July 26, 2023
Opening Statement: “Quick shoutout as we get going here, really for the significant others of the coaches and the players. In particular, my wife. I’ve got a – it’s been a hard transition here. We had baby number three about four weeks ago, so she’s got her hands full, and I feel for her right now but, hun, if you’re listening, I promise she’ll eventually sleep through the night. I promise. So, we’re getting there, she’s making it through, but exciting to get going again. Nice to be back on the grass and how the players are jacked-up and ready to go.”
On if it feels like the offense has hit the ground running now that they have a foundation built this year: “Yeah, to me it feels like it’s an offense going into year two. The conversations that are being had, particularly from the guys that were here last year, are what we talked about in the springtime, it’s less learning concepts. It’s now understanding the answers to the problems because every play call, defenses present problems and now we’ve got the solutions. We’re a lot quicker getting to those solutions than what we were, so we have made a step forward and that’s really with the vets. The young guys, they’re still – they’re drinking through a water hose right now, which is a good thing. We’re trying to make this really, really challenging for all of our players and as we go through camp, the mentals is what we look at quite a bit so, the mental errors I should say. Right now, we’re pretty good, but as we get going, the more volume, the more that will go up and the guys that end up making our team are the guys that can handle that, handle the volume and deal with it, so it’s good.”
On Lions TE Sam LaPorta and the progress he has made as a young player at the tight end position: “Yeah, I think as a coaching staff, we’re very much, ‘You need to earn your stripes.’ And so you saw in the springtime, he got minimal work with the first team and he’s earned the right now to be in that first team huddle with (Lions QB) Jared (Goff) and that offensive line. He’s proven that over the course of the springtime and the work that he’s put in. So, encouraged with where he’s going. He’s still making mistakes, he’s still learning, we are putting a lot of pressure on him to pick it up, but I think he’s in a really good spot for a first-year tight end, particularly with, like I said, the volume we are applying with the installs right now, so to see him be able to go out on the field and make plays, pass game and run game, I think we’re headed the right direction.”
On his expectations for the tight ends when the pads come on: “No, it – a lot, a lot. It’s a position that, if you cannot block and deal with the physicality, then in our offense, the value goes down. Tight ends that can’t block really are glorified receivers and that’s really a lot of (Lions TE) Sam (LaPorta)’s value that he had at Iowa was the ability to do both, be a pass catcher and also a run blocker. So, looking forward to see that versatility come to life when we do get the pads on.”
On if he still feels that the team is on the cusp of building something special: “Yeah, I think every training camp, you go in optimistic about the direction of the unit you’re working with. It doesn’t matter if you’re quality control, position coach, coordinator, I think you’re always excited about where it could head and this is no different, but just like (Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell) Coach and the players have been saying, it’s all about putting in the work right now. That’s really what it comes down to. We’ll peak up once the season starts and see where we’re at, but right now, we’ve got a long way to go to get where we’re capable of going.”
On how the players have responded to his commitment to the team this offseason: “Truthfully, it’s not about me and it never has been. So, for them, I think it’s a player’s game. They’re going out there playing – yeah, I’m still here, whether they like me or not, I don’t really know, but the fact of the matter is, it’s about them and that’s the mindset we take as a coaching staff each and every day. It doesn’t matter who is the coordinator, who’s the play-caller, who the position coaches are, we’re here for them to make them the best players that they can possibly – make this organization win as many games as we possibly can.”
On if his commitment to the team was reflected in his decision to stay this offseason: “Sure, I guess so, but once again, it is not about me. This narrative that I’m back, like no, this is about our guys, man. It’s about our guys right now. They’re the ones going out there winning football games for us.”
On Lions QB Nate Sudfeld’s performance so far in training camp: “No, he – last year we didn’t have him for camp and so this is great because he is getting full speed, live evaluation right now throughout camp. Can’t wait to see him in preseason games and function at a high level when the bullets are flying. Right now, he – it feels like he’s come out with great command, great control, he’s throwing with accuracy, he’s making good decisions and so him, as well as the rest of the guys, the consistency is what we’re looking for. We can’t have flash players and so for him, it’s just building, stacking up good days one after another and he’s been able to put a couple good ones back-to-back so far.”
On his early impressions of Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown’s growth: “Yeah, he doesn’t need any more chips on his shoulder, so don’t need to motivate him too much. It’s funny because (Lions QB) Jared (Goff) will text me during the summer and they’re out there throwing in California and – by the way, I don’t know how hard of a throw it is to throw a dagger with your eyes closed – I don’t know, I don’t know. I don’t know why that took off quite like that but tell him I said that – Jared. Jared texted me and he’s like, ‘St. Brown, huge year.’ That’s all he said just, ‘St. Brown, huge year.’ So, Saint has attacked this offseason probably like he’s attacked every offseason and the experience that he has under his belt, two years in the NFL, going in second year in this offense, he has a great understanding of where he needs to be, when that ball’s going to be there and hopefully we can take that into the season.”
On the progress and expectations for Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Lions TE Sam LaPorta: “So far so good. Sam is learning a lot, he’s got great movement skills. He made some plays in the passing game yesterday that was pretty good to see. Getting in and out of breaks, impressive, like we talked about before, can’t wait to see what he is as a run blocker starting this weekend when we get the pads on. And then with Jahmyr, he’s learning quickly. We’ve kept him learning the basic running back stuff right now, but we’re going to start pushing the envelope a little bit as we keep going through camp. The interesting thing is we’ve got the Giants coming in so early that our install has to be condensed a little bit, so we’re getting pretty aggressive and so the volume, the things we’re asking them to do, it’s going to escalate quickly and we’ll find out a lot more about these young guys, probably within the next week, week and a half.”
On his first impressions of Lions WR Antoine Green: “Oh yeah, Antoine showed up and I think he had some reps with Jared yesterday and that’s a product of we’ve got a couple guys dinged up and not practicing, but same thing like (Lions TE) Sam (LaPorta), talking about Sam earning that right, Green has earned that right to get a couple reps. And so, he’s starting to develop a little bit of trust, he’s playing faster than what he was in the springtime and that’s his biggest challenge right now. He’s a four-four guy, he needs to play four-four every single snap and when he does that, he can – he shows an ability to get open.”
On how the joint practices will increase the offense’s urgency during training camp: “Yeah, to me, that’s what it comes down to. It’s the urgency, it’s the intensity. Over the course of most training camps, there’s ups, there’s downs and we’ve got 10, 11, 12 practices, I’m not sure exactly what that number is, to get our installs in and then boom, it’s the Giants and then boom, it’s Jacksonville back-to-back and so, there’s not going to be much time to dip down. There’s not going to be much time, so it helps us as a coaching staff, we don’t have to do much to motivate our players – shoot, we’ll have the fans out there, we’ve got the pads on and then these other teams come in and the competition just goes up, goes through the roof.”
On the expectations for himself and how he wants to improve: “From a play-calling perspective, I think I can be – I take that back, not from play-calling, I’d say from a preparation standpoint, being more efficient. There were some late nights, and we had some tired coaches over the course of the season. I’m hoping to be more efficient with the gameplan process to help us, to help the entire process throughout the week. On game day, I don’t know that much will change. We’re pretty much hays in the ball by the time we get to kickoff, and we know exactly what we want to do once the game gets going. So I don’t think that’s going to be an issue, but the preparation part, I’m hoping to be a lot more efficient and our coaches, I mean they do a heck of a job getting me the information, but it takes me – it took me last year a lot of time to sift through it, so hopefully that’ll accelerate.”
On if he embraces the high expectations surrounding the team and himself: “I’ve always had high expectations on myself. It didn’t matter what position I was in, so to me, it’s business as usual.”
On if he saw Pro Football Focus rating him as the best offensive coordinator in the League: “(Lions Quarterbacks Coach) Mark Brunell sent it to me.” |
