(On the meetings and conversations that sparked today’s walk) “I think we had a lot of discussions and on Monday, during the team meeting, I had mentioned to the team, not in as much depth as now looking back I wish I would have, but I mentioned to the team, ‘Hey, we need to talk about these things and get those things out there.’ We didn’t have a team meeting planned for Tuesday virtually. We usually do them at the beginning and at the end of the week. I started to listen, learn from [Director of Player Development] Marcus [Pollard] on my position and how I can support the players and we opened it up on Tuesday. And like I said, I’ve always prided myself in not really, no matter what it is, never to walk in anyone else’s shoes. I wanted to make sure the players understood that I want your help. I want to learn. I want to listen. I want to be able to support. I can’t tell you, and I think you can talk to the players about this because I don’t want to release what was said, but I couldn’t be more proud of these men, both black and white. The way they presented themselves and what they talked about, it’s a special group. And obviously with our owner, Shad Khan, even [General Manager] Dave Caldwell, the way they’ve come out and supported what the players are discussing is just outstanding.”
(On how he’s grown between the events of 2017 and now) “Peyton Thompson put out that tweet. To me, obviously it was hurtful, because I really didn’t have that stance and I thought I clearly communicated that to the players, but after speaking with Peyton and when you are a head coach, I’ve said this many times, you represent a lot of different things depending on how people look at you. I think I go back, and I told the players this, even though you are the head coach and you say, ‘It is your right,’ but then if you don’t follow it up and really hammer it home and there’s things going on that are confusing, whether it’s job security or things of that nature that have been mentioned to the player, that’s where I’ve learned I have to do a better job. And I have to make sure and we’ve done that with our players. From ownership to Dave Caldwell to myself, we’ve told them how we feel and that no player will be punished in our organizations by expressing their rights.”
(On if he feels other coaches in the league are on the same page as him) “I think you’re exactly right when you say I don’t know. I’m not one of those guys, ‘Hey, what you are guys doing over here? What are you guys doing over there?’ I can’t worry about that because I don’t know what goes on in other organizations, even though people may perceive that I do. I can only control what goes on in our organization and our community, and our players’ communities and our assistant coaches. That’s the only thing I can control or I can support or I can listen to or I can understand. So I’ve been tied up quite a bit as you know because, I say it again, the anger, the frustration, the emotion of this has really been an experience that I want to make sure that I channel into learning and doing the best job in these next steps to how we make this thing sustainable.”
(On Chris Conley and what impact he may have on the Jaguars locker room) “I go back to the same thing. This is not meant to be like, ‘Alright, we want to do this or we want you to do this, hey let’s all take a picture.’ This is not staged. That’s the thing. I’m humbled to be out here, but I understand because of my position. It’s really about the players and what we can do to support them. Chris represents our locker room. All of the players, I believe in my heart, can get up there and clearly communicate what their feelings are and what they’re clearly doing, both in 2017 and also now.”
(On what he’s learned from his conversation with his children this week) “As a white male, I was happy that my wife and I were able to bring this discussion up with our family to see where our children are at and kind of take a check point on what kind of parents we are and how we’ve raised our children, and we’ve taken a lot of pride in that. My wife’s father is a football coach and was brought up basically in a locker room of diversity. She’s a district attorney and worked quite a bit in those arenas where there’s diversity. We’ve also had a zero tolerance policy for racism. It was amazing how perceptive the children are and encouraging for my wife and I where our children are that they wanted to go out, they wanted to express themselves and I was very, very proud of them.”
(On seeing people of all colors protest) “I keep going back to – and I do not know the order – but the murder of George Floyd has sparked frustration, anger … You take a step back and you think, what can I do? Not only as a white male, but as a head football coach. There is a lot going on, but what can we control? We can control what is going on here. I think you will see steps as we progress through this. What is the plan? How are you going to sustain it? You get a lot of these questions. We are working. Today was just the first step. That is why you see it with the players and the organization. I’m sure that we’ll start as we go with direction from the players as what our next steps are to do this. I was happy to see that the main point of concern was how do we not let this go and have a moment and then all of a sudden, we are doing the same thing that we have always done, which is chaotic. I really think with the type of players that we have in this locker room that we will be able to do something that is sustainable for a long time. Just saying, ‘Well, we made progress,’ or if we are doing this or doing that [is not enough]. I feel racism should be of zero tolerance, plain and simple. All of us have been exposed to it or viewed it or seen it whether it be our neighborhoods or our communities or our schools or our jobs. Whatever industry we are in, we have seen it. Well, stop being a bystander and do something to support it. Make no doubt about it. And I will say this again – I believe as a white male, I need to listen and learn and find ways that I can use my position and just with humanity as far as doing the right thing.”
(On if there is a delicate balance between football related work and discussing social issues as a team) “Absolutely. Everything is open. Like I said before and I said it after we were done, you kind of get through … When you are talking about sustaining it, you are talking through having adversity in the season, you are sore, you are hurt, there is job security [stress], all of that stuff – as far as your performance. That distracts from something that we all have to believe, which I do believe is much more powerful than the sport and try to use … I think of the players that we have and the meetings that we have and how competitive our sport is. Our competitiveness is always to win. I’m talking about anyone that has played, whether you’re black or whether you’re white. I think that we need to channel that type of competitiveness and win this movement. If we attack this movement like we attack and compete as athletes, I think we have a hell of a chance. I think that we need the support of others though. It does not just stop here, but it starts here.”
(On if systemic racism and police brutality were part of the discussion the team has had and what it meant to have the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office with the group today) “There were no boundaries to the discussions we had. Those discussions went of every form – of what has gone on and different forms of racism that have occurred. Obviously that was brought up and it was discussed. I believe that we are fortunate with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. I have always felt – I can’t speak for anyone else – that we have had a good relationship and that they have tried to come here and help our players. We had some events where they would come over for breakfast, but I think what occurs, is how do you sustain that through a season when you have everyone. Those are things that we are going to be looking at to carve out and to make sure that these things are important. Make no mistake, we will be able to do what we have to do. We cut out times for ourselves whether it be personally or whether to work out or whether to read. We do have to take those times that we are cutting out personally outside of what we do and focus on what can we do to make this right. That is just my opinion on how I think we should approach it and again, learning is a big thing for me and I’m learning from the players, but I am willing to listen and whatever I have to do to make this thing right, I am going to do everything in my power.”
