January 29, 2024
Opening Statement: “Look, it’s hard to lose that way, but I’m proud of those guys in there, proud of the staff. And we did some really good things this year and, ultimately, we improved, which is the name of the game. I think, unfortunately, you’ve got to live that to really understand why you’re in this business and that’s what it’s for, playoffs, NFC Championship game, Super Bowl. And now your eyes are open. And our guys’ eyes are open and this should be the ultimate motivation to push forward and it will be for us, it will be. So, we’ll learn and move on.”
On what needs to happen in order for the team to get back to this level next season: “I think it’s everything. I think it’s players and coaches. I think it’s – you’ve got to continue to get better, create more competition on the roster and then in the coaches too. It’s got to be – you’ve got to make sure that you have the right staff and that they all work well together. And that’s it’s a high-level staff with high-level players. That’s important and it’s just – it’s one thing to – you learn a lot about players when you’re 0-10, which I talked about, you also learn a lot when you’re in an NFC Championship game and everything’s – the stakes are a lot higher, and you get in those types of games and we all learn.”
On his plan to replace Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson if he receives a head coaching opportunity: “Yeah, if it comes to that, that’s, obviously, very important. I mean, he was a critical piece for us. He’s a critical piece. And I’m not worrying about that just yet. I need to at least get two hours of sleep and then I’ll begin. But I’m not going to rush, I can promise you that. I’m not in some mad rush. I’m going to make sure it’s right.”
On if his phrase ‘built for this’ is an ideology that can be reused for seasons to come or if it will take some rebuilding to get to this point again: “Yeah, I think the whole point was to create a core that had certain standards. Obviously, they’ve got to be good players and we have that. But they’ve got to be a certain way and there’s got to be a certain mindset and a certain identity, and we have that with our core. And we’ve got to add pieces that are like-minded. We’ve got to add more talent, more competition that thinks the same way that group of guys in that locker room does. And it’s non-negotiable if it’s not. There’s no level of talent that is worth bringing something that doesn’t fit what we’re about in there. And so, that’s very important. But as far as – look, we’ll talk about that when it gets – we’ve got to start all over. Yeah, we have the foundation, there’s things that we won’t have to start all the way from scratch, but man there’s got to be that hunger, there’s got to be that work, there’s got to be that attention to detail, there’s got to be that urgency. And in that regard, you’re starting all over again. And if you don’t and you think you’re just going to walk out there because you went to the NFC Championship game, you’ve got another thing coming. Alright, that’s how you become average in a hurry. And they’ll know that, they understand that and as we get to next year, that’ll be the message. But that’s really it.”
On what he thinks the team learned from their first appearance in the NFC Championship: “I think it, there again, it was – this is what you hear about all the time with catastrophes. It doesn’t take one or two, it takes 12 things to go wrong and we did all 12 of those wrong in all three phases. And ultimately, where we’ve been so good when one area is not – is struggling a little bit, the other two pick them up. We’ve been really good about that and that was the game, the second half, where all three phases just – we were not good. And we continued to make mistake, after mistake, after mistake in all three phases and when that happens, that’s where a game like that against a very good opponent – their guys showed up, man. (49ers QB Brock) Purdy showed up in critical (moments). (49ers RB Christian) McCaffrey, (49ers TE George) Kittle, (49ers WR) Deebo (Samuel), (49ers WR Brandon) Aiyuk, (49ers DL Nick) Bosa. I mean, (49ers LB Fred) Warner. They – and so, I think, if anything, it’s just a reminder, until you’re in there, you understand this is the most critical play of the game. And it’s play four of the game, or it’s play 30 of the game. This is the most important. And so, I just think you have to be in that moment, you have to be on the road, that environment and you’ve got to find a way to dig yourself out, which we’ve done a really good job of.”
On what he can take from the experiences of playing and coaching under coaches who sustained successful teams for multiple seasons: “Yeah, consistency. You’ve got to stay consistent, which we’ve done for three years now. Stay true to what you believe in. When it comes time to start over, you start over. And it’s all about, like what I said, the hard work, the detail. We’ve got to be physical. That’s part of who we are, but if you start to deviate off of what you’ve been – and I think the other thing you’ve got to be careful, you fall in a trap with, the more success you have with these players, the more attached you get. And you’ve got to be careful you don’t get blinded and that’s hard, that’s hard to do. You’ve got to see it for what it is, step back and make sure the player is producing and is capable of producing at a high level and take your emotions out of it.”
On what he will remember most about this team: “I think what we talk about all the time, just how resilient they were. Their ability to overcome, to go into a harsh environment and win big games and not get panicked. And just to see where they really came as a group, man, as a team. And to watch them lean on each other and how strong that bond they’ve got in there, which is important, man. Even in professional sports, it’s still – that’s a deal, that’s a real thing. And the teams that can find that, they’re usually going to have something special and that’s what we’ve got in that locker room. It is a special group.”
On what it means for him to have the team’s trust: “Oh, it means everything, it means everything. Because in this line of work, when you stand in front of those men and you’re selling them on what you really believe, I know that’s not the easiest thing to do. And especially with where we came from, stepping in here, there’s a number of players that didn’t have success, had not known success, and it’s the next coach telling us, ‘This, this and this,’ and, ‘Why should we believe in that?’ And the fact that a number of these players that were already here, to watch them buy-in and trust it and believe in the process and then us to have success, that’s special. That’s something you don’t forget. For the (Lions T Taylor Decker) Deckers and (Lions C Frank Ragnow) Ragnows and – because you want success for those guys that are willing to put in the work another time and to give it its due, is special.”
On if there is anything he would change about his decision to run the ball on third down and have to take a timeout: “Yeah, look the easy thing to do is to throw it. Probably should’ve been the right thing, but for me, I wanted to run it. I thought we would just pop it. We had just – two-minute all the way down the field, throwing the football and they were in a four-down front and I believed we’d walk right in. And we just missed a block, so then yeah, I’ve got to use a timeout. So, hindsight, throw it four times, but I believed in that moment it was going to be a walk-and-run. And it didn’t work out. So, I gambled and lost.”
On Lions LB Derrick Barnes’s injury update: “Yeah, I really have nothing new on him. So, I don’t have an answer right now.” |
