Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor, Defensive Coordinator Mike Caldwell, and Special Teams Coordinator Heath Farwell
SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR HEATH FARWELL
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023
(On a short punt that CB Chris Claybrooks didn’t see) “It’s one of those unfortunate plays. We talk so
much about communication, and anytime those balls are on the ground, we’re trying to communicate to
our other guys across the field to kind of get off the field because you hate to have those turnovers to
put our defense in a tough position, but in that circumstance, I sit on the sidelines trying to think how
could I coach it different? What could I tell him? The punt was so short, there’s nothing I could tell him.
He’s doing his job, he’s doing a good job blocking his gunner, and unfortunately, I think it’s one of those
unique circumstances where it’s such a short punt. Jamal (WR Jamal Agnew) was running up there trying
to communicate, but he’s 30 yards away. It’s tough to communicate that. I think it’s one of those
unfortunate deals. I don’t think there’s much he can do different or I can do different with that.”
(On a punt where it was questionable if CB Chris Claybrooks touched it or not) “Too close for comfort,
and on the field, I was not sure either. One of the first things I asked TC (CB Tevaughn Campbell) was,
‘What did you think?’ He said, ‘I didn’t know, and I thought the best move was to pick it up and run it.’ I
don’t blame him for that as well. It’s something that’s kind of such a unique play I think because you
don’t see these punters, they’re so good, you rarely see punts that short that are this concerning, but
definitely as that game progressed, I had to really think how did I want to play it and it kind of takes
away potentially bailers and some of those other things that have more guys down the field, it prevents
you from having because you’re concerned. It is a concern because those are game-changing plays that
could be a big impact on the outcome.”
(On if the punt hit CB Chris Claybrooks at all) “It didn’t hit him, but that was the concern.”
(On if there is a code word for when to get off the field in that sort of punt situation) “The kind of
universal is ‘Peter,’ and that’s what everybody uses. It’s ‘Peter! Peter! Peter!’ I think that goes back a
million years ago. That’s what it was called when I was playing, and that’s what it’s still called pretty
much universal across the league.”
(On where he was when K Riley Patterson made the game-winning kick and his emotions) “First off, my
position, some of the coaches were so confident, they started taking off headsets and all that stuff,
where I thought, I’m not moving a bit. I didn’t move from my spot, from my stance. I did not talk to him
like I wouldn’t on any other kick, wanted to treat it just like every other kick he’s had, first game of the
regular season, and that’s exactly what he did. I was nervous of course, but nothing but trust in our
operation from Ross (Long Snapper Ross Matiscik) to Logan (P Logan Cooke) with the hold, then the kick.
He’s just been so consistent this season that we just trust him with those kicks in those situations, even
when they iced him, it was almost laughable to me just as far as that’s part of the process, the other
team is going to do that, then just get back to what you do. Let’s just get back to the normal kick, the
normal everything, do it exactly like you do every other kick, and that’s exactly what he did. To see it go
through, and obviously game-winners are huge, then one in the playoffs, so just the game on the line,
it’s a big deal for the team, big deal for the organization, where we’re headed, give us another
opportunity this week to be out here practicing with each other, playing this week. It’s a cool deal for
the team.”
(On K Riley Patterson bouncing back after missing field goals against Kansas City) “I think he just got back
to what he does. He’s been a consistent kicker over his short career, and just getting back to what he
does. It’s just all his fundamentals, all his footwork, all his technique, and just getting back to the details
of it. He’s just been great for us. There are not many kickers across the league that have hit a percentage
like that to end the season and then clutch kicks in the playoffs is big. It just builds his confidence and
the team’s confidence in him.”
(On relying on special teams in previous games such as against the Titans) “Yeah, special teams had a big
impact on that game. We had some good returns by Jamal [WR Jamal Agnew]. Great job by those guys,
but those field goals were big in that game and coming down in the playoffs or a game like that where
the division is on the line, special teams have a big impact because they’re all within three, seven, or one
score games. All of those points are so big. It’ll have a big impact on this game as well, we’ve got to
make all of our kicks, we’ve got to cover the field, we’ve got to do all those things because special teams
are going to be a huge portion of this game.”
(On cold temperatures having an impact on kicks last game) “Yeah, anytime there’s colder
temperatures, the ball isn’t going to fly as well. It wasn’t flying as well for their team as well. I think
that’s part of it. As the temperatures get colder, even more wind, all the weather is a factor. The reality
is that both teams have to deal with it. We’re going to have some potential weather this weekend, they
have to kick and punt it just like we do. That’s why I always look at our goals each week, which is to beat
the opponent in their net versus in our net, and our coverage versus theirs, because each week is
different. If it’s an 80-degree day in Jacksonville is way different than a 40-degree day with a little bit of
breeze or wind. Your nets are going to be different; the coverage is going to be different; everything is
going to be completely different.”
(On how far out he would’ve been comfortable with K Riley Patterson kicking the game-winning field
goal) “That’s some schematical stuff we talk about obviously; it changes within the game. Depending on
the weather, depending on the direction we were going, the wind was blowing that direction. We felt
comfortable that he had some more range. The good part about it was that we had that big, long 25-
yard run that really helped us out a ton. He had some more leg, we could’ve felt comfortable a little
farther out, but the beauty of it is that the offense did fantastic and put us in great position to get
there.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023
(On conversation of fourth-and-one call during the last game) “Sure, we had a play called. We lined up
for it, we didn’t love the way they were lined up. It was kind of like as you go and it’s a critical situation,
obviously you need your timeouts as we still needed yards to get a field goal. Conversation we all came
to the conclusion of was that it was the most important down if we didn’t all believe in it, let’s call a
timeout and get the right one called. We were looking at our short yardage menu and suggested that
and we ended up choosing the one that was suggested. Phil [Offensive Line Coach Phil Rauscher]
immediately said yes and we just let it ride. The second you saw the players, whatever we would’ve
called, I think they would’ve executed at that moment.”
(On feeling confident on the fourth-and-one play last game) “Sure. We were very confident in how they
were lined up. They were in a base six-one front which is something they had done across the season, so
it was specifically put in to attack that front. We liked the idea that it sold the sneak and the push
element that’s been so common. Trevor [quarterback Trevor Lawrence] converted a sneak on a two-
point play earlier. All signs just fell to that being something we believed in. For it to make it on the call
sheet, we believe in it. As we’ve gone in the last month or so, every time we’ve put a play in, we all say,
‘Are you comfortable with this for the season then?’ If we’re throwing it to that guy, or sometimes it
takes determination of what makes the call sheet because as the stakes get higher, we want to make
sure we have the right people doing the right thing.”
(On if he’s seen a big play like the fourth-and-one last game work so well before) “One time, when I was
in Philly, we played in the Super Bowl and it was fourth-and-one and Doug [Head Coach Doug Pederson]
called a trick play throwback to the quarterback, that was cool. That worked well.”
(On what he can take away from the film from the first game against Kansas City) “Yeah, that was the
biggest thought. We missed a lot of opportunities. Obviously, they’re a very good team and you have to
take advantage of everything. We stole a little momentum early with the onside kick and then on the
second or third play of the game, I believe we dropped an opportunity for a forty-yard ball that put us in
the red zone. Really, we stole possession with the onside, and then didn’t do anything with it. Ended up
punting it, I think we punted it into the endzone. We really didn’t gain anything out of that. There were
several opportunities where we had opportunities to make plays, didn’t make plays, and whatever that
may be. We had some issues dealing with the noise, going on the road. Looking back early on, I think we
all thought we were a good team. We were comfortable with what we put on tape, we had that in our
minds, and we were this good team, but we hadn’t really accomplished anything at that point. Now, we
still haven’t really accomplished anything, but we’ve won games. We’ve seen that success at the end of
the game that I think gets everybody to buy in a little more. Each time that happens, you just buy in a
little bit more. I think now there’s this true belief that whatever the stakes are, it doesn’t matter. If we
get an opportunity to play in a game, we have an opportunity to win, and we’re excited about that.”
(On significance of Chiefs DT Chris Jones) “Yeah, he’s huge first of all. That was one of the things when
you play in Kansas City, their player parking lot is the same. You walk out the same tunnel to go to our
bus, so we were all walking along this guy at the end of the game and it’s like, ‘Golly, this guy is huge.’
He’s a monster. They play him everywhere, so he’ll play shade, he’ll play three, he’ll play defensive end,
he can get matched up on anybody he wants. He’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s quick. He just has what
great players have, he has that knack for making a big play when it’s needed and really turning it on if
you give him a one-on-one opportunity. He definitely has our respect.”
(On offense being experienced in the Kansas City atmosphere) “Yeah, I think being there, having been in
that locker room, having dealt with the crowd noise, having prepared for the crowd noise already, it was
cold the last time we went out there, so I don’t think that’s going to surprise anybody. Anytime you have
that experience to lean on, we’ve now played in two games essentially that were win-or-go-home. Every
time you do that, I think it just adds a sense of calmness to the guys and that’s what we’re looking
forward to.”
(On potential snow changing the mindset for the upcoming game) “Yeah, no. It’s tough to prepare for in
Florida, obviously, which is okay. I’m fine with that. It’s certainly something we talk about, anytime
you’re going to play in the elements with your guys, you address it, we talk about it. We do whatever we
can to emphasize ball security, and really, that’s just going through our techniques and fundamentals.
Within the game, you assess how the surface is and how guys are holding up with things you want to do.
I know one time we talked about the weather in here, we talked about if there’s actually weather falling
from the sky. Sometimes that will change even your thoughts on some of the ball handling things you
have in your gameplan, just because the ball gets wet and rain is coming down, your gloves get wet,
different things. It’s accessing what the field is like, the conditions are like within the game if you’re
going to feature some things or not.”
(On if it’s easier to throw the ball in the snow) “Right. I don’t know, I think it comes down to what it feels
like. What the ball feels like, if it’s a slick ball, it’s obviously hard. If there’s just heavy snowflakes and you
got grip on your fingers, now they have the handwarmers and all the stuff inside the hand warmers, the
towel that gives you a little bit of moisture on your hands. I think guys have adjusted as things have gone
on, learning all the tricks and trades and guys wear the scuba suits and all that type of stuff to stay
warm. I think guys have a feel for how they want to manage it now.”
(On the rarity of having a close bond for a team’s first year together) “That’s a good question. I don’t
know necessarily how that plays out, but I think it’s just that we brought in the right people. Whether
that was the coaching staff or the additions in free agency and the draft. We kept the right people.
There were times that you got to let some people go that are good players, but don’t fit what we’re
trying to build. You hope you make those decisions, and it works out where you’ve got the right type of
chemistry and the right type of character for these guys to come together when it matters most. This
season has kind of forged the relationships that you’re seeing now, of that we’ve gone through hard
times, we’ve gone through it together, we’ve prepared together, we’ve spread the wealth. This guy has
had a big game, that guy has had a big game, that guy has had a bad game. They’ve gone through so
much together; we’ve lost close games; we’ve won close games. We’ve blown leads, we’ve come back
from it. All that stuff just forges the identity of a team that you hope right now brings together what
you’re seeing and everybody is together believing in each other, supporting one another, and doing
everything we can to win.”
(On the importance of the team’s bond with recent wins) “It’s been huge, because nobody looks around.
At the end of the day, Trevor [quarterback Trevor Lawrence] the other day threw four interceptions in
the first half. There’s not one person that looks at him and thinks, ‘He blew this game for us.’ Everybody
believes in him, everybody understands their part, and all those issues we had. Whether that was
coaching staff, the offensive line, receivers, whatever that may be. It doesn’t matter. That’s what we’ve
come down to; our guys don’t really care. As long as we have a possession and an opportunity to win
the game, that’s all they’re focused on. They’re not focused on who did this, who did that, where we’re
at. Everybody believes that if we have enough possessions to score, we’ll be fine and have that
opportunity for a chance to win the game. That’s all we care about.”
(On inspiration behind the fourth-and-one play last game) “Phil [Offensive Line Coach Phil Rauscher]
usually kind of spearheads our run game planning. Phil, Todd Washington [Assistant Offensive Line
Coach Todd Washington], Rich Angulo [Tight Ends Coach Richard Angulo], those guys kind of have their
hand in all that. We’ll take an idea from anybody. I believe that was a play that they had seen Penn State
run a couple times, I think in the Rose Bowl maybe Penn State ran that. We will take an idea from
anybody and anywhere if it’s going to get us a first down, regardless of when that is. Then again, you
take whatever you see, then you mesh it into what we do with our personnel and play into some of the
things we’ve done in the past. We’re not just going to steal an idea and run it without having any
investigation in it. Every play is too valuable for that. General ideas and things like that, we bounce
around all the time. We ran a play with Agnew [WR Jamal Agnew] at Houston that didn’t work, but we
ran a play with Agnew at Houston that Phil and I had texted each other from some Twitter conversation.
There was a Bo Jackson run; we were like this is really cool, let’s try it. We tried it with Agnew, and it
didn’t work like it did with Bo Jackson doing it. We’ll take an idea from anybody and try it and kind of
turn it into something we already have or something our guys know well. That’s one of the things you
get an opportunity to do, you get a chance to be creative. Sometimes the players send us ideas, things
like that. You get a chance to all come together and build this thing together.”
(On process of seeing plays work in practice to in games) “Yeah, so our short yardage stuff we do on
what we consider a Thursday, which is today, Wednesday. It’s your second practice day of the week,
that’s when we get into our short yardage, third downs. You’ll put a play in, you’ll start working it,
sometimes it’s specific to that defense, so whether we call the play or not, it may go away because you
don’t see that defense again. Or it may be something that we like, and we see similar defenses
throughout the season that we continue to play. We were making jokes because we’ve got plays named
after opponents and stuff like that we’ve never called. We had a play called Commander or something
that was Week One and we’ve never run all year. We’ve put it on 15 gameplans, we just don’t get it
called for whatever reason. Stuff like that kind of takes on a life of its own throughout the season.”
(On the defense being aware of offensive plays called in practice for the first time) “We practice it
typically against our scout defense. We tell them how to line up. We want them in the look that we
expect to see on tape. A lot of times we will say this is from when the Chargers play 75, whatever it is.
It’s the same situation, same people, this is what we anticipate. That’s kind of how it goes.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MIKE CALDWELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023
(On what separates Travis Kelce from the rest of the tight ends in the league) “I think he’s a unique
talent. He’s a guy that, he blocks well, and he has a knack for getting open. He runs the whole route
tree, and the utilize him a bunch, so he’s a guy they will have to focus on and make sure we are able to
slow him down.”
(On TE Travis Kelce having a quarterback background) “That’s a thing you talk about and you talk to the
players about, being able to understand the game and the way he’s able to find holes in the defense or
find weak areas or drift away from a coverage guy in zone coverage, you can tell that from being a
former quarterback you can tell that he is able to see the soft spot in the defense, so that’s things we
talk about and just have to be aware of it.”
(On how to be prepared for QB Patrick Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce this weekend) “We need to focus
on trying to keep him in the pocket so he can’t improvise, but at the same time, that’s what he does.
He’s going to be off time, and we just have to understand that we still rush the passer, be relentless, and
in coverage, just got to blast the receivers. It’s going to happen. He’s going to break the pocket. You just
have to understand that stay in coverage, don’t come across, let our front go and try and contain him.”
(On how to defend a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes) “You either go four, you go five, you go six, you
go seven [rushers]. We have a variety of defenses we can throw at him. We’ll study him, try to take
advantage of what we do well, just go out there and play our game and let the chips fall.”
(On how big DL Roy Robertson-Harris has been) “He’s been huge. You look at it, when we lost Smoot (DL
Dawuane Smoot), Smoot was such a big part of the defense, the pass rush, just being able to play the
run from a different body type. I think Roy has jumped into that role now. He’s able to help us out on
third down, as well as first and second down. He’s been a big part of that pass rush and that pressure
package, being able to sustain.”
(On what he says to the team when they are down 27 points in the Chargers game) “It was funny, on the
sideline, it was so much worry about what we need to do and what’s going wrong with our plays. We try
to correct those on the sideline. The funny thing is, we went in at halftime, and I walk around the corner,
and all the guys are sitting there, had this look on their face, like, ‘OK Coach, what’s up?’ The thing we
tried to emphasize was get a stop, offense, go score, get another stop, offense go score, and it was a
belief that it was going to happen, and it was incredible because the guys, they didn’t waver. They
understood that we didn’t play our best in the first half. Get the ball back to the offense, they’ll handle
their business, and it happened.”
(On if he has ever experienced anything like Saturday’s game in all his time around football) “I don’t like
to talk about it, but it happened in Tampa when I was down there. When you have a guy, we had Brady
(QB Tom Brady), and I’m not comparing the two, Trevor (QB Trevor Lawrence) is his own guy, but when
you have a guy that you believe in, as a defense, it matters to you. When you’re down 27, and you still
believe you can win because you know who you have on the other side of the ball, it matters, and that’s
the big point. There was no hanging your head. There was nobody worried about anything. It was, get a
stop, get the ball back to the offense, get another stop, get the ball back to the offense because of who
we know we have on the other side. That’s something that this year, offense has bailed us out a bunch
of times, we’ve helped them out. It’s a true team that’s rolling right now.”
(On how rare it is to see a team–players and coaches–come together like this in their first year
together) “Really, it goes to Doug (Head Coach Doug Pederson). It’s about the message he’s brought to
the entire team, and the guys believe. We believe in each other, and when you believe anything can
happen.”
