OXNARD, Calif. -- As Rod Marinelli enters his 21st year in the NFL and fourth with the Dallas Cowboys, he is asked if this is the most inexperienced defensive line he has ever worked with. A few seconds go by as he scans his mental Rolodex in silence.
“It’s right up there,” the Cowboys' defensive coordinator said. “I would think, yeah.”
From 2009 to 2012, he was with the Chicago Bears, where he had veterans like Julius Peppers, Israel Idonije, Adewale Ogunleye and Tommie Harris play key roles. He saw Henry Melton grow from a rookie into a Pro Bowler.
As the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2006 to 2008, he had Cliff Avril as a rookie, but the defensive line was built with veterans like Cory Redding, James Hall, Shaun Rogers and Jared DeVries.
He spent 1996 to 2005 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Warren Sapp was just in the second year of his Hall of Fame career when Marinelli arrived, but veterans like Simeon Rice, Chidi Ahanotu and Greg Spires played key roles while rookies like Marcus Jones, Regan Upshaw and Anthony McFarland developed at different levels.
With the Cowboys, Terrell McClain is the most experienced defensive linemen -- in his sixth season -- but he has played only 47 career games. Tyrone Crawford, Jack Crawford and Cedric Thornton are entering their fifth seasons. Benson Mayowa is in his fourth. DeMarcus Lawrence is in his third.
The eight remaining players in camp have two years or less of experience.
Marinelli likes that.
“Oh, heck yeah, if you like football,” he said. “You come out here, you coach these guys hard and you see who’s got it. And then it’s fun to have a chance to get a guy, mold him into the values that we want as a team and how hard we want to play and you just get excited as all get-out.”
When Marinelli arrived in 2013, he had veterans DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher and Anthony Spencer, although he played in just one game because of injury. That year Marinelli had to mix in 20 different defensive linemen because of injury and ineffectiveness.
Doesn’t he ever wish he could coach a line with three Pro Bowlers?
He shook his head in agreement and added, “That we developed.”