Justin Hood learns from the “scientist” Jerry Gray in the secondary room

However, the historical difference does not matter in today’s meetings.

“To me, they seem consistent,” Gray said.

Hood said, “For me, it’s a collaboration.”

Because their only objective is the success of the Falcons. And achieving that goal starts now, in the off-season training program.

Atlanta is in the middle of Phase 3 of organized team activities. The team will have its final three OTA practices next week, followed by a mandatory minicamp the following week. Training camp won’t begin until the end of July and the season won’t begin until early September.

“I know when I learned from Tony Dungy, he talked about how hard work is done in the offseason,” Gray said. “We’re working a lot now so that if we go into the season, it doesn’t matter if there’s a guy sick or a guy can’t do this, can’t do that. The other person can run the room. And I think it’s much better this year.

That “other person” could be any number of people, given there are nine with a defense-specific title, but the ones Gray mentioned are Hood, head coach Raheem Morris, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and defensive assistant Lance Schulters.

These are all new names in Atlanta. The only other defensive coach returning from 2023 along with Gray is senior assistant Dave Huxtable. So the fact that Gray feels the staff is already in a better place in 2024 speaks volumes about the productivity of the discussions.

That alone from Gray should instill confidence, which can be contagious.

“We’re just exchanging ideas,” Hood said. “I’ll have an idea and I’ll be excited about it. He’ll say, ‘OK, great. Think of it this way.’ This will lead me to my new idea, which I will then present. He says, “Yeah, I like that one.”