Opening Statement:
"Yeah, good to see everybody. As we're gearing up for the season to begin, my thoughts really have been, they keep coming back to identity and as fun as last year was, I don't think an identity is fully formed in one year. And you add players and that fully develops over time. But beginning this Sunday, it's about how we play, and I like to be bold and aggressive and be strong in these winning time moments that we work but that has to be constant and we need to live it over and over as we're going through it. And so that's what I want to see this week, getting that identity together and how we want to get down all the time. And so, I want to, still, this week see it and every week from here after, but that's the one thought that keeps coming into my mind through camp and into the start of the season. And you just want to see that over and over. And so, that was my one thought and ready to get rocking with you guys."
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On how QB Jayden Daniels has handled the build up to this season:*
"Yeah, you guys have been around him enough to know that he has a rare focus about him and the best players I've been around have had that through my years. And so, I think he sees it more as an opportunity to say, 'Alright, I'm going to go do this. I'm going to go find ways to improve and get better.' And so, that's what I see throughout the offseason with him, coming into training camp but he just keeps this focus about him that is really rare, and the best of the best have that. And that's what, he does not back off of that and he doesn't look too far down the line, which I really appreciate. He just, man, we're going to throw a good practice, he just doesn't get too far out over his skis and I think that's one of the things I really admire about him."
On the running back room:
"You love having some versatility with the group and I think it's no big secret what [RB] Austin [Ekeler] can provide in space and getting the ball in that way, that's one of his superpowers. So, as we're growing that, I think it'll take some time to get into that space and who's excellent in what space is and how do we do that, but I don't think that's in one game. But I do like this group, I really do. I want to make sure I'm clear on that. They all bring some things to the table that's unique, special teams roles, offensive roles, and that's what I like about it. That's our job to find the strengths and pull them out of these guys and see what they can do. And it's a fun part of the process of coaching too."
On expectations for G Brandon Coleman, WR Terry McLaurin and WR Noah Brown:
"Yeah, right now we'll go a full week of practice with them. And so, Brandon and Terry's about as full as they can get into this spot, the workloads, what we've hit on with them, so they'll get their normal amount of practice and going into that. But yeah, they're both doing really strong in that way."
On the changes to the facility:
"I think it helps to know that in the spring it was, we didn't know what could be. Here we were in trailers for lockers and lots of shower pills – it was rough but we thought what could be through [Managing Partner] Josh [Harris] of creating a championship environment. Now all that said, as nice as everything is, it is still the people here that make it. And I think that's one thing that, it's a lesson I'll never forget. It can be shiny or nice, but man it is the people when you play a team. So, when you combine them both, then it kind of gives on both of those. There's also a lot of recovery equipment that the team invested in. And so, that's one thing that the players have really benefited from, the different modalities that they have. It's really strong in that way. So, when we create those times that they have, and that whole area is really full. So, that's one thing that's a real benefit from a physical side."
On what he hopes the team can do in the first four weeks of the season:
"Yeah, you bring up an interesting point. I agree with you that as the team's forming, you're starting to find what people's strengths are, what needs more development, and that's kind of the constant massaging. I think early on I wanted to go only this way and then you learn, no man, you have to navigate those as it goes. But going into the space, I want to make sure our play style and attitude is right, the way that we cover kicks. I love this group the way they can play and fast. I want to make sure our tackling is on point. I want to make sure we do the things at the end of the half and the end of the games that give us chances to win. So, each week we talk about, what do we need to do to win this game? And it's not the same every week, but there's so much unknown in the beginning of a season that it takes a few times to really find roles, see where they go, and then develop into those roles because it may not be what you had thought on May 5th and now that you're here in September, 'Okay, this is where it's going to be and now how do you really go nail those roles?'"
On the phrase "Mamba Time":
"It is a specific game management time. So yeah, we don't want to be in it very often, but you'd be down by more than one score. And so, how do you get back in the fight quickly and then kick a field goal or try to get points before a certain time threshold so then you don't have to rely on at the end of the game a score and an onside kick. So, say you're down by nine points, there might be a time at 2:50 that you want to go kick the field goal, kick it off, play defense, get it back. So, it's a strategy that we have to put ourselves through. I think early on in my coaching career, I didn't want to talk about four minute or losing or mamba time, but to hell with that, that's going to happen, and you want to find ways to go fight and be ready for it. But it was a term that we had come up with last year, I think it was Baltimore, we were in this space like that, kicked a field goal to the end. And so, I think so many times we've all seen the offense to keep trying to go down and score and then there's 30 seconds left, the onside kick, we know the percentages aren't so good for that. So, we just said that sometimes you may have to fight to get a score before the time threshold takes a hold of you. So, that's what mamba time is."
On the changes to the facility making Washington a destination:
"Yeah, and that really is from Josh [Harris] first. A championship environment, it's a lot of things. It's the attitude, it's the people, it's the space. And I think you're showing regard for the players in that sense to make sure the locker room, I want you guys to see the meeting rooms as well from a learning environment, what that could be. So, could we make the areas where the players are spending the most of their time really strong for them. But that's really from Josh, 'Hey, I really want to send the message of, this is how we're going to do business moving forward.' And it did make a big difference for sure."
On what stands out from New York's defensive front:
"A lot, and I think the speed, I really am impressed by that. I like the action, I like their investment into that group. They've got [New York Giants DT] Dexter [Lawrence] who's got great size and power, and they got speed out on the edges. So, I think probably the combination of the two is what I like about them. When you have three jets that you can use in different spots, you can try to create matchups to do that. And so, I sense that's where they're headed, but it's a really strong group."
On how the time passed from the end of last season to now:
"Like most things, there's a process that you want to go through to get there, and the after actions are important. You don't want to lose the pain of a game like that, so there was lessons that you wanted to take from it. You hear us talk about turnover margins so often that maybe, oh, again, again, but it's such an important part of what we do. But then it was about, we met after the season, I can still remember sitting with [General Manager] Adam [Peters] talking to so many players about coming back who were free agents. And I think that's when it clicked for me. I think you're so often you're just in the fight, you're in the fight. But then it came to me, they want to be part of this. They recognized an identity started and friends and family may have asked like, 'How do you replicate that or duplicate that,' and you guys ask that question a lot too [laughs]. But my response to them was, I don't want to replicate it I want to build off it and I want this to be the start of it. And that's why the identity piece was so important for me because it's the growing of it and the building of it. But it was probably in that moment after the loss about we met with the X number of players that were unrestricted free agents, and you could just feel that to come back. And so, to Adam and his team to get so many of those guys back into the mix. Then trades then to that, it took a lot of time and effort to connect to all the players, but it's been also a lot of fun to get to know some of these new guys, like coaching [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] is fun and [DT Javon] Kinlaw and [S] Will Harris and getting to know [CB] Jonathan Jones, how thoughtful he is about playing and why he's been so good. And so, I could name a number of guys, but those are just a few that come to mind. I love the draft part of an offseason because you learn about the players, you learn what unique things they are and then training camp is getting your team ready. So, it's been a lot, but I think of it in these bite-sized spots, this and then into this and then into this. And I don't think of it in the totality. When I was doing the free agency, I wasn't thinking about the draft and draft, I wasn't thinking about training camp. I just try to really stay in that space and live in it. I don't want to miss it."
On having a running attack by committee and on the main factor that led to keeping four running backs on the 53-man roster:
"It was that, it was special teams and I just think it's different than it was, I don't know, three or four years ago. And we'll see if, how many more teams are covering and returning kicks, that is it going to be as high as ours was in terms of covering, I don't know. But I do think the safeties and the running backs are sometimes your most elevated special teams guys and have spaces to go and make impact based on their speed and toughness. So, those two positions often times are right in the middle of it all and the return game, especially."
On what makes Week 1 special:
"Yeah, you're exactly right. It's awesome and I think you're stepping out on that journey together. That's what Week 1 means to me. We all know that, I mean, there's a long season, we'll have lots of these, lots of games but there is a stepping off point that, 'Okay, it's time.' And you felt that energy, it just happens and you feel it in the building, you feel it in the room and like I said, it takes a while for your team to really be who you can be and the best of the best teams will be a hell of a lot better towards the end of the season than they are today. That's their skills, their execution, and we'll work hard to do that, but there is a fun time of doing something, man, we've really put it in together let's step off, let's go into this thing together."
On what determines a successful season:
"Throwing a great first game, honestly, it's so far away from me to think that far ahead. I just want to make sure as we're building our program here, man, identity. And to be that you have to do a lot of things to sustain it. There's a certain attitude and way that you play. We're bold, we want to be aggressive, so we have to do all those things and if we do them right and hit the markers in that spot, that will be a successful season. But I'm not into the comparing of what was here, what's now. I had a blast doing it with that team and now it's this one and I don't want to look back and look forward and look back and look forward. I just want to absolutely go forward with this crew."
On managing expectations going into the season:
"Yeah, we really don't look too far ahead, and we have to stay that way. It's not that you have blinders on, I get that, and the expectations of things really comes from the outside. But if we're really going to be who we want to be, we're the ones that have to challenge ourselves to see how far we can take it or how high our standards can go. That's practice habits, that's technique, that's skill, that's a mindset, that's an attitude. So, it's all of those things. So, if we have to think that the season doesn't begin until January, we'll miss it. We'll miss all of it. And there's way too much fun to do so we just, man, we throw it one week at a time and I know that's super cliche, but we really do try to live that way. Every team we go, it's going to be a matchup and here it is, right? The first game, division game, had one that was a walk off field goal and one that was within a one score game. So, when you play a division game, you're ready to get down right off the bat. And so, I think it's kind of cool with the NFL, there's a lot of them this week, but it is even extra special I would say when you get to do it with the division team right off the bat and go fight for it."
