No one is happier than Darnell Dockett about the Arizona Cardinals' hiring of coach Bruce Arians.
Dockett is coming off a difficult season in which his relationship disintegrated with former coach Ken Whisenhunt and defensive coordinator Ray Horton. If Whisenhunt came back, the defensive end wanted out. Instead, he gets a fresh start with the Cardinals.
"(Arians) told me he is going to put me in my regular position that I had been playing over the years, (when) I was a dominant force in the middle," Dockett said, according to the Arizona Republic. "That got me fired up right away because I've been just looking for another opportunity to do what I do best, and that's go out and dominate games."
Arians and new Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles plan to use Dockett as more of a inside rusher after playing on the end in Arizona's 3-4 scheme last season. Dockett, 31, had just five sacks in the last two seasons after compiling 25 sacks in the previous four.
"I never wanted to be an Albert Haynesworth. I never wanted to be one of those guys who will get paid a lot of money and get into the media and (complain) about the position and things like that," Dockett said. "I just sucked it up (under Horton). I just did my best at a position that I was never really great at. But again, I just never wanted to be one of those guys, and I just wanted to put the team first. And I wasn't going to let my selfish ways get involved with our team. I sacrificed."
Dockett also addressed his awkward social media courtship of Katherine Webb, girlfriend of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. Dockett insisted his tweets to Webb were in jest while explaining his prerequisites for a partner.
"I'm not into the thinner girls, and the modeling thing like that," he said. "I like 'hood chicks. I like girls with a couple of stab wounds and bullet holes, been knocked up a few times ... I like girls who have bad credit when they're 21."
You and me both, bud. You and me both.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
