'What the Hell?': Falcons Coach Dean Pees Recounts Collision vs. Saints
Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees stood in front of the media as he does every week, looking no worse for wear just three days after being hit by New Orleans Saints receiver and return specialist Rashid Shaheed.
Pees was simply standing on the sideline during warmups, talking with FOX Sports sideline reporter Kristina Pink, moments after completing his typical laps around the field.
Suddenly, he was on the ground, looking up at the "Superdome" writing atop the roof of the Saints' home stadium, which Pees joked helped him answer the doctor's question regarding where he was.
The 73-year-old's willingness to joke offers a look at where his mind is at following the scary situation, marked by him being stretchered off with a brace around his neck - which made things look worse than they were, per Pees, who noted "they just took the precautionary measures of putting the stuff on my neck, which always looks terrible, but it was precautionary.”
Speaking for the first time since the incident, Pees broke down what happened from his perspective.
"All of sudden, I just got hit," Pees said. "I didn’t see it coming. I don’t think anybody saw it coming. He didn’t see me obviously. Didn’t mean to do it.”
Pees added he was "beat up a little bit, but (didn't) feel concussed." Moreover, he doesn't believe he was ever unconscious - but recalls being taken aback by what happened.
“If I was out, it was for a very, very short time,” Pees said. “I don’t think I was ever totally out. I remember hitting the ground and just kind of looking up (and thinking) what the hell just happened.”
While on the turf, Pees attempted to talk his way into staying and calling the game, but ultimately lost out and was taken to the hospital. Falcons inside linebackers coach Frank Bush called plays for the defense, turning in a heroic performance to organize an entire call sheet in some 20 minutes.
Atlanta's defense allowed 14 points within the game's first seven minutes but settled down, giving up just one touchdown from there on out in the team's 21-18 loss.
Pees' trip to the hospital was a quick one, as he returned halfway through the fourth quarter. But if one were to ask Pees, he'd respond by saying he didn't really need the visit. While precautionary, there were some things that needed clarification - and could've been life-changing had the results gone another way.
“Part of the reason, just to give you a reason, that they told me I had to go to the hospital, one of our team doctors or whoever was there, knows that I’m on blood thinners," Pees began. "Because I’m on blood thinners, if there is any bleeding in the brain, it can be very serious. It can lead to a stroke. They said you could even not know that its bleeding.”
Pees underwent CAT scans at a local New Orleans hospital, with the results coming back clean. It was then that he knew he'd be alright, and he's since been cleared to coach and travel - starting Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens, whom he coached from 2010 to 2017.
The return offers Pees a chance to reflect and reunite with Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who he shares a special relationship with dating back to 1983 and the University of Miami (Ohio), where Pees was the defensive coordinator during Harbaugh's senior season.
The two kept in touch from then on, leading to Harbaugh hiring Pees as linebackers coach in Baltimore for the former's third season as head coach. Two years later, Pees was elevated to defensive coordinator - and immediately rewarded Harbaugh with a Super Bowl championship.
Pees retired following the 2017 season but quickly changed course, joining the Tennessee Titans for two years, where he met now-Falcons coach Arthur Smith. After another retirement, Pees followed Smith to Atlanta, where the duo is looking to guide the Falcons back to the playoffs for the first time in five years.
As losers of five of its last six, Atlanta is in desperate need of a win Saturday in Baltimore and will rely on a strong performance from Pees' unit against a Lamar Jackson-less Ravens offense ... and Harbaugh believes his team has a difficult road ahead.
"I think he's one of the great defensive coordinators in the National Football League, no question about it," Harbaugh said. "Obviously, all the things that we see on tape have his imprint on them, for sure. [Their defense] plays super hard, very physical, very sound, very well-coached defense. So, that will be a challenge for us, and we're looking forward to it, but we understand what a well-coached defense they are."
That "well-coached defense" appears poised to get its leader back - and it couldn't come at a more appropriate time.
The Falcons and Ravens are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. inside M&T Bank Stadium.
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