Dont’a Hightower still has that presence.

Once one of the best linebackers in the league, now he walks around OTA’s with a visor on, but it’s hard to miss him at any point.

As he stood in front of a microphone holding a cup of something in his hand (I couldn’t see what it was) before another day of work on Tuesday morning, you could just tell how much he was loving the new role.

The funny thing is, Hightower acknowledged that he’s sort of been coaching for a while now even going back to his playing days and recently from afar, so this was a perfect time to bring it to the field.

“You know, I think I was doing it a little bit while I was playing,” he said. “I don’t know if I ever like, had it set in stone that I could do it, but I think my wife and maybe people in my circle kind of thought that I would do it. The opportunity came-a-knockin and I answered the door as quick as possible. So, just glad to be here. Great opportunity, great position…I’ve got Mayo to lean on. I’ve got DC (DeMarcus Covington) to lean on…a lot of great guys to lean on.

“It’s just been a really good experience for me.”

Hightower was also asked if the time away from the organization made him want to become a coach that much more. Ultimately he was going to miss the game no matter what, but his wife wanted him out of the house after a while. In that case, why not join his former teammate’s staff?

“No cap, I missed it even when I walked away,” he added. “I think it’s just part of it. You put on a game – whether it’s college or whether it’s pros – I’m going to dive in there and I know my wife was like, really adamant about me getting out…like, ‘you need to go to the bar, you need to call…you need to go somewhere else and watch the game.’ So, I enjoyed it. Again, I was still at home texting Bent (Ja’Whaun Bentley), E-Rob (Elandon Roberts) and Kwon (Raekwon McMillan) and everybody throughout the game like, ‘whatchu doin here?’

“So, again, I guess I’ve kind of been doing it for a long time playing or whatever, but it feels good to be in the spot that I’m in.”