Why Dean Pees’ post-practice speech on a defensive culture shift matters

So, does it at all surprise you that he’s in Atlanta now? With this context highlighting his personal conviction to take something and make it better, no one should be surprised by the passion of which this one speech yielded on the 30th of July in Atlanta.

When Pees was hired as the Falcons defensive coordinator last year, he said then that he came out of retirement for Arthur Smith. He wanted to coach on a staff where Smith was the head man in charge. And while I am absolutely sure that’s a huge part of his reasoning, something leads me to believe that changing the defensive culture in Atlanta was a major drive for Pees to make his return to the league, too.

Pees likes to joke that when he came to New England and Baltimore the defenses were already established, so his mission was simply not to screw anything up. There was no culture shift needed there. There was no mediocre reputation to challenge. It was simply about staying the course.

What he’s attempting to do in Atlanta is different. Very different. After 20 years in the league, Pees is undertaking one of his biggest challenge yet: Getting people to think differently about the Atlanta Falcons defense. Reputations carry weight, and when it comes to how Pees sees the years-long reputation of this Atlanta defense, he knows it must change.

He wants to be the one to help it do that.

So, don’t overlook or pass over what Pees is explaining. Make no mistake about it: This one speech is the microcosm – the epitome – of why Dean Pees came to Atlanta.

He came to Atlanta to change the way people think about Atlanta Falcons defense. If he can do that, it should be one the biggest accomplishments of his career.