December 4, 2020
Opening statement: “First of all, appreciate the flexibility this morning. We had a little delay in the schedule. The test results were not all in this morning, so by the protocol, nobody’s allowed to be in the building. The players were not allowed in here until we got all of those back. So everything was clear, it was just a delay in that, so we had to push the schedule back a little bit. Everyone’s piling in the building now. We’ll be back out on the field there at Noon. A little delay in the schedule but appreciate you guys.
“Also, I think you guys saw yesterday – wanted to give you an update on D’Andre Swift. We changed what we were doing with him yesterday. So he’s no longer in the concussion protocol. He was here a little bit yesterday, and he started not feeling well, so went ahead and sent him home before practice. Let’s see. So as far as the concussion protocol, he’s no longer in it, and has been something that is not COVID-19-related but is still having some issues. So he’s not going to be out there at practice today, as far as it goes, we’re going to continue to take this through the end of the week. We’ll see how he continues to react to things, and then we’ll be able to give you an update for Sunday. That’s about as much information on D’Andre I can give you. So with that, I’ll open it up to questions.”
On if there has been talk about placing RB D’Andre Swift on Reserve/Injured to finish the season: “It’s really been a day-to-day thing. So I wouldn’t say it’s gone that far as that discussion. I think it’s just been a focus every day on his health and trying to get him right.”
On what TE Hunter Bryant can provide down the stretch: “We really liked what we saw out of him in training camp. So we were able to get him to start back to practice and all the things – you saw how we declared that. He’s doing a nice job, but he’s still in his rookie year, still learning a lot. So give him an opportunity to get out on the field, see what he can do, see what we have, and just go from there.”
On if G Joe Dahl has the ability to contribute: “Joe’s an important part of our football team. He has been a good player for us. I have no reservations in putting him in the game at any time. He can play multiple positions for us. He’s (an) emergency guy at a lot of those positions. He can play center, comfortable with him at both guards, he can go out and play tackle if we need him to. So no reservations about Joe at all.”
On what role could RB D’Andre Swift have in the game on Sunday given his limitations: “That’s a good question. What we’ve been able to do with him, and we kind of started with this, season – he missed a bunch of time in training camp. So we’re just building him up, giving him a little bit more, a little bit more. So obviously, it’d just go back to a smaller package for him. He’s been in meetings. He’s been in-and-out, coaches have been in communication with him, he’s been on some Zoom stuff. We just have to see, as far as the gameplan-specific stuff. It would be very specific so that he could go out there and play fast like I talk about.”
On how WR Kenny Golladay has been feeling: “Improving every day. Improving every day. (I) like what he’s doing. We’ll see how it goes.”
On what it will be like on Sunday being a head coach: “Like I said, every opportunity, something that I’m doing this week, is new. It’s really exciting. It’s been a fun time. I’ve got a lot of great support staff here that’s helping me with that. To be honest with you, on Sunday, during the game, calling the plays and being the head coach, I’m not 100 percent sure how that’s going to go. Like I said, I have great support staff (and) in these next two days, we’ll move our focus to actual gameday, make sure our communication is very clear, what’s going to happen where I am on which lines, so that the guys that need to get to me, get to me, then the decisions I need to make in game-management situation, I think that’s going to be the most important part, so that we nail those. I feel really confident about it. We have great people who are going to be helping me with that, and like I said, we’ll continue to communicate with it. Each and every meeting has been fun. It’s been exciting to communicate with them. I give them really quick shots and just give them brief messages. I’m really excited about the last one on Saturday night before they go hit the field.”
On if he’s thought about in-game challenges and new situations for him during the game: “Yes, that’s going to happen today and tomorrow. So, we have to have these meetings planned to be sure that we’re on that. I have been involved – we’ve had coordinator meetings with the head coach and the same game management team that we’ve had. So, I’ve already been on all those, so I know how those go. I know the communication during the game from at least my half, I just need to get the communication and exactly how we’re going to handle it, where I’m going to be on what line, so that communication’s clear.”
On what WR Kenny Golladay has been like in the building lately: “I was just downstairs talking to him like right before I came up here. Just talking about what we’re doing for the weekend and all that stuff. I love Kenny. He’s always got a good look in his eye, he’s a super competitive guy. He wants to be out there for his teammates, he wants to be out there and playing ball for himself. He’s a game changer for us when he’s out there. I think you just see the production that he has. I mean the first game he’s out there he catches a touchdown pass for us. So, we definitely miss him and his athleticism and his big catch radius, and we can’t wait to get him back out there.”
On what he expects Sunday morning to be like when he wakes up: “I think I’m going to have to wait and see how I react to that. I think the thing from playing the quarterback position at a really young age, for my dad, he said, ‘Never let them see you sweat.’ So, I want the guys to be able to look over to me and they see somebody that’s got it under control, that somebody is very poised. But that doesn’t mean you can’t show your excitement at any moment. I’m just kind of ready to let it rip, and I’ll just be in the moment (and) see what happens.”
On how much he has seen his picture with Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre over the last few days: “I would not say in the last few days, but over time it’s come up in team meetings and offensive meetings. It’s come up a lot. Yeah, I love the picture. I love my haircut in that thing. It’s a sweet flattop. It was a good time, a good memory.”
On if he needs a player to practice during the week to be able to play: “That’s a great question that I think is something that we’re always asking ourselves as coaches, and I think it really comes down to an individual basis. I have had guys that didn’t get any reps and then they play, and I’ve done it the other way as well. I think it’s just really dependent on the situation, who the player is, their background. There’s so many things that can go into it, so I think it’s a case-by-case basis.”
On where he feels like the team is with the cornerback situation: “I feel more comfortable at it now, knowing that we’re going to at least go into the game with four corners. I think last week, we ended the game with three corners. It gives you obviously some more flexibility as well. Not to give you any more insight, but we’ll wait and see how the inactives and actives shake up on Sunday and we’ll go from there.”
On if he has ruled anybody out for the game yet: “That goes out today.”
