Transcript: Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial

Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial

June 12, 2024

Q. On the kick return, what does what does putting two returners out versus one do to the alignment? What advantages does that give you?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Number one, I think you got to look at the rule changes, right, where people can't necessarily leave until the ball has landed in the landing zone or the returner catches it.

So if you think about what's really irrelevant right now, it's hang time. You're going to see a lot more lower kickoffs, which is going to cause returners to have to cover more ground.

What allows you to cover more ground is potentially putting two back there. Now, there is still going to be elements where people will still put one returner there, in which case you’ve just got to really challenge your returners, see how much ground he can cover, and see if you can get away with it.

Q. Are you looking at this a little bit more than it used to be almost like a running play at times?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: You know, it's funny that you say that. It's going to look more like the offensive run game than people think. The NFL has taken the speed and space out of it and there is just less space to necessarily get as creative with your blocking schemes as you would think.

Because as things sit right now, especially with teams that will have good get-offs on both sides, so the biggest thing is, yes, there is an element that it may look like some more offensive run game.

But the thing I've always coached our guys on is it is the first offensive play of the series, and it's our job as the kickoff return unit to put our offense in the best position to have success.

Q. The flip side of that is covering? How much does it change how you cover it and the kind of people that you need on that coverage unit?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, the biggest thing is like when you're talking about any -- just how I said about kickoff return being the first offensive play, kickoff is the first defensive play of the series.

When you look at the purest form of football, you're talking about block destruction, pursuit angles, disengages, all those things you've that have still been prevalent in our game.

That doesn't necessarily change. So the biggest thing is those fundamentals have to come to life, and you have to be able to practice those. It's just the matter of when you could use it and how quickly you use it.

Q. Does it change the body types at all? You want bigger, smaller from what you had in the past?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: There are strengths and challenges to putting any type of personnel in there. I think the best is you got to ultimately figure out who is on your team and what is the best combination of 11, because the nature of it, and you guys understand, in this league the rosters are limited.

So to figure out how many basically smaller skilled players, bigger skilled players that we have, it's going to be different. That's something we'll have to face when we figure out when the roster turns down.

Q. What are the timing mechanism options? When you're covering, you're looking forward, you can see when the ball gets there. When you're blocking, what are the options for the return team on how to indicate to everybody that the ball is touched at that point?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, the rule is still the same for everybody else. The thing that doesn't stress anybody out right now is when the ball is initially kicked off, because you can't go anywhere.

So not to get too much into scheme, it's going to be -- we have certain rules we're going to have initially, but those can definitely -- we can mold as we get into pre-season of where your vision should be and all those things.

Q. When you're putting your pairs of returners together, are you also looking -- it's not just, okay, you can return and you can return, but also how they work together, and especially if you're looking almost like an offensive run game kind of thing to have that other guy is not just a throwaway. That's a guy that probably needs to fit, know how to block, understands the schemes. Is that fair to say when you're putting two guys back there? It's not just taking guys who happen to be your fastest guys on the field?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yes. Yeah, it's no different than what the rule presented itself whenever you had two returners back there. When people chose to put a second returner back there, the biggest thing was if you didn't get the ball, you had to be active in the blocking. Is that more prevalent now?

You know, potentially that guy is faced with a little bit more stress initially to where those guys do have to understand blocking.

But it was no different in the past few years where you were still counting on that guy to potentially insert on a safety, to potentially kick out a two. Those don't change to me.

Q. What have you seen from a Tracy and Dante Miller?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Man, you talk about two young bucks that I'm excited to see what they do in pre-season.

Both of them just tremendous human beings, number one, and so excited, so eager to put their best foot forward. Both have such a skillset to be good returners in this league.

So it's funny. It's like whenever you are interacting with a new player or anybody potentially coming from the college game, you want to see how quickly their skillset translates.

Fact of the matter, the rule change is different and there aren’t a lot of similarities, so it will be unique to see everybody, whether you're a rookie or veteran, what they potentially do.

Q. Do you see a potential challenge that hasn't been resolved yet with this new rule? If so, what are you working to or how are you working to resolve it?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: I think the number one thing is you always want to make sure your players are versed on the rules, number one. Whether it be alignments, when they can take off, those are the biggest things that I think you have to start when you're installing a drastic rule change. What are they allowed to do and not allowed to do.

Once you get to that, then some challenges can certainly unfold. The fact of the matter is things will reveal itself when it's a little bit faster tempo and you are going against another team.

So I think the challenge for every coordinator in this league is how quickly they can evolve after their first pre-season game when they see it.

Q. Coach, you talked about young bucks as returners. Your placekicker is not a young buck, coming back from injury. What are you seeing so far in terms of health from Graham Gano?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: I'm so excited to work with Graham. Number one, he's a tremendous person to have in the room, a guy that's seen a lot of football. He has great foot accuracy. You obviously see the explosive leg.

So it's been fun to work with him and to see his skillset in terms of the kickoff and field goal stuff. I'm excited for him to start off day one with us.

Q. Have you had to manage him in any special way throughout the summer to limit the amount of kicks on that let or how do you plan on moving forward with that coming off the injury?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: I think you always have to monitor how many kicks a specialist has in general. But the fact of the matter is that is like a conversation that you always have with the player. How are you feeling today?

The biggest thing you is you want to make sure they show up to the game healthy and ready to go. I've seen him do everything that I need to.

Q. Will you give any non-kickers a chance to kick and cover? Do you think there might be value to that depending on how the plays develop?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: There is tremendous value to it. We have a few guys on the roster that have in in the past so it will be exciting to see again what they can do in terms of that, that position.

Obviously the rule change has affected everybody that enters that field. Whether you want a guy that can be active in tackling that has a little bit more action with that. It all depends on what your scheme looks like.

Ultimately, you want to have a kicker that can make sure he's placing it in the right spot, where it's supposed to go and all that.