Minnesota defensive lineman Winston DeLattiboudere III joked with Golden Gophers coach PJ Fleck. Then a redshirt-senior in 2019, he explained that he would one day be Howard University’s football coach and that the Bison would come up to Minneapolis, beat the Golden Gophers by 21 and “kick their tail.”
That wasn’t all. DeLattiboudere also said that everyone would be chanting his name throughout TCF Bank Stadium. Through persistent laughter, Fleck replied, “You’ve got to be careful what you wish for, it just might come true.”
Fleck’s retort proved prescient six years later, as DeLattiboudere is continuing his rapid ascent through the coaching ranks.
A former Howard High standout and 2014 All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year, DeLattiboudere (pronounced dee-la-tee-bow-dare) was hired as the Arizona Cardinals defensive line coach Feb. 12. After one-year coaching stints at Charlotte, Oregon and Akron and two years at his alma mater, Minnesota, the 27-year-old is the youngest defensive line coach in the NFL.
DeLattiboudere starred in his two varsity seasons with the Lions and led the team to the Class 4A state semifinals as a senior. He registered 101 total tackles, including 42 for loss, and also had 17 1/2 sacks and 38 quarterback hurries in his senior season.
“He always was a leader, verbally and by example,” former Howard coach Bruce Strunk told The Baltimore Sun. “It’s kind of cliche to say, but he was a coach’s dream. He worked and played hard. He didn’t take time off at practice. He was the kind of kid where kids would get mad at him because he would practice the way he played.”
DeLattiboudere entered Minnesota as an undersized 219-pound 17-year-old but quickly immersed himself in the program. Former Howard defensive coordinator Jon Pieper met with DeLattiboudere in the Midwest a few weeks after his high school graduation, and he was already up to 240 pounds. Pieper also connected DeLattiboudere with his in-laws who lived in the Twin Cities, and he quickly made inroads in the Minneapolis community.
Despite never being the fastest, biggest, tallest or strongest, DeLattiboudere wouldn’t be denied. He hit the quarterback on his first legitimate defensive snap against Penn State in 2016 and later developed into a cornerstone member of the defensive line. He ended his five-year tenure with 83 total tackles (43 solo), including 13 1/2 for loss, and five sacks in 51 games. He was also a captain on the 2019 team that went 11-2 and finished No. 10 in the country.
Fleck took over the Golden Gophers in January 2017, which proved to be a pivotal moment in DeLattiboudere’s career. The program was entering an uncertain time after the team just weeks earlier threatened to boycott a bowl game and was protesting the suspension of 10 teammates, reportedly in connection with a sexual assault investigation.
Like many players, DeLattiboudere was ready to transfer. He admittedly acts too quickly sometimes and sat down with his future defensive coordinator, Joe Rossi, and Fleck. Both his mom and now-wife Shelby encouraged him to stay.
He ultimately decided to remain at Minnesota as both coaches taught him a valuable lesson that just because you don’t see it right now, doesn’t mean that great things can’t be built.
“I feel like the whole time I had to climb, it was an uphill battle,” DeLattiboudere said. “Nobody thought that I would play early. Nobody thought that I would be an integral part of the defensive line. Then, I’ve gone through three head coaches and four defensive coordinators, and I have to continue to start over. Every time that I started over, I kept the same mentality of, ‘I haven’t done anything, I’ve got everything to prove. I’ve got nothing to lose, so why not be myself and throw myself out there.’”
Later in Fleck’s first season, he told DeLattiboudere that he would make a great coach, citing his persistence, energy, work ethic, genuineness and relatability. He laughed it off at the time but later realized that his coach was right. Fleck and Rossi — as well as Buffalo Bills defensive line coach Marcus West and Kansas defensive tackles coach Jim Panagos — inspired him to look into the profession more closely.
Those traits Fleck highlighted directly tie into DeLattiboudere’s diverse familial background and life experiences. His mom’s side of the family lives throughout Maryland, while his dad is an immigrant who came to the U.S. from Jamaica. DeLattiboudere has family in New Jersey, Florida and internationally in Jamaica, where many relatives, including his grandparents, still live.
His diverse family background parallels his coaching career. DeLattiboudere coached at schools across the country and worked with players from myriad backgrounds. He went from coaching future first-round picks like New York Giants outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux at Oregon in 2021 to Akron the following season.
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Through those transitions, DeLattiboudere adapted and learned how to recruit at non-Power Five schools and find talent in harder-to-reach places. Those varying experiences taught him how to identify traits that fit each particular coaching destination, including his current role in the NFL.
“I think it goes back to the authenticity and how genuine Winston is at making people better,” Pieper said. “He never has been the person who is looking to make himself better. I think that goes a long way with gaining respect. He doesn’t have an ego. He puts it aside to make sure that what he’s doing is helping the bigger cause.
“I think that aspect of it is what really will help him be successful working with 10-15-year veterans. He has a different outlook and he has different experiences and little things that he is able to notice. I think people will see that and be able to recognize how his experiences can help them be better, not only players, but also just better people.”
Before DeLattiboudere returned to Minnesota as defensive line coach in 2023, every coach Fleck spoke with said he was “getting better and better.” DeLattiboudere’s willingness to coach at several places with different challenges showed Fleck that he was serious in pursuing a career in coaching.
DeLattiboudere was also the program’s newcomer coordinator, a role created to help integrate freshmen and transfers and ease their transition. The position held particular importance in the current era of college athletics that is defined by frequent roster turnover.
After one season as the defensive line coach, Fleck trusted him with added responsibility and promoted him to assistant head coach.
“I never really had a newcomer coordinator until Winston came along because he could relate to every student-athlete that walked into this building,” Fleck said. “He’s going to be such a great coach at the NFL level because that room is going to be full of people who are older than him, make way more money than him, have been doing it longer than him.
“But he’s still going to have the humility to know that I’m going to learn from you, and you’re going to learn from me. And I’m going to do everything I can to squeeze all that juice from the orange that they have. He’s going to find a way to make them better husbands, better fathers, better players, better people, because he believes in that holistic approach. There’s a lot of people who don’t, and he’s a very transformational coach.”
DeLattiboudere coaches with a youthful exuberance and energy, participating in drills with many of his players. Rather than merely instructing his players on what to do, DeLattiboudere puts his hand in the turf along with them. He’ll wear cleats to practice, strike a pad and work through drills, sometimes sweating more than the players by the time practice is over.
At 27, DeLattiboudere knows his youth won’t last forever and is intent on maximizing it. He calls that ability a “superpower,” looking to show his players physical, mental and emotional excitement with the process. He hopes to be a head coach in the NFL one day.
“I’m chasing being a transformational leader, but within that I understand that just because I’m in this seat doesn’t mean that it can’t be taken from me,” DeLattiboudere said. “It touches my heart, and it touches my soul. To quote Kobe Bryant, ‘The jobs not finished, the job’s not done.’”
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Steinberg at jsteinberg@baltsun.com, 443-442-9445 and x.com/jacobstein23.
"He always was a leader, verbally and by example," former Howard coach Bruce Strunk said of Winston DeLattiboudere III, shown in 2014. (Staff file)
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