Safeties Coach Ephraim Banda (12.5.25)
Where is Grant (Delpit) taking the next step in your mind as an all-around football player?
“Off the field, on the field?”
Everything.
“Where Grant’s taking the next step is just letting the world know who he is not just on the football field – in the community, in the locker room. You guys don’t get to see all the things he does behind closed doors. I’ve watched the young man put his arm around players in really tough situations on the sideline. I’ve seen that man after tough situations in the locker room. Despite how he feels about the situation, the game, whatever it is, just walk up to a player, young player, older player, doesn’t matter. Just put his arms around him and really just let him know that he’s got him. And that’s the part that people don’t get to see about that man and he’s special. You see what you see on the football field, obviously the Man of the Year award for him and just super happy for him and his family in that space.”
How has Ronnie (Hickman) been doing for you this season?
“Really good. He’s done a great job of doing the things that we need in terms of communication, doing a great job of running the show, getting everyone on the same page. When someone looks back and like, hey, he’s got the answer and he’s making a fast call, which is always the right call. He’s playing really good football for us. The situations where he can make a play on the ball, he’s been there. So, he’s done an excellent job in that deal. I don’t know where he’s at in tackling, you guys got to check in terms of the amount of tackles. I know it’s up there. We’re trying to get him to 100 and reach that mark for the first time in his career. So really proud of where he’s at, proud of where he’s come from as an undrafted free agent to this point and excited to see where he ends this thing.”
I know we’ve talked about Jim (Schwartz) and you liking to use the three safeties, right? And you’re doing it a ton again this year with Rayshawn (Jenkins). Why do you value that so much? And I guess what are the specific things you look for in that third guy? It was Rodney (McLeod Jr.) and now it’s Rayshawn.
“You know, the biggest thing value wise is it just provides a lot of flexibility. The day and age of offenses having pretty much positionless players, right. Tight ends who look like receivers, receivers who block like tight ends, running backs who can catch the ball like receivers. When you start to do that on offense, you need to mimic that on defense. And when you can get into that package, it allows a lot of flexibility to be able to do a lot of different things yourself and match up in that world. But more importantly, it allows your linebackers to stay in the A and the B gaps and not move those guys. At the end of the day, we go vertical. Everyone knows that, right? Well, how do you beat that? You get guys to move sideways. Well, how do you do that? How do you stop teams for doing that? Well, you keep those backers getting downhill, you keep your front getting downhill, and then you get those safeties on the sides and let them and the DBs handle all that. What you look for is you look for a guy like Rayshawn, a player that’s smart, heavy, tough, physical, you know, a guy who can cover in man, which you saw him do that in press man and on tight ends and stuff like that, but then also a guy that if you try to crack him out of the weak side B gap, it’s going to be a problem for that receiver, a guy who can also kick to the post. So, it’s got to be a special player like Rashawn is, that can do basically things a linebacker can do, things a corner can do, things that safety can do. And that’s why that position is so unique and special. And you got Grant, who can play like a nickel out in the field, which, you know, I spoke on earlier in here when you guys asked me what that would look like, and that’s what he’s doing right now, so he’s done a great job. Grant’s played corner, nickel, safety, quarter, dime. I mean, he’s done it all this year.”
When you look at kind of where you guys are at, obviously as a team, not where you want to be record wise, but, you know, when we talked to guys on this defense, talked to Grant yesterday, there’s still kind of that swagger and that edge. Where does that come from? You know, guys being able to find that in the way this season.
“It’s just singularly focused on being the best. I mean, as a human, you want to control things, you can’t. It’s just how we’re built. What you can control is all you can control. And for us defensively is what we do when we’re out there. And this group led by Jim (Schwartz), you know, and these players and our staff has done a great job of keeping us focused in that area, like not letting the outside situations affect our swag, our effort, how we play, how we attack, our mentality. Jim’s done a great job in that area at really making sure that everyone understands that, that we do a good job of taking Jim’s message and preaching from the same book when we walk in there. And the players have done a great job of listening to that and attacking every day. So it’s just handling what you can handle, focusing on what you can focus, keeping the things you can control within your control, and at the end of day, not letting the other things affect you. It does, you’re human, but you got to put that to the side and stay locked in on what you’re doing.”
What kind of a lift is it for the entire defense that Myles (Garrett) is on the brink of this record and that Carson (Schwesinger) is on pace to be NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year?
“I mean, look, when it comes to Myles, we’re 1000% all in to do whatever it takes to get Myles to that point. We talk about it in the room. Let’s get him off the first look, let’s get him off the second look, so Myles can get to this record that’s historic and it’s a team deal. We’re all wanting to do that with him, for him. When it comes to Carson, I mean, you just talk about a young man that just came in here and grabbed the reins. And is not shy and has earned the respect of the room, all rooms in that building right there. He’s done a hell of a job. He’s playing it at an all pro level and personnel did a great job of identifying that player and knowing that’s the human and type of person we need, not only just the player, of putting him in this situation. Obviously, the situation coming to the season, not knowing what it was going to be has been great for him, too. So, you know, it’s been positives, and we’ve done a good job of highlighting that and we hope to continue that over the next five weeks.”
Along the lines of your answer about the defense staying motivated and Jim and stuff. I guess how does Jim get people to buy in to that message? Just from your perspective in your third year of working with him here?
“You know, he’s a great storyteller. He’s got a wealth of experience, a wealth of knowledge. He’s been through a ton of things. You know, for me, going into year 15, I forget how many years he’s got, probably like 50. It’s fun to sit back and listen to the stories because he’s just been through so much and he can equate different things that happened in the past and make them come to fruition and paint the picture for the players to see now. And he’s done a great job of that. He’s also done a really good job of just being calm and cool and collected through this whole deal and the players feeling that on the sideline. At the end of the day, it’s a two-way street. If Jim’s high, we got to be low. If Jim’s low, we got to be high. And we’ve done a good job as a staff feeding off that.”
Kinda going back to Myles, you know, do you ever just like find yourself in awe of or how often do you find yourself in awe when you see him do something like the sack he had against the (San Francisco) 49ers.
“You know, it’s funny with Myles, not a lot of people know this, but when Myles was coming out of high school, I was at the University of Texas, and I remember watching his tape as a young coach. I remember watching his career through Texas A&M and now being on the field with him. I remember Myles walking through the doors as a young recruit. I was a young GA coach, and I remember watching his family walk in and just knew he was going to be great one day. And now to be on the field and watch it and see it and for him to do the things he does at his size against a great Hall of Fame player, of course you’re in awe, 100%. Just the situations, you just can’t believe what you see. And we watch it, we’ll watch it in the safety room and replay it like 10, 15 times. Just looking at how he turned – like when you watch that play on the sack, go back and look at his toe. Jacques (Cesaire) does a great job of coaching this, like turning that inside toe and the amount of grass he gains on the second step, it’s truly special. It’s God given. He does a great job. And also I’ll say about Myles, man, you want to talk about a guy who’s came in here and worked hard from day one, he’s done that and he’s reaping the benefits from that.”
Going back to Jim and all the stuff you said about him, and I don’t know if this is something he wants at this point. I don’t know if he’ll get opportunities. But do you think he’s a guy that deserves another shot as a head coach?
“I mean, yes, to answer that question, yes. I mean, he’s one of the best coaches in the NFL, period. I’m talking about over a long period of time, and 100% deserves that. But, you know, like everyone in this building, we’re 1,000% locked in on right now. And, you know, that’s the biggest thing for all of us. Kevin (Stefanski), me, Jim, the players. And we’ve done a good job of that. So that’s what we’re doing. We’re singularly focused on that right now, and we’re thinking about doing the best we can do against Tennessee on Sunday to get ourselves smiling again and into that winning feeling.”
I wanted to ask, with a player like Ronnie Hickman, the team scouts him and signs him as an undrafted free agent. You kind of see his potential through coaching and then to two years later, I mean, seeing him kind of reach his potential, see the level he’s at. What is that feeling like as a coach?
“It’s why you do it. It’s why you coach. If you’re in it for the right reasons, you do it because you love watching players grow. You love seeing players, come from where he’s came from, and you love to be a part of that. It’s the reason why coaches do what they do. I remember Rocket’s voice when we called and said, ‘hey, we’re going to bring you in as an undrafted free agent.’ I remember hearing it, I can hear it right now in my mind, and I remind him of that. And I also told him that at the end of this deal, you’re going to get what you want. We’re going to prove to this league that you’re one of the best safeties in this league. So, to help him along the way to do that, I can’t wait to see when it’s time for him to do whatever’s next. I can’t wait to be alongside of him with that. It’s going to bring me great joy, more joy than anything else, personally. So, excited for him, happy for him. He’s worked hard, and we’re not done when it comes to that.”
You said you loved watching him kinda grow. So this season, you know, talking about him trying to get to him to 100 tackles. How has this season been through your eyes, watching him play?
“As a coach, it’s given me a lot of joy. It’s reassured me that the things that I believe in are the right things. And I also know this from a personnel perspective. Getting a guy like him who’s willing to take the things that he needs to get better at, put all that aside and do it, that’s also key into this component. So, for me, super excited, you know, personally, to see him and his growth. And again, just happy for him. And I just want to keep going through these next five weeks when it comes to Rocket to help him get where he needs to get to.”
Closing Statement:
“Just in closing, just want to just give a big shout out to Grant’s family. You talk about a young man who has just given all the time and all the effort outside of this building to be Man of the Year, but that’s also a culmination of his mother, his father, his grandmother, and all the people that poured into him. We talk about the Myles Award, we talk about the Carson Award, and those are amazing awards, but this is one, as a parent, when you watch that, you just know you did your job really, really well and shout out to his mom, his dad, all the family that helped raise him to get him to this point. And at the end of the day, you hope that you raise your children in the same space to be as giving the way he has. So happy for him and his family.”
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