(On his reaction to the firing of General Manager Dave Caldwell) “I think we all know that obviously we’re struggling to win football games. I think that we understand that. Obviously, it’s a very competitive business. I think we have an owner [Shad Khan] that wants a good product for our fans and wants to win, there’s no mistake about it, and we haven’t done it. I think when most things happen these types of decisions are going to be made. Dave [Caldwell] and I had a good relationship. It’s not like we haven’t been through this before, meaning people have been in the league. It obviously unfortunate, but it is part of the profession. Like I said, I spoke to Dave and wish him and his family the best of luck. We had a good relationship. It’s very difficult and my focus right now is not on all the things that may be going on on the outside, but trying to get the team to win football games and be there for the coaches and the players and do my best job there.”
(On knowing that his job is secure through the end of the season) “I’ve learned this a long time ago and I’ve always tried to [live by it]- [it’s about] the things that you can control and what you’re committed to and the commitment I have for the players and the organization, even the fans, I’m committed to doing what I have to do in trying to get this team to win. I think that was my only focus. I’m not one of those guys that is going to say, ‘I’m wondering if this is going to happen or if that’s going to happen’ because with where we are right now as a team, I’d be selling everyone short. I’m not going to be that guy and I never have been that guy, so that’s what my focus is on, trying to get a team that’s playing hard that’s coming up short on plays, making the plays at the right time. But I can’t ask for more from the players and the coaches as far as what they’re doing. I have a ton of respect for them. You guys know how I feel about this team and I’m just trying to do the best job I can.”
(On the starting quarterback this week) “There’s been so much going on I haven’t been able to [make that decision]. We’re virtual right now being out of the building which is challenging even though we’ve done a lot of things outside the building prior to, but I have not been able to talk to the players. I apologize for this. I really haven’t had the time. I’m going to talk to the players first before I talk about it publicly. I know that we all have a good relationship, but I hope you guys can understand that, but that’s what I’m going to do. As soon as I deal with that obviously, we’ll get it to you guys.”
(On keeping the team focused amidst the organizational change) “I’ll tell you, outside of prior to the change and someone might have asked this question to me prior to this, ‘How do you keep this thing going? How do you keep these things moving forward when you’re not winning football games and everything?’ I’ve addressed the players prior to this, I would say multiple times, of, ‘Hey, this is the situation we’re in. We’re the only ones that are going to be able to battle it out’ and enforcing that we support each other, we stay together, we continue to work, we continue to push, we continue to see the great through winning football games. Obviously change is going to occur and I wasn’t talking about [former Jaguars General Manager] Dave [Caldwell] or myself or the players, but naturally when you’re not winning, there’s always going to be some type of change, players, coaches, management. Something’s going to happen, so a lot of us that have the ability, that they want to stay in this league and continue playing whether you’re a player or a coach, a lot of it’s going to be how you handle this situation. Now, there’s players that are going to be here, there’s players that this is going to be an experience that is going to really challenge them professionally to make sure that they’re doing everything they possibly can and that’s going to be on film. People are going to look at you and evaluate you [based on] how you reacted, what you said publicly, how you played the game, how you took the coaching. The same with the coaches, what have they done, what their commitment is and what are they focused on. I told them I’m committed to making you better every single day whether it’s the coaches or the players and trying to get us to be over this hump to try to get a win. These things were talked about, but I think they’re things that I think are obvious. I’ve always taken pride in trying to address maybe what some people may say is the elephant in the room or things that are going on and the team has responded very well. Like I said before, I don’t have any issues with this team as far as doing their business and being professional, trying to get on the field, getting their treatments, playing injured, playing banged up, playing multiple players. Same with the coaches. It’s going to become difficult to try to get people ready that are just coming in the building or that haven’t played, but all these challenges are things that you go through when you’re not winning football games. So, we’ve addressed it and that’s one of the things that we talked about with the players and I’ll continue to talk about with the players until the season’s over.”
(On creating this year’s roster and the apparent young of it) “I don’t think we expected obviously the situations of the shutdown and the offseason and the development of the players. I felt that when you look at it, it’s not a secret. We didn’t have a lot of space with the cap space. We had tough decisions, but I thought when I look at this draft and I look at this draft class, we did work together on it. We worked hard with the coaching staff and the scouting staff and we put an emphasis on some things that we feel that we’ve gotten. I feel, like I said before with some of this past class specifically, that some of these players have shown us promise. I think at the end of the day, I’m always going to look back and say how would they have performed if we did have an offseason because I think that’s a legitimate thing, that’s not an excuse. You see these players that are starting to come along. The challenge, like I’ve always said multiple times, is we want to get them fast enough to be able to make these plays that are going to be differences in the games and at times they have made some of those plays, but consistently we haven’t been able to get that done. The question that you asked I can talk about specifically like you said with the combine and this year’s class, but I don’t have the time really to kind of go back and really put everything together on where we’ve been, where we are. I think that stuff comes afterwards, after the season, but I know we worked extremely hard to get this group. I like this group. I think you guys have seen production out of them, whether they’ve been draft picks or free agents, and I think it’s a good locker room. I think that these guys are all in. We got good news with [DT DaVon] Hamilton last night. It’s not as bad as we thought. We think he’ll still go on IR but it’s definitely not anything that’s quite long term, which was the concern last night, so that’s a good thing. That’s how I feel so I’m trying to really focus on those guys, those young guys to try to make sure that I’m doing the best job I can to make them get better and then to also develop a callous about themselves with how much this season may be hurting them and to remember that and to build on that to get that chip and to make them better players because I think a lot of these guys that we’ve taken have a chance to be in this league for awhile depending on how they still develop and that’s an important part of the game.”
(On handling the last five games of the season with his future with the team next season unknown) “The approach for me is that the results aren’t what you wanted, I understand that, at the end of the day, when you’re in a community that I love, I really do. You’re talking about family, you’re talking about a lot of things, so I’m in a community that I truly love the people here. We have an owner [Shad Khan] that wants to win. I think that’s awesome; I really do. I mean he wants to win and there’s no mistake about it. When you go out and you’re filling up your car with gas or you’re going to a convenience store or you’re going out to dinner, there’s a sense of it’s embarrassing. I mean I feel that way at times and the only thing I have to rely on to make sure I can walk around and be a good example is to know that I’ve fought my ass off, that I’ve done everything I possibly can to make sure that I’m doing my job to the best of my abilities to try to win football games because that’s the only thing at the end of the day. I’ve learned this a long time ago, whatever happens with the results and the records, it is what it is, but at the end of the day you have to look at yourself in the mirror and you’re going to have to say, ‘Hey listen, did I give everything I had?’ If you did, that’s it, the results are what they are, and you did. But if you don’t, I don’t know how you could ever live with yourself. I’ve addressed this before with players and multiple teams that I’ve been a part of, whether it be Syracuse or whether it be Buffalo as a head coach. I try to explain to the players this, when I was a player, there’s some things that I wish I could’ve done a better job of that would’ve kept me in the league or maybe I would’ve had a better career, which I will have with a cup of coffee. I’ll never know. If I would’ve made those adjustments, what would’ve happened with my life? So, on a daily basis from a professional level, I live with that regret daily and the worst thing you can do in life is to ever have any regrets. I think it’s a shitty way to really feel about yourself and it’s a terrible way [to live]. When I started coaching, did I make mistakes? Yes, but I made them with the right sense of mind meaning that I was trying to do my best and I would try different things. So for me, it’s always been about doing the best job you can, don’t make any excuses because if you regret something that you did that you know you didn’t do the best to figure it out, me personally, I would have a hard time living with myself. That’s how I am wound as a person.”
(On QB Gardner Minshew II not being the backup last week against the Browns) “We talked about it during the week so Gardner [Minshew II] and I had a conversation and we were just working through what would be the best situation for him. At the end of the day, we talked and it was on my plate. We just felt that with another day of working with the strength and conditioning coaches, rather than being out there on Sunday was a good situation for him, so that’s how we came to that decision.”
(On QB Mike Glennon’s performance yesterday) “I thought Mike [Glennon] made some good throws, some accuracy throws. I think he took some shots which I was happy with. I think it was a little rough, obviously he hasn’t played a game since I think ’17 or ’18. I think there was a lot of good things. Again, we’ll just see how this thing goes and I’ll talk to all those quarterbacks probably sometime within the next 24 hours.”
(On the appeal of the open general manager position and his relationship with Interim General Manager Trent Baalke) “I think a lot of things have been cleaned up and that’s an effort on everyone I think to correct. Shad [Khan] has said multiple times whatever you need from a support standpoint of whatever the team needs or whatever the players need, it’s never been an issue, so I think that’s attractive. I think when you look at the dead money and things of that nature and where we are now, it’s good. I’m not involved in that world as much as far as how do you sell a position like that. I look at it more from the coaching perspective of things that you have to do, but there’s a lot of positives, there’s a lot of positives about it. I think there’s lot of good positioning about it, the foundation. I think there’s a couple things that you have to clear up roster-wise, but we knew that going in. I think you guys can see that and I think it will attract many people. I mean who wouldn’t want to work for someone that’s going to give you all the support that you need. That’s what you want. Then my relationship with Trent [Baalke], the only time I’ve really talked to Trent was when I interviewed out in San Francisco. He didn’t hire me, so that’s one thing, but over the course of the time here, I got to know him and it’s just been a very professional relationship. He’s more of, ‘Hey, what can I do or how can I help you?’ and looking at players, looking at people like that. He’s been very professional, has good insight. Again, I think this relationship is just starting, it’s not something that’s been there before.”
(On his philosophy heading into the last five games) “There’s no doubt that we are going to try to win every single game that we play, and I can tell you that. That’s not a question so whatever we have to do to win, we’re going to be able to do. I think that getting these guys healthy, getting them to play, getting them back, we’re holding out hope for some of these guys to come back to help us from an IR standpoint and as soon as they’re ready to go we’re going to bring them back and play. There’s no doubt that’s the direction that we’re headed as coaches and players.”
