Meet DeVone Claybrooks
Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Derek Bryant and new Cardinals Defensive Coordinator DeVone Claybrooks meet with the media briefly today. Claybrooks is a very talented DC and is widely considered the best DC in the CFL. Claybrooks served as defensive line coach under then Defensive Coordinator Bryant in 2012 and 2013 for the Calgary Stampeders. Claybrooks brings a fast and physical mentality to the defense and is unafraid to blitz from every position and angle out of his 4-3 defense. He and coach Bryant hope to replicate their defensive dominance in the NFL.
In Claybrooks’ first season as defensive coordinator, the Stamps surrendered 369 points, the lowest total in the CFL. Calgary also allowed a league-low 5.7 yards per play and 7.3 yards per pass to the opposition in 2016 and was second in turnovers forced (45) and opponents’ completion percentage (65.4). The Stamps defense produced five CFL all-stars in 2016 including defensive linemen Charleston Hughes and Micah Johnson and defensive backs Ciante Evans, Tommie Campbell and Jamar Wall.
The Stamps defence was among the league leaders in a number of categories in 2015 including first in points allowed (16.1 per game), rushing touchdowns allowed (four), total touchdowns yielded (22) and average yards allowed per carry (4.6) and was in the top three in sacks, first downs allowed and offensive yards allowed. Defensive linemen Freddie Bishop III (11) and Charleston Hughes (10) both reached double digits in sacks.
The 2014 season saw the Stamps defense tie for first in fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (10) and finish second in passing TDs allowed (20) and fewest points allowed (347). Defensive end Shawn Lemon — who was the team’s nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player — matched a league record in forced fumbles (eight) and finished in a second-place tie in the CFL with 13 sacks.
The Stamps defense ranked second in the CFL with 43 takeaways and on three separate occasions, Calgary held the opposition to a single-digit point total. Claybrooks won his first Grey Cup in 2014.
In 2013, Claybrooks oversaw a defensive line that finished first in the league in quarterback sacks and featured defensive ends Hughes and Cordarro Law, who finished first and third in the CFL in that category. Hughes was named a CFL all-star and was the West Division nominee for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player award.
In his first season as a coach in 2012, Claybrooks guided a Stamps D-line that overcame numerous injuries to finish tied for second in the league in quarterback sacks (43) and allowed an average of less than 100 rushing yards per game. Hughes ranked second in the CFL in sacks (11), tied for the league lead in forced fumbles (five) and earned spots on the CFL and CFLPA all-star teams.
Claybrooks spent three seasons as a player with the Stamps and was a member of the Montreal Alouettes for two seasons prior to that. Over his five-year CFL career, Claybrooks played 75 regular-season games and recorded 161 tackles and 14 sacks and recovered two fumbles.
In 2011, Claybrooks played 15 regular-season games and one playoff game for the Stamps. His coaching and leadership skills were evident throughout the season as Claybrooks regularly taught some of the team’s young defensive lineman about the game.
Claybrooks started his professional football career by attending Green Bay Packers training camp in 2001 before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then the Cleveland Browns. He played for Rhein in NFL Europe in 2002 before returning to Tampa Bay. Claybrooks was a member of the Buccaneers when they won the Super Bowl XXXVII.