Wallace Gilberry was just trying to survive in the NFL when he stumbled upon the niche that may have saved his career.
An undrafted rookie out of Alabama who played sparingly in his first season, Gilberry was on the roster bubble entering Year 2 when the Kansas City Chiefs hired Todd Haley as coach.
A 4-3 defensive end by trade, Gilberry suddenly found himself playing in a 3-4 defense for a coach that was “pushing me to go home.”
One day, in a joint decision between him and coaches, Gilberry tried his hand as an inside pass rusher in the nickel defense (one of the rare times they used four down linemen) and took a liking to the role.