HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2025
(On injuries) “No updates yet. We’re still looking into them.”
(On if S Eric Murray was injured) “Yeah, we’ve just got to see what it is. It’s so early.”
(On what he attributes issues with alignments and dropped passes to) “Yeah, I mean,
concentration, details, all that. Obviously, there were some moving pieces when Dyami
[WR Dyami Brown] went down. So, we’ve just got to look at who’s going to end up playing
some of those positions if he in fact can’t go, which, who knows? So, just got to detail it.
They’ve got to get more on the jugs and get a better connection.”
(On the technique required for running backs to chip block) “A fine line. We always tell
them, if in fact you’re in a chip position and the defender jumps inside of you, don’t hit him,
just let him go because sometimes you’ll accelerate the rush if you do try to chip him as
he’s going inside. So, we try to align in that position, and we want him outside of us, if
possible, to be able to kind of release through the defender instead of truly always chipping
him. So sometimes it’s just the alignment, and sometimes it’s obviously chipping from the
back field. It’s a fine line and it’s something that ultimately you need to do in some
instances but maybe there are some times that we don’t have to as well, because I think
Anton [OL Anton Harrison] did some nice things as well.”
(On if the big play to WR Brian Thomas Jr. out of the two-minute warning shows his
development in the system) “Yeah, that was a play that he’s extremely comfortable with
and the same play he got to remember when the mic cut out in the preseason game against
the Saints, where he just got to a play and obviously has confidence with that play. It
showed a lot of ownership of the system in terms of, okay, it’s a run to pass, zero blitz, get to
a protection and go execute the play at a high level. So, it definitely should serve as, I think,
hopefully a springboard for us to continue to gain confidence and execution in the pass
game. So, it was a really well executed play in a critical moment for us.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence is playing better than the numbers would suggest) “Yeah, I think
so in some ways, for sure. Obviously, it’s hard when, okay, you may miss a few throws, and
then when you do make some, we don’t catch them. That’s frustrating for sure. I don’t know
how many it truly was at the end of the day. I think it was around four or five. So, you look at
it statistically then, yeah, it should probably be higher than a 50 percent completion
percentage and then there’s some throws that he needs to make and he knows that. It’s not
a negative, it’s just, hey man, we’ve got to make these throws and how can we help you,
from a footwork standpoint or an accuracy standpoint, some of those things. There are
some tight window throws too that are difficult, but I’ve been very proud of Trevor, the
preparation, the way that he has gone about it and then the scramble that he made on a
critical third down yesterday, there is a lot of resiliency out of him and that group in
general.”
(On why the drops may be popping up in the offense) “It’s hard for me, it’s hard. It’s one of
those things that the real thing that we’re trying to communicate is just not letting the ball
cross our eyes, regardless of where it is. Anytime you let the ball obviously into your body,
there’s a chance that it could not get caught, and when we let it cross our eyes is typically
where you see a lot of drops happen, not just here, but around the league. So, it’s
something that you don’t anticipate, especially like Parker’s [WR Parker Washington] been
catching the heck out of it. He’s going up, making great plays. He had a phenomenal week
of practice. I’ve lost zero confidence in Parker Washington. It’s not the way it is, it’s just,
who knows, the moment, whatever it is, the time. I don’t know. So, something that
ultimately we have to continue to work on, and if we don’t show the effort of improving it in
practice, then it’s not going to just happen on Sundays.”
(On if RB Travis Etienne Jr. should have scored or taken a knee before the end zone) “Really,
we should have, if we could have communicated to BT [WR Brian Thomas Jr.]… There are
two minutes left. They’ve got two timeouts. We’re at the minus-44. We have a run to pass
check. You’re not kind of expecting it to go big, if you will, with the play call. It does. If we
could have stayed in there, which I don’t expect BT to know that without any form of
communication prior. If we could have stayed in there, you make them burn a timeout. Now
it’s 1:42, they have one timeout. We are absolutely in what we call a Rolex situation. We get
down there, 1:42, two timeouts, that’s not, on anybody’s chart, a Rolex situation, not
anywhere around the league. So, they decided, I think maybe off the heels of last week
playing Tampa, Tampa doing it and having success with it. The thing you look at is, we
hadn’t been down there very often throughout the game. So, you get down there, the worst
thing that could occur is for us to not score a touchdown. Not at all, the way that we were
playing defensively and you go and say, okay, if you try not to score, basically is what you’re
going to do, you’re going to say, alright, maybe we don’t even score a touchdown. Who
knows? A penalty could occur, you could get offsides, a negative play could occur. Like
there are a lot of things that could happen. And you say, okay, they’re going to get the ball
back with, I think it was about 55 seconds if we played it all out and they take timeouts, 55
seconds and let’s just say you don’t score and you’ve got a field goal with 55 seconds,
you’re up by three with no timeouts. I personally, with the way that that game was going and
the way we were playing defensively, would much prefer to have a touchdown lead and say,
alright, hey, go beat us. So those were the things that we talked through and ultimately , I
think it would’ve been different with one timeout.”
(On Etienne Jr. saying that unless told otherwise, he will score every time) “Yeah, I
appreciate that. So yeah, I appreciate that. It was one of those that’s right on the line and
you’re saying 1:42, one timeout. Very different than 1:42, two timeouts. With the way our
defense was playing and saying that and we hadn’t scored many points up until that point.
So, to get a touchdown versus three I just think was probably more important for us.”
(On the physicality of the secondary) “All of them. I mean, Tyson [CB Tyson Campbell]
tackled his tail off. Travis [WR/DB Travis Hunter], as you saw, made some really nice
tackles. [S] Antonio Johnson had a good fill. Eric [S Eric Murray] and Dewey [S Andrew
Wingard] both, I mean that whole crew has definitely taken the mindset of Campy
[Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile] and the defense, the whole crew. I think Milo
[Secondary Coach Ron Milus] and Perk [Defensive Backs Coach Anthony Perkins] have
done a great job coaching those guys in the back end. In terms of the whole mindset and
mentality of our defense is showing up at all three levels, which is extremely important for
us moving forward. It’s a physical game, and yes, there’s so much that happens in the
secondary that is based off the pass game. It’s coverage, it’s zone, it’s man, it’s making
plays on the ball, but when you have guys that are in the back end that come and fill and
play physically and violently, that’s only going to help us as we go through this deal.”
(On if the “chess match” of play calling will start to ramp up because of viable tape) “Yeah,
you definitely have more inventory to go off of on both sides of the ball in terms of the game
planning. You’re starting to see and figure your teams out a little bit more at these times,
just schematically and just personnel wise, who they’re trying to or who we’re trying to
ultimately get touches to or get the ball in their hands, what’s our best schemes that we
can now start to really focus in on, hone in on, what do we do well and how do we continue
to put these guys in positions to succeed and then combating that on the other side. So
yeah, I definitely think with the more tape that we have on both sides of the ball in all three
phases, the scheme definitely continues to become a little bit more important to combat
what they do well and to continue to do things that we do well out of different looks and
formations and things like that.”
(On when his offense in Tampa last year started to click) “It was after Week 4, really. It was
after Week 4. I don’t even know if we hit 100 yards rushing prior to Week 4 in Tampa last
year. So, might have had 100 Week 1, maybe around there, but it took a little while. You’re
ultimately just trying to see who you are, what are we best at. Is it the zone, is it the gap? Is it
mid zone, tight zone, wide zone, whatever it is, and what are our backs best at, right? So
much of it comes down to the personnel, what we’re good at doing, and some of it this past
week we did some different things in terms of our inside zone versus mid zone. We’re good
at mid zone, so we should have just run it and said, stop us. So that’s what we leaned on
more in the second half, which helped us. So yeah, that was what Etienne literally just said
to me, as we were walking in the dining hall, was I was just expressing frustration in myself,
getting away from a few things that we do well, which they also gave us some unscouted
looks and played more bare fronts and five-down fronts but it’s like, man, we’re good at
this, so let’s do what we’re good at.”
(On LB Devin Lloyd) “I’m very proud of Devin. He has shown a ton of resiliency, and just the
way that he prepared all summer and trained and mentally got himself in a place where he
went and took it. He went and earned every opportunity that he’s had. We were playing
Ventrell [LB Ventrell Miller] a little bit because Ventrell had a good camp, it wasn’t like it was
a negative on Devin, it was just, man, it’s good to have more guys that can play, but at this
point Devin’s not coming off the field the way he’s playing right now and playing really well
in the rush, getting after the quarterback, and then man, the guy got a t-shirt today for
attacking in special teams. I mean, he’s done a great job. So very happy with Devin, and
hopefully we can continue to go here [upwards motion].”
(On WR/DB Travis Hunter’s snaps on special teams) “It was just that we were in punt safe,
and so it was just that he was staying on the field.”
(On emphasizing the importance of closing out games after Week 2 and executing) “Huge.
To not play your best, specifically on one side of the ball, and still come away with a win,
that is important. Like, that’s not results over process, these results do matter, as we all
know. And to see our guys stay connected throughout the end of that game. The defense
could have easily been pointing fingers at the offense. There was not a peep, there was just,
let’s go back to work, let’s get out there and go and execute and we’ve got to go make a play.
To go and win a division game like that, a physical, tough finish comes down to the wire.
That is really big for us to be able to move forward and have belief that we can go and win
tight games because obviously it wasn’t the case last week, and in a game you probably felt
like you played better in a lot of ways, specifically on offense. Defense had our back and
really made plays when we needed to at the end on offense. So very pleased with their
ability to stay connected and to finish a tough game the right way.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence is making the right decisions at the line of scrimmage) “Yeah,
he’s making a lot of the right decisions. So, I’ve been pleased with his—the screen would’ve
been huge. He checked us out of a run. We had a screen versus zero blitz. It would’ve been
a huge one, which he got us into the right play, ends up, it gets tipped by Pitre [Texans S
Jalen Pitre] on the blitz, we’re bluffing the blitzer, throwing a screen into pressure, that was
nice and just didn’t get executed. But I would say, I mean, there’s probably five percent, less
than five percent that he is not right on currently in the cans and audibles and stuff like
that. I’ve been very pleased with his preparation. He has worked extremely hard throughout
the week at studying the plan, doing extra on his own and some of that is really helping us
operate. Did it show in every statistical category on Sunday? No, but he is getting us in and
out of the right plays.”
CORNERBACK TYSON CAMPBELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2025
(On how it felt to force a fumble in the fourth quarter) “It feel great, man. Give all the glory to
God. Just as a defense, you emphasize creating turnovers and trying to make plays on the
ball to score yourself or give your offense an opportunity to put points on the board.”
(On how everything has clicked with generating turnovers) “Everybody, we just love playing
with each other out there, man. We just having fun playing for one another, not pointing any
fingers, having each other’s back and trusting that each player on the field’s going to do
their job. After that it becomes easy, just playing ball after that. So, I think that’s really what
it comes down to, everybody playing one play at a time and fighting until the end of the
whistle.”
(On Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile’s scheme) “Oh yeah. Like you said, the
versatility of it. Being able to mix different coverages and different fronts and different
stunts just makes the offense think a little more and lets us play freely and mix things up.”
(On Campanile’s aggressiveness) “Oh yeah, man. As a defense, that’s one of the qualities
you want to have, being aggressive, being fundamentally sound and playing for one
another. So, that’s what we love about playing for Camp. He brings that energy each and
every day.”
(On how veteran teammates CB Jourdan Lewis and S Eric Murray help with communication
in the secondary) “Yeah, they’ve come in with a lot of experience in this league. I think
they’re both like around year nine, year eight. So, they bring a bunch of experience and a
bunch of knowledge to the back end, and we are learning what we can and working on
communication in practice and meeting a lot and the reps on the practice field as well. So, I
think that really played a big role in us honing down on communication with not only just
the back seven, but the D-line too. Knowing what they have going on up front.”
(On how the play of DEs Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker has affected the secondary)
“Man, it makes your life easier. It’s like, as long as I do my job, cover this receiver for as long
as many seconds as I need to, that it’s buying them more time to get to the quarterback and
I know that they want to get to the quarterback before he even gets the ball off. Rush and
coverage always work together, I definitely believe that and playing with them these past
five years has been a joy.”
(On the ball being tipped by Hines-Allen on the defense’s final play yesterday) “Oh man, it is
very pivotal. Like you said, there was basically rush and coverage working together, once we
seen the tip, tips and overthrows we always say got to get those so, Antonio [S Antonio
Johnson] made a heck of a play. Sprinted to the ball and made a great catch to seal the
game.”
(On what the F.A.S.T. acronym on his shirt stands for) “Fundamentally sound, Attacking,
Situational masters, and Tough.”
(On when he got the shirt) “I had this after Week One.”
(On if yesterday was evidence of ‘learning how to win’) “Yeah man, just learning how to win
and finishing regardless of what happened before. We feel like if there’s time on the clock,
there’s opportunity for us to win the game and that’s how we feel, man. Like I said, we not
pointing any fingers, we playing for one another and we always feel like we’re in the game
and always have opportunity to win the game.”
(On how satisfying it was to win the game) “Winning in the National Football League is hard
within itself. So, winning any game is very important but especially in the division, it’s
definitely games that you hone in on. So, we’re glad we got this win, especially at home, on
our own turf and we just want to keep stacking them. Learn from the mistakes we made
and keep pushing and improving.”
(On the progression of WR/DB Travis Hunter) “Oh, Travis coming along well, man. He’s been
a been a heck of a player as you guys know. Putting in the work day in and day out and I feel
like the feel for the game is just only improving as the week goes.”
(On the pride he takes in his toughness) “I take a lot of pride in that, man. I feel like corners
can tackle too. Just being active on the run and pass game, try to make my presence felt is
something I take pride in and I’m trying to do anything to help my team win. So, if that’s put
my shoulder in the offensive lineman, when he trying to pull on me so I can set the edge so
my other teammates can come in and make the tackle, that’s what I got to do.”
(On if he is feeling healthy) “Yeah, I’m feeling good. Feeling healthy. You know you’re going
to have your little nicks and bruises from the game, but no, I’m feeling good.”
TIGHT END BRENTON STRANGE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2025
(On how the win felt) “Felt really good, especially just how things have been going the last
couple of years with them, felt good to get the win and now it’s just time to move on and go
forward.”
(On the progress made with finishing games) “I mean, it shows a lot of progress, but I think
we left so much out there, and I think that’s something that’s exciting. We can go out here
and fix those mistakes and when you get the win, it’s a better feeling than having the loss
and then having to come in and fix it, but obviously, like we have so much as an offense that
we can do better to help this team. Defense played great all game long and we’ve got to be
there to back them up as well.”
(On what was going through his head when he bounced off two guys with the ball) “No,
man, just in the zone doing what I always do. Not every play is going to be like that, but
when I get the opportunity to make some people miss, that’s what I pride myself on, being
able to get the extra yards after the catch. I think that the important thing is hidden yardage
in the game and being able to provide that for the team and keep the ball moving down the
field.”
(On how Head Coach Liam Coen is creating matchups he can take advantage of) “I think
they’re doing a great job; we’ve been saying it since they got here. They do a great job of
creating the matchups and exploiting things that we want to exploit within the game, and
it’s just about being a reliable playmaker for this team. That’s all I want to do is be a reliable
playmaker for this team, my teammates, the coaches, the city, show everybody. So that’s
all.”
(On if he will always be involved in fights against the Texans) “No, just trying to protect my
teammates, man (laughs). At the end of the day, we don’t want those things to happen on
the field, but if that’s what happens, you’ve got to kind of go in there and break things up or
however it goes, but we definitely don’t want things like that to happen; it kind of sets a bad
example for the youth and everything (laughs). So, if that happens, you’ve got to go in there
and protect your teammates.”
(On the importance of sending a message to your opponent that you can’t be pushed
around) “Yeah, most definitely, and I think that goes on within the field of play as well. You
always want to go out there and impose your will against another team. That’s what
football’s about. Like, you’re going out there every single play and you want to impose your
will on another team. You want to keep hitting them as hard as you can until they lie down
because eventually somebody’s going to lie down, and we don’t want that to be us. We
want to be the team that’s the most violent every time we step out on the field. So, I think
that’s a great thing that we’re doing so far, and we’ve just got to continue to keep building on
that because if we do, great things will happen.”
(On his usage in the run game) “Yeah, I mean, that’s something I think that I’m good at. I
pride myself on being a good run blocker for this team, and it’s something I’ve done for a
long time. So, I’m very familiar with doing it and the technique of doing it, and if that’s what
helps our team win, I’m willing to do it every play if you ask me to.”
(On how close the offense is to clicking) “I think we’re just scratching the surface right now.
I think the sky’s the limit for this offense. We have a lot of talented players at all levels of our
offense, receivers, offensive line, everywhere, quarterback, we have a great team, and I
think that we know that, and I think it’s just time to go out here and show it.”
(On how to solve dropped passes) “You don’t do anything about that. Those guys are
talented players. Those guys are here for a reason. Those guys, God put us all here for a
reason, and things happen every once in a while. So, get on the jugs, get some extra
catches in every single week or whatever it is, but we’re not worried about that at all. Those
guys are talented, and those guys have proven it throughout their careers that they’re
reliable playmakers. So, we’re not worried about that at all.”
(On Head Coach Liam Coen committing to the run in the second half) “I think it just shows
his mindset and how he approaches the game, and I like that. I think at the end of the day,
you’ve got to be able to run the ball in order to win games, especially when it’s a tight, close
game at the end. So, it shows his mindset and what he wants to do, and I like that, honestly,
because like I said, football is about imposing your will. So, when you can get the ball with a
four-minute drive or whatever it is in the game and you can just run the ball right down the
field and take all the time off the clock, that just shows what type of football team you are.”
(On if Head Coach Liam Coen looks like a veteran coach with his end-of-game situations)
“Yeah, I mean, ever since he’s gotten here, he’s looked like a veteran. So, I’ve had no
surprise by that at all, just by the way he handles himself every single day, and he comes in
this building and leads this organization. So, no surprise at all. He does a great job at what
he does, and obviously, he got the job for a reason.”
(On how fun it is to make more of an impact on the offense) “Yeah, man, that’s what all the
work has been for. I’ve been working in the dark for a really long time since I got here. A lot
of changes have been going on with myself personally and within this organization. I just
gave it to God when I got here, and it’s just about coming in and putting in the work and
giving it to God. So, I’m blessed. I’m thankful to be in this organization.”
