(On the difference of this combine compared to last year) “The first thing that kind of hits you in the face is the schedule and how everything has been redone. I think for many years you come here and you have this kind of set schedule. With this year, it’s been a little different. You try to look at it beforehand and try to get a feel of how you’re going to fill in the gaps so you can continue to keep working throughout the day during the downtime. It’s just a matter of kind of getting used to the new schedule and I think you look forward to it, there is an anticipation now for the workout. When you come in right away, the workouts start quickly. It’s just a little bit different and not in a bad way, but I am kind of excited to see some of these guys get out there and run and work out.”
(On how the team will handle two home games in London from a logistics perspective) “I think we’ll go out there for 10 days. I think it will obviously be a challenge for the players and the coaches. We’re looking at things first and foremost to make sure our players are good. That’s the first thing we’ve been talking about looking at, investigating and making things right for our players. It is a challenge. A lot of teams will go to the West Coast and play two games on the West Coast from the East Coast and stay out 10 days. We’ve been talking to a couple of teams that have done that to see what they have done. People will go offsite before they go to Mexico, and talk to teams and what they have done there. Knowing that, it is going to be a little different for our players to be away from their families. I feel that and I’m going to do everything I can to make it as easy of a transition as I can for them.”
(On if being in London for 10 days will be an advantage) “I think we’re going to try to do everything we can to make sure that we do gain an advantage. I just don’t know. It’s a performance-based business. I still think you have to go out there on Sunday and perform when you play. I have done it a lot of different ways. I have been out there a whole week when we played on Sunday when I was with New Orleans and immediately after the game, flew to London, stayed there the whole week. Obviously when I came to Jacksonville, we’ve been flying out on Thursday. I have seen it done both ways. What I’m trying to do is I’m trying to go back to that experience when I flew out after that Sunday game. I will probably reach out to Coach [Sean] Payton just to kind of remind me what we did with the players. We were rested, we played well and we won the game. I think anytime you win, you kind of look back and you say, ‘What did we do there? Let’s do the same thing.’ If you lose, you want to make sure you change it up.”
(On the fan reaction to playing two games in London) “It’s been interesting for me. I’m a guy that gets out a lot in the community, meaning that I get out to hardware stores and supermarkets, some low-key dive bars, but I don’t want to go there. (laughter) I get a chance to really connect and talk to the fan that is doing everything he can to try and get the season tickets to enjoy the games. I have a great amount of empathy for the challenges that they have. I look at it as it is a challenge for our fans, a challenge for our coaches, a challenge for the players – to sustain our team in Jacksonville, if that’s what we have to do, that’s what we have to do. I understand the challenges of the business end of what they have to do. I think it does open up a fanbase for us. I think we have been very well received there. I think for the fan that can afford to go out there, it’s going to be an outstanding trip. For those who can’t, hopefully my goal is to win games and we can help them at the end of the year and get some [postseason] home games. I see the challenges for everyone and every situation. Every one of them has a point and I understand that. At the end, from a business standpoint from what we have to do to sustain ourselves, I will do whatever we have to do to sustain our organization in Jacksonville.”
(On the season Leonard Fournette had despite not scoring many touchdowns) “I think Leonard did everything that we wanted him to do – you talk about a workhorse. A guy that carried the load, a guy that had a ton of receptions. He did a lot of great things for us coming out of the backfield, his protection was probably one of the things he did a heck of a job on this year. Unfortunately it was not just Leonard [who didn’t score a lot], I think it was everyone, we didn’t get into the end zone enough. I think as we get better around ourselves and the players and we get better in the year coming … I think we have to do a better job coaching-wise situationally in the red zone to score those touchdowns, and I think they will come.”
(On what position Myles Jack will play) “I think when you look at Myles, first of all, he’s doing really well. He’s rehabbing well. We’re excited. He’ll be back sometime in mid-March. We’re going to make sure that we better the team as a whole. The one thing about Myles is that he has been great. He is a guy that is super talented, he has played multiple positions for us already. Getting him comfortable is really what my main goal is and putting him in a spot where he can go and play and maybe not have to worry about a lot of other people. He has done a good job. He has been able to call the defenses for us. He has been a leader on that side of the football. I think at the end of the day, whatever combination is going to make us a better [team], that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to do that in discussions with the player first before we publicly go out there and tell people what we are doing.”
(On the decision to bring Todd Wash back) “I think it’s simple for me to see. You look over a period of time and I think you look at a body of work, you talk about someone who has been around with me for a long period of time. I think when you look at what he has done as a defensive coordinator, over the majority of time, you are talking about a defense that probably ranks fifth in the league [over that span]. I think a lot of time what happens in this profession is you get caught up in one year [where it is bad] and it’s, ‘Oh my god, we have to make a change because we went down.’ There were a lot of reasons. We had a lot of change, we had a lot turnover on the defensive side. We had injuries on that side of the football. All of those things come into play, but I have complete confidence in Coach Wash and the rest of the defensive staff. We just have to do a better job of coaching and a better job of getting them in position and a better job of playing, too.”
(On the changes to the combine schedule) “It is different, in a good way. You come in and you get everything done. For me, I have an anxiety now for the workout. You’re kind of here and you’re seeing the players and you’re talking to them. I’m excited to see these guys on the field and that’s what changed. I think you just have to work the schedule and you continue to get work done even though you are in Indianapolis, which is always a challenge in this profession.”
(On if it feels the event is too made for TV) “I think any time you’re doing something for the fans to give them an insight to what goes on, that’s what our fans want. I’m excited for them. It gives you a chance. A lot of times people don’t really know what’s going on. They just see numbers and it gives a chance for our fans to see these players at a very young age and going into their rookie season to see how they perform and what they do. I have a great respect for that. Having been a player at the combine, I always say the pressure on a lot of these guys … Especially when it gets down to the 40-yard dash. I used to think to myself, ‘I have trained all these months to run this 40. I’m going to put my hand in the ground and this is going to be a big thing. If I run extremely well, it’s going to help me. If I don’t run well, I’m in trouble and I probably only have one other opportunity, but it won’t be in front of as many people.’ I always think of what these athletes have done and the preparation and how much pressure and anxiety goes into how many bench presses, what do they run and then having to answer questions about arm reach, length and all of those other things get put into play. You go around the gambit and you have to be on top of your game. You can’t afford to go into a room with a bunch of coaches and scouts and not have great enthusiasm and know what your strengths and weaknesses are. I give them a lot of credit. I remember my experience in the combine, you go through this medical check and I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t really talk to anyone. They kind of started off with your finger … I did not have any major injuries and you have these people grabbing you all over the place and looking at your knee and moving your knee. I will never forget I woke up the next day and I had the bench press and I’m like, ‘Holy cow, I’m sore as hell. What the hell am I sore about?’ In your mind, you’re preparing your body to be at top form when you get here. It’s interesting. You will see them tonight. They are working on strides and running and they put a lot of work into it. I feel for them when they get in. I really root for everyone to do their best. You don’t want to see anyone falter because you know they have put in the work.”
(On why there have been so few left-handed quarterbacks) “I’m sure more and more will come up. I think a lot of them are left-handed pitchers in major league baseball. If I can be a left-handed pitcher and throw in the 90s and play major league baseball, that’s a pretty good gig. I don’t have anyone 300 pounds running at me and trying to take me down. I think there will probably me more and more of that. I think as long as you can play the position, I think the position is starting to change a little bit with mobility and things of that nature. There is nothing ever written. I have never seen anything that said, ‘We must get a right-handed quarterback.’”
(On why so many head coaches have been more successful in their second stint) “I think it’s a hard job to prepare for. I did not think that when I first became the head coach. I think that you work the whole time or you try to put yourself in the position where you are aware of things, you have seen things go on, you feel very comfortable that you are able to handle every situation. You have to have confidence in that. I think the more you do it every day, it kind of changes. There are things that come up where you are kind of like, ‘Holy cow, I didn’t expect this.’ How you handle it … Players are constantly changing. There is a lot of turnover. There is a lot of things on your plate. I think the experience definitely helps more and more. Now when something comes through the door, it’s not like that anxiety level. It’s, ‘Here we go, let me see how I can figure this one out.’”
(On the benefit of having former head coaches on staff in Ben McAdoo and Jay Gruden) “When people are former head coaches, they bring [experience], they will be able to help me in the seat I’m in. They understand what’s going on. I think those coaches like Jay or Ben, they have dealt with a lot of players, a lot of different people, dealt with a lot of coaches. They have managed a lot of people. I think those people are always going to help you if you handle things the right way. For me, it was just a matter of what do these guys want to do? They want to win for Jacksonville. They want to win for us right here. That is their whole focus and their whole goal. I look back a lot at not necessarily their coaching record and what they did, but for the job we are trying to hire them for. When you look at Jay and his play-calling ability and obviously what he did in Cincinnati and then you look at Ben and what he did in Green Bay and when he was hired in New York. We are talking about working with quarterbacks and with Jay, with coordinating. Those are the things that came into play. Those guys have fit in great. Their communication has been awesome. I’m excited about what we’ve been doing and where we’re going. There is an energy in our offices.”
(On if he has been working closer with personnel than in the past) “Absolutely. All of us. There has been great communication, not only just with the coaches and the scouts, but really within the whole building. That’s the one thing that I have seen that is really going in a positive direction. There are a lot of challenges in our building. It is an older building. There are a lot of walls, there are a lot of doors. You guys see it all the time. We have to get you through that maze sometimes and if [Director of Public Relations] Tad [Dickman] is in a good mood, he’ll let you cut through (laughter). I think those things are challenges for us. Our goal has been to knock down these walls, break this down, make sure we are communicating and my thing … I was able to speak to people on the business side and people that run the stadium or do security – I wanted to make sure that I touched everyone that had something to do with our product on the field. The people that touch our players and to make sure they understand, this is one team. We are one team and we need everyone pulling in the right direction. If the grass is too long and the players don’t like it, that’s a problem. If the mail is not delivered, that’s a problem. Do not look at yourself as if you are not part of helping us be able to win. This is our team, we are in it together. It is open door [policy] and I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that. That has gone along well, we have to stay consistent with it and we have to back it. People in the building, they pull for us and go through it just like everyone else. When you do not win football games and everyone knows that you work for the Jacksonville Jaguars, you’re the one that is out there at the waiting line at the carpool or picking your kids up from school, everyone wants to know. Our fans, they want answers and I think that they go through a lot. They go through the ups and downs like we do and the more we can keep them informed of what we’re doing, I think the better case of being one team.”
