November 23, 2020
Opening statement: “Obviously, very quick turnaround here for us – shortest in the NFL, playing from a Sunday to a Thursday, kicking off here at 12:30 p.m. From that aspect of it, dove into the game from yesterday this morning with players, went through and corrected that, got through that game and had to flip it here really quick and get on to Houston. So just grinding away on them – had a big win yesterday and obviously have a lot of talent and is a very good team. So just trying to get ready to go here on a very short week. Let’s dive into some questions.”
On what it’s like as a defensive coordinator to have a player like Texans DE J.J. Watt: “He is (good). He’s outstanding. I mean, you can put him anywhere. I think one of the things for J.J. that’s always been impressive for me, is that he can play inside and outside in the pass rush and just be that disruptive. I think from that standpoint, I think as a defensive coordinator, it’s fun to have those guys that you can move around and put in those different matchups. Sometimes you’ll like to put them in a particular matchup inside based on the personnel that you’re going against, or whether it’s a quarterback that you’re seeing something that you want to kind of pressure – but certainly a guy as versatile as him, as good as he’s been for as long as he’s been consistently with that sort of ability, it’s amazing to watch.”
On if an elite pass rush gives the most options defensively compared to other positions: “Yeah, that’s a great question. We’ve had that conversation over and over again. I think it always goes to – you’re talking a cover player versus a pass rusher. It’s great when you can have both. But certainly when you have guys who are on the upper end on either spectrum of it, it helps you a lot.”
On what he has been told about his job security: “Look, our focus right now is on Houston. Any conversations that I’ve had with ownership, I always keep those private. You guys know that. From that standpoint, we just have a quick turnaround here, trying to get ready for Houston.”
On if he understands why the questions are coming up: “Yeah, there’s questions that come up every week. I just try to do the best I can to answer them. Right now, it’s about Houston.”
On what he saw on tape that was an improvement from previous games: “I think there were definitely some things over the course of the game that we did like, obviously there was a lot that we didn’t. It’s really good to get two turnovers in the red-(zone) area – that’s something we hadn’t done very well last several weeks was red-(zone) area defense. So that was a positive from that standpoint. We liked that. There were some things in the kicking game, I thought, with the interior punt protection and punt coverage unit – that was good for us to get down there. Saw a lot of guys stepping up into some different roles. So that was a positive from that end of it. But obviously, the negative was there, and it was glaring and that’s what we’re trying to get fixed.”
On if he feels the weight of the team’s negative history: “I think for me, it’s just (that) we’re trying to do the best we can each week to go out and play well. Right now, that’s all we really want to do – just want to go win this week and just go forward from there. I think we try to keep it – especially in the season – we just kind of keep it in that short window from that standpoint. I think if you go outside of that, especially during the season, there’s just a lot of other factors and distractions involved there. So for us, it’s trying to get things right here in a very short window, and that’s really the biggest focus for us right now.”
On if his message to the team changes when he’s trying to coach better: “That’s a good question. I don’t know because it is so different each week. I think when we do play games and things are either causing us not to win or things that are helping us to win, those are different sometimes if they aren’t consistent over the course of a couple weeks. Then obviously if the message winds up being the same, we’re going to somehow say it in a different way or practice it in a different way or try to have a different answer to it, if it is something that’s been consistent, I would say, and we haven’t been able to get it right or maybe it’s something that goes back to not being correct the way that it was, maybe for a couple weeks, and trying to get back to basics from that standpoint. I think as a coach, you always look at the foundation of it first, whether it’s a schematic thing or position, fundamental thing, and just get back to the basic part of it first because that’s really where most of the breakdowns occur, I think from that standpoint. If it’s not right on tape, it’s not right on film, then we have to come up with a different way to coach it. I think that’s part of our job: Is there a different way to teach it, from that standpoint, that maybe resonates a little bit better?”
On what a fair timeframe is to judge a coach: “I don’t know. I mean for me, I really just kind of stay in my world of just trying to get better this week. So, again, like I said, we’re very focused on Houston right now.”
On his assessment of a fair timeframe to evaluate coaches since he does it with assistants: “Again, I don’t know. I think we just try to go out and work every day. We certainly are critiqued and judged every day by the job that we’re doing, and we try to improve every day from that standpoint and try to do it better and always try to be the best that we can be. That’s certainly all that we ask, is that we just go out every day, and whether it’s being the best coach or being the best player you can be that day, and try to improve on it the next day.”
On what he saw on film about what went wrong on third downs yesterday: “I think one of the things for us offensively, third down and really, some of that started on first and second down I thought. I thought just kind of getting behind on some situations – they had a really good odd package that they dialed up. I thought they had some really good pressures out of it. I think that we’ve got to get that fixed and corrected quicker so that we can go out there and be productive. Really, I thought that the first and second down stuff, rolling into the third down, put us behind a little bit there. That doesn’t really help in those situations when you’re getting a lot of pressure.”
On if odd packaging means odd-man fronts: “It was a three-down look. It was like a three-three stack kind of look that they were giving us with some different combinations of rushes.”
On if he’s upset about losing: “Look, I’m a very, very competitive person. I mean I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I want to win, I always want to win, I want to win every day. I don’t think there’s any guessing or any question of that. So, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
On Texans QB Deshaun Watson: “Yeah, he’s really unbelievable. I’ve played him for a number of years and really, during his rookie (year), he broke onto the scene in one of the games against us and just had a phenomenal game. I would say the thing about this guy that is amazing is how competitive he is all the way through the game. It doesn’t matter the situation, this guy always has that mentality that he’s going to make a play to win, and a lot of times, he does. You see games where defenses have had him wrapped up in the backfield and it’s a sack and the game is over, and he gets out, he gets his eyes downfield, he makes an amazing throw and threads the needle. So, he is one of the tops in the League at playing quarterback and being able to get out of pressure and extend plays, run the ball. I think their offense has really shifted a little bit and really kind of designed now to fit a lot of things that he does. There’s a lot of gun runs, a lot of RPOs, distraction plays and formations and motions and shifts. His arm strength is as strong as anybody in the League. I think with the speed that they added – obviously (Will) Fuller who was there – but Brandin Cooks is another guy that I know really well and his speed to go vertical, it just creates obviously the big play ability downfield, but also that intermediate route area between trying to stay close to the line of scrimmage to defend against the quarterback and then obviously deep shots. There’s a lot of space in between that they really put the defense in a bind with.”
On if there’s a point where he looks back and wishes he kept certain veterans instead of removing them: “I think right now, the time for that conversation, as much as I appreciate it – I’ve got less than 72 hours to get ready for Houston. We’re trying to do everything we can to win right now. The team that we have right now, these guys work really hard and they’re trying to go out and compete. Like I said yesterday, I enjoy coaching this team every day. I go out there and this team wants to work hard. They like to get after it and study and grind, and that’s what we’re trying to do right now. We’re in the moment right now for 2020 trying to win obviously a big game on Thanksgiving.”
On if there are moments of frustration behind closed doors: “I think that I try to stay consistent as a person so that I can try to improve, because I know that I have to improve just like everyone has to improve every single day. That’s the most important thing, is to just stay consistent so that you can recognize when there is improvement or areas that you do need to improve on. For me, it’s the same as everybody else. We’ve got to get better, I’ve got to get better.”
