ORLANDO, Fla. – With Aaron Donald retiring after a decorated 10-year NFL career earlier this month, theRams.com asked a handful of head coaches at this year’s annual league meeting about his legacy and impact.
Here’s what they had to say:
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin
Given his lengthy tenure in Pittsburgh, Tomlin is very familiar with Donald – a native of the city who went to Pitt, which shares a facility with the Steelers – and has known him for a long time. So for him, what he remembers most about Donald is who he is as a person off the field, and his work ethic, more so than the on-field impact.
“I think my memories about him are probably more than personal than impact on the game. I have had the pleasure of knowing him since he was about 18 years old, and I just have witnessed his relationship he has had with the game. I have seen him getting out of his car when it was still very dark in the morning, and working solo over the course of a 12-month calendar.
“I remember when when the Rams won the Super Bowl man, it was probably less than a week later, man I saw him getting out of his car in Pittsburgh, PA, with sweats on and his bag, going to work. And I think that’s just indicative of who he is as a football man, and why he’s had the type of career he’s had and impact on the game he’s had. The secret is, there is no secret, man. This guy has built that thing brick by brick, and I’m just so respectful of what he’s done and how he’s gone about it.”
Bengals HC Zac Taylor (former Rams assistant WRs coach 2017, QBs coach 2018)
“He’s a game-wrecker. That’s who you had to start with when you play the Rams is, ‘How are we going to protect against this guy? How are we going to run against this guy?’ I’m thankful we don’t have to play him anymore.”
“(In practice), he’s one of those guys who, you just let him do his thing. And his wife Erica and my wife kind of came up together in Green Bay, their dads are close together. So I’m always pulling for them as a family. He always did it the right way, worked his tail off. He earned everything he ever got. So when you see him – he wasn’t always in every training camp I was at, and it always worked out well for him. He always showed up, and immediately hit the ground running, and I appreciated that. You always hold your breath, and then he showed up the first game, and all was good in the world. But a big fan of Aaron Donald and thankful we don’t have to play him anymore.”
Bills HC Sean McDermott
McDermott was a defensive coordinator for the Panthers when Donald entered the league, and was in his second season as head coach of the Bills when Donald won his second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
With Carolina, he saw Donald go for 4 total tackles, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits, though the Panthers won 13-10 in 2016.
With Buffalo, he coached against Donald twice. In the first game in 2020, Donald’s performance of 6 total tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery was highlighted by recovering his own forced fumble on a strip-sack on Bills quarterback Josh Allen, though the Bills won 35-32.
2024-03-27 21:28:57
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