WON Monthly Magazine January 2021

[Sourdough Sam]

What makes a player like Jimmie Ward so versatile?​

"I think he's the best, if not one of the best, safeties in the league. I saw him and knew him coming out of college. I knew the kind of player he was or at least I thought I did, but after being in the room and intimately knowing him from a coaching perspective and watching him play, he is priceless because he does so much. I think he is very underrated. He can cover, he's an excellent tackler, he is a phenomenal teammate, he's passionate, he loves football and he studies the game. All those boxes that I checked for the corner are the boxes I would check with Jimmie, plus the other intangibles like his work ethic. To me, he's the prototype safety because he can do it all. He allows our defense to be able to do so much. His attitude is great in the room. He is an underrated safety as far as the league goes, but definitely not underrated in our organization or our meeting room. We all see what he does and how much he means to our defense. He can truly do it all. I can't say enough good things about him."

Can you speak to the "next man up" mentality of your group? They've been tested a few times this year and remain one of the best statistically in the league.​

"Obviously it's been challenging, but I think it starts with the players that our ownership, John Lynch, Kyle, and Saleh have selected. It's not a coincidence that these people are here, these are the right type of people. When you take the right type of people and put them with a defensive coordinator like Saleh, they understand the defense, they understand the ins and outs. Once you put all those things together, I'm not shocked at all that the drop-off hasn't happened like most people would think because they just know the character of the men in the room. They know how well they fit the scheme that we do and how well Saleh puts these guys in places to be successful. They know how they're taught, how we teach them routes, and how they understand those things.


Before I got here or early in the season I would have maybe thought the same thing, but as you see it unfold and the more I understand the defense, I understand how it all melts together. If I step back and look at it, I'm not shocked at all. I am extremely proud and happy for our guys and how they work and the results that they're getting because of their work. They're not complacent at all. Every single time without fail, our guys have stepped up when their number is called. They don't ever flinch. They know the standard that they're held to. They look out for each other, they protect each other. It's a phenomenal room. I'm so excited for those guys that come in and play well. With that being said, we still have to play better. We still have a lot of improvement. We are not where we want to be as a room, but they know that and they keep working at it. We want to continue to get better. It's encouraging that we haven't had a significant drop. The next guy up has performed and played which is great, but they are not a complacent group. They want to get better, they can get better and they will get better."