San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, special teams coordinator Brant Boyer, and offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak spoke with reporters ahead of the team's rookie minicamp. Here is what they said.
Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris
What have you been doing as far as when you take over as defensive coordinator, what are the first things on your plate when you come to a new building?
"It's pretty simple. You get a chance to go evaluate all the guys that are in this building, our current players, the people that we have, you get a chance to really marvel over some of the talent that they've been able to acquire over here the last couple of years. Being in this division not too long ago, you got a chance to know a lot of the guys and know a lot about all the guys, and then obviously the people that they acquire through the draft. You really want a good feel on the people that are here, what they have, what's already in place and what they've done really well. And I was really close to this building from afar. So, that happened pretty easily and pretty seamlessly with some of the coaches that we do have."
You alluded to it just then. Over the years, head coach Kyle Shanahan has said he's wanted to bring you here many times. How close were you over the years to being here and what made right now the right time?
"I don't know. You've got to ask Kyle how close because you're either on the stick where, you know, we went to Super Bowl together in 2016 and easily could have come then if allowed to. Denial's there from that standpoint, nothing in a negative way, but it's always nice to be wanted within your own building as well. So, being able to stay there over the course of the years. And then obviously when things didn't work out the first time and we were let go in Atlanta, Kyle's always a person that I talked to regardless of the situation. But I had an opportunity to go be a coordinator and then obviously you guys had great people in place at that point and [Houston Texans head coach] DeMeco [Ryans] was in place and going to be the coordinator. But as you know, all coaches want to be around guys that they want to be around. So, when you get an opportunity to add people to it, like you guys did with [Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator] Gus Bradley last year was probably going to be a similar opportunity at that point. But, got fortunate enough, was able to go with [Los Angeles Rams head coach] Sean [McVay], who's another guy that you always talk to when these kinds of things come up, and went to L.A., had some success there and was able to go along and become a head coach again back in Atlanta. So, this time when it came open, had a couple different opportunities. You're never expecting it, but you're really not expecting those things to happen and you sit back, kind of take some time with family, do some of the things that we all want to do when we're not looking at you guys and get the opportunity to go out there and make some real decisions. And Kyle was someone that you love working with, love working for. Not to say that you wouldn't like working with other people as well, but Kyle's definitely one of those people you always want to work with. From our time being in, whether it was Tampa the original time we worked together, when we were both young puppies, or the second time we worked together when we were in D.C. and being able to be around his father, be around the Shanahan family, the tradition and the culture that they're able to form really molded me throughout my career since I was round the Shanahans to be honest."
In terms of defensive philosophy, we're seeing across the league more five-man fronts pretty generally. Why do you think that is and what's your philosophy on five-man fronts?
"These guys are getting, they're harder to defend. Just the coordinators in this league, let's not kid ourselves, people want to see offense. The rules have changed in different ways for you to do different things. So, you've got to have some multiplicity in your front. You've got to have multiplicity in the back end. You've got to be able to do different things. You'd like to be able to do those things when you decide to do those things and use them as terms where you can dictate, so to speak. But, we have been a four-down rush team, and we've done a nice job with it. I know we've dibbled and dabbled a little bit last year, even with [Tennessee Titans head coach] Robert Saleh, who I have so much respect for and what he was able to do and how he did it. But I was able to accumulate and acquire a bunch of different ideas and thoughts along my stops with the different people that I work with. Whether it's been [Seattle Sea Dragons head coach] Jim Haslett in Washington, where they were strictly three-four base Pittsburgh team, or really being able to do some of the different things that we did last year, being able to mix it up, being able to play some four-down stuff, being able to play a bunch of five-down stuff. So, I think you've got to be able to move around and kind of move those chess pieces to be able to help you go out there and really do your best to stop these really explosive offenses."
Kyle has talked a lot about when it comes to the development of a coach, he credits his early time in Tampa getting to actually work on the defensive side of the ball to help him as an offensive coach. And he's talked about different coaches having that experience. You obviously have worked on both sides. How much do you credit your work on the offensive side, including with Kyle in Atlanta, for your development as a defensive coach?
"Oh, I mean, our whole career has kind of been the business of being nosy, so to speak. So, like when Kyle came to Tampa fresh out of UCLA, all fired up and eager, we were stealing his dad's zone scheme keeper game as much as he was stealing Tampa two and all different values that he wanted to bring to us. So when we did all the cross training where even when we were young, it was constantly, staff development within the building with some of the better coaches that we had been around in our lifetime, like [former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach] Mike Tomlin was secondary coach and [former NFL defensive coordinator] Monte Kiffin was the defensive coordinator along with [former Las Vegas Raiders defensive line coach] Rod Marinelli, and what he was able to bring with the original a part of his attack front doing some of the different things, sort of the stuff that we have, very similar to that stuff. And he was running all the good coaches and [Miami Dolphins run game coordinator/senior defensive assistant] Joe Barry, all those guys. But we shared a bunch of information, and then I got a chance to obviously work on defense in such a long time. When I was able to switch over to offense, with Kyle in Atlanta kind of having the outside-in version of what the offense looks like, what it means and what it's going to do to really get into the deep weeds of it, watch him game plan and watch him go through the process of a week of preparing for a different team. And then even when he left, being able to stay on that side of the ball and really develop and grow as a person that can really go out there and formulate plays to go find open spaces and do different things that you want to do from an offensive standpoint was so much fun and a different perspective than you had just going out there coaching defense, right? You can actually speak in their language, understand what some of the quarterback reads are, being able to be detailed enough to go out there and try to stop those things. Being able to explain it to your players in a completely different way, which was my strength when I went from defense to offense. And then being able to come back, it still remains your strength. So, you grow from all the experiences, you gain all experience with the people. And I've really enjoyed the process of being able to switch back and forth. Now not many coaches in the National Football League say they can coach on both sides of the ball and definitely not many can say they've been on the number one defense and a number one offense, and coach on both sides of the balls in respective season. So, I am truly blessed, truly feel it as like a definite benefit to being able to work with Kyle and being able to work around those types of people."
Do you expect your defense to resemble what it looked like in Atlanta or is it going to be more of a continuation of what's been happening here the last few years?
"We definitely want to do what's best for our players. You know, you're always going to do what they do really well. You know, [LB] Fred Warner is Fred Warner for a reason. I'm going to try to utilize those guys to the best of their ability to do some of their different things and be able to have some additions, to be able to go out there and ultimately to go try to win a championship. Whatever's required, whatever's needed to go do those things. Those are the expectations and those are the things that we want to get done. So, to say it's going to be more resemblant to me or more resemblant to them, it's going to be what's best for us in order to go win football games. And I think that's the best way to look at it, ultimately, whatever it takes to go win football games, whatever it takes to go out there and get it done for us."
What about the 49ers made you pick them? I know you said you had some other teams, but what was it about this organization that felt right?
"Didn't know all about the organization before, knew more about Kyle, knew more about [president of football operations and general manager John] Lynch. Obviously those are guys that I've been really close to just throughout the whole process of everything, right? Having the ability to coach Lynch when I was a very young football coach being around that culture and what it meant, and then having a chance to be a coach with Kyle and being a coach with Kyle in multiple spots and then have an opportunity to come out here. And then you get out here and you see what everything is like, what they've done together, how they built this thing to be able to run the draft, be able to run the process, be able to run the standard of play, being around these guys. And then really competing against these guys, you get this healthy respect of, you love to be a part of that. When you get a chance to go be a part of teams like that, which I've been fortunate enough to do in the past, it certainly made it an easy choice for me. With all due respect to the people that I talked to. Because everybody that I talked to that actually called me, I have so much respect for those people. But, Kyle was a great opportunity to come work here at the 49ers."
By being in Atlanta the last couple years, you got to see WR Mike Evans up close, and you've been in the league as long as him. What is he going to do to Kyle's offense that you've noticed so well and having faced it with RB Christian McCaffrey at full strength and QB Brock Purdy back there?
"Yeah, I just think it's more about the people and what they can do for each other I think would be the most beneficial thing that those guys sit down and talk about and how they can make each other better. Mike is a pain in the neck, defending against him, because he has so many skill sets and different things that he can do, and I'm sure Kyle's going to find things that he didn't do as great and try to make it better. And when you do those things with great players, you capture their attention right away, and when you capture your attention, you get the best from those guys. And I've seen it happen with a bunch of different guys in this past, and I don't want to name their names because some of them have been here, some of them have been other places, but when you get the best version of the players in the building, which I know Kyle can do along with the staff, being around these guys to meet these guys, I'm really fired up. Being around [offensive coordinator Klay] Kubiak, being around Mike, being around all the different people that are here. I'm really fired to see what they can do with Mike. I'm really fired up to see what he can grow here as a player."
John Lynch said that you brought a lot of energy in the Draft meetings, and he said that when you really liked a player, you were like, "Hey, if we get that guy, we're going to throw a pool party." Do we any pool party Draft picks in this Draft from your perspective?
"Honestly, it was a cool process for me to be a part of, to find consensus with the organization. I forget who just asked the question about defensive thoughts and ideas, but it's cool to be able to try to express those things to those guys and those guys to formulate and find ways to be able to help you formulate those things, get those people in the building. But there were certainly some pool party people, both offense and defensively. Being nosy, having the ability to coach on offense and defense. You got a chance to see [WR DeZhaun] Stribling, you got a chance to see all these different guys that you are able to acquire on defense. And the way and the manner that we went about getting them I thought was very unique and I thought was pretty cool to watch. To watch all these guys and have such a respect for whether you're talking about [assistant general manager] RJ [Gillen], whether you're talking about [vice president, player personnel Tariq] Riq [Ahmad] and some of the different guys that all are part of that process along with the coaches and everybody in that room, talking about scouts and everybody coming to these really strong convictions. I think was pretty cool. I thought it was a great process. I loved being around it and there are definitely some pool party guys. That was a cool thing."
What do you see from DL Romello Height and DL Gracen Halton, your two defensive line guys?
"Obviously, just going off what you guys know from here, you always want to have those pass rushers, right? And Romello brings a certain ability to pass rush that he showed opposite of his young teammate out there at Texas Tech. Romell's going to come in here and be able to provide some of those things for us, be able to get into that room and really learn from one of the best D-Line coaches in the world in [defensive line coach] Kris Kocurek and [assistant defensive line coach] Greg Scruggs and obviously [defensive quality control coach] Cameron Brown and being able to get with those guys and be able to be the best version of himself. So, watching Romello as a pass rusher, watching Romello be able to go out there and do some different things, whether it be in the pass game or whether it be even in the run game. You see all the things that we love about the guy, the WIT, the stuff that he does, how he plays the game and all this stuff. And he plays with high energy, probably one of the highest energy guys in the Draft that we saw and that I was at least able to evaluate. So, extremely confident and fired about that and no different with Halton, right? He gives that same type of interior presence. You know, last year you guys went out and added big [DL] C.J [West] and you added big [DL Alfred Collins] A.C. you know, big time run stoppers, big time guys that can just get off the ball, disrupt and do a bunch of different things and you go out there and keep adding guys in those positions so you can get that constant roll, and to be able to get those guys to roll through that, cause absolute disruption for everybody that we play against is something that you love."
I'm curious, when you and Kyle were in the Super Bowl versus the Patriots, you guys obviously came so close, and this organization is pretty much the same. Have you guys had the chance to connect about that and how eager are you guys to bring the Bay Area and the Niners a Super Bowl?
"Yeah, ultimately as a competitor it's what you want to do, it's what you think about every single day. And then nothing would be more satisfying for me personally, than to be able to come here and help this organization, this head coach, this general manager, this owner, this team, the players that they have. When you talk about Fred Warner and [DL] Nick Bosa and guys that absolutely you want to go win that thing for. You get chills just fully thinking about it, but to have the ability to go do that and help people do that, that's what you coach for. That's the ultimate goal."
Going back with Kyle, it's been a friendship for a long time. What do you think clicks between you two guys?
"The ultimate thing with coaches that really are committed to each other is obsession. He has an obsession about football that's just unmatched. And when you have that obsessive personality to be the very best at what you do, I think that's something that ultimately clicks when you're talking about coaches. Like there's going to be coaches in everybody's office, there's going to be cross training and it's already started to happen with [quarterbacks coach] Mick Lombardi on the offensive staff, myself, my own personal staff, being able to get with [assistant head coach defense] Matt Eberflus, being able to get with [defensive passing game coordinator] Jerry Gray. Some of the guys that were here, like Kris Kocurek, being able to go to their side of the ball with some of the young guys that are just eager to be the very best to be able to learn and keep growing. It's just an obsession of football that makes you click."
Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak
What's the feeling like here, with any newness and the level excitement too?
"I've been here the whole time. But yeah, it's been good to have the players back for sure. Always a new energy when those guys are back in the building, getting to see them every day, reminding us why we like them so much and just getting to be around the guys brings us energy every day. I'm excited for this phase two, which starts next week and then getting into our OTAs. It will be good."
What are your goals? What do you try to accomplish when you get the rookies in here for the first time?
"It's a combination of things. I think one, you really want them to start digging into the installs and the playbook a little bit. And they get in the meeting room with the coaches. So, there's that part of it, the mental. Getting them on the field and just kind of getting them adapted to the drills we are going to be doing. The way we practice, the way we work on the field, I see it as kind of a two-day orientation for, 'hey, you're here for a couple days, you're in the classroom, you're on the practice field, you know how we want to work, you know the standard. And then they're here on Monday. They're out there on the field with the players and they join the group. So, it's kind of that dual purpose, and you want to see what they can do. You've got all these tryout guys coming in, some of these free agents we signed. You kind of want to see how they look, so just all those things. We're evaluating it all."
Will any of your quarterbacks be on the field?
"I believe [QB] Kurtis [Rourke] is going to be out there. I'm not 100-percent sure, but I know Kurtis is eligible to be in our minicamp. So yeah, he might be out there throwing."
How did you find out that you guys had signed WR Mike Evans and how do you plan on using him?
"How did I find out? Same way you guys did. It showed up on ESPN on that first day of free agency. We were ecstatic and fired up. Obviously, we had a plan. We evaluated him and had intentions to want to sign him, and we talked about it. But just to get it done was incredible. How do we want to use him? I mean, he's a Hall-of-Fame wide receiver, you know, he's a one-on-one matchup that you can take advantage of when he's on the field, and he's got one-on-one coverage, you want to get the ball to Mike. You feel like he's going to win. He's about as competitive as they come. He's a guy who's going to win his matchups, and it's just really cool to have that alpha type of player out on the field at that position for us again. We're going to use him the way he's been used his whole career and hopefully get a few more things out of him too along the way as we get him in our program."
It's an evolving process, but what is your short-term vision for WR DeZhaun Stribling and then what is the long-term view for where you'd like to begin?
"I mean, short term, you've got to go day-by-day with anybody, any new player. You've got to teach them the offense, they've got to learn everything from the ground up. You've got to teach them how you see the position, the fundamentals of playing wide receiver, and he's got to grow from the ground up. I don't think any player starts above that. They've got to start there. And so that's the first part. And just getting him acclimated to our playbook, our standard, our work ethic and then our fundamentals. And then I think long-term, you guys have kind of heard us talk about our vision for him. He's a big, fast, powerful football player, and he can help our offense in so many ways with the ball in his hand, as a route runner, without the ball in his hand is a huge strength of his, the way he plays, his mindset. He's a complete football player and those guys make your team better. So, he's going to affect the game in a lot of ways. That's our vision for him as far as the long-term for sure."
What'd you see in Kurtis Rourke last year? What's the next step for him this offseason?
"I got to see him, I think it was a couple weeks, he was able to practice and loved the arm talent. He's a heck of a thrower. He's big, he's strong. He can stand in there and make every throw on the field. And we saw that from him when he was able to be on the field. Super bright guy, absorbs our playbook and our offense really well. He hasn't missed a beat on that, and I'm excited to go see him out there and just put it all together and get reps with our guys, consistency, stack days and just see how he gets better. We have high hopes for him, but I'm just excited about him as a player."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan mentioned that RB Kaelon Black was the number two running back on your board this year. What made you so excited about Kaelon when you watched his tape?
"He's a guy who, he really grew on us over time. The more we watched, studied these backs and really stacked them all together, you saw a guy who got the most out of every run that he put on tape. When he touched the ball, he was maximizing every play. Whether that be an explosive run where he was going through the line or it was a run where it wasn't blocked very well, and he was going to get you four or five yards. He's just a really physical, tough runner. He's got good speed. To me, what I loved about watching him was when you saw their team, Indiana, get to the playoffs, he was one of the best players on the field. He was a big reason why they won the National Championship. He had some huge games and some huge moments and just a competitive dude. And so, we're really excited about him."
When you guys walked off the field against Seattle and you watched that film, what stood out to you and have you guys added some players this offseason that maybe have improved you in those problem areas?
"I mean, there are a lot of things that didn't go well in that game as a team. I wouldn't just say offensively, but when you look at our games against them last year overall, they're talented across the board defensively, but there are things you've got to do to beat those guys. You've got to run the ball better because they want to play their two-shell defenses, but you've got to run the ball better. So, we've got to improve in that area, and whether we're adding players or we're improving our scheme, starts with that. You know, you've got to win. You've got to beat their corners. They have great corners that want to challenge you one-on-one. You've got to get players who can win one-on-one matchups and who you can make plays to on the outside. I think we tried to address that and just add more depth and more talent at the receiver position. So, all that's all said and done. You've got to go out there and play better football and execute better. And so, I'm not going to sit here and say we've solved all those problems, which we've got to get better as a team and compete better."
Another Stribling question. We've heard that you guys had him as a gold helmet guy. And that means a lot. Have you already picked from him just while he has been here or over the process to get him here? what does that mean to you?
"You definitely pick it up when you're interacting with him in the Draft process. When you're meeting with these guys, and you're doing your interviews, those guys stand out. Just the way that they carry themselves, the way they communicate. [Passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Leonard] Hank [Hankerson], our receiver coach, it stood out to him right away. This guy's different, this guy's a pro, this guy's all about the right things, and you get that feel for them when you get to know him in the Draft process. I haven't gotten to be around him a lot yet. I will happen this weekend, and I will moving forward and I'm sure those traits will come out. You couldn't ask anything more than that, but it's just a starting point. Now we've got to go out there and play and grow as a player. So, just getting to know the guy you really, those characteristics stand out."
Looking back at last season, what were the kind themes that you are asking QB Brock Purdy to do?
"It's different than the year before for sure. Because he missed a lot of time, so there were some weird setbacks in his season that I think had to do with his injury. He came out, had an awesome camp, had an awesome first week, then he has the injury, then he comes back from the injury, and you could tell it took him a while to kind of get back to feeling 100-percent. But when you really evaluate where you felt like he was at his best, what does he need to work on? He's always got to strive to be better in the pocket, whether that's your footwork, your mechanics in the pocket or remaining a passer in situations where you can make a play down the field. Then things we're always striving for with him is understanding defense better, accuracy, all those things. So, I think Brock is really watching these cut-ups. He's really striving to be a better, stronger player in the pocket. And we're going to work on those things this offseason."
In what position do you start OL Carver Willis? What's the biggest challenge for him moving from tackle in the college ranks to inside?
"I think we'll probably start him at guard. Probably the left to start now, just the way our depth chart is where we need bodies. But we'll see. Yeah, the biggest transition is probably guard there are always more moving parts, we always talk about that, and guard's got to worry about different techniques, different alignments on him, just a little bit more to think about playing guard. But, we're confident he can do it and just to transition to the NFL is inherently going to be challenging. But, that's why we drafted the guy. We think he's a really bright guy. We think he's really versatile. He can actually play center too, we believe. We think he's a guy who has versatility across the offensive line. So, it'll be fun to put him in a starting point, see how he does and just see where he can move him around too."
Every year Kyle talks about the need to kind of give RB Christian McCaffrey a little break. I know you've been asked versions of that question as well, and Kyle even joked like, yeah, it's easier said than done kind of thing. Where do you see that? Do you feel more of an idea like, this needs to be a priority for us this year, to find ways just given where Christian is in his career?
"Yeah, I think literally this day last year we were talking about that. It is challenging because you're talking about a player who does not want to come off the field, but when you look around the league and you study great backs and study guys who affect the game like he does, those guys do come out of the game. Those guys do get a blow sometimes and whether it's a drive or a couple plays in a series, it helps those players. Christian knows that, and we've got to do a better job as coaches, we've got to do a better job at times of getting a better rotation. We know we have young backs that we want to get more production out of, so it's on us to handle that. But you know, it's something we're always weighing, not much we can do about it in the offseason, but as the season gets going and we start putting our plans together, it's something that's got to be at the forefront of our mind."
Explosives are a big part of the game now. It seems like Seattle was great last year on explosives. You guys added a lot of speed it looks like at wide receiver. Is that the thinking, try to get more explosive plays at wide receiver?
"Always. I think we're always striving for that, guys that you can get easy touches to, that can get you yards. I think we added some guys like that in the offseason. But, that's always got to be our mindset. We're trying to find players who touch the ball and make life easy for everybody else."
You started working with Kyle Shanahan. How has the league changed? I know Christian's an all-in-one back and then the Cardinals also drafting the running back with their first-round pick. What other aspects would you say that offense and the league have changed?
"I think things change every year. To me, the biggest change that I've seen is how defenses have gotten better and how defensive coordinators have gotten better at attacking certain schemes. I think the scheme we run, it's kind of spread throughout the league over the last 10 years, and I think defenses have gotten a lot better at attacking it. And that forces us to evolve, it forces us to have to figure out new ways to attack defenses. To me, that's the biggest changes you've seen, the improvements in defenses and attacking these schemes. We've got to get better, and we've got to study them. I think you saw that with Seattle last year, how effective they were. We've got to study those schemes, and we've got to figure out better ways to attack them."
Can you expand just a little bit on how you are asking Brock to be better in the pocket?
"I wouldn't say it's one thing. You look at plays where, 'okay, Brock's a really athletic guy, he can make plays with his feet, but are you missing an opportunity to make a better play down the field maybe because you decided to run or you moved a certain way and you missed a guy down the field.' So, it's just working on pocket movement, working on ways you can move in the pocket to find throwing lanes and being more consistent in that area."
What are you looking to see out of the tight ends while TE George Kittle recovers these next few months?
"Yeah, just continuing to see those guys develop, [TE] Luke [Farrell], [TE] Jake [Tonges] and then [TE] Brayden [Willis]. And we've got [TE] Hayden [Rucci] in the building now too. And then we've got the guy as the free agent from Penn State. Just want to see all those guys get reps. Jake, we want to continue to see grow as he's done the past few years, but you don't get a lot of work in the run game, but those guys are going to get a lot of pass reps and see them grow in the pass game."
Special Teams Coordinator Brant Boyer
You added P Jack Bouwmeester as a rookie punter to compete with your veteran punter. How do you see that competition evolving this summer?
"Well, I'm excited about it. Let those two guys battle it out. You have a veteran guy that's been in the league a while and is a very athletic guy and interestingly enough, when he was coming out, I was trying to get him as a free agent. So, I had a previous relationship with the guy, with [P Corliss] Waitman. He's a super good guy, got a real powerful leg, athletic guy. And then Bouwmeester, through all our tape studies, went and worked him out and everything like that, did a heck of a job for us. I've known his coach for a long time and trust what he tells me as well. And we really liked him in our interviews and everything like that. I think it's going to be a great competition moving forward."
Does having both a lefty and righty help evaluate returners?
"For sure because the ball spins different, right? So, I think it's really going to help. And I think whoever the dust settles with at that position it'll be a great experience for those returners to have to catch those balls like that for sure."
We all saw how effective Green Bay Packers WR Skyy Moore was last year. You don't have him. Who would be the leading candidates? Would it be WR Jacob Cowing maybe?
"Well, I think there's a handful of guys certainly in the mix and guys that have done it before. So, it's going to be interesting to see. You have a handful of guys that kick return, a handful of guys that can do both. You have a handful of guys that only punt return, so it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out. The good thing is where we're at with our time right now, that we have time to figure that out. We'll throw them in the preseason game, see how it goes, and then we'll go from there."
Is it a lot less stressful this time coming in without not having to worry about the kicker situation per se because not only is K Eddie Piñeiro back, but he's signed to a long-term deal where it's not every kick is do or die?
"Yeah, obviously when Eddie came in, Eddie and I had a previous relationship obviously with him. I always had a great relationship with him, and he came in and did a hell of a job last year. His teammates gravitated towards him and he proved his worth and he got rewarded for it. And I'm happy as hell for him and his family. He did a great job for us last year. And yes, it is a relief to have a proven guy that I have been to battle with obviously and I trust and this team trusts. I think that's going to be a big thing moving forward for sure."
Did you see a theme with him in terms of why some of the PATs went askew? He made every field goal attempt except the crossbar in Indy. So why were the PATs an issue?
"I don't know if that was necessarily an issue or not. I think that Eddie, he steps up and the great part about him is he doesn't think. Honestly, he steps up and he goes with the mindset that he's going to make every single kick. Obviously, he did that a great percentage of the time last year and hopefully he continues to do that in the future."
You mentioned a handful of people in the punt return game, Cowing, WR Junior Bergen. Is WR Christian Kirk one of those?
"Sure. All those guys. Kirk and [WR Ricky] Pearsall and all those guys. There's a couple of the free agent guys that we have in here that have done it before. So, there's a big group of guys there that we're going to put back there and hopefully we can get them all reps in the preseason and see who shakes out. That's going to be a really good competition that returner spot this year."
What about at kick returner? What kind of skill set are you looking for at that kick return spot?
"Well, it all depends on who it shakes out to be, right? So, you have more of the guys that break tackles or vertical guys, or it depends on what scheme we're running, what returner we have. If it's a smaller, faster guy, then you have to run different schemes with those kinds of guys. So, it all depends on who shakes out and who's it going to be. Like I said, in each of those positions in the punt returner spot, in the kick returner spot, there's five or six, seven guys in each of those spots that are going to battle that out and we'll see how it shakes out."
Last year it seemed like LB Luke Gifford and CB Siran Neal really kind of took over a leadership role on the coverage units. Were there younger guys that began to emerge throughout the season that you're sort of excited to see sort of move into those leadership positions?
"Well, I think that anytime you have guys like Gifford and Neal that can come in and set the tone for your whole group, it's been awesome. But, all those young guys that got to play especially late, I thought they did a really good job. Sigle did a heck of a job for us. [LB Nick] Martin started coming along there towards the end. I think that we got a new group of young kids coming in that we're excited about, that are long and they're fast and everything like that. So, it's going to be interesting to see how that all shakes out as well. The good thing is, like I said, it's the core group of our entire group last year in the first year of a system, I thought they did a hell of a job buying into our standard, creating a standard here. Did we finish the way we wanted to finish? Absolutely not. But, I thought they did, overall, a really good job and we're really excited about the new guys that we added. We've got to be more physical. I think we've got to tackle better. But certainly, the depth of what we have now and the year of experience will help us."
I want to ask about LB Jaden Dugger, whether he kind of caught your eye as someone who could potentially be an asset?
"Sure, if you're that big, that long and that fast, you certainly should be able to help us, that's for sure. And he is a great kid from what I understand, and very sharp too. So that'll really help us."
One of the better special teamers last year in the college football playoffs was DL Mikail Kamara, blocked a punt against Miami in the National Championship Game. Have you seen him as a special teamer? What do you think?
"I think all those D-Ends kind of transfers over. Are they going to be a linebacker? Are they going to be a D-End? Specifically with these kickoff rules that we have, right? It's turned into more of a two-hand kind of deal and those bigger guys are really valuable now. It never used to be that way. Kamara, there are a bunch of guys in the mix with that too as well. The [Miami Dolphins DL] Robert Beal kind of bodies. The bigger, taller guys, the D-Ends that really help guys on teams, and we're looking forward to having all those guys for sure."
What have you seen from that group of Australian guys in particular?
"I think that all those Australian guys, obviously, they're super talented guys. I mean, it seems like they've had a ball in their hands since they were tiny kids. The way they can make that ball move and all the different kicks that they have and stuff like that. I really think that the NFL's done a great job of bringing all those guys in, and you see it all through college now, that a lot of Australian punters and kickers and stuff like that, and they have some kicks that that are hard to replicate and they're hard to catch for returners. And so, it'll be interesting to see how this this plays out with the punter position for sure."
Your unit was towards the top statistically in all of the league. How do you plan to duplicate that this year just going into the season?
"Well, like I said, I think there's a lot of things that we did well. I think we've still got to continue to play smart. We didn't commit a lot of penalties last year. I think we've got to continue that. We certainly want to shore up a lot of things that I didn't like in the offseason here. I think that there's a lot overall of, I wouldn't say that I'm unhappy with last year at all. I thought that, like I said, the standard that we set and the overall buy-in of the entire team was awesome. You've got to hand it to the players. They did a hell of a job, and they busted their butts for us and did a great job. Like I said, our finish was not nearly good enough for the standard that we need here. And that's going to be a big part of what we're getting after them this offseason. And we've got to finish better, we've got to be more physical, we've got to tackle better. And you know, while we had a good season, decent season last year, it's not nearly good enough for us to win a championship, and we need to help our team more. Period."
What went into the decision not to bring back P Thomas Morstead?
"Well, I think that number one that, obviously I have a relationship with Thomas. There is not a human being that I respect more than Thomas Morstead as a player and as a friend and as a man. I think it's part of the business, right? And we're excited as hell about the two guys that we have. But, you're always trying to get guys in to compete and everything like that. And there's a lot of stuff that goes into that as well, the contractual sides and stuff like that. So, I think T-Mo's still got a bunch in him. I really do. I think he'll play some more, but we're really super excited about the two guys we have and we'll see how it shakes out."
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