HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
JUNE 9, 2026
(On the rationale behind having more OTAs after mandatory minicamp) “Yeah, just giving
the guys a week. This is a little bit more competitive time with the mamba periods being
involved. Just wanted to give us maybe a week away from this in terms of the big picture of
it from an offseason standpoint of rest and recovery. Next week, like you mentioned, it’ll be
a little bit toned down. We’ll only be on the grass for about an hour, hour and 15 minutes.
Heavy emphasis on the pass game specific to pass protection, pass coverage, pass rush
and throwing the football. And so, knowing that this is going to be a little bit more
competitive, just wanted to give us a week away and then that last week going into the
offseason is to not be ramped up at this point. To kind of be, alright, let’s get our good work
here and then just kind of ramp it down a little bit next week more so for sports science, rest
and recovery.
(On his trust in WR Parker Washington) “Yeah, a ton. I think he’s a guy that every play, he
comes back and has communication, what he sees out there. The relationship between he
and Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] has continued to grow and develop. And then for us as
coaches, his toolbox of being able to play inside, play outside, run routes at all three levels.
I think his football knowledge has just continued to ascend. What he knows he is seeing
pre-snap to what the coverage does maybe post snap, how people and leverages change
throughout some coverages. I just think his overall knowledge has really elevated over the
last year, and so that makes it a lot easier to work with somebody and to trust them that
they’re going to do the right thing come game day.”
(On updates for injured players) “No updates on the injured guys. I think they’ll be—I know
Chris [RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.] will be full go come training camp. Cole [OL Cole Van Lanen]
is a part of that same process, might be a little bit longer in training camp. We’ll have to see.
Travis [WR/CB Travis Hunter], I know he ran 22.6 this morning outside here. He was talking
a lot of smack to [Director of Performance Science] Chris Bach and the athletic trainers.
He’s worked his tail off. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our strength staff, athletic training,
sports science. They’ve just kept him – not motivated because he motivates himself – but
they’ve kept it creative for him, the drills, the way that they’re pushing him and challenging
him and then he goes into the video room with each side of the ball and he’s able to get a
ton of reps in there. So yeah, watching him run around this morning hit 22.6 was pretty fun
to watch.”
(On his impressions of LB Branson Combs, CB Jabbar Muhammad and WR CJ Williams)
“Branson’s a guy obviously that we had a lot of like for last year. He was close to getting
claimed. We ended up putting him on the active roster and he may win the Iron Jag of the
Year at this pace. I know he is leading the group right now, leading the team in the individual
award. He just lowkey is pretty athletic. He’s explosive. He can do multiple different things
in terms of coverage abilities, whether it’s in man or zone. I like him in coverage. I think he’s
done a nice job with Foye [LB Foye Oluokun] not getting as many reps in some of the team
settings with he and Jack [LB Jack Kiser] having to get more of those. So, being able to
communicate at a high level is what he’s needed, those reps. I think Jabbar, he’s made a
ton of plays out here. You could argue for a most improved for Jabbar really over the last
year. A guy that really spent the majority of the time last year on practice squad and giving
show team reps. He’s made so many plays out here. I think we’re excited about what he’s
able to do. CJ Williams is just, I think he leads the team in receptions right now. Now he’s
getting a lot of reps mixing in with a couple different groups, but you talk about what’s the
job for a receiver is to get open and catch the ball and he just kind of does that. It’s not
necessarily flashy or some big splash move or play. I think the quarterbacks trust him. He’s
smart, knows his job and it was nice to see [WR] Josh Cameron make a couple plays today
as well, which was our first real action seeing him.”
(On what he likes about TE Tanner Koziol) “Yeah, today I thought we saw it. I thought last
week he made a few plays in the red zone. The one when we were in that, I don’t know if you
guys were here, he made a couple good plays in the red area last week and then again
today just being able to—the wingspan, right? It’s like when the field gets shorter and
tighter down there, well, what we can use to our advantage is height and length and being
able to put the ball up for guys. And that’s something that really showed on his college tape.
It showed up at the Senior Bowl. Look, it’s who knows what that equals in the NFL but I
have seen a relationship, a chemistry with he and the quarterbacks is starting to get there. I
know he was a little banged up early in OTAs just in terms of not being able to go full go, but
you trust guys that can catch the football and put the ball in different places that maybe
they’re covered, but they’re not all the way covered when you can put it up for them.”
(On LB Ventrell Miller) “Ventrell, he’s continuing to get those reps. Again, it’s been different
with Foye not being in there, right? And so that has put a whole onus on those other guys,
Ventrell, Jack and Branson, to step their game up. And I don’t mean in terms of really play, I
just mean alignment, assignment, communication, checks, all that stuff. So, I don’t think
we’re able to really see what Ventrell does best right now. This is not a setting in which we’re
going to feel him do what he does best, which we know is thump, stop the run, be
somebody that can run sideline to sideline and come downhill. So, we’re trying to stress
him and stress those guys in coverage a lot more this spring. I think he’s responded.”
(On the value of S Eric Murray’s experience) “Huge. It allows us to be able to move Antonio
[S Antonio Johnson] around, right? And know that in the back end we’ve got consistency. A
guy that’s going to come down and make plays in the run game, get us in the right checks
and balances in the back end from a coverage standpoint. Eric plays the game nasty. He
plays this game violently. He’s made some plays on the ball. He understands how to
practice. He is going to be able to go make a play on the ball without running through the
receiver. Pros know how to stay off the ground. Pros know how to understand angles in
practice to tag off and not hit people. He is just a pro’s pro, and I really think if he can
continue to stay healthy, we’re going to see a better player this year out of Eric.”
(On the competitive nature of today’s practice) “Just seeing some guys make some plays
one-on-one. Our mamba period is five-man rush, Cover 1 so that’s one-on-one pass rush
and one-on-one on the outside. We’re not running any meshes or picks or rubs to help
them get open. We’re just calling ball plays and let them go play and it was nice to see
some guys make some contested catches, something that early in the year last year we
struggled with. We improved upon that as the year went. Nice to see B.T. [WR Brian Thomas
Jr.] go up over the middle and make a heck of a play, and I mentioned Josh Cameron. It was
good to just see guys go compete when the ball is in the air and make some plays.”
(On the importance of the mamba period) “Because it’s process driven. It’s like living in the
moment. We only have these three plays and so, we’re grading in it, we’re scoring it, but
we’ve got to live in the moment and play the next play. So, the offense may win one. Well,
how does the defense then respond? And then how do you respond offensively to the
success you just had? We’re trying to train the mind. The mamba mentality of living in the
moment, competing without understanding or caring about the result. We know what the
result is after those three plays and then the next group’s coming in and playing. So, trying
to continue to train the mind and train ourselves in competitive situations, knowing that
man, we’re not going to run the ball in these settings because we’re not in pads. It’s hard to
judge. Did he get the line? Did he make it? Did he not? This whole spring has been a heavy
emphasis on the pass game. That’ll somewhat flip as we head into training camp, be a little
bit heavier run to pass and so that’s what this gives us and mamba allows us to go be
competitive without putting our guys in too much harm.”
(On what he’s seen from the offensive line) “Yeah, it’s hard to tell. I just know that the
chemistry and continuity’s been there and it’s been good. I think it’s nice to see some of the
young guys get some reps and be thrown into the fire and thrown into the mix. It’s just
always nice when you have a lot I mean, right now, we’ve got nine guys that I would feel
confident and comfortable putting into a game right now and say let’s go win and see what
happens. So, you’re building your depth right now. You’re building the continuity and
chemistry with the younger guys coming into the mix and then once we get to the pads,
we’ll see what we actually have in terms of being able to move people and run the football.”
(On the emphasis of growing the downfield connection between QB Trevor Lawrence and
WR Brian Thomas Jr.) “It’s been a huge point emphasis. I would say we’ve probably hit more
of those in these OTAs and minicamp than we did all last offseason combined. That’s being
the spring and training camp. I would say we’ve probably hit more of those than last year
combined, which is a good thing. It’s something that we wanted to emphasize. We started
to emphasize it more after the bye in terms of trying to push the ball down the field more.
That chemistry with those two is so important because if we can be explosive with those
down the field routes, being able to push the ball down the field with those two specifically,
well man, now it truly unlocks what everybody else can do. Not only just what he and B.T.
are able to do, it helps [TE] Brenton Strange, it helps Parker Washington, it helps [WR]
Jakobi Meyers and it helps the run game. Because now it’s like, okay, if we keep throwing
over your head now, maybe you have to play more two-high safeties, be able to lean
coverage and now we’re able to run the football and it helps the underneath guys. So, it’s
crucial to our success.”
(On what RB Ameer Abdullah’s veteran experience brings to the running back room) “Yeah,
it’s a young room as you mentioned and Ameer, again, another pro’s pro. Just does
everything, you don’t have to say much to him, you don’t have to tell him a ton of details in
order for him to get something, he picks it up very quickly. I think he’s a natural slash
runner. He can stick his foot in the ground. He’s got some wiggle inside and then in the pass
game, I really like him in the pass game. He can run routes, he can double you up. He can
come to balance and work edges on people. So, I’ve been very happy to have Ameer. I think
he’s, like you mentioned, good for the room. He is on the quieter side, especially just
coming in but I think we’ll continue to feel some of his experience and some of his
leadership qualities as we go and we get to know each other more.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR GRANT UDINSKI
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
JUNE 9, 2026
(On RB Ameer Abdullah’s veteran presence in the running back room) “Yeah, the veteran
presence is absolutely real. Those guys have done a great job of continuing to grow from
last year to this year. Not just in their understanding of the system, but their knowledge of
NFL football and just general football intelligence. He brings that vast experience of
different offenses he’s been in, different defenses he’s seen, different protocols that he’s
practiced and gone through, whether it’s preparation during a week or going through an
offseason taking care of your body, so all those things that he’s experienced only add to the
value of those guys’ growth.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence falling today in practice following defensive pressure) “Yeah, that’s
probably a good way to put it. You lose your breath for a few seconds. Certainly not our
standard of practice and the way we want to go out there and execute things. Protecting the
quarterback and protecting the football is of the utmost importance, so it’s on us to make
sure that we keep him protected at all times but there’s a standard we want to practice and
we know we’re constantly working towards that standard.”
(On 2026 draft picks that have stood out) “Well, it’s hard to single out one guy. I think when
you look at the guys that we’ve added, whether it’s through the draft or even through the
free agency process, we’ve tried to identify guys that fit that standard of physicality. Those
guys that are tough, the guys that go out there and attack and that stuff shows up on tape
and then hopefully it shows up in practice for us every day, so I don’t really want to single
out one guy because I think those guys have done a really good job of embracing that. It’s
tough, it’s really challenging to do that because you’re learning so many different things.
Not just techniques but schemes, the way things are communicated as a rookie so that
kind of eats up some of your mental space. To be able to take that and compartmentalize
what I’m trying to learn and then go out there and still play with a certain play style is a
challenge and I like the way that those guys have embraced that.”
(On RB Bhayshul Tuten taking on a bigger role this season) “In a lot of ways that’s a great
question because he’s elevated some of the things we expect of him with the ball in his
hands and the creativity with which he runs the ball. Processing some of the reads that we
have in the run game that we’ve kind of tried to tweak and adjust to help him and fit his style
a little bit more, but he’s also improved from a mental standpoint in the protection game
and the pass game. There’s so many phases to being a running back that he’s continued to
elevate really through his studying and through all the extra work that he puts in. Him and
the entire room, they do a great job with Coach Morton [Running Backs Coach Chad
Morton] of doing so much extra on their own to try to be out here and prepared for practice.
But not only to grow and develop like we talked about the knowledge of football and just
recognizing defenses the way certain fronts are going to play out against certain runs. His
anticipation of that will help him. Maybe it doesn’t always show up here in the spring, but
it’ll really show up once we put pads on.”
(On what he’s like from the offense during OTAs) “There’s still so many things that you
practice even without hitting, whether it’s your operation, your communication, all the
details on routes and timing and footwork, even from an offensive line perspective. People
think that you can’t necessarily go out there and practice offensive line play, but you’re still
practicing proper hand placement, proper striking, proper footwork. All of those things
need to show up in individual drills then they need to show up in walkthroughs then in jog
throughs and then in full speed. It is still a full speed punch. It’s just without all the force
behind it, so we try to continue to build those habits in everything we do.”
(On where Lawrence is today in the offense compared to a season ago) “There’s an element
of certain foundational principles and certain concepts that you’re always going to be
working on, so you don’t take any of that for granted. Now, the time it takes to get down the
formations or shift or emotion or calling plays is condensed this offseason compared to
last offseason. What that allows you to do is ultimately take that time and allocate it
towards some of the more advanced concepts or studying defenses or the different things
that come up over the course of a year, so we never necessarily bypass some of the simple
things. Those foundations always exist, but our ability to master those maybe a little bit
more quickly gives us the opportunity to work on other things instead.”
(On Lawrence and the offense’s progress in year two ) “I would say that there’s moments
out there where you can, I mean there’s a lot of examples where he’s able to go out there
and execute something at a high level without having to maybe go through it beforehand or
talk through it with the offense, talk through it with the backs or tight ends, so it’s not just
him, it’s really everybody. But for example, the other day he goes out and makes a
protection call that we haven’t called or really gone through with the group in months
because it hadn’t really been since the season, the fall. And he goes out there and calls it
and the guys are able to execute it really without us going through things, which I love
because then I turn around and get to tell those guys, see this is proof you don’t need
coaches. I don’t need to tell you guys anything. You guys should be able to execute on your
own without us doing anything, but that was encouraging just to see him go out there and
kind of pick up right where we left off in the fall without us going through something.”
(On rookie WRs C.J. Williams and Josh Cameron) “Yeah, I’m going to go back to the things
that we talked about with all those rookies. The physicality, the attacking, their play style
shows up. Run game, pass game, screen game, you name it, individual drills, it shows up.
But both of those guys have been first and foremost great people to have in the locker
room, in the classroom. Diligent, the way they study, the way they prepare, the way they
want to go out there and perform to our standard has been a real treat to be around. Now
they also add an element of strength and physicality. Both those guys are bigger receivers
that can do things in the run game and you see the catches that Josh is making downfield
using that body, using his physical presence to help himself create separation.”
(On how much of the offense has been put in during the offseason program) “That’s a
question I feel like guys always get in the offseason where they put a percentage on it. I
don’t know that I have. Yeah, 82 I’m going to stick with that then [laughing]. No, I don’t know
that I have a percentage necessarily on what’s in and what’s not. One of the things about
our offense is that we’re always trying to evolve, so we want the things we’re practicing this
offseason to mirror exactly what we do during the season so that we can say we’re perfectly
efficient with every single rep we got. But we know as guys continue to develop and new
schemes develop and defenses defend us differently through the course of the season, our
offense will change. It’s so hard to put a number on, ‘hey we have this percentage of our
offense in,’ because the offense that we have when we show up in fall will not be the same
offense that we have in January. We’re always going to evolve, so we might even evolve from
the end of the spring to the beginning of the summer training camp when we go back and
look at everything and say, what do we need to change? What do we need to adjust?”
(On the UFL counting 60-yard field goals as four points) “I certainly wouldn’t frame that as a
headache. It would be a fun challenge to explore, but in terms of having an opinion on that,
thankfully that’s above my pay grade so I can punt on that one and let somebody else,
somebody more qualified to answer that. But it’d be a fun challenge to look into that.”
(On where young offensive linemen have played this spring) “It really more so has to do with
the fact that you’re trying to get a rookie ready to go and we talked about all of those things
that you have to learn just to be able to go out there and operate on offense, let alone go
out there and play full speed or even doing drills. Emmanuel [OL Emmanuel Pregnon] has
more experience at the left guard position, so it’s a little bit more natural of a transition to
continue playing left guard. Now is he capable of playing right? Absolutely. But just for his
growth and development process, the starting point is left guard. Like I mentioned last year
probably, we want to have as much flexibility in the offensive line room as we possibly can.
So those guys, we want to be able to play left, right, inside, outside if they’re able to. So,
you’ll see some of that. You probably already saw some of that today. And that’ll continue
through training camp just like it did last year where just because Wyatt’s [OL Wyatt Milum]
playing right, he might not always play right. He’s going to get some reps at left, he’s going
to get some reps inside, he’s going to get some reps outside. We’re incredibly fortunate to
have guys that can handle that and do that, so we try to take advantage of that when we
can.”
(On if the younger offensive lineman will continue to push veterans) “I think all of those
guys, whether it’s tackles, guards, centers, all of those guys continue to push each other to
elevate that room. I’ve been really pleased with the way they’ve attacked their preparation,
attacked the competition across the board and I think thankfully, we have a group of guys
with some depth that can all push each other.”
(On if the team is disappointed with how the run game performed at the end of 2025) “I
wouldn’t single out the run game necessarily and I would say that no matter what we’re
doing or what the outcome was, we’re probably never going to be content with 30 points, 40
points, 50 points. There’s always going to be so many areas of improvement, and we know
that going in, so we’re not going to be unrealistic and expect that we’re perfect every single
rep of every single play. Otherwise, it’s a disaster. But if there’s something that we can
improve on, we’re going to attack the improvement and that’s going to be our focus.
Whether we’re scoring 50 points or zero points, so we’re attacking the process every day
and it’s absolutely true with the run game but it’s also true with the protection game. It’s
true at the pass game, the coaches, players, I think all of us are on the same page that we
aren’t content with where we were because we know where there’s room for growth.”
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN ROBERT HAINSEY
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
JUNE 9, 2026
(On the run game at the end of last season) “I did hear him [Offensive Coordinator Grant
Udinski] say you’re almost never going to be [satisfied]. If we ended last season first in
rushing in the NFL, we would’ve showed up here just trying to figure out how to get better,
so there’s always going to be those different things, the techniques, the scheme, how can
we just take that next step as a group, as an offense? And that’s just what we’re working
towards no matter what. Like I think he said it best when he was like, ‘You’re never going to
be content with where you’re at.’”
(On how much easier it is to communicate going into year two of the system) “Coming in
with such a better baseline as a team, as a unit, as an offense with what we’re doing has
definitely made it easier. It’s shown in camp, the conversations are so much at a higher
level than they were at this time last year because last year was truly the basics. Now, we’re
coming in with an understanding, and our coaches did a really good job of starting over
really, and coaching this in a way that, hey, we’re not going to take anything for granted.
We’re going to start from the ground up. We’re going to talk about fundamentals, we’re
going to talk about the basics of certain plays. They didn’t take for granted that we had a
year in the system. I think that’s hats off to them. They did an unbelievable job this spring of
coaching it in a way that is consistent with where we want to go. Just process, process,
process. How can we get better?”
(On what the addition of Run Game Coordinator Brian Picucci brings to the offense) “It’s
been great getting to work with B.P. again. And like you said, schematically, his brain is
wired for running the football and I love it, so we get to have a lot of great conversations
about it. He and Liam [Head Coach Liam Coen] have known each other a long time, so they
have such a deep-rooted relationship, especially personally and coaching wise. So, you
just know that there’s always going to be a consistent line of communication from the
offensive line room to the offensive coordinator to the head coach and that means a lot to
us. You just know everything is streamlined and what you’re hearing, you’re not hearing
multiple different things. We didn’t have that last year either, but that’s just another benefit
of their relationship and he’s done a great job so far.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s growing knowledge of the offense) “I think we saw it especially
just throughout the last season. You saw him grow. I think I talked about it ad nauseum,
honestly, it came up a lot. I was very honest when I said his growth has been a catalyst for
our improvement as a team. I think over the course of this offseason, he’s taken even more
steps. So, when we got out here on the grass, you hit the ground running. Like I said, we
started with those basics and fundamentals, but we all know what we’re doing. We’re all
professional football players and we’re trying to compete every day. That comes out, just
the knowledge we have. It filters out once you’re out there and sometimes you’re just
playing football, even if it’s not something we talked about this spring, but it’s something
we’ve had before. Those things will come out and we’re just playing football. That’s the
knowledge we have. That’s the baseline we have from doing it for a year already.”
(On OL Emmanuel Pregnon) “E-man has done great. He’s super hungry to get better, which
is awesome. He’s meeting extra, he’s asking the right questions. He’s a physical and smart
football player, so it’s been fun to get to know him and the other rookies, they’ve done a
great job so far.”
(On if the team has shifted their mentality to repeat their success from last season) “No, I
don’t think it is. You said, ‘Is there a shift in the mentality?’ And the answer, to get back
there, we cannot have a shift in our mentality is the thing. Our mentality has been what’s
our process? When you have some success, to continue to have success, you have to look
at what got you there. The success alone does not keep you successful. So, for us, it’s
almost stripping our mentality down to the basics. It’s the process. It’s every day, what can I
do today? How can I stack these days together knowing that there’s these huge goals in the
future and we’re breaking it down to just today? And if I just continue to do today the best I
can and tomorrow the best I can, over and over, those things are going to come because of
how we approached each opportunity each day. So, I think it’s not a shift in mindset, but it’s
truly being true to our own mindset in this building.”
(On if he feels like the team has maintained their mindset) “Yeah, absolutely. It’s talked
about, I think it’s necessary. It’s known, we’ve talked about it as players, just that we have
the opportunity to continue to get better and do some special things. But like I said, it
doesn’t just happen. It happens because we do the right things now and throughout
training camp and during the weeks throughout the season and all those things.”
(On OL Wyatt Milum’s development) “I think Wyatt’s done a great job this spring. Same
thing, playing offensive line as a rookie is very difficult. There’s a lot going on. The game
happens close, it happens fast and it’s way different than college. The players are better,
things are faster and you have to get used to that. Wyatt did that early on and just kept
getting better. So, this spring he’s kind of come out and he is just so much more
comfortable. So, it’s been really fun to play next to at times and see him compete and see
the way he’s handling himself and his understanding of the game has improved a ton and
I’m super proud of that.”
