London Fletcher knew what Gregg Williams wanted. And when. That’s one major reason why he signed with Washington last offseason.
But when the former Redskins defensive boss was fired, the transition period began for Fletcher. As the leader of the defense, Fletcher must be in sync with the defensive coordinator.
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However, the switch to new defensive coordinator Greg Blache shouldn’t be that hard for Fletcher. He already knows the coaches and he’s already established himself in the locker room as a team leader.
“It won’t take that long,” said Fletcher, who had a team-best 128 tackles last season. “The thing about coach Blache is that you know what he wants from you — so it won’t take long at all.
“There will be some things that stay the same but I’m sure he’ll implement some things he would like to do. We haven’t gotten into that part of it yet. But we know coach Blache. We know what to expect so from that standpoint it’s at least minimal change. Guys are happy about that part of it.”
Blache called Fletcher after he was promoted in late January. Though Blache will put his touches on the defense Williams installed, the change won’t be dramatic. Williams liked to call more blitzes, but end Phillip Daniels said that 60 percent of what they ran this past season stemmed from Blache.
That should help Fletcher, whose job is to call defensive signals. He also would relay players likes and dislikes about certain packages, something he’ll continue to do.
“There are things that come up that we have to communicate about,” he said.
Fletcher will meet with Blache some in the offseason to expedite their learning curve. But more so than that, he’ll make notes on what Blache wants from particular packages.
It’s not the first time he must adapt to a new defensive coordinator. Fletcher spent two seasons with Williams in Buffalo. But even there, he had a different defensive coordinator — current Redskins secondary/cornerbacks coach Jerry Gray.
“Obviously we’re all gonna miss coach Williams,” Fletcher said. “We were all fond about him. It’s the NFL; change happens. Our standards are extremely high and we’ll continue to try and live up to those standards.”
