is a specific position in college.
12:18You know, when I was at Notre Dame, that was Drew Tranquil.
12:21Then Jeremiah Wusukor-Mora played that for us as well.
12:23That was his backup.
12:24Those guys ended up being linebackers.
12:26Then it kind of started moving down from the safety or corner position with a guy who
12:30can just do it all.
12:31You know, so he has very good instincts.
12:32But you want that guy.
12:34It's not a throwaway player.
12:35Now it's a premium draft pick.
12:36So you think about, you know, Cooper and the Trent McDuffies, Nick Emanuori, these are
12:41premium players you're finding because now you're in nickel 70, 75% of the time, you
12:47know, unless teams are in these ultra big groupings.
12:49So you need a guy who can be an every down player.
12:51So you kind of have a 12 starter in a sense in terms of, you know, how you assess that
12:56player and what it looks like because he's on the field an awful lot and he has to be
13:00able to play the run, play the pass.
13:01He eliminates the RPO screen game.
13:03He has to be able to do all of those things.
13:04So it's a Swiss Army knife.
13:06When you, and I know you kind of hit the ground running here, you get hired, you come
13:11in, you study your team, you kind of know what you have.
13:13As you look at some of these, and I'm not going to ask you to name names for these current
13:17players or anything like that, but are there players in this draft that fit exactly what,
13:22in your mind's eye, that fit exactly what you want to do to get this defense going again?
13:27Absolutely.
13:28Absolutely.
13:28I think that, you know, it starts off with the film process.
13:31Right.
13:31Then you spend more time with them here, going to pro days, bringing them in on the 30 visits
13:37and figuring out the brain, right?
13:38We talked about that.
13:39And you don't want to get a finished product.
13:41You just want to know what the aptitude is like to see what that can look like.
13:44You don't want a lot of guys that are just running around in the dark just because they're,
13:48you know, fast.
13:49You want guys who can think the game.
13:50And usually you can just tell how knowledgeable they are about their scheme.
13:55And then you just want to check the retention and kind of seeing how they explain those things.
13:58You just want to know what you're working with.
14:00And as long as the guy's not, it's not like a complete throwaway, then you know you can
14:03build on whatever he's at at that current moment.
14:05Has a kid ever blown you away on the board?
14:08Yeah.
14:08Yeah.
14:09Where you just sat back and you go, this kid gets it.
14:12Yeah, there have definitely been a couple over the course of my career where it's like, wow.
14:17You know, a lot of times those are guys who have been in the same defense for, you know,
14:20four years in college.
14:20Sure.
14:21You know, they've been started to the freshman three or four times and stuff like that too.
14:24But yeah, there have definitely been a couple over the course of their career where it's
14:26like, wow, that was impressive.
14:28But it doesn't surprise you usually because you see that type of player on tape already.
14:32Sure.
14:32So you're just hoping the fact that it's connected in that regard, and it usually is.
14:36How long does it take when you're watching?
14:38It could be a college player or somebody when you come here and you're watching the
14:42players that are currently on the team.
14:43How long does it take for you to watch them and say, okay, that guy doesn't fit what we're
14:47looking to do or he does?
14:49Yeah, I think it probably takes longer because I'm more of the mindset that you want to figure
14:53out what a guy does well first before you figure out what he can't do.
14:57So I'm watching trying to find the intriguing traits.
15:00And then the more you watch it, then you're like, okay, this isn't really a fit.
15:03You know, he's too linear or up front.
15:05He's like, he's too small at this spot, doesn't use his hands or his arms are too short.
15:10You know what I'm saying?
15:10Whatever the case might be.
15:11Now, there's always a place to take a certain player.
15:15But when you're talking, you know, first, second, third round, there's certain things
15:18that you're targeting at certain spots.
15:20Coach, being a...
15:22I always want to ask you this about coaching the coaches.
15:26You know, and you brought in a unique group of coaches, the process you went to.
15:31Can you kind of talk about what you were envisioning with your staff?
15:36And as with the teachers or communicators, what were you looking for as you were doing this?
15:42And talk about how you coach your coaches.
15:45Yeah, I think what we were looking for was we were looking for the best teachers.
15:49You know, first and foremost, guys that were experts in their area of expertise.
15:54I think that we went through, you know, Shadi and I kind of talking through it with Will
15:58and the Joneses and everything else.
15:59Like, how thorough can we be in this approach?
16:01How many different exposures can we get to a guy?
16:04So that shows and shines through.
16:06Because you don't have to listen and hear long to know, you know, what exactly you're looking for.
16:10So in certain spots, you're looking for more of a schematic contribution.
16:13Certain guys are just coaching that position.
16:15Right.
16:15Obviously, with understanding of the scheme.
16:19Compatibility is huge.
16:20You know, you want guys that you know are going to work well with others in that regard.
16:23But there is a balance in terms of where you want these ideas to come from,
16:27these ideas to come from, and then kind of blend them all together.
16:29When you've got – you're going to get a head coaching job here soon.
16:33You've got the next defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys here on your staff?
16:37Yes.
16:38Yeah, I think we do.
16:39I think we have a couple of them.
16:40Do you?
16:40Obviously, they can't all be for the Cowboys.
16:42But we have a couple guys that definitely have that aptitude.
16:45Some guys like Scott who have done it.
16:46Sure.
16:47And D.A.
16:48But, yeah, we definitely have that on the staff.
16:50Coach, the reviews are rolling in.
16:53Our boss said he's resigning.
16:55You can lead the radio station.
16:57But Ewan brought us to the back.
16:59It was a treat.
17:00Thank you so much.
17:00We appreciate it.
17:01Best of luck here.
17:02No problem.
17:02Thank you all.
17:02Thank you all.
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