49ers’ award-winning corner Lenoir extols virtues of Saleh, Purdy and highlights Super Bowl goal

SAN JOSE Deommodore Lenoir vividly recalls last season s ers opener when he was dazzling at cornerback and Robert Saleh was entering his final month as the New York Jets coach That is when they had their initial interaction with several more to come as Saleh reprises his - role as the ers defensive coordinator Lenoir who broke in with the ers in reacted with trepidation upon learning in January that Saleh would be his fourth defensive coordinator Initially I was like Oh I was kind of nervous Because I had just screamed at him when we played the Jets Lenoir announced Wednesday night inciting laughter from the crowd at the fifth annual Dwight Clark Legacy Series in San Jose s Hammer Theatre I had made a play and I had screamed at Saleh I didn t know if he was going to remember that He did Lenoir added He brought it up in the first meeting last month It was funny but he s a very energetic person and the ability he s already brought to the room he s put a lot of confidence to us in the secondary Lenoir graciously accepted this year s Dwight Clark Award on Wednesday night from George Kittle the initial recipient in Lenoir s confidence has rarely waned in his four seasons and the ers backed up their belief in him six months ago by delivering a five-year million contract extension Another example of Lenoir s confidence came when he was requested by Wednesday s co-emcee Laura Britt about what he was looking forward to this season Really the Super Bowl Lenoir responded Still Lenoir acknowledged that the ers must bring along a lot of young guys and embed them in their way of life which he insisted wasn t destroyed by a - finish to last year s - season When you see D-Mo hitting people getting interceptions and talking smack to guys that power is infectious and everybody wants to bring that vitality just like D-Mo does Kittle stated He s an inspiration to a bunch of guys on the crew and an inspiration to guys and fans that watch him Lenoir and Brock Purdy in an exceptional move delivered pregame speeches before the ers final win last season that coming in Week against the Chicago Bears Lenoir to no surprise spoke glowingly Wednesday about Purdy locking in a franchise-record extension five years million I FaceTimed him but I knew he wouldn t answer because he was getting a lot of calls I let him know in the locker room he s the greatest quarterback ever Lenoir disclosed He went in there that Miami challenge as a rookie in and he made the plays and I respected him so much for that going in as the last pick in the draft and being able to take the crew to the NFC title tournament A lot of quarterbacks wouldn t do that Related Articles NFL teams can keep using the tush push after ban proposal fails Purdy Kittle Warner hail ers fresh offseason vibe after early extensions A healthy Brock Purdy talks about his record-setting contract from ers Fact or fiction Did ers overpay Purdy Is their reset a harbinger of a down ers announce Purdy s extension We had no idea how special he would become This season will be Purdy s fourth and Lenoir s fifth One contest already stoking Lenoir s fire is a Thursday night affair at home in Week against the reigning NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams on Oct It s a division championship they re like rivals and they talk a lot Lenoir mentioned For last year we owe them double Other highlights from Wednesday night s Dwight Clark Legacy Series which benefits The Golden Heart Fund for ers alumni Kittle on the company Well yes we re going to look different I think we re a little bit more different on defense than offense but the way we drafted and the free agents we brought in we have the opportunity to go out and compete and win a lot of football games With the offense we have we can sum a lot of football points Hall of Fame defensive end Charles Haley busted Fred Warner s chops about a picture from legendary Bay Area photographer Michael Zagaris showing the ers sadly huddling in the locker room after a loss You all need to give each other inspiration to go out to play You all have to get together to cry together Haley mentioned We didn t do that We did that man stuff Ah but another of Zagaris photos presented the crowd of a ers locker room scene in which Haley was irate among his ers teammates inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after a loss to the Raiders I think I might have had a little meltdown Haley announced But do you see anybody that looks like they were going to cry I was pissed the hell off I was mad because the ers traded all our leaders away and then we came to play Ronnie who was my idol I desired to beat him and we didn t so I had a little meltdown Haley who won two Super Bowl rings with the ers and three after they traded him to the Dallas Cowboys reflected on how the ers accepted him as a rookie When I came in as a rookie I couldn t believe how Joe Montana Ronnie and Jerry Rice were just talking to me I came from James Madison a fourth-round draft pick pounds he recalled Why were these guys talking to me I didn t know who the hell they were anyway The only way I identified out we had a preseason challenge and I was nervous so I was looking at the effort I opened it then I saw that long nose of Montana then Jerry and Ronnie That s when I realized who these people were I had no idea because we were in church on Sundays I saw one Super Bowl with Mean Joe Greene playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers Mean Joe Greene is my idol He lives in Texas so I go over to his house a lot I love the ground he walks on Warner joined Haley Garrison Hearst and Anthony Adams on Zagaris hand-picked panel that was moderated by Brian Murphy of KNBR -AM Warner commended another Zagaris photo capturing the All-Pro linebacker preparing for the season s Super Bowl saying Z captures it so perfectly Those moments before you go out to the match there s so a large number of different emotions and thoughts running through your head especially in a Super Bowl Seeing pictures like this take me right back to the moment and I can feel the goosebumps I had Zagaris has spent over five decades shooting ers games plus the Athletics and various of the largest part notorious rock bands ever He mentioned of his historic access to behind-the-scenes moments Nobody is invisible but when you re there all the time every day you hope they really won t notice you Adams on former ers and Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Larry Allen who unexpectedly passed away last June One time I went in the weight room he had on there and he had these big chains hanging off the end I don t know how much weight was on there but the bar was bending He was by himself so I went in and commented Hey man you want a spot He just looked at me and started lifting repeatedly I was Alright man I ll see you in the next 24 hours Other alumni present Ronnie Lott Bryant Young Eric Wright Tom Rathman Dwaine Board Junior Bryant Chris Dalman Ron Ferrari Dave Fiori Randy Kirk Milt McColl John Paye Bill Ring and Mike Salmon