How DeAngelo Hall went from Carolina foe to making an impact as Panthers assistant coach

DeAngelo Hall chases dreams.

The Chesapeake, Virginia, native parlayed a standout high school football career into a scholarship at Virginia Tech. After becoming a standout for the Hokies, he was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. Hall played 14 seasons in the NFL as a cornerback for Atlanta, Oakland and Washington, making three Pro Bowl appearances during his career.

After retiring in 2018, he became a successful analyst on TV and radio after briefly contemplating a future as an NFL executive.

Despite all of that success, Hall still had a dream that he refused to let go. And that’s what ultimately led him to the Carolina Panthers.

After years of flirting with a coaching career, Hall was hired to join head coach Frank Reich’s new Panthers coaching staff in the spring as assistant defensive backs coach. Once his wife, Jada, gave him the green light to pursue a coaching career, Hall took the leap to the sideline.

“My wife got tired of hearing me talk about it — should have, would have, could have — and man, I really want to do this and I just felt like I chased my dream as a player for so long and put my family on the back burner of that,” Hall said. “I felt as though I didn’t deserve the opportunity to do it again as a coach and chase that dream of eventually one day being a head coach.”

Since joining the staff in February, Hall, 39, has earned rave reviews from fellow coaches and his players.

“Any time he’s got something to say, the whole room goes quiet,” third-year cornerback Keith Taylor said. “We’re taking any and every coaching point he’s got for us.”

Longtime Panthers fans will remember that Hall was an emotional and — at times — antagonistic player during his playing career, especially during his time with the Falcons. His fiery rivalry with former Carolina wideout Steve Smith made for an exciting story line every time the two NFC South squads met.

Now, years removed from his playing days, Hall chooses to teach his cornerbacks with the coolness and calmness of a savvy veteran player.

“I came into this league at 20 years old — didn’t know a lot,” Hall said. “And so I played with a little chip on my shoulder and it got perceived a certain way, and I had to wear those scars. But 14 years in this league has taught me a lot. I’ve matured a whole hell of a lot, and I’m just ready to help these guys become great pros.”

Reich, who also had a long NFL playing career before becoming a coach, has been impressed by the early returns of Hall’s coaching tenure.

“DeAngelo is such a good coach,” Reich said. “I’m truly, like, amazed. A lot of times, former players — it takes a couple of years to kind of get some of that former player out of you and become a coach — and be able to see, be able to understand that our days are over, this is their day, and we don’t need to talk about our day. ... He’s helping the guys, he’s making an impact — I think he’s bringing out the best in that group.”

Yearning for purpose

Hall’s passion for coaching was bred out of his relationships with his coaches during his playing career. He played for several head coaches, including two-time Super Bowl winner Mike Shanahan, but his assistant coaches had just as big of an impact on him.

Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and defensive backs/defensive passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant worked with Hall in Washington, and he considers them among his biggest influences. Also, given his Virginia background, Hall has a deep appreciation for Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

“I’ve known Mike Tomlin for damn near 20 years,” Hall said. “Been watching Mike T from a distance and all of these great coaches that I feel like ... those coaches were father figures.”

Hall was recruited by his former coaches to join their staffs while he was working at NFL Network. But he didn’t want to commit to moving to a new city and the relentless work schedule, because of the burden it would put on his wife and kids.

He spent most of his marriage and the kids’ lives working tirelessly to be the best football player possible. Asking for another grueling career after a five-year break seemed unfair.

But Hall had a hunger that couldn’t be satisfied in a TV studio.

“I really loved working with the people that I got the opportunity to work with, but I still felt that void,” Hall said. “I felt like I needed a purpose and football, it’s been such a big part of my life for so many years. I’ve been playing — I’ll be 40 in November — and I’ve been playing football competitively since I was like 10 years old. And so, for me, it was just really getting the ‘OK’ from my wife and my family because the commitment is a sacrifice and your family kind of takes that on the chin.”

The ‘no-brainer’ opportunity

Hall said he had potential opportunities with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and Sean McVay in Los Angeles, but he didn’t want to move to the West Coast. Hall had earned millions as a player, but he didn’t want his coaching career to come at the cost of those earnings, and working in California would have been tough to manage on a lower salary for a first-time assistant coach.

Hall was also pursued strongly by the Miami Dolphins last year. Head coach Mike McDaniel, who had worked with Hall in Washington, hosted the former cornerback at the team facility last offseason in hopes of hiring him as an assistant defensive backs coach.

“I flew down there suited and booted, and Mike didn’t want to let me leave,” Hall said with a laugh.

Hall met with the staff, but he said the situation didn’t feel like it was a fit for him. He wanted to be in an environment where he felt like he could be himself within the staff.

So, Hall waited another year, and that’s when the opportunity with Carolina came along. Morris and Pleasant had worked with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero in Los Angeles, and Hall’s coaching mentors spoke highly of their former colleague.

After meeting with Evero and Reich, Hall was sold on moving to Charlotte to be part of the new staff.

“It was a no-brainer,” Hall said. “The kind of people these guys are, these coaches are. The kind of men, and really just the kind of leaders they are. They’re the kind of guys that I want to follow, and I would follow as a player.”

Hall and his family moved to Charlotte this offseason. While his oldest son stayed in Virginia, Hall’s five other children, who range from 11 to 17 years old, headed down south so he could pursue his new career.

“Part of this, too, is them seeing that, you don’t just have to run up and down the football field,” Hall said. “Football or (another) sport that you love, you’re passionate about, you can go out here and coach, you can be a GM, you can be a scout. There’s a whole slew of things you can do that (don’t) necessarily require you to run on a football field or shoot a basketball or really be super athletic.”

Hall now works at Bank of America Stadium where he had some pretty intense battles with the Panthers during his playing days. Due to his new surroundings, Hall has also gotten to see more of his former on-field rival, Smith, who regularly attends practices.

While it might be surprising to some — given their heated exchanges on the field during their heydays — Hall and Smith have had a longtime friendship.

“Me and Steve are great friends,” Hall said. “Before we were enemies on the football field — I joke with people all the time — Steve used to pick me up when my team came, when Atlanta came to town, (he) would pick me up and we’d go to dinner at his house.”

And while Hall is happy to be around Smith more these days, his most important relationship on Mint Street is with Evero.

That relationship has gone well so far, according to Hall: “He’s been one of the best dudes I could have asked for as a leader and a guy that I want to model my game after.”

From tackling to teaching

Hall’s first taste of coaching actually came during his playing career. During his final four years in the league, Hall was sidelined regularly due to injury, so he spent most of his time working with the young players in Washington.

“I had to kind of find another way to really pour back into the team to help us try to win football games,” Hall said.

Panthers cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley, who worked with Evero, Morris and Pleasant in Los Angeles, has seen Hall bring his mentoring approach to their meeting room.

“His favorite part is pouring into the young guys, and he’s dedicated to giving them a great experience and having them learn from his experience,” Cooley said. “He’s been great because we have different personalities, so we can challenge each other, which is sharpening iron, which I love.”

Hall took the job in Carolina while having preexisting relationships within the cornerback room.

Hall played against and with Jaycee Horn’s father, Joe, in Atlanta. Horn said he would see Hall on the golf course whenever his dad would bring him along for a tee time.

“Just him being who he is, I was just automatically a fan of his game,” Horn said.

Hall has also known Donte Jackson since he was a draft prospect. Hall said that he and Jackson met at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine when Hall was in town to shadow the Washington front office as he weighed a potential career as an executive.

Horn and Jackson were among the first to reach out to Hall when he got the coaching job.

“I really genuinely care about all of these guys,” Hall said. “But I think Donte and Jaycee always have a special place just because as long as I’ve known Jaycee, and just really the way me and Donte met.”

Hall’s background has helped him relate to the cornerback group this offseason. Cooley believes Hall’s career path makes him uniquely qualified to coach everyone in the room, because Hall went through so many twists and turns during his playing days.

“He understands what it’s like to be in their shoes in all different facets: being a star player, being a rookie and being an old guy that is just there to help,” Cooley said. “So he can see his roles in different people — being able to relate to all the different guys and how they’ve got to be a part of this team, which is cool. He can be demanding of the guys that are very talented and then he can help calm the presence of those young guys that have a lot coming at them.”

Hall said he wants to coach his players to not just be better on the football field but in life. Making his pupils better men is of high importance to Hall.

And given what Hall has done in his life and football career, it’s been easy to get an immediate buy-in from those he aspires to teach.

Said Horn: “He’s been in our position, he’s (done) everything that us corners want to do, so he’s just more so giving it to us (from) like his point of view and a player point of view, instead of you hearing it from a coach. … It’s easier to accept it.”