On if he is surprised to be named offensive coordinator:
"Sure. I think, you know, I don't know, surprised. You feel like every step along the way you prepare for these opportunities and surprise may not be the exact feeling. It might be grateful, you know, incredibly encouraged and motivated based on, you know, what I've kind of seen over the past month of DQ's [Head Coach Dan Quinn] belief and building me up. Man, from the first day I got here, I have felt a very specific development plan for me. Whether it's getting a call plays and practice at different points along the way, whether it's getting to present in front of the team, opportunities like that. So, you know, I don't know if surprise is the right word, but incredibly grateful and thankful to be here."
On playing in different offenses and playing quarterback in the NFL help prepare him to be in this spot:
"Sure. I think I've been very fortunate to be around a lot of great coaches, you know, like every step of the way, whether it was high school, whether it was college, whether it was in the NFL. A lot of the men that I've looked up to in my life have been fantastic coaches, whether it's a teacher, whether it's a connector, whether it's a developer. And so, you know, once I got to the NFL level as a player, you know, that flame was kind of lit for me that I wanted to be the guy, you know, as close as you can to calling a play in the huddle. You know, getting to call the plays into the quarterback is the next closest thing as one of the play callers. So I've always had aspirations for this and really excited to get it going."
On if play calling was something that was always important to him:
"That's a great question. I've just seen the difference it can make, you know, I've seen the difference at different stops in my career of getting to see different styles, different play callers, different innovators and it's really important. You know, when you're creating a game plan, when you're developing players, putting them in the best position to succeed that you know, how important the play calling role is. So kinda like I mentioned, for John [Keim], like it's as close as you can get to calling the play in the huddle and actually being the guy receiving the snap and now developing that and helping get our group to the best collective outcome is what really excites me."
On how he envisions his offense and what he will take from previous coaches he has worked with:
"I think every step along the way I've gotten to learn something and as we go forward, our staff, you know, our collective staff, 12 or 13 coaches, we get to kind of build it up from the studs around what [QB] Jayden [Daniels] and [WR] Terry [McLaurin] and [LT] Laremy [Tunsil] and all these guys do really well to put 'em in the best position to be successful. And that's what's exciting with our staff, even pulling from all these different experiences, new coaches coming in who have, you know, backed up Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers and coaches who have been around Drew Brees and developed young quarterbacks. Being able to pull the collective so that we can all collaborate together and make this the best possible thing is what's really stimulating right now."
On why he thinks it is important to have QB Jayden Daniels under center more next year:
"Yeah, I think, you know, it opens up some different schemes in the run game, some things that I believe in. It opens up different play actions and keepers and getting him on the perimeter in different ways. You know, I think there's a level of communication that happens under center. I think there's just, there's different ways to go about things, and it's something that I'm convicted about that with his skillset, his fundamentals, the things that we absolutely loved about him when he first got here still ring true. And as we grow and develop, you know, I think a lot of teams that you saw even playing deep into the playoffs, you know, it was something that was a foundation of what they did. I think that is something that we will like to implement with him and, and get him in that position."
On being credited with the play call to Former Commanders WR Jamison Crowder when Washington beat Philadelphia in 2024:
"Sure. You know, there's so much that goes into one play of a, you know, say you get 65 plays in a game. That was a situation that I had been a part of previously in a different organization. A play that I had strong conviction about in April of that year, in May and June. There were different experiences for Jayden along the way that, you know, he didn't read it exactly how we taught it the first time. Then he learned from it the second time, then it came up a different way in practice that week. And then, you know, the practice execution became the game reality from that week. And, he has a really kind of, he's got a gift when you teach 'em something the first time, it just absorbs in there. So, you know, I wouldn't say that that was just me or any part of that. You know, there's a whole collective group that goes into kinda creating one play that comes up on a Sunday, Thursday, Monday."
On his relationship with Daniels:
"Yeah, I think, you know, that's one of the best parts for me is that we have two years worth of relationship already built up. There's already deposits in that bank that, you know, we can pull from. If we're talking about, Hey, what does he do well, what are we building now? A lot of those conversations have been had over the last two years. So, it's not starting exactly from square one. I think as much as we can, we're gonna keep some continuity of the way he's called things and then, you know, we gotta build on it. I'm really excited to just continue to challenge him, you know, pull the best outta what he does and help him grow because, you know, we all know as he goes, this, this group will go. It's really an exciting challenge and opportunity to just get him to his best."
On the biggest thing he learned from working with former offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury:
"You know, I think it's hard to ignore, like how much stress and no huddle, you know, the tempo element puts on a defense, and Kliff was incredibly gracious to me, just allowing me into his brain of how he thinks, how he sees the game, and what he has seen work. And so, the last two years were incredibly valuable for me to see how he approached game planning, how he went about, you know, teaching concepts. He was incredibly gracious. So, I'm really thankful I got that experience with him as a player and a coach."
On an advantage to recently being a player in the league:
"I think a little bit. I think I've been able to see it through his lens, definitely never had the capabilities, the ability that he has. So, I think maybe there's a mutual respect for what it takes to play quarterback in this league. And then I think from now on, it's what we, [Quarterbacks Coach] D.J. [Williams], [Assistant Quarterbacks Coach] Danny [Etling], myself, what we do going forward to help grow him. And he'll see quickly the value that we can add to his game and where we can get this thing going in the right direction."
On the importance of having a good support system while playing quarterback in the NFL:
"It's everything, man. When I can walk out of here and go home and I get to be dad and husband to my beautiful wife and dad to my daughter and one on the way, it's the why, why you do things. And Melissa's been the backbone of our family, allowed me to sacrifice so much as a player. And then now coaching, it's no secret what goes into that. And I wouldn't be able to do it if she wasn't just lifting me up, just the wind beneath my sails. And so, I'm incredibly thankful she gets it, having been an athlete at the highest level. And it's really special, this past weekend, even though the game didn't go the way for the Patriots, it was special for the way [New England Patriots CB] Christian [Gonzalez] played and really proud of him as well."
On if he has talked to Former Purdue Head Coach Jeff Brohm:
"We stayed in contact really over the last couple years as he knew I wanted to get into coaching and so he has always been in my corner and I learned a ton from Coach Brohm and he really taught me just cornerstone foundations of what quarterback play really was. But haven't communicated a whole lot since, but I'm sure we will touch base soon."
On how he will elevate the offense:
"I think I'm gonna try to bring out the best in everybody. I think whether it's coaches or players there's gonna be standards set with regard to excellence and holding those guys to it. I think I've been really fortunate, like I mentioned a couple times, to see it done at a really high level and understand that you can't compromise on the standards of excellence and our offense will be held to it, our coaches will be held to it, and it's what I expect from myself and it's a really fun opportunity to kind of implement from the ground up what the Washington Commanders offense can look like in 2026."
On how Daniels has made him a better coach:
"Yeah, I think I kind of mentioned it, he's got an uncanny ability to just absorb anything you share with him one time. So, the challenge to that is, okay, how can we stack on that the second time? Where can we take his teaching and not assume that he has already reached his capacity to learn. How can we continue to build and take it from when he first got here and in 2024, the 101 level classes, and how do we take him to every time he takes a field Sunday he's beating people between his ears and at the highest level just able to put our offense in the best position possible with his brain. And I think that challenge of giving him new content, new things to learn, new things to understand about playing quarterback in the NFL has been really stimulating for myself, for the other offensive coaches, [Assistant Head Coach/Pass Game Coordinator] Brian Johnson, D.J. Williams, Danny, when we think about what it can be for him, it's how do we take him to that next level?"
On being adaptable as a play caller:
"I had a wise coach share, 'It's about strong convictions, lightly held.' And so I think there's an adaptability that will be fluid and we're gonna do what our guys do best. There will be staples of what our identity will look like, but there's gonna be some things that are easy for us and hard for defenses. We're gonna make the same things look different and different things look the same and teach in a creative way. And there's things that I think will be really evident when they come to life on the field."
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On the offensive skill position players:*
"Yeah, for sure. Right now we've got 23 guys under contract on the offense, and I feel really good about it, man, I really do. Six in the wide receiver room returning, [WR] Terry [McLaurin] obviously at the top of the group. And it's our opportunity, it's our challenge to get the best outta every single guy in the skill position groups and up front, man, we bring back so many guys who played a ton of snaps on the offensive line, and the continuity there is gonna be key. And a group that played really well last year. And so as much as we can, it's about the next 70 days for our coaching staff, evaluating our own players, acquiring new players, to figure out what we do best, and then implementing it so that 200 days from now when we take the field, 220 days from now, when we take the field that we have put in a ton of work to put our guys in a position, teach what they do really well, to be at their best week one. So, I think we got a long way to go, but I think it's going to be a fun construction process."
On his vision for RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt:
"I think as everybody saw, all the flashes that Bill [Croskey-Merritt] had in his rookie season, I think it's really exciting to think about what he can look like in a second year behind this offensive line. And I think we've got one running back signed, so there will definitely be acquisitions that take place there. And it depends exactly kind of how the room looks, but man, incredibly confident in what Bill can be in this league as a starting running back."
On the learning curve for Daniels moving under center:
"From a 30,000 foot level, when we teach quarterback play, not to dive too far deep into it, it's simple things. Taking a seven step drop instead of taking a five step drop or taking a seven step instead of a three. And so there's just basic fundamentals that go into that. But even as the course of the last couple weeks of the season went on, he just got more experience at it with a little bit of a transition from our offense with [QB] Josh [Johnson] playing at the end of the year, and even when there were scout team reps that we had when we were working it, this has been a work in progress all the way through. So, it won't be completely new to him. He's got a ton of time with coaches that he is worked with in California to kind of grow in that area. And we'll hit the ground running on that."
On what Daniels worked on towards the end of the season:
"I think it starts with any player in that situation, it's growth areas. So, that was one area we saw for growth. And so as much as we could, we worked it for his intentional development plan. And I think we saw it even in the four weeks at the end there that he wasn't playing."
On how his years of playing translates to coaching:
"I think it's a fair question. I think what I can kind of lean on is whenever those conversations have happened between the most important relationship in my eyes, between the quarterback and the play caller that I've seen take place, I've gotten to be in the room for all those conversations. Whether it was [Los Angeles Rams QB] Matthew [Stafford] in Detroit or [Detroit Lions QB] Jared [Goff] in Detroit, or [Atlanta Falcons] Kirk [Cousins] in Minnesota, or [Arizona Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray] in Arizona for a little bit, you get to be in the room where all those conversations take place and you hear how the coordinator thinks, so while you're not maybe calling the play in the huddle as a backup like I was for the majority of my career, you get let in the chess match of what a play caller is thinking, being on the headset, hearing the play call come in, the dialect, all the little things that go into making a well-oiled machine kind of run."
On deciding to take the coordinator position:
"I think when these opportunities come up with the men that we have on this roster, with the coaches that we have on the staff, with Dan Quinn, Adam Peters, you have to go for it. I don't ever want to live a life that is timid and so we're going to go for it in a big way. And it's really exciting to think about, having this opportunity now where I'm sitting and going forward and just building it with the group that we have."
On what he's learned about the staff over the last two years:
"Yeah, I think you learn a ton in both seasons, right? You learn some of that perseverance isn't always about strength. Perseverance [is] sometimes about direction and Dan Quinn has always been a steady presence for us, and he has just pointed us in the right direction, and you see that through and through whether it was 12 and five or five and 12. So, his pouring into me, I have felt from the first day, just I have felt that for me, but I've seen it for every single member of our organization. And that's something that you can't overlook when you make decisions that you want to be a part of this. And so that was really special. And then I think on the coaching staff, you learn in the hard days that there's a lot of men in this group that we can get in the foxhole together and, we're going to go battle it out and we're going to treat each other with respect. We're going to communicate at a high level and go and really go after this thing."
On important markers throughout the offseason:
"Sure, I think right now it's digging into our own roster so that we can evaluate for free agency and the draft coming from the evaluation side. And give our feedback on what's going to fit within our offense. And then with the offensive staff it's building exactly what we want this to look like come September. So, that's what the work we're doing daily is. We finished, pretty close to finished staffing, so now it's kind of constructing exactly what we want the offense to look like with regard to concepts and formations and how we're going to get after it."
On where he's grown the most in Washington:
"It's a great question. I think as a player, you come in Wednesday morning and there's a game plan in front of you that the coaches have prepared and you have input here or there, but you're a consumer as a player. Now as a coach on the other side, you're a teacher and we are creating content for these men to consume and we have to creatively teach in a way that will stick into their brain, whether it's through video clips or PDF's, or different ways that we can communicate with them how we articulate exactly what we want to see come to life. And I think that's been the biggest change for me over the two year development period is I have absolutely loved seeing the teaching side of it after being a consumer for so long."
On where the offense needs to grow:
"I think we'll have an identity that I think people will see every week when we take the field, right? We're going to do everything we can to be explosive, take care of the ball, and be creative and you'll see kind of the, DQ preaches speed and violence, and we want people to feel that from our offense."
On the importance of building a balanced attack:
"Very important. I talked about it, he's [Daniels] incredibly accurate, his mobility is a superpower. And as we continue to use his brain to our offense's benefit, I think you'll see as much as anything, you'll see all of these skill guys that we've talked about a little bit get unlocked and it's going to be really special to see."
