Man of the Word uses it to lead Panthers

[Rod Butsecks]

(By David Scott, [email protected]) p/Subtle is not the word to describe Brian Baker's coaching style. /pp/As the Carolina Panthers continue to work their way through training camp, it's easy to locate the team's defensive line./pp/Just listen./pp/There's Baker, the team's new defensive line coach, exhorting his players, his voice echoing through the muggy air./pp/ldquo;That's outstanding, Everette!rdquo; Baker shouts at end Everette Brown, running toward him and giving him a fist bump./pp/ldquo;Why are we doing this? Why? Why, guys?rdquo; Baker pleads a few moments later, his voice rising./pp/ldquo;That's how it's done, Julius! Nice job!rdquo; he says to Julius Peppers./pp/Baker's voice is still somewhat unfamiliar. He is one of six new Panthers assistant coaches this season. Four of them ndash; including Baker and coordinator Ron Meeks ndash; are defensive coaches, brought in to help a unit that faded badly down the stretch last season, when the Panthers allowed 30-plus points in five of their final seven games./pp/Baker's challenge is to assemble a depth-shy defensive line ndash; already minus injured tackle Maake Kemoeatu ndash; into a unit that will put pressure on the quarterback and serve as a first line of defense in stopping the run./pp/ldquo;Sometimes change is good,rdquo; coach John Fox says. ldquo;Brian is a good fundamental teacher who knows the only way to meet high expectations is to have high expectations.rdquo;/pp/Baker, 47, gets that. And he'll do it his way./pp/ldquo;Whatever I feel, it comes out, for better or worse,rdquo; he says./pp/Brown, a rookie going through his first training camp, thinks it's for the better./pp/ldquo;Every day he brings his passion,rdquo; Brown says. ldquo;It's contagious. He wants to carry it from the d-line through the whole team.rdquo;/pspan class=subheadstrongp/lsquo;He's a teacher'/p/strong/spanp/Baker is more than in-your-face screamer./pp/ldquo;He's a teacher,rdquo; says tackle Damione Lewis. ldquo;Being on the defensive line is a passionate, high-energy place. He brings that. But most importantly, he's a teacher.rdquo;/pp/On Friday night, Baker takes his players to a corner of the field, where he goes over with them where they should be positioned in the nickel defense for obvious passing downs./pp/This time, Baker goes easy. When Lewis doesn't make a cut hard enough, Baker calmly corrects him, using his arms in a sweeping motion to show Lewis where he should have gone./pp/ldquo;He's going to get on you, but it's for a reason,rdquo; says Lewis. ldquo;He tries to correct bad habits. And he'll praise you when you do good. And the best thing is he's not cursing you. He's trying to tell you something.rdquo;/pspan class=subheadstrongp/lsquo;Aggressive and demanding'/p/strong/spanp/Baker grew up in Baltimore, then went to Maryland, where he played linebacker and helped the Terrapins win the 1983 ACC title./pp/Much of Baker's coaching philosophy comes from Bobby Ross, his coach at Maryland. Baker coached under Ross for several seasons, at Maryland and Georgia Tech, then in the NFL at San Diego and Detroit./pp/ ldquo;He's aggressive and demanding and has always been that way,rdquo; says Ross, now retired and living in Lexington, Va. ldquo;I think in some respects, guys in the NFL aren't always used to that. It might be more of a college mentality. But I think that's good./pp/ldquo;He's never been afraid to express his opinion. I knew he wouldn't always tell me what I wanted to hear. But he'd let it go.rdquo;/pp/Ross remembers that Baker helped defuse a delicate situation with some players on the eve of Georgia Tech's game against Nebraska in the 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl./pp/ldquo;The players went to Brian with their concerns,rdquo; says Ross, who wouldn't elaborate on the nature of the problem. ldquo;He listened to them and we worked through the problem, which really could have blown up in our face. Brian was instrumental in quelling the incident.rdquo;/pp/The next day, Georgia Tech beat Nebraska, claiming a share of that season's national championship./pspan class=subheadstrongp/lsquo;A man of faith'/p/strong/spanp/When the Panthers' defensive linemen walk into their meeting room each morning, they're greeted by a ldquo;thought of the dayrdquo; ndash; usually a Bible verse ndash; written on the blackboard./pp/It's been put there by Baker, who says his faith plays a major role in his life./pp/ldquo;I consider myself a man of faith,rdquo; he says. ldquo;Words in the Bible provide wisdom for me. When I read the Word each morning, I sometimes jot it down. If I feel it can be an application for their lives, I'll share it with my players.rdquo;/pp/Says Brown: ldquo;It usually relates to life and football, so we can carry it out on the field and off.rdquo;/pp/Baker tries to make a difference away from football. He's a spokesman for All Pro Dads, a fatherhood program of the Family First organization founded by retired NFL coach Tony Dungy./pp/ldquo;It's a great fellowship of coaches that talks with men about making time for their children,rdquo; says Baker, who has three daughters. ldquo;Unfortunately, as coaches, we don't always have quantity time with our kids, so we've got to make sure we have quality time.rdquo;/pp/Baker and Dungy are friends, although they have never coached together./pp/Dungy's famously cool demeanor has always been a wonder to Baker./pp/ldquo;As mild mannered as he is, I'll say, lsquo;Boy, Tony, you get your point across in such a mellow way and I'm out here looking like a raving lunatic,'rdquo; Baker says. ldquo;But he says to be who you are. I remember that sometimes when I think, lsquo;Holy cow, I'm going crazy out here.' And I'll try to settle down a little.rdquo;/pp/That's just the way Baker is./pp/ldquo;It's really the only way I know how to coach,rdquo; he says. ldquo;I wish I could tell you it was better thought out. (Defensive line) is a position that requires a lot of passion and intensity and if you teach it that way, the guys respond./pp/ldquo;And I don't like being a phony.rdquo;/p

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[jasonluckydog]

Good read.

[Cat'sGrowl]

Indeed.

Baker might land a DC job somewhere next season.

[Darth Biscuit]

That guy looks like he could bite your head right off. We need some fire on D, I like what I'm hearing about the new coaches.

[XxDeputyxX]

great read, i'm excited about the defense this year!

[megadeth078]

wow

[rayzor]

he and meeks have some serious lungs...that's for sure.

from what i saw all of the D coaches are really working on the same thing and are all teachers. baker is the most boisterous of the position coaches for sure but richard smith and ron milus are all teaching the guys. lots of emphasis on technique and fundamentals and the application of them in their response to situations.

baker has that fire, though. i think that is infectious.

[PanthersPhan18]

[PanthersPhan18]

[megadeth078]

you have to host the image online. try imageshack

[mr beauxjangles]

Well hello, Marie!