Video has long been a part of the equation for detail-oriented football coaches.
In the case of Jordan Linnen, there is even more to the picture.
When he rewinds and takes stock of his first 34 years, he appreciates a sport that changed him as a person. And who could have imagined how many sides of the game he would experience?
For example, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive assistant typically spends part of his off-season working with EA Sports — manufacturer of the wildly popular Madden NFL video game — as a motion-capture athlete.
“Basically, you’re putting on a suit and doing all the in-game movements — all the tackling, all the catching, all the running,” Linnen explains. “Everything we do to give the game realism is done by former athletes such as myself.”
Linnen is not far removed from playing. He was a defensive back in junior football (with the BCFL’s Langley Rams) and U Sports (Acadia Axemen, Manitoba Bisons) before spending time in the CFL with the B.C. Lions and Montreal Alouettes.
He quickly transitioned into coaching, beginning with Langley in 2017, and is now in his third season as a CFL assistant.
If EA Sports requires assistance in the off-season, he is certainly game for that, too.
“There’s a long list of guys who have gotten to do it, but as far as the longevity and consistency of doing it, I’m one of two guys who has been able to do it consistently, year in and year out, since 2016,” Linnen says.
“It has been fun. It’s a cool opportunity — something I never in a million years have imagined getting to do.”
How did the side-gig come about?
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Linnen says with a chuckle. “Actually, it’s a funny story.
“I was in Montreal in 2015. I got released shortly after training camp and went back home to B.C. I got an e-mail and it was like, ‘Hey, there’s this opportunity.’ They kind of kept it vague and they didn’t tell me what the title of what it was. I kind of brushed the e-mail off and deleted it.
“Another person reached out and said, ‘Hey, man, there’s an opportunity in B.C. You might want to look at this.’ I thought, ‘That’s the second person to say this. Let me just read the e-mail.’
“I read the e-mail and got to the bottom, where it said, ‘Your pay is X amount of money per day.’ I was like, ‘For eight hours of work? Done!’ ”
Linnen quickly replied and the wheels were set in motion, with invaluable assistance from former NFL player Mazio Royster and 3rd and I, Inc., which helps to set up sports action sequences for its clients.
“I got asked to come to the studio,” Linnen says. “They did some movements and stuff with me and then it was a wrap. The rest is history.
“It was a really cool opportunity. One of the main studios for EA Sports is a huge campus in Burnaby. The second-biggest studio for game development and motion capture is in B.C.
“They actually just expanded with a $26-million project, so it’s a really cool facility. They’ve got basketball courts and volleyball courts and everything there.
“It’s like an Apple kind of vibe as far as keeping the employees in one location and having all the resources available to them.
“It’s a cool little deal, for sure.”
Although Linnen isn’t able to participate in shoots during football season, he is available the rest of the year for sessions that can range from three or four days to back-to-back five-day sets that are separated by a weekend.
Over those spans of time, no detail is too minute. Every conceivable movement is accounted for.
“In the gaming world, there’s a lot of specifics to it, such as with the angles you take with a tackle,” Linnen says. “There are a lot of different nuances to it.
“Sometimes, as a football player, you’ll think, ‘Hey, this doesn’t look natural, or, ‘This isn’t an organic movement,’ but they’ll say, “No, no, we need it for the game. This is the way the mechanics of the game work. We need it so we can throw a graphic or animation on it and then put it in the game.’
“I do a lot of that stuff. It’s fun. It’s cool, because the guys I have gotten to work with over the years all formerly played football in the NFL, CFL or major college.
“It’s cool to build those relationships and it’s fun to be in the game. To be in EA even one time would have been an unbelievable experience for me.”
An especially discerning viewer can pick out Linnen and other motion-capture athletes, even if their names, numbers and faces are not visible.
“As far as the things that I know I did, a lot of times there are celebrations,” he says.
“Sometimes they’re corny. Sometimes they’re super outlandish. Sometimes they’re really elaborate and the whole offence will run down and do a group pose or a group celebration. There’s a lot of that stuff that goes on.
“As far as the day-to-day game play, some stuff I know. I’ll think, ‘I remember doing that hit five or 10 times.’
“There are things like that you remember, but a lot of times you don’t know. It’s not like, ‘Hey, that’s a marquee Jordan Linnen thing.’
“It’s a lot of everyone doing the same thing.”
And that’s just a sidelight!
Linnen is in his third season as a CFL assistant coach. He spent two years as the Edmonton Elks’ running backs coach before moving to Saskatchewan and the defensive side of the ball.
“Outstanding guy,” Head Coach Corey Mace says. “He relates extremely well to his players. He works his tail off. He’s seen it. He played DB. He has been a running backs coach, so he understands the offensive look of things, how they’re trying to attack defences, and protections. He’s a sponge, trying to learn our system defensively.
“There’s no ceiling for a guy like Lin. I know he loves the game. He’s very humble. He doesn’t feel like he needs to be an anointed one. He just wants to do the work and whatever it takes to win. When you have that worker’s mentality and you’re humble about it, good things happen.”
Linnen’s story is a prime example of that.
“If you would have asked me five years ago or 10 years ago, I would never have thought I’d be in this position,” he says.
“For the opportunity to be able to do it as a Canadian, let alone even being involved in the game at this level and in this capacity, I’m super grateful
“A lot of people look up to me because it’s kind of an uncommon path, but football was a situation or a game that changed my life.”
How so?
“Growing up and moving around a lot, football kind of gave me a sense of belonging and stability,” Linnen says.
“I was a pretty angry kid. Football gave me an outlet. It gave me a place to channel that aggression and that frustration, at times, and also a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself.
“It took me away from being angry and from dwelling on things that maybe weren’t in my control and being part of a bigger conglomerate of people who were trying to get towards a goal.
“In that regard, I think it saved my life. Also, it gave me an opportunity to travel to so many different places and to do things with EA.
“Travelling across the country and across the U.S. gave me so much opportunity. Without that, I don’t know the trajectory or the direction my life would have gone.”
Now he wants to help others enjoy similar experiences. Hence the immersion in coaching.
“The ability to come back and be able to give back to the game was something I felt I was required to do in my own personal ways,” Linnen says.
“Being able to do it at the collegiate level, at the junior level, at the pro level, I’m super grateful for that. Obviously, being able to do it in my hometown or my home country, that’s something that is important to me.
“Hopefully it inspires and encourages more guys as they transition out of football to stay involved in the game and hopefully go back to wherever they’re from across the country and give back to football in whatever capacity or in whatever way that looks.”
That remains uncertain, at this early stage in his football career. But one thing is without question.
“His ceiling is uncapped,” Mace says. “I’m excited for his future.”
