Falcons' Jimmy Lake Reveals Why He's 'Living the 'Dream' as New Defensive Coordinator
After over a decade away from the NFL coaching scene, Atlanta Falcons' new defensive coordinator, Jimmy Lake, finally has his dream job.
“I love defensive football. I love the competitiveness of stopping an offense," Lake said about why being a defensive coordinator is his dream job. "It really gets the juices flowing. I’m very, very passionate about defensive football.”
This passion for coaching the defensive side of football comes directly from his playing days. Lake was a safety at Eastern Washington University, where he played for four years, 1995-98, becoming an honorable mention of the All-Big Sky team in the process.
That was before he'd transitioned into his coaching career. Lake started as a graduate assistant in 1999 at his alma mater before being promoted to defensive backs coach the following season, a title he held for four seasons before taking the same job at Washington in 2004.
Oct 16, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jimmy Lake watches pregame warmups against the UCLA Bruins at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
From there, it's all defense ever since. Lake would spend time at Montana State, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Boise State, and back to Washington as a defensive backs coach before getting his first shot at being a coordinator in 2016 with the Huskies.
From there, Lake would eventually be promoted to the Huskies head coach after his former boss, Chris Petersen, stepped down ahead of the 2020 season. And while Lake's lone stint at being the coach didn't work out, his passion for defense has never left him.
"I wanted to play at this level. I wasn’t good enough. ... I love the schematics of the game," Lake said about his passion for defense. "I got really close with my defensive coordinator in college, Jerry Graybeal, who’s still a mentor of mine. I learned a lot from him, and I was always passionate about defensive football. When I started my journey to be a football coach, I was like, ‘Ok, this is what I want to do. I want to call plays at the highest level."
He will now have his shot to call a defense at the "highest level" with the Falcons as he inherits a unit fresh off one of their best season in years.
Under the guidance of now-Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, the Falcons showed major improvement on that side of the ball. After previously being one of the league's worst passing defenses in 2022, the Falcons ranked No. 8 in passing yards allowed per game and No. 9 in yards per attempt.
This is certainly good news for a longtime defensive backs coach who is looking to implement a defensive system that is fast, free, and physical.
