(On the new rule changes and if there are any he was particularly in favor of) “I think we were right on board with everything. How that usually works is it comes out obviously to us, the proposals and the bylaws, and the committees work them all out, obviously the Competition Committee and other committees too. So they start coming out and then there is a discussion that goes on to what is really best for your team. I may have that discussion with other coaches around the league, you know what their thoughts are, if I do not have a good understanding of something from the people that put the proposal up. Then the way the process works is obviously I receive a copy, [General Manager] Dave [Caldwell] receives a copy and ownership, you know [Owner] Shad [Khan] receives a copy. So basically, I look at it, Dave and I will talk and have conversations about it and then obviously we will meet with Shad with this, obviously virtual or over the phone. We meet, we talk, and we discuss what we think is best for obviously for our football team, but also what is best for the game. We were in favor of everything that occurred the other day.”
(On how Gardner Minshew is able to pick up information so quickly, especially during this time when on-field work is restricted) “Sure, I think, I think everyone is a little bit different as far as how they learn and how they retain information. I think that what worked for Gardner is that early on when we first had him and we saw that that there was this kind of advanced retention that he had with the offenses, you know it was intriguing and we wound up asking him, ‘Hey, how are you able to do this?’ He has some techniques that he uses and goes through as far as you know listening to a play, and then shutting it off right in the play up with all the progressions. Then also you know him being able to call out the plays, verbally, him calling the plays so he works extremely hard and does a lot of different things for him to retain information. I think the most important thing and what we would do football-wise, and we have had these conversations with you know coaches and players, is that everyone learns differently. I learn differently than [Director of Public Relations] Tad [Dickman]. We all learn differently and as coaches to get it across and get their attention you’ve got to find that way. Some guys like I said before, very few can take it from the classroom to the field, that’s why there is a lot of anxiety during this time. Really, for me personally when I was an assistant coach, I probably had less than 1 percent of those players that could do that. The rest of them relied on the film work, the walkthrough, the making an error and then correcting it to get better. So fortunate for us, Gardner is a guy that can get out there and really learn and try to do what you want when he gets on the field. So, you know those are the different things that he does that I think gives him the ability to understand what we want.”
(On if Gardner Minshew can pick things up quickly enough to help assist the other teammates) “No, I think it is always important. I think one of the keys to being successful in this league is that what you want your quarterback to be ahead of everybody else on offense. Meaning that the other guys on offense are trying to catch up to that quarterback, to where he is. It creates competition. It creates the ability to know what you are doing to be on the field with that quarterback. The quarterback, we all know that if he is ahead of everyone else then obviously he becomes like another coach and helping everyone around him, but just the mentality of, ‘Hey, this quarterback is going now. I got to keep up. I got to keep up with him.’ It keeps everyone you know on track. I think that when everyone else wants to do different things and is ahead of the quarterback, well that’s going to stop the progress of where you want to be offensively. I am not going to say it is going to stop you know your production, but it is going to stop the progress of what you would like to have in your playbook and what you would be able to do. So your menu will be a little bit less therefore, playmaking, athletic ability, all of that other stuff comes in. Strategically you might not be able to do it as much as you want.”
(On how he feels about coaches and players being able to return to the office) “Well, one is that there is no one more eager than my family for us to return to work, that’s for sure. I know for sure we’re going to continue the virtual meetings that we’re doing. The memo that I received, it said, ‘Members of the Coaching Staff’ so I don’t know if we’re going to go in as a coaching staff as a phase. I don’t know about the players because I believe the NFLPA is involved with that, but we’re prepared either way, whether we come back as a staff or players come back in the building. We’re prepared for anything. So if anything, during this time we’ve had time to make sure we are prepared because the one thing, like I’ve told everyone, is that what we don’t want is all of a sudden in three days we’re going to be back, or in three days, you know, this is going to happen then all of a sudden it’s a scramble because then I don’t think you’re going to be fair to the players. I wanted to make sure that everything is set up so I’m heavily involved in the operation part of it as far as what we’re doing with the rules that are in place today. We’re working on all that and that’s just how I feel. I think that it’s difficult if the staff goes in there, there’s nothing that we’re doing right now that we couldn’t do if we were all just in the building. The thing about being in the building is are the players in the building? I think that’s the key thing. I think right now the one thing we’re missing, we’re getting everything done, is the ability to be with our players. When they tell us that it’s safe and competitive equality comes into place, we’ll be ready to go. We look forward to it, but we know there’s a lot of work and a lot of preparation for that as we go forward. I think that the only thing that I thought about was that if we do start bringing the coaches back, then we can get into a system of what our protocol is, our procedures of how are we meeting as a staff because of social distancing, how we move around the building, how everything’s going to go. I thought that if we do come back, at least we would’ve gone through it, where if the players don’t come back, I’d like people, the head of departments, the people that are working in the building to have all that in place. Having done it that way we can all help the players adapt to it. One of the things that I’ve been doing in our virtual team meetings is I’ve explained to the players. I’ve given them all the information that I have, but to tell them, ‘Hey, listen, let’s make sure we understand that it’s going to be different whenever we come back.’ My goal is to keep informing the players of the procedures and what we’re trying to get done so that when they do come back, their focus isn’t going to be on how we’re eating, how is the locker room, all the things that we have to do to keep each other safe. Their focus can be on what we have to do to win football games.”
(On Microsoft Teams whiteboard application and how tools like that help maintain player accountability in a virtual world) “We’re with our players installing, going through things because we have testing that we do. When you talk about the whiteboard and what Gardner [Minshew II] is doing, that’s totally separate from the staff. So, that pretty much, probably, for lack of a better way to describe it, really takes the place of, you know, you read about these quarterback that get together with their receivers and work on things extra during the off season. That’s separate. These players, we’re not on these calls when that’s going on. They’re getting together on their own, and it sounds like they’re going through where they’re calling plays, they’re discussing it, they’re working. I like that because obviously you have our players, they’re talking to each other, they’re trading some chemistry, and I think it creates accountability amongst themselves. I think at every level accountability is created where I’m accountable to the organization, obviously, the league, ownership, the coaches and the players. I think the players, they’re going to be accountable working with the coaches, but they’re also going to be even more so accountable, in my opinion, when you’re working with each other. I think that’s the best way to create accountability is when the players are keeping themselves accountable.”
(On how close the team is to having done everything they have from a virtual basis and at what point they will need to get out on the field to improve) “I think sometime in June that will be the case as far as veteran players, meaning that everything is put in place to make sure that all of these different things have been covered. All of the things that we have will be covered by what would have been the end of our minicamp. We have been trying to stay in phase with that plan. I think that is when I would say, ‘Hey, listen. That is it.’ The rookies, I think it is a little bit different. The rookies, I think can be expanded a little more. Just more of a follow up, just a little more time with any questions. I do not know how many days, but maybe a week or two because normally how it works is we are done somewhere in that second week of June and then the rookies will usually stay on till June 26, till the end of June. A lot of that training for the rookies is more rookie development training in terms of the league and moving and things of that nature. You are right. There is a point where it is, ‘Let’s go.’ I think that point will be in the next week or two. Like I said, we have everything installed. We are challenging them for technique. We are trying to get that done, but it is difficult to do. It is challenging, and we are always trying to find new ways to do it. We talk about it each week.”
(On how beneficial it is to have veterans that know this offense) “I think it helps. I think when I have been on the calls with Mike Glennon having been involved with some of this offense when he was in Oakland, I think it helps. We as coaches – and I always challenge the coaches on how you talk and communicate with players – a lot of times, all of us have all been educated in some form, grammar school, college, high school. You have some teachers that communicate just at one level. They will connect to those students at the one level and sometimes if you do not communicate at that level, you are going to struggle to really know what is going on. What do you do? You find someone in the class or you get a tutor and you say, ‘Hey, help me understand.’ They explain it in a different way and all of a sudden, you have it. I think a lot of times we as coaches, we are challenged to communicate in all of these different ways so we can get our point across. But I think from player to player, a lot of times the players will open up more. A lot of times what we try to overcome from a teaching standpoint is that there is no such thing as a dumb question. When I was a position coach, I would never let anyone laugh at a question because I never wanted to embarrass someone. You want to create this environment where it is open and you can learn. I think that when you have players around and have a background, the most important thing is that you trust that they are smart and truly do know it and try to explain it in maybe a different way for someone to pick it up and take somebody under their wing. I think all of those things help you as you go forward. I worked with a lot of coaches before that believe in bringing in a veteran player that has a background in the system at each position. I have seen pluses and minuses, like with everything, with that type of philosophy. You get comfortable sometimes with the player that might know what to do, but you have another guy behind him that is working his butt off to figure it out and is a better athlete. A lot of times as coaches, you are going to play with the guy that is safer, but may not be able to make the play. When you have a guy that can make the play, they may not be in the right position. There is a lot of balance to that and working through it. We do have some key players, veteran players that do have a little bit of background in the system. I think that will help us. Really, the only position that we do not have [with experience in the system] is really the offensive line when you think about it. Receiver, we have people that have experience in the system. At quarterback, we do. Running back, tight end – the offensive line is the group that does not have that veteran that has been in it, but there are a lot of similarities.”
