D'lo gave a pretty comprehensive interview with the Redskins' team website regarding what his future holds now that he has completed his most recent contract with the team. It's possible he would consider continuing to play in the NFL (most likely at another team) as he is an un-restricted free agent after the season. But, he sounds really excited about what comes after football, whether that's in the media, on the sideline, or in the front office.
He specifically spoke about returning to the Hokies as a coach.
Hall said his legacy will probably go down as someone who was "a great athlete, great competitor, fiery at times, a bit of a butthole at times, but ultimately a team guy."
"Probably didn't start out that way, but I'd like to definitely be thought of as a guy who thought more about the team than himself," Hall said. "Probably not a great corner, but a great football player, a guy who knew how to play football and tried to play it the right way and to the best of his ability. That's kind of what I would like my legacy to be."
Hall could potentially transition over into a front office or coaching position after feeling like a "glorified coach" for the defensive backs in recent years.
"I do think now that's something that I would like to do," Hall said. "I don't know if it's something I would like to do right now, but it's definitely something I would like to do at some point. But, like I said, it has to be the right situation. I can remember some whispers were happening with Virginia Tech, and I kind of threw some feelings out. Got some good responses, so that's definitely something that's up my alley. I love Coach Fuente, I wish him nothing but the best, but if he ever walks away, I will be trying to make my way down to Blacksburg. He's good to go for a long time now, so I don't know if that'll ever happen.
"But, I never really thought about coaching until kind of some whispers of him possibly leaving came about. But, like I said, I don't know. I don't know if I'll be holding a [microphone] like you guys, or trying to play again, or in the front office more in a suit. I don't know what's in store yet, but I'm optimistic."
Comments
If Deion Sanders can beat around the bush with FSU I don't see why D Hall can't do the same with us. I doubt much will come of either situation though.
Your bolded paragraph just comes across as weird. Like, there's something wrong between them and he would never work for Fuente. Or he thinks he's going to just walk in as the head coach in blacksburg when fuente leaves? I don't know exactly what he was trying to say, but it was weird.
Agreed. I almost typed the same thing when I posted it but figured I'd let other people decide if they read it the same way haha. I'm pretty sure he's suggesting he would somehow be considered for a HC vacancy if we had one here, as opposed to bad blood between Fuente and him. He has shown a lot of love to the team and the school recently.
I think he is just trying not to lobby for a job (assistant coach) that isn't open, but indicate that he would be interested if it ever did come open
100% interpreted as he wanted the HC job.
Just MeAngelo being MeAngelo
Dilly dilly
I gotta interpret that comment such that D'Lo isn't expecting any openings on the staff in the near future as long as Fuente stays on as HC. The whispers he referred to were rumors that Fuente might take the HC job at FSU.
If Fuente had bailed out for FSU or Tennessee then there would have been staff turnover and an opportunity for D'Lo to interview for a secondary coach position. Right now we have Galen Scott as Assistant HC and Safeties Coach and Brian Mitchell as CB coach. Even adding an additional defensive coach with the 10th assistant, there's no reason to have 3 secondary coaches on the same team.
This is also how I interpret the comments.
The day he went from MeAngelo to DeAngelo was Thanksgiving day against the Cowboys back in 2012 when, rather than carrying a late onside kick by Dallas in for a touchdown, he fell inside the five-yard line so the Redskins could kneel out the remainder of the game. Seeing him mature from the guy who fought with opponents, teammates, and coaches to the guy who coached younger guys taking his playing time in his waning years was something special.
Which actually was a poor football play in my opinion. He should have scored. Skins were only up by a touchdown. Make it a two TD lead and eliminate even the slightest chance of Dallas tying the game.
What? Dallas had no timeouts. A knee guarantees the win. Scoring does not. It would be extremely uncommon, but 18 seconds is enough time to take a kick back, recover an onside attempt, and have another shot at the endzone.
I'll take 100% guaranteed win as the smart football play over 99.999% win.
What happens if the Redskins fumble the snap on the kneel down and Dallas recovers the ball and only needs on TD to tie it?
or try a zone read from the 1 yard line on 1st and goal.... too soon?
I can't think of any games where a team lost it after they started taking knees. Not that they don't exist, but I've never heard of one.
There are a few games, however, where a team scored a few times in less than a minute to win the game. The 2012 new Mexico bowl comes to mind.
I mean I wouldn't be crucifying him for taking it in. Most likely the redskins win either way...but putting the ball in your team's hands to run the clock out is absolutely the more likely win. Perhaps I exaggerated and its more like the 99.9999% win versus the 99.999% win.
Still. Kneeling was the smart play.
We need a recruiter (S). We need to do whatever Clemson and Penn State are doing in recruiting. If D Hall can sell ice to eskimos, bring him on.
I'm at work and specifically logged in on my phone to respond to this and give you a leg. WE NEED A RECRUITER. VT is getting our ass kicked in our own state by Penn ST, FSU and Clemson. I'm tired of hearing "2018 wasn't a great instate year, 2019 is our year" We get beat and lose out on the top 5 talent in VA every year. WE need to make it cool again to rep VA and stay instate.
I would love if somehow we could guys like Vick, Dhall, Tyrod , Kam Chancellor to "help" recruit VT and get the elite talent guys excited to come to VT. I loved when Tyrod used to throw the 2 up 2 down sign during games. I'm ranting but it just sucks seeing Virginia kids leave to sit on the bench at Bama or FSU when they could help out and get PT right away.
Dabo did it with two great coordinators. D'lo and Dabo very similar names. Could see him with a HC whistle.
Plus he had to learn something playing DB and Safety in the league all that time.?
He needs to be brought in under the AD. Dude bilked the Raiders and Redskins out of almost $100 mil, he can surely convince boosters to give more to athletics.
I read somewhere that he had talked to either a recruit or player or something and they said he was really humble and relatable. He'd be a monster on the recruiting trail but I hate the idea of bringing former players on as coaches. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen people wish Kevin Jones or Michael Vick or someone like that would come back and coach with no prior experience.
Bottom line is I'd love to have him, but he would need some experience.
He has been the skins assistant coach on the field for a couple of years now.
Well that's certainly not a glowing resume then.
Agreed. I think he should come down to Blacksburg to work with DBs on Bud's staff as a starting point. I wouldn't necessarily want him to displace anyone on staff, but I would love to have him there if there was the right opening.
you gotta start somewhere. I for one think KJ would be a good assistant coach. maybe position coach, def recruiter. I actually think bringing on DHall as a 3rd DB coach would be a GREAT move. as our 10th coach it would allow him to learn under some guys and kick A on the recruiting trail while also I think bringing some knowledge of the position to the table as far as techniques etc. its not as if he doesn't have a relationship with bud and atleast someone what of an understand of the defense AND to add more to that hes been working under/with T.Grey this year which even more cements his roots. I for one would love to bring D. Hall on the staff. hes young enough that kids recognize his name and his game still and like you said hes relatable to these younger guys because he still has some swagger to him and he has a lot of hokie pride.
I am probably in the minority. However, it is really difficult to want Hall around the program. All of the turmoil in 2003 culminating with Hall looking like he was scared to death to tackle Heath Miller in the last loss to UVA, it is really difficult for me to take a liking to him.
Sorry, not sorry.
I think he has grown and matured quite a bit from those days, hell even since his Falcons/Raider days. We shall see though.
I heard a LOT of really bad things about Hall shortly after he left for the NFL. But that was a long time ago.
If you follow the Redskins, it's clear he's been one of the true veteran leaders on the team for years now. Seems to be very well-respected and serves as a mentor for younger players. Because of that, and his experience playing more than a decade in the NFL, I'd love to see him take a shot at coaching, whether at VT or not.
Damn French, that was 14 years ago. Would you be okay with people judging you today based on things you may have done or attitudes you may have had that long ago or when you were that age? Let it go.
By all accounts he has matured tremendously and is one of the most respected veteran NFL players out there who goes out of his way to mentor younger players. The days of Meangelo are long gone.
Besides, sometimes the best mentors are people who did things the wrong way and made mistakes, only to mature and realize how much better off they could have been. Young people can learn from their mistakes instead of making those same mistakes on their own. And kids that want to make it to the NFL are going to listen to someone with a 10+ year NFL career.
This hottake would be DV'd into oblivion if it was any random poster. Blows my mind if this is actually serious.
I don't judge DeAngelo based off of his time at VT anymore, but he has been a terrible liability in the Redskins' secondary for years now. I'm sure he would be a much better university advocate than professional safety at this point.
I was on my Bachelor party this summer in Charleston and me the guys all went to this nice Seafood place right on the water. We had just gotten drinks at the bar and went outside to wait for our table when we run into DHall. He had been putting on a lot of muscle as he was bulking up to play Safety for the Redskins (got injured early in season). He was in Charleston for his sons baseball tournament and was grabbing a bite with his family. He talked VT football with us for 10 minutes and trust me, we weren't being fan boys, he really wanted to talk about the program. He was the nicest guy, it was awesome just talking ball and life living in the DC area. Side note, a couple of my UVA friends that came with us walked up after Dhall went to his table and were like "who was that guy?" Typical Wahoos...
To be fair to your Wahoo friends, I don't think I would recognize Quinn Blanding unless I ran over him and he talked trash after failing to make the tackle.
This must go plaid
DHall has always appeared to me to be a class act OFF THE FIELD. Its in the heat of the moment that he seemed to make stupid hot headed decisions. Just a hunch, I think he will make a great dback coach one day.
Fleet Landing? Great spot!
Placing him on the recruiting trail in a minor capacity would be about the level of responsibility I'd be comfortable with. No offense to a great former Hokie player, but I'll stick by that.
Agreed, I'd like to see him, Bruce Smith and Michael Vick on the sidelines for each home game.
Struggling with the thoughts I'm reading here that a guy whose seen every formation and scheme from a CB and safety perspective in the NFL for the past 14 years and has been mentoring younger DB's while playing the past several years is somehow not a worthy of a shot at coaching. Huh?
Successful players are not guaranteed to be successful coaches. Poor players are not guaranteed to be unsuccessful coaches. There really isn't any correlation between the two.
He's worthy of a shot, but no one gets their first shot at P5 football. Let him start somewhere like FCS or G5 as a position coach.
On mobile, so can't embed but tweets from @BrendanDarr at 106.7 in DC say
"Per DeAngelo Hall, he also interviewed for the #Terps DB coach vacancy [in addition to Washington] and was offered the position, but ultimately waited to hear about the Redskins position... and got neither."
And
"Hall mentioned getting some coaching advice from Nick Saban and he was the one that set Mike Locksley up with the idea of hiring Hall."
I say bring him home.
I don't know if he'd be a good coach, but I'd much rather see him in Blacksburg than College Park.
Doesn't sound like he is looking to leave that area. Does he have kids there?
but he doesn't have any experience. why do we want a former player as a coach /s
He was on Grant and Danny around 1:00 discussing his coaching aspirations. Link to the audio below:
Deangelo Hall Interview
Maryland... Fu and VT just waited or Didn't hear..
seriously if the redskins want him and Maryland wants him that's enough for me to say hes hired. we have a hole at DB coach. please bring D.HALL back and make #DBU DBU again.
Doesn't sound like the Redskins did want him, but the Terps did.
he interviewed. maybe they wanted some else in the end more but that didn't mean they didn't want him, or they wouldn't have even interviewed him. obviously his resume showed enough to get him the interview atleast. which is a step we should at the very least be taking.
For all we know, the new staff could've been instructed to interview him purely off Dan Snider's orders. Getting an interview does not mean someone is qualified for a job.
getting a job does not always mean you qualify for a job either. its all about who you know. ask corny. shane beamer as an RB coach. hell bud forsters first job at Murray St, but that's part of the process. D.Hall is a risk id be willing to take.
I say let's go ahead and make Condolezza Rice Head Coach-in-Waiting. The Browns said they might interview her and she has experience on the CFP committee, so that's good enough for me.
can she croot? if so ill take her.
Honestly she'd probably be great with the moms
well we just let galen scott go for that, I don't think thatll be the best look right now.
There was never any smoke about Galen Scott's affair being with a recruit's family member though
On what sounds like Saban's recommendation. Not a "hire this man" but still a form of endorsement.
I'm sure he'd make an immediate impact at recruiting, and certainly wouldn't hurt after how soft the defense was last year
We should at least entertain the thought, if only to bring him on as a recruiting specialist focused on the DC region
why DC? I mean he should be popular, but I doubt he has relationships with any high schools in that area. He may have a bigger effect in the Tidewater.
I think he's suggesting that because that's where DeAngelo lives, and is where he has interviewed with two other programs.
Not sure what either of those two things have to do with recruiting. But if he's popular with metro area HS coaches, that'll be great.
DHall to VT would be a Home Run hire
Didn't we have Kevin Jones in a role that many thought would be geared at doing this, yet it still apparently wasn't repaired? We currently have Justin Hamilton on staff as well and continue to occasionally hear about the issue. I guess I'm just saying I wouldn't take it for granted that DHall would be able to do this with the responsibilities of a full-time coaching role.
What would be the negatives at this point? our DBs looked lost and trying to play on athleticism alone most of the time and didn't seem to improve steadily as the year went on. Based on the results of Mitchell so far, I don't think there is much to lose by giving Hall a shot. With the potential positives of having a NFL Pro-bowler coaching and recruiting in an area where he is well known, this sounds like a low risk/ high reward type of move.
Only negative would be he was considered a locker room cancer. Rumor was coaches suggested he enter draft early.
Wonder if he and Bud can get along. Heard there was a riff between Bud and Torian before he left.
I have no idea if the coaches wanted him gone, but he was a first round pick. To not encourage him to go is a disservice to the player at that point.
yeah im pretty sure EVERYONE encouraged him to do that including the NFL advisory board or whoever these people were that Jerrod evans ignored.
I remember a few years ago he stated that he wished he would've stayed and got Beamer a natty.
I wouldn't hold college and early NFL behavioral issues against him. There are several articles of him maturing when he became a Redskin (which is ironic considering their front office, but I digress). Exemplary article
From current accounts, he's a wise, level-headed dude. I have no idea about his coaching prowess, but it seems he at least has the desire.
I'd worry about him undermining the head coaches. As a potential future hall of fame NFL CB I'd be worried about him being able to keep his ego in check at the college level especially towards Fuente who is relatively unproven and young.
Also would he put in the work recruiting? He's a celebrity in many ways so he may think he can just walk into a room and get anyone to play for him, and that probably won't work in a lot instances. So, is he humble enough to pursue high schoolers day in day out? He may find that beneath him.
And if it doesn't work out, it would look really bad for VT and Fuente, while potentially alienating a VT football legend.
That said the positives may still outweigh the negatives because if it works out it could really propel recruiting in Virginia.
I get that everyone is concerned about D Hall's attitude, and I could be completely wrong here, but I have met him quite a few times and he always seemed pretty down-to-earth. How do we know his on-field persona isn't completely different than how he is in real life? I'm not saying that's the way it is, but from what I have personally seen, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
I can't say this first-hand, but everything I've heard about D Hall is that his attitude completely changed as his career progressed.
He was considered a locker room leader the last several years in Washington, to the point where they were basically paying him just to have him on the roster the last couple of seasons.
My experiences meeting him were few and brief, but with everything I gleaned from them, I would have no trouble believing that.
It makes too much sense to happen. He was a better football player then anyone on our entire coaching staff.
Being a good player has zero correlation to being a coach at any level. Hell just being a player past high school or college bench warmer hasn't kept some of the best coaches in the NFL and college from well being the best.
Hall I think can be a good coach because of of how he played and what a mentor coach to some players on the Skins. But him being a better player then current coaches has zero bearing on the topic.
If you watched the Redskins his last 4yrs he was a coach on and off the field in everything but title. The pros respected his opinions and tutelage so why wouldn't college kids. Plus he wants to coach at VT more than any other job opportunity. And he is very smart and he has a lot of options....
I like it from a recruiting stand point and bringing a bit of swagger to the program. There's no way those kids wouldn't be excited to be coached by DeAngelo.
This is probably a "lose - lose" proposition in the mind of Fuente.
He's probably not worse than our current DB coach and I imagine he'd be a great recruiter.
I am not generally in favor of hiring ex players with zero coaching experience but I have a feeling D Hall and B Flowers will be excellent coaches. That isn't to say there arent a ton of less flashy candidates that would not be better though. I just had the impression that these two were particularly football smart. I also have zero credibility as a talent evaluator.
The hell.
#DHall2VT
Someone make this happen. There is NO better fit in all of CFB.
The more former players we get started in coaching, the more future potential head coach candidates to choose from (10+ years from now).
Kinda crossing threads here, but out of curiosity do you think the fan base at large would be more "won over" or "turned off" by a DHall coaching hire? I realize the membership here at TKP might have on average a better football IQ than the fan base in general, so perhaps we think it's not a great idea hiring former players with no true coaching experience. However, do you think a splashy hire like this would earn more good will initially than hiring someone in his circle or similar? I realize long term on field success would tell the tale, just wondering how you guys think Hokie Nation would feel at first.
Here's my take.
Coaching DB technique isn't all that hard. There are only so many ways to defend a receiver.
That said, a DB coach in Foster's scheme does need to be able to coach the correct reads a Foster D uses.
This seem to give an advantage to previous DB's from our system.
A huge part is recruiting the talent that can use the techniques and shut down portions of the field while also being physical enough to provide run/blitz support.
I think D-Hall or B-Flowers would raise the ceiling of our recruiting back to the days of DBU. Whether they could actually close is
notunknown, but it seems evident the current coaches aren't closing on D talent anyway.Edited to remove that cringe-worthy typo.
Let's start a TKP hire Hall campaign!
Yeah,I'm all for giving Loren Johnson and DHall the first two looks as DB coach replacements. Would immediately improve our recruiting in 804 or 757. Johnson also has Florida ties which is always a good state to recruit.
This and why we had a pipeline down there when Torrian was coach.