“He’s one of the smartest football minds I’ve been around,” Desai said. “For me to be in a role where I can assist him and really learn from him directly is really fortunate. … To take a step and learn the whole defense from the guy that’s installing it and responsible for it, whether it was Mel, Vic or Chuck, you have a different view on the hows and whys of things, and I really tried to take advantage of that in those roles.