Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, in his preseason debut as a defensive coordinator against the Denver Broncos last week, called the defense from the sideline rather than in the booth.
It was a change for him.
He probably will move forward working on the sideline.
Rallis, speaking to reporters on Thursday, explained his thought process.
Being on the sideline was new again.
As a linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, he worked on the sideline in 2021. He found it difficult to see things on the field from the angle he was at to see what the opposing offense was doing.
In 2022, he moved up to the booth.
He gave the sideline a try again as a defensive coordinator and liked it.
“My plan was to do a game on the sidelines, stand a little further back, see if I could see what I needed to see and then, if that didn’t work out, I was going to try going up in the booth, but I actually really liked it,” he explained. “I think there is value to being on the sideline where I can communicate with the players face-to-face, with (head coach) Jonathan (Gannon) face-to-face because the head coach it’s difficult to get a hold of that guy.”
After working from the sideline against the Broncos and liking, he thinks he will continue to do that.
So we can expect to see him in the sideline on Saturday night at State Farm Stadium, probably wearing a hoodie again.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
