Former Jaguars special teams coach Frank Gansz put speakers on the sideline to amplify his instructions during special teams practices. New special teams coach Joe DeCamillis doesn't need speakers.
DeCamillis announced his intentions for Jaguars special teams this season in Thursday morning's special teams-only practice. In the most intense special teams session of training camp, DeCamillis undressed rookie defensive lineman Derek Landri for all to hear and in a language that won't appear on a Jaguars transcript.
Anybody observing the practice got the message: Special teams failures will not be tolerated.
"A little more intense," veteran special teams star Tony Gilbert said in describing DeCamillis, an ultra-successful special teams coordinator in Atlanta for several years. "If Pete (Rodriguez) was at one hundred, put 'coach D' at 200. It's OK. We need it."
Rodriguez lost his job following last season, when the Jaguars finished last in the league in punting. It was a failure that also cost punter Chris Hanson his job.
Head coach Jack Del Rio hired DeCamillis to fix Jaguars special teams and DeCamillis was breathing fire on Thursday morning.
"A whole lot of improvement," Gilbert said of special teams. "We looked at where we were ranked last year. It's a personal challenge. We want to be one of the best special teams in the league."
DeCamillis went off on Landri when the scout kickoff team was found guilty of not leaving on the whistle. At that point, the overall performance at the practice seemed to dramatically improve.
"I like everything he's doing," veteran Jaguars special teams standout Nick Sorensen said. "We're very crisp in the meetings; very crisp on the field. It all makes sense. We're not doing things just to do them. It all makes sense.
"We're real talented," Sorensen added. "When you look at how deep we are at every position, those are your special teams. I think we can be real good."
