Ex-LSU coach Pete Jenkins spends time with Saints
Ex-LSU assistant Jenkins spending time with Saints
BY Sheldon mickles
Advocate sportswriter
August 07, 2012
METAIRIE — After 38 seasons as a college and pro football coach, former LSU defensive line coach Pete Jenkins never seems to be too far away from the game — even in his second retirement.
Three years after completing a three-year stint as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive line coach, his only NFL job, the soon-to-be 71-year-old Jenkins has been a fixture at training camps the past four summers.
This time, Jenkins is midway through a two-week camp stay with the New Orleans Saints after working the past three summers with the St. Louis Rams.
With the Saints, the affable Jenkins has been reunited with two of his old coaching buddies — new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and defensive line coach Bill Johnson.
Spagnuolo was on the Eagles’ staff in 2006 with Jenkins before leaving to join the New York Giants. He invited Jenkins to come to camp when he was the Rams’ head coach from 2009-11.
Jenkins, who splits time between his residences in Baton Rouge and Destin, Fla., goes back with Johnson a lot longer than that. They forged a friendship back in the early 1980s, in the first of Jenkins’ two stints at LSU.
“Bill and I been talking football since Moby Dick was a minnow,” Jenkins said with a laugh. “So they invited me down to spend some time and do some coaching out here for them.”
Robinson leaves early
Starting right cornerback Patrick Robinson tweaked his shoulder midway through Sunday’s practice and was taken in to the locker room to be evaluated by team doctors.
Interim head coach Joe Vitt had no update on Robinson after he left when he came down awkwardly while covering wide receiver Adrian Arrington during team drills.
Robinson’s replacement, Johnny Patrick, left briefly when he cramped up after making a leaping interception against Drew Brees in team drills. Patrick, however, returned before the practice ended.
Play of the day
Patrick made the play of the day when he covered wide receiver Courtney Roby, who was trying to catch a pass from Brees while cutting across the field in team drills.
Patrick followed Roby closely and undercut Roby’s route, pulling in the interception as he crashed to the turf.
It was the second straight day that Patrick had an interception in practice as he got one off backup quarterback Chase Daniel on Saturday.
Eye-catching
Brees did produce two nice plays back-to-back early in team drills, drawing oohs and aahs from a large crowd.
Wide receiver Devery Henderson made a nice over-the-shoulder catch on a well-placed throw by Brees despite tight coverage by Robinson.
On the next play, Brees threw over Robinson again with Arrington making the grab on the play that Robinson was injured on.
Injury report
Rookie defensive tackle Akiem Hicks didn’t practice again Sunday, but Vitt said he should be able to work on his conditioning Monday after missing the first four days of camp with a fractured hand.
Also sitting out was tight end David Thomas, who did not work for the third straight day with a lower back strain. Vitt said Thomas is getting better, but they don’t want to rush him back.
Getting a break
After baking in the heat and humidity for the past two days, the Saints will get a respite Monday — at least from the sun — with no practice scheduled.
They will return to the practice field at 4 p.m. Tuesday, the first of four straight practices that will be open to the public — weather permitting.
Packing them in
The first two training camp practices open to the public drew 2,314 fans on Saturday and 4,144 on Sunday, team officials said.