Head Coach Brian Flores
(In general, what does the opportunity of coaching in the Senior Bowl do for you as opposed to meeting with guys at the Combine? How much of an advantage is it?) – “I think getting face time with these guys – in a practice setting, in a meeting setting – along with the individual meetings that we do in the evening, I think all of it’s advantageous for us, especially the practice time and the meeting time to see how guys learn and really get to know them as people. That’s kind of been – or going to be – the focus of our week. We’re excited about it. Just being out on the field today, it’s exciting. We all love to coach. I love to be out there helping guys get better, so it’s another opportunity to do that. It’s a good first day and hopefully a good week.”
(I wanted to ask you about not just the offensive coordinator position and the opening that you have but how are you going about these practices without a designated offensive coordinator? I noticed that Quarterbacks Coach Charlie Frye was kind of calling plays during 7-on-7. Is he working the passing game? How does this work?) – “We’re going through our process with the coordinator position. Look, we’ve got very capable guys in (Running Backs Coach) Eric (Studesville) and (Tight Ends Coach) George (Godsey) and a good young staff. Putting together a plan is really not much of an issue. Those guys are doing a good job and we’ll go through the process. But really the focus is on the players here at the Senior Bowl, the evaluations of the players here at the Senior Bowl, and hopefully we’ll get as much information to help us make good decisions come draft time.”
(Just along the lines, you said that you get to obviously go into meetings with these players and stuff. What kind of sort of intangibles might make the difference for you, with everything else being equal?) – “You mean equal meaning athletically? We’re looking for guys who are tough, who are smart, who are competitive, who love to play, love to practice, who are looking to get better, want to improve and guys who are team-first. Those are sort of the intangibles we’re looking for and if a guy has that and is talented, then I imagine he’ll do the things and make the sacrifices necessary to make himself the best player he can possibly be. If a guy is more talented and doesn’t have those qualities, then I guess – well, I don’t guess but I believe that that player will get passed up because some other players will do all of the things necessary and make the sacrifices necessary to get better and improve. I think that player with lesser intangibles, I think he’ll pass him up. Now when you get a good player with good intangibles, that’s really what you’re looking for. Those are just my thoughts and my opinions.”
(A lot of people like to really emphasize the talent in the locker room. How important is the culture in the locker room besides actual talent in the locker room?) – “It’s a team game, so I think you need guys to be in unison, you need guys to play together, you need guys to pick each other up. There’s ups and downs and ebbs and flows in every game, so you want a team that supports each other and a team that’s talented also. Talent wins in this league, but talent and let’s call it unity, I think that’s really what you’re looking for. You want guys who when it gets tough and tight in fourth quarters of games, that guy’s got your back. Those are the kind of guys we’re looking for.”
(With obviously WR Devonta Smith on your roster, he’s not doing much this week, but there’s going to be a lot of questions about his production versus his size. How do you view maybe that dynamic of a guy, maybe a lack of size in his case and how that influences whether or not you draft a player like that?) – “I mean look, this guy’s a very, very good player. What was the question about his size?”
(How much is that a hindrance compared maybe to his production on the field and how do you view that dynamic?) – “If you’re a good player – I mean, you can nitpick all you want about a guy’s size – good players are good players are good players. I think we all can see that, and this guy’s a very good player. He made a lot of plays in college, he made a lot of plays in the big games – biggest games of the year. You can nitpick all day about things on people but he’s a very good player. It’s been good getting to know him, too. He’s a good kid, too.”
(You’re a defensive guy but when it comes to scouting and finding the right people for your defense, do you look more for in terms of the talent that they already have or do you look more towards people that fit your scheme more?) – “I think you’re looking for guys obviously with talent. You’re looking for different fits within the things that you do offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. You’re looking for the right person and the right people to bring into the locker room. It’s not one thing, it’s not an exact science; and I think it’s a little bit different for every team every year based on what you already have and what pieces you feel you need to make your team as good as it can be. Again, that probably doesn’t answer the question, but for me it’s year-to-year. The things that we’re evaluating are different each year positionally, scheme-wise. The game evolves over time as well. I would say in just the game of football, things change, so you could have been one way last year and you may need to shift some depth in another direction the next year. So you’ve got to be ready to evolve with the game.”
(When you go from individual drills, to one-on-ones to the team drills in practice, are there different things you’re looking for in those different elements of these practices – whether it’s traits on guys, how they play in a group setting? Do those things differ as far as how you evaluate them?) – “We give them all information – let’s call it a schematic, X’s and O’s standpoint. We spend a lot of time on the fundamentals. Each position has it’s set of fundamentals – footwork, hand placement, ball security, running, accuracy, every position is a little bit different. The idea is to take those fundamental drills from the individual period and then apply them in the one-on-one period and then apply them in a group setting, and then finally apply them in a team setting. That’s kind of the process. We’re looking for them to apply the things that they’ve learned from an individual, to a one-on-one, to a group period to a team period; and then, ‘ok, I worked that drill here, and this is where it applies.’ Here it applies in a one-on-one setting, here it applies in a group setting, maybe four 4-on-4 or 7-on-7 or 9-on-7, and then you go into the team period. That’s really the process. And we’re looking for guys to apply the things we teach them over and over and over again, and improve and get better.”
(In what ways will the offseason evaluation process be different this year because of the pandemic and what does that mean for this week?) – “In my opinion, I think it will be similar to last year. Maybe even a little bit more different in that there won’t be a Combine. There have already been restrictions on the Pro Days and the private workouts and things of that nature. I think we’ve gone through it a little bit. I think we’ve done the Zoom meetings and players have worked out on their own and sent video. We’ve kind of done it that way. We did it that way last year so this isn’t the first time we’ve done it. But right now, I think this is a great opportunity for us to see the players live and up close, meet with them, talk to them, get some face time with them – not on the iPhone, but actual face time – and get to know them as people, as players, the things that make them tick. We get to coach also, which that’s always fun. We’re excited about this week and I think we’ll get a lot out of it.”
