Brian Flores – March 26, 2019
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(On how everyone stays aligned.) – “We stay aligned with communication, which has been obviously a staple of the things we’ve talked about at the core of the things that are important to me and will be important to us as an organization. So we’re aligned on that for sure. From the communication standpoint, talking about players, talking about coaches, talking about philosophies, talking about anything that pertains to the betterment of the Miami Dolphins, I think communication is at the forefront of that. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and I, and really everyone in the building, starting with (Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner) Mr. (Steve) Ross, so that’s important to us as an organization and try to continue that.
(On taking a few steps back to take a step forward.) – “I think that’s a phrase that’s been said by many about a lot of different situations in sports and in life. Sometimes you lose a job, it’s a step back to take a step forward. That’s in any field. So yeah, it’s a phrase that a lot of people use. I believe in it to an extent but I also think there are a lot of ways to take steps forward.”
(On if that applies to this team.) – “I think right now as a team, we’re looking to improve and get better as a coaching staff, as an organization, and everything’s moving in a forward direction right now. We’re excited about the draft process. The players come in on April 1st. I’m not thinking about taking steps back right now. Everything is forward thinking.”
(The trend of hiring offensive-minded coaches around the league, as a defensive coach, do you feel the league is looking for the best man for the job or best offensive-minded man for the job?) – “I think being a head coach in the NFL is about leadership. I don’t think it’s about offense or defense or special teams. I think it’s about leadership. I’ve got to stand in front of 53 – well 90 guys, on the roster, 53 when we get to the season – and then let’s call it 50 to 60 people from equipment to IT to the training staff, strength and conditioning. I have to stand in front of the entire building and get them to follow me. To me, that’s what I think being a head coach in this league is about. There are some great leaders that are offensive guys. There are great leaders that are defensive guys. There are some great leaders who coach in the kicking game as well. Offense, defense, I’m just a coach. I can coach offensive ball, I can coach defensive ball, I can coach special teams. I understand the question; but to me, that’s the crux of being a head coach and being a leader in this league.”
(Do you think the league is looking for that?) – “Leadership?”
(Yes.) – “Absolutely. I imagine that people want leaders in leadership positions. Not that I don’t understand the question. I see where you’re coming from, but I imagine people want people in leadership positions.”
(Why is QB Ryan Fitzpatrick your quarterback?) – “Because he’s a leader first and foremost. I’ve watched Ryan for a long time. I played against him, coached against him. Well, I didn’t play against him, but he was at Harvard when I was at Boston College. I’ve known about him for a long time. The one thing you hear over and over and over again is his ability to connect with players offensively, defensively, and lead. I think he’s a great fit for us. We’re excited to have him. Again, I’m just excited to have him.”
(You were in college at the same time as QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in Boston?) – “I’m a little but older than him, a couple years older, but yes. I think he might have been a sophomore when I was a fifth-year senior or something like that.”
(On the coach and quarterback being about the same age.) – “I think we have a lot of the same beliefs as far as working hard, increasing team belief. He’s obviously a very intelligent guy, not just because he went to Harvard, but learning so many different systems, he understands the game and the concepts of the game. I think a lot of the things that are important to me, they line up as far as the things he brings to the table.”
(How important is it for you guys to draft a quarterback in 2019?) – “I think as we go through the draft process – and (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and I have talked about this over and over and over again – we’re going to select the players that we feel are the best fits for the Miami Dolphins. It could be a quarterback, it could be offensive line, it could be defensive line, it could be running back, it could be any of the positions on the field. Every position is important. Obviously, the quarterback position is of the utmost importance. So if we see somebody we like and we think we can develop and can contribute to this team, and if he’s there and we can get him, then that’s the right fit. That’s not just for the quarterback position, that’s for any position on the field.”
(General Manager Chris Grier said yesterday that we might draft a quarterback this year and next year? What do you think about that? Obviously, there have been times where teams have had convictions of a quarterback enough to take them first overall and that player has not panned out. How do you feel about the idea of maybe taking two shots rather than one?) – “I think any time you can create competition at a positon, you do it. I think that’s how competition breeds … You get the best of yourself when there’s competition around you. I think you want to build that competition on your roster, which we’re going to try to do. That’s part of the philosophy and the things that we’ve talked about. Again, I can’t predict the future. I don’t have a crystal ball. Maybe there’s a better nose tackle than quarterback at the time. Obviously, quarterback is a position (that is) vital. We’re not opposed to … Maybe we do take two – a quarterback this year and a quarterback next year. Maybe we take an offensive tackle this year and next year. Maybe we take a running back this year and next year. We can go back and forth and on and on about positions. But I think we’re going to make the roster moves and the selections that we feel are going to help the team overall. Obviously, the quarterback positon, I understand why we’re talking about it. It’s so important.”
(What is your comfort level with the roster?) – “I think you said it best: we don’t play this week. I think we’ve got time and resources. With the draft coming up and college free agents, I think to predict and make assumptions and try to look into a crystal ball right now without the roster where it will be – let’s call it two months from now – I don’t want to make a prediction on that. We’re going to do everything possible to bring the best players onto the team through the draft and maybe some other avenues. I think we’re going to put the best product on the field that we can.”
(Will your free agency philosophy change?) – “Over the next few weeks? I understand the question. I think we’re going to make the best decisions for the team. If there’s a guy we feel like we can acquire that’ll help us, then we’ll do that. Otherwise, I think we’re looking towards the draft and that process. I think there are a lot of good, young players in this draft. Hopefully we can get some good, young players into the building and we’ll evaluate the roster then.”
(How does patience align with your personality?) – “I think patience, it’s a virtue. It’s one of those things that … We have to be patient with our kids, we have to be patient with the people we work with. We have to be patient … I think it’s a quality that’s important to have. But at the same time, there has to be a balance between patience and urgency. I would say that I have a pretty good balance from that standpoint. I know we have to be patient and develop young players. I think every team in the league has to do that. I think in any corporation or any business, you have to do that, develop the young people in your business. So, there’s some patience with that. At the same time, we try to create an environment of urgency so that we can speed up the process of that development. From a big-picture standpoint, we’re all really patient. The inner workings of the building and how we interact on a day-to-day basis, there’s a lot of urgency as far as how we want to build the program and build the culture and develop players.”
(You’re the only head coach of color hired this cycle. Where do you think the league is at right now? Do you think the league is making progress?) – “I’ve said this many times. I think there is a lot of quality coaches in this league that could be head coaches in this league, that have the temperament and the leadership ability (necessary to do this job). I was fortunate to get an opportunity to interview. I interviewed at four places this year and Arizona a year ago. I was very fortunate that way. I do think there are many, many coaches in this league – minority coaches – who, if given the same opportunity, would excel in the interview process and potentially be in line to become a head coach in this league. I think the Rooney Rule is a great rule. It gives a lot of guys the opportunity to interview and get your name out there and show your leadership ability and show your offensive, defensive and special teams acumen. I think that’s what it mounts too, just opportunity.”
(On helping other minority coaches get opportunities to become head coaches.) – “I think I’m going to work every day like I have been and try to improve and get better and try to put the best product on the field. Do I feel a … To champion the cause? Not necessarily, but I know I’m an example for minority coaches in this league. With that in mind, I’m still going to go out and do my best to lead the Miami Dolphins and try to produce a winning product.”
(What are your thoughts on TE Rob Gronkowski announcing his retirement?) – “Rob is a great friend, somebody that I’ve been around a long time. He’s an incredible player, but he’s a better person. I’m going to miss watching him go out there and have fun, and play the game with the joy and the love for the game that he did. He played the game that way in practice, and obviously in games. I’m going to miss competing against him because that was fun. We lost a lot of those. He made our guys better, he made the team better, he made the defensive players better, he made the overall team better with just his passion for the game. It’s a sad day honestly because he brought so much to the game of football and he played it the way it should be played. I’m really proud of him. I love the guy and I wish him the best.”
(You said TE Rob Gronkowski played the game the way it should have been played. He has a reputation as a party guys, but he was a really good worker, wasn’t he?) – “He worked hard. He worked as hard as anyone. He played hard, he played through nicks and bruises, like everyone else does. He played with a passion and energy, and that’s the way the game should be played. He blocked, he was tough and he was aggressive. That’s the one thing, he did the little things, the things that don’t get you the fame and the status. He did those things. That’s what I mean when I say he played the game the way it should be.”
(Now that you are on this side, you’re probably not too upset not to see TE Rob Gronkowski this fall?) – “Whatever makes the game better, I’m for, so I can’t say that. I like to compete. The opportunity to compete against him, that would’ve been enjoyable for me as a competitor and as somebody who has a love for the game. I wish him the best and he knows that. He knows I love him. He’s a great competitor and I think he’s one of the best to ever play.”
(You mentioned you were looking forward to competing against TE Rob Gronkowski. Is that going to be fun for you to actually play … You’ve gone against WR Julian Edelman and QB Tom Brady for over a decade. Will it be fun to put together an actual game plan and see how it unfolds in an actual game?) – “Yeah, that will be fun. But, they are competitors and I know that, and they know that I’m a competitor and the guys on our staff and our team are competitive as well. Every game is tough. We know that. Yeah, it will be fun to compete against those guys and we’re looking forward to it. I’m sure they feel the same.”
(On his stories about TE Rob Gronkowski.) – “All of my ‘Gronk’ stories end with a spike. There are so many. He was such a great practice player. I think that’s the one thing that people don’t … There is no way to know about that. I keep coming back to the way this guy blocked. That’s kind of a lost art at the tight end position now. It’s a testament to obviously his size and strength, his athletic ability, but also his toughness and ability to wanting to go into the trenches and do those things. To me, that’s the one thing … There is no story but he did a great job in practice on a day-to-day bases.”
(On the head coaches photo yesterday.) – “It was hot out there, that’s what crossed my mind. (laughter) It was a great moment for me to sit down with the other 31 head coaches from around the league. I know I’m part of one of 32 and I’m very fortunate and very lucky to have this opportunity and try to make the best of it.”
(I know you talked about the Patriots’ sense of urgency from a team sense earlier today. Where are you with DE Charles Harris? He’s a first-round pick pass rusher, is there still room for patience for Charles?) – “I’ve watched a lot of tape on all of our players. Charles, he’s got size, he’s got speed, he’s got athleticism. He plays hard and does a lot of things we like as a staff. When you talk about patience, I think he’s an interesting player on our team. I’m excited to see him on April 1st when the team reports. We’re going to spend a lot of time with him. We’re going to spend a lot of time with all of our players and try to develop them, work on their fundamentals and techniques and try to help them improve. That’s our goal as a coaching staff. We can talk about Charles Harris and he has a lot of physical attributes, but we’re going to try to develop everybody on this team, help them improve and help put the best product on this field. I’m excited to work with him. Honestly, I am.”
(You say DE Charles Harris is an interesting player. What do you mean by that?) – “He can do a lot of things. He can rush, he can play in space a little bit, tackles fairly well. He does a lot of good things. I’m excited to work with him, just like I’m excited to work with a lot of players on our team.”
(From afar do you have any indication from watching film why it hasn’t come together for DE Charles Harris?) – “I think everyone’s timetable is a little bit different and there are a lot of factors in that. It could be 1,000 factors. I’ve seen it time and time again with just players that I’ve had. We can go over that list but that’s the reality of this league. Sometimes the timing just isn’t right and sometimes when the timing is right, you hit and you hit. We’re going to work with Charles just like we’re going to work with all the players on our team and try to improve their weaknesses and try to accentuate or accelerate their strengths. We’re going to do that on a day-to-day bases.”
(You have three starting linebackers who can all do different things. It doesn’t seem like you can put them all on the field at the same time. Can you do that?) – “I’ve run multiple defenses with three linebackers on the field; so yeah, I do think we can get that done. Like you said, those three – I assume you’re talking about (Jerome) Baker, Raekwon (McMillan), Kiko (Alonso) – are three really good players. I’m excited to play with them. Obviously, (they have) different skillsets. I think defensively, you just have to put those guys in positions to do the things they do well. That’s the goal as a staff. Sometimes that means none of them are on the field. Sometimes it means one of them is on the field. Sometimes it means three or four or five guys are on the field. Only time will tell on that. They come into the building on April 1st. We’ll see how much they can do physically and how much they can handle mentally, how versatile they can be. Can you cover, do you tackle, do you blitz well? There’s a variety of things you can do defensively. We’ll try to put those guys in the best positions to do what they do well, always. That’s at every position. But yeah, as many good players … If you’re one of the best 11, you’re going to be on the field.”
(Do you see LB Kiko Alonso on the roster?) – “I do see Kiko on the roster. I think he’s a veteran player. Again, he’s another guy I played against or watched for a number of years. This guy has been a productive player in this league for a long time. I think his leadership and style of play and the way he goes about it, from a work ethic standpoint, from a day-to-day training standpoint, and all of the things I hear are positive. I think we have two young guys and Kiko is more of a veteran player; but again, we’re going to try to develop everyone every day.”
(You had a unique perspective with Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski. You practiced against him every day and I’m just wondering your take away from him stepping away from the game?) – “I just answered this but I think he’s one of the great players at that position. Having practiced against him for nine years, this guy was tough, physical and played with a passion and practiced with passion. Again, I think he’s one of the best players ever to play at that position, but I would say he’s a better person. Obviously, we all know he loves to have a good time and he brought an energy to our team that was different than anyone else that had been there. He was always a spark plug kind of guy for us. He led that way. I was fortunate to be around him and to practice against him for these last nine years and I wish him all the best. He’s a great player.”
(Selfishly are you glad to see TE Rob Gronkowski go since now you don’t have to deal with him?) – “No. When there’s great players in the league, you want to compete against them. You want your players to compete against them because you can only get better by playing against good people, good players and feeling that competition. That’s how you reach your highest level. Selfishly, I just think it’s sad for the game of football, quite honestly. But I wish him the best and he knows I love him, so I wish him the best.”
(On the pass rush.) – “I think, again, it’s still so early. We have the draft, we have other avenues to acquire players, but we have some good players on our roster right now. There’s a lot of ways to rush the passer. Whether it’s scheme, whether it’s just winning a one-on-one matchup, whether it’s blitzing secondary players, whether it’s blitzing linebackers, corners, there’s a few different ways to rush the passer. I don’t want to get caught into it has to be one guy or two guys. I think that’s limiting defensively what you can do. I think there’s some other ways to rush the passer. The big thing is getting the guys in the building, seeing what they can handle, how much they can retain and handle schematically, and we’ll take it from there.”
(On S Minkah Fitzpatrick’s position.) – “Minkah’s a football player. I think his strength is that he can handle a lot of different positions. He’s versatile. Free safety, strong safety, corner, Star, ‘backer – you can do whatever you want with him. He’s a guy we spent a lot of time thinking about how we’re going to use him. I’m not going to give up the goods on how we’re going to do that today.”
(Would you prefer too keep S Minkah Fitzpatrick in just one spot? Is that your preference?) – “I think my preference is to see what he can handle and see what he does that will help the team win. If that’s multiple positions, then that’s multiple positions. If that’s one spot, then that’s one spot. If he can long snap or kick field goals and that helps us win, then that’s what we do. Obviously, I don’t think he can long snap or kick field goals – let’s be clear on that – but maybe he can. (laughter) We try to find out what every player can do and how they can help us win. How can they improve the team? I think versatility is going to be very important, and he’s a very versatile player. He was last year. We’re excited to work with him.”
(S T.J. McDonald – about a year ago at this time, we were thinking ‘Are the Dolphins going to possibly use him at linebacker?’ because T.J. and S Reshad Jones are similar. In your view, is T.J. a safety, a linebacker, all of the above?) – “I think he’s another versatile player. He can play safety, he can play linebacker, he can blitz pretty well. That kind of plays into some of the things that I’ve done defensively as far as moving some pieces into different locations. I think he’s been a productive player in this league. I think he’s big, he’s fast, he can tackle. We’ll find space for guys who are big, fast and can tackle, because those are at the top of my list of things that I’m looking for defensively. I’m excited to work with him as well.”
(On the process of breaking down a roster.) – “The second we got in the building, that was the number one objective, was to find out what we have, the skillsets of each individual, how they are as people – their work habits, their training habits.”
(How do you get to know the guys?) – “You lean on the personnel staff. Chris (Grier), obviously. (Safeties Coach) Tony Oden and (Running Backs Coach) Eric Studesville were on the staff a year ago and kind of know those players. You also lean on the draft process of previous years. I sat with Minkah (Fitzpatrick) a year ago. We know a lot of these players from that process. That’s why the Combine is such a vital piece of this, whether you take the guy or not, because you just gather information on specific players. That process is ongoing. You watch it, you make an evaluation, you watch it again, some things get tweaked, you watch it again, some things get tweaked. So, it’s ongoing. I think we have a pretty good feel for all the guys on our roster and we’ll make our decisions based on that and try to make the most educated decisions that we can.”
(On the tight end position and the acquisitions this offseason.) – “There’s so much versatility at that position. You have to catch, you have to block, you’re aligned at multiple positions, you can have multiple tight ends on the field – one, two, three, four tight ends – depending on their skillset, you can stick them in the backfield. I think from that standpoint, having depth in that room is important. It’s important from a practice standpoint because they’re in there blocking. It’s a physical game in the trenches, as you know, so depth at that position is vital from a practice standpoint. We go out there and we have a two tight end set. That’s two, they come out and we have another two in there. From a practice standpoint, you need that many guys. Plus, we felt like in Dwayne (Allen) and Clive (Walford), we have two quality players that we wanted to acquire and felt like they would help the team. It’s a competitive room and I think competition breeds excellence. Hopefully, having that many guys and having that competition will yield the best players.”
(On the tight end room.) – “I wouldn’t say that. I would say the young players in that room, they need, let’s call it … Everyone needs competition. I think everyone needs that. I think they need guys who have … I don’t want to say have been in the league but have been in the league, and we wanted some veteran presence in there. That was part of getting Clive (Walford) and getting Dwayne (Allen).”
(On the rule proposals and the Competition Committee.) – “The first thing I’d like to say is I think (Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach) Mike Tomlin and (New Orleans Saints Head Coach) Sean Payton, those guys do a great job kind of representing the coaches in the Competition Committee. This being my first go-around, I think it’s just incredible the time that they spend on the Competition Committee and going through the proposals and then presenting it to us. I think they do a really good job. From the rules standpoint, the one thing also that I think is just incredible and has been incredible the last couple of days is that you’re sitting in a room with coaches, GMs, the higher-ups and everyone is just trying to make the game better. You’re sitting there, going back and forth, and the goal is to make the game better. I just think that’s … I’m just privileged and fortunate. It’s a humbling experience to be in that room, give your opinions and just try to make the game better. That’s all we’re doing in there. What comes out of it is we’ll vote on the thing. Everybody knows what the proposals are. To me, my take from this week and from these couple of days has been from an ownership, from an executive level, you’ve got 32 clubs just trying to do what’s best for this league and do what’s best for this game. I think with this being the 100th season, I just feel fortunate to be kind of a part of that.”
(On overtime rules.) – “No, not this past year. I’ve been in two (overtime) games but we didn’t play defense. I mean they tweaked the overtime rules a couple of years ago. However we vote on it, I think that’s part of the game. You have to be able to adjust. In this game, you have to adjust offensively and defensively from a rules standpoint. We’ve had to coach tackling; it’s different (now). We’ve got a phrase in our building, ‘adapt or die.’ That’s part of it. It’s coaches, too – coaches, executives. Whatever the rules are – the rule changes are – then we’ve got to go out there and play defense. I don’t have a problem going out there and playing defense. That’s kind of my stance on it.”
(With the caveat that none of us really know anything at this stage, when you look at some of the prognosticators about this team this year … When you see that, does that fuel some fire? What is it when you see people saying this may not be a very good team?) – “You know, I don’t really look at much of that. That’s the first time I’ve heard those odds. My focus is … It’s a daily focus, I’m thinking about this team and how to improve it and how to maneuver the pieces to – I don’t mean just the team, I’m talking just overall as an organization – to put the best product on the field. I don’t read headlines and go into all of that. The goal is to improve every day. The goal is to work hard. The goal is to put the players in the best position to do what they do well. My experience has been that will yield a good performance or some productivity.”
(What would be a successful season?) – “I haven’t thought that far in advance. I’m working on a successful day and getting through this interview process. I don’t think that far ahead because to me, when you think that far ahead – and I’ve said this over and over again – you’re not focused on the present. I have to be focused on the present. If I’m thinking about the end of the season, I’m not locked in on today and I think I’m doing a disservice to our coaching staff, our players, our support staff, the guys who are painting the field. I feel like I’m doing a disservice to those people if I’m thinking about December. That’s not where I’m at.”
(Do you set goals for yourself for the end of the year?) – “Get better every day. That’s my goal. Get better and improve every day. I figure if I do that … That’s been a winning formula for me for my entire life and I’m going to stick to that. Just keep being who I’ve been for 38 years.”
(I want to ask you about the offensive line. For those of us who have followed the team for a number of years, it seems like forever the Dolphins have been trying to build an offensive line and there are a lot of moving pieces and it just hasn’t come together. Now we’ve seen some guys like T Ja’Wuan James leave and you have six months to put together an offensive line. How are you going to do it?) – “Well, I think the draft is going to be … We’re going to obviously have an emphasis on offensive line in the draft. There’s still some potential in free agency and some other avenues to pick up some offensive linemen. The o-line and the run game and protection, that’s near and dear to me as well. I think it’s something we’re definitely going to invest in, in the draft and moving forward. We’re going to build this offensive line because we’ve got to run the ball and we’ve got to protect the quarterback. That was something that Chris (Grier), myself, (Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner) Steve (Ross), we talked about really even during the interview stages. It’s something that we continue to talk about on a day-to-day basis, how we’re going to build the offensive and defensive lines and this entire roster. We’re not there yet. I think it’s pretty clear that everyone knows that. But we’re going to get there. There’s a lot of moving parts to that. We’ve got to build the depth there, really at all positions. We’ve got some good, young players and we’re going to try to develop them and I think those are the steps that we’re going to take to build the offensive line.”
(On G/T Jesse Davis’ position flexibility and if he’ll be a guard or tackle.) – “I think versatility. It’s kind of going to be similar to the Minkah (Fitzpatrick) conversation. I think versatility on the offensive line is critical. His ability to play right tackle and guard is very good. We’re excited about Jesse but I think everybody on the team will understand this: we’re going to put players where we need them and where they help the team the most. So that versatility, I think it’s helpful. He had a great year last year at right guard, but we’re going to move guys around. Players are going to move. They’re going to play different positions. That’s how you build … There’s only 46 that go to the game. You can’t back up every position so somebody has got to be able to move if we have an injury or if somebody needs to step out for a play. Jesse’s ability to play both tackle and guard, that helps us. It only helps us.”
(On the usage of RB Kenyan Drake and if he’s an every-down back.) – “I think Drake is an explosive player. I’ve seen it first-hand, unfortunately. (laughter) I think he’s a talented player. He catches the ball well. He’s a good runner. He runs hard. He does a lot of really good things. But I think, and I’ll say this to all of the players, they’re going to make the most of their … The opportunities they get on the field will be up to them. Period. If they practice well, if they’re smart, they work hard, they’re tough, they block, they catch the ball consistently, they hit the hole correctly, then they’re going to play. That’s all of the backs. That’s (Kalen) Ballage, that’s Drake, that’s period. By committee or workhorse, those are phrases that people throw out there but I think the guys who perform at practice and produce in games, those are the guys that are going to be out there.”
(On giving a running back a certain number of carries.) – “It depends on the back.”
(Do you think RB Kenyan Drake can handle that kind of workload?) – “I think if that’s what’s best for the team, then that’s what we do. That will always be kind of my thought process on it. If that’s what’s best for the Miami Dolphins, then that’s what we’ll do. We’ve got some good backs. (Kalen) Ballage is a good back, as well. We may draft a back. We may not draft a back. We may pick up a back as a college free agent. I don’t know. But the guys who go out and practice well and prepare the right way and block in pass protection, those are the guys who will be out on the field.”
(On the relationships between head coaches, general managers and team presidents and how they work in different places.) – “I think communication first and foremost, that’s the most important piece between ownership, (general) managers, presidents, head coaches. There has to be an alignment of philosophies and a communication on a day-to-day basis that allows for a good work environment, I would say. With that said, there’s always going to be differences of opinion like there are in any field, but you have to be able to work through those. That’s no different from that level than it is as a quarterback to receiver to running back to offensive line, your linebacker to your defensive line. There’s always communication (and) at times differences of opinion that you have to work through. That’s in any field. I’m sure you guys deal with that as well. My short time in Miami, we’ve been aligned – Chris (Grier), myself, Mr. (Steve) Ross, our coaching staff. That was big for me, from a coaching staff standpoint, is to bring in guys who were tough, who were smart, but communicated well and worked well together. We can’t ask the players to communicate (if) we can’t communicate. That doesn’t make any sense. We have to practice what we preach. I think we’ve done a good job of that and we have guys who are willing to do that.”
(On his mentors.) – “I’ve got a lot. I think there’s one sitting over there, Bill (Belichick). I’ll start with him. Scott Pioli, he’s the one who hired me in New England. He’s been a great mentor, a great friend for a long time. My high school coach, Dino Mangiero. (He is) somebody I talk to every couple weeks and he’s always giving me nuggets about leadership, about humility. My college (position) coach, Bill McGovern, who’s a linebackers coach for the Giants. He’s definitely a mentor. Then my parents and my family, for sure – my mom, my dad, my uncle. Those are the people I lean on from that standpoint.”
(On CB Eric Rowe.) – “Eric, obviously, we had him in New England. This guy, he’s tall, long, good speed, tackles well, does a lot of good things. He has been hit with the injury bug a couple times, but when healthy, he’s been a productive player. We’re excited to have him. Obviously, we’ve got a history with him. We know what kind of person he is and his work ethic. I think he’s a good player, good talent.”
(If CB Eric Rowe stays healthy, can he compete for a starting job?) – “Yeah. I think he’ll compete to play. He’ll be competing along with all of the defensive backs on the roster to play. Like I said, he’s been a guy who’s played on the left side, played on the right side, played inside, played some safety in college. He’s another guy who’s versatile and can do a few things. Mentally, he can handle it. We’re excited to have him.”
(Is there anything that may be flying under the radar now whether it be strength and conditioning, sports science, any of those things that we’re not paying attention to that you’ve changed since you’ve arrived that you think might make a big difference come September?) – “We have a great support staff in Miami. From that standpoint, strength and conditioning, analytics, sports science, sports psychology, I’ve met with everyone from every department and asked them to tell me their vision for their specific department and what the system, processes, for those departments are and how they help us win. We’re lucky to have, in my opinion, a really good support staff that way. I’m excited to see them work with the players. It’s hard. It’s like coaching. You don’t really know until they get their hands on the players. Structurally, a lot of things are really good.”
(But are there any major changes you’ve made so far?) – “No, not a lot of major changes. There are some changes in that there are some new coaches in the building. I would say that’s the major change and getting them aligned with my core philosophies and my vision, which I would say a lot of them were already. The support staff, I think they’ve been very willing. They’ve been hard-working. They’re trying to do everything possible to help us win. At the end of the day, that’s all that I can really ask for.”
(On if the team is “tanking.”) – “I think the term tanking, I think it’s disrespectful to the game. I really do. I don’t like that term. I don’t like when people use it. This game has done a lot for me, personally. I’ve said this before, football really leveled the playing field for me as a person. It’s really the one thing that leveled the playing field. To disrespect the game and use that term, it stirs something up inside of me, to put it nicely. Those are my feelings on it. I’ve never … I’m going to go into every game trying to win. That’s always going to be my objective. I’m going to go into anything I do trying to win. I’m going to try to instill that into everybody I come across. No, there’s no tanking. You can write that over and over and over again.”
(On the future of the team.) – “Honestly, I think it’s a good business practice to have your eye on the future. I think every business should do that. Chris (Grier), myself, Steve (Ross), we’ve got our eye on the future. We’ve got our eye on the future of the Miami Dolphins. Part of some of the moves we’ve made are with that in mind; but also with that in mind, the idea here is to win games, to go out and compete and win on a weekly basis. We’re always going to have our eye on the future. Our moves, our acquisitions, our personnel decisions, the future will always be part of that. I think that’s good business practice. Regardless of your record, you should always be trying to do what’s best for the team now and in the future.”
(On the fourth-and-15 proposal to replace an onside kick late in games.) – “That’s something we’ve talked about the last couple days. I think the one thing, and I’ve said this to someone else – I think everyone is in there trying to make the game better. Again, there are pros and cons to the fourth-and-15 play. There are pros and cons to the change to the onside kick (last year), which made it tougher to recover an onside kick.”
(On the fourth-and-15 proposal being similar to the PAT change a few years ago.) – “Potentially. There are some other things in play there. We’ve talked about it in those meetings. I’m going to leave that in the meeting for now. You guys will find out how that works out. I thought it was a good proposal. It’s hard to recover an onside kick. It’s hard to get the ball back. I think now, sometimes there’s no way around it, but (the strategy is to) try to get the onside kick as the rules are set now and if they change, we’ll adjust. That’s what we have to do. We’re always going to adjust to whatever the rule changes are.”
(Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, during this period had always leaned on Patriots Football Research Director Ernie Adams and a lot of other people, I would imagine, for their expertise whether it be clock management or game strategy. Have you found or looked for someone to fill a similar role for you in that?) – “I think we have a few guys on staff that can fill that role. Jim Caldwell, obviously, is assistant head coach. He’s been very helpful from that standpoint. We have a lot of guys on the staff who I have a lot of trust in, from (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh Boyer to (Defensive Coordinator) Pat Graham to (Offensive Coordinator) Chad O’Shea to (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny Crossman. Collectively as a group, we’ll get the clock management, the situations kind of practiced and gone through. I think we have a good plan in place.”
(The fascinating part in the game is you guys have to do it on the move?) – “Yes. There’s definitely some preparation that goes into that. Preparation that’s already been started.”
(On conversations with General Manager Chris Grier that this team may need to lose this year for the long-term benefit of the franchise.) – “No. My conversations with him have been about obviously rebuilding our roster; but at the same time, he knows and everyone knows that I’m always going to go out there and try to win every game we go out there and play. Yes, (the term ‘tanking’) struck a nerve, and I think it will always strike a nerve, because I think it’s disrespectful to the game. I think to even say that – and I’ve heard it multiple times – I do think it’s a disrespect to the game that I love. Quite honestly, I won’t stand for it, to be honest. That’s where I’m at. We’re going to leave it there and we’re going to try to win every game.”
(On his thoughts on Bills QB Josh Allen.) – “Big, fast, strong, athletic. He can really throw the deep ball. He’s definitely a really good young player who has a lot of ability. Obviously, the sky is the limit for that guy. He’s a good young player.”
(On how things have gone since he arrived in Miami.) – “It’s been a blur. I would say the last six weeks, the last 15 months, it’s all been – you lose the Super Bowl, you get a new job. You kind of go through the process of being a defensive coordinator and getting up in front of the room. That was all new. Then, you go through the season, there’s some up’s, there’s some down’s, you win the Super Bowl, take a new job, you have to move your family. There’s a lot going on. Again, the ‘adapt or die’ phrase we talked about earlier, that’s been in play for the last year and a-half, which is good. Again, I’m fortunate to have these opportunities. I relish every moment and every chance I get to lead this team and to lead men. That’s important to me. I got into coaching not for the fame or the status, but it was to impact people – impacting young men, impacting anyone in the building. To whom much is given, much is required. I understand that and I try to make an impact every day and help people succeed.”
(On the ‘adapt or die’ phrase.) – “No, that’s been my mantra for a long time.”
(On how the ‘adapt or die’ phrase has helped in his career.) – “I think there’s situations in a game where you have to be adaptable. Okay, it’s raining. Are we going inside? Yes, we’re going inside. We have to adapt. It’s raining. You have to play through the rain. You have to adapt. There has to be an urgency that comes with it. If you complain about it, what good is that? That’s not literal or anything like that, but we have to be adaptable.”
Stephen Ross – March 26, 2019
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross
(I guess I’ll start off with this, what are you looking for from this team this season because you know the tanking word has been thrown around a lot. What are your expectations for this season?) – “I’m looking to build for the future and have a great team and develop players and create a real winning mentality.”
(Does that include winning as many games as possible? Would you be unhappy if the team only won two games and set yourself up for a higher draft pick?) – “I don’t have a … How many? You want to see the team develop. It’s going to be a young team. I want to see it grow and at the end of the season, I’m sure it will be a better team than when it started because there are going to be a lot of young ballplayers that will have meaningful positions. Then we’ll know, the following year, what we have to bring in … Hopefully we make the right decisions upfront.”
(How long of a building process do you envision?) – “As I’ve said before, how would I love it? I would love for it to be two years. But you have to be realistic. Hopefully we make the right decisions. We have a good young nucleus to start with. It’s not like we’re starting all over again. We have great players. You walk around and guys say ‘Hey, I want (Laremy) Tunsil. I want this guy.’ Yeah, so do we. (laughter) We’re going to keep them, Xavien (Howard) and all of that kind of stuff. We have some real good ballplayers. And we are a young team but there are positions we need to get better at. You’re not going to go buy those positions. You’ve got to draft and build them and grow them.”
(I think we’re coming up on a decade you’ve been the owner. How would you assess how you’ve done as an owner in the last 10 years?) – “From my perspective? Look, I think we’ve built the best football organization in the NFL. If you look and see what we’ve done, at what (Vice Chairman, President and CEO) Tom (Garfinkel) has done and the organization he’s built from a business perspective, if you look and see what we’ve done with the stadium and where we’re going and thinking outside the box, I don’t think there’s a team in the league that could come close to us. Have we performed on the field the way I feel comfortable? I’m used to being best in class. To me, that’s the only way to be acceptable. I’ve done it by building. I didn’t buy it. You grow people and you groom people and they stay with you because you do things the right way. I got sick and tired of seeing … Every coach comes in because they know they’re on a short cycle, at least they think so, and they say ‘Hey, we’ve got to spend the money on some big free agents’ or some guys that aren’t so big free agents, guys they knew. So where do we go? We were anywhere from 6-10 to 10-6. You’re never going to build long-term. Sure, if you have a great quarterback, that helps.”
(How would you describe the QB Ryan Tannehill era? It was seven years.) – “I love Ryan. But you’re right, how many years? It was time to move on.”
(What traits do you hope the organization finds in the next franchise quarterback?) – “You want a guy that’s a winner, that’s going to put that effort in, (will provide) a spark, intelligent, sturdy ballplayer that can withstand a lot of hits because that’s what this game is about. A real leader. That’s what you want. At the end of the day, that’s what you need in a quarterback is a real leader.”
(On a league-wide topic, I’m doing something on the qualities that are sought in head coaches nowadays and we just saw a bunch of offensive-minded coaches get head-coaching jobs. You obviously went defense this time. Do you think a defensive head-coaching candidate is at a disadvantage nowadays with everybody looking for the next Sean McVay?) – “I think the most important thing is finding a leader that can motivate men. There are two sides of the ball. That’s what we were looking for. It happened to be that before, it was all offense. But I think when you start following what everybody is doing, that’s not where you want to be. You’ve got to do what’s really best for you and have your own plans and believe in that, and not be a copycat. That’s how I’ve built my own positions. I don’t want to be where everybody else is. I want to know what they’re doing, but I want to be thinking outside the box. We were looking for a leader.”
(What would you say to the Miami fans? You know the fan base. From my seat anyway, and I’m curious what you think, it seems like there are times where they may not be described as patient. What would you say to the fans in regards to patience in 2019?) – “From what I’ve heard, I think they’re smart fans. They love football. I think that it was met, at least the response that I heard – I’m going to build it and build it the right way, like I’ve built all of my organizations – I think the fans really embrace that. You’ve seen by not doing it that way, it doesn’t work. Fans are sophisticated. They’ve got it. If you sell them one guy, you sign this guy or you draft that guy, that’s not a solution.”
(Could you explain where the genesis of this all came from? Because admittedly, this is a 180-degree shift from what it’s been earlier.) – “A lot of it is you hire your coach and you listen to him, and I could see what was going on. When you first enter the league, this is so different than any other business. I bought a team because I wanted the challenge of building a winner. I know I’ve built winners. I started from scratch and found the best people and created an environment of people who all would work together and bring the best out of them and not be like any other organization. But football is so different – you can’t believe it – then running any other business. At first, you want to sit back and watch, initially, and learn. After a while, I just said – after last season – ‘this isn’t working.’ I think you have to have … The more we talked about it after the season, I just came to the conclusion that we have to change. Doing the same thing and expecting different results is insanity, right? (laughter) And it’s more me finding the right people and having them working together as a team. I really feel good about it. I think (Head Coach) Brian (Flores) is a really quality guy. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) … Our team is really working together like I’ve never seen it before.”
(So are you ready for a little pain?) – “If I have to get it, yes. I want to win all the time, but sometimes you have to take a little pain, recognizing the fact that we’re a young team, we’re drafting, we’re not signing all of these guys. It’s all going to be the talent. That’s what it is at the end of the day – finding guys who are motivated, who want to play ball. It’s not all about money. It’s about winning. That’s what you’re looking for.”
(When you came to this realization about this is how it has to be built, you were going to hire a GM and a head coach who were going to build it your way, through the draft, as opposed to them telling you it should be built this way. You were going to tell them this is how it needs to be built.) – “Yeah. I think you have to be on the same page. A lot of coaches didn’t want to be there and going through that. First of all, like you say, you’re skeptical if I believe in that when you lose a few games. A coach is more worried about his job. I’m still going to be there. (laughter) The coach is putting pressure on you – ‘I need this and I need it now.’ So when you decide you’re going to do it, the coach, they have to believe in you that you believe in it, because all of a sudden if you don’t believe in it and don’t give them time to do their thing, they’re out of a job. If you’re a young guy and you’re a coach, how many coaches get second times? Very few, so you have to make it. You can understand their mentality to start with. We had to really be on the same page. If you’ll notice with Brian, most coaches sign for four years. He got a five-year contract.”
(Did you have to tell Head Coach Brian Flores ‘Brian, it’s okay. I’m going to be with you?’) – “No. I said ‘Brian, this is what we’re doing. Are you okay (with it)?’”
(Were those difficult conversations to have with coaching candidates that it’s going to be done like this?) – “No, it’s not difficult because first of all, they want a job. You have to be with guys who believe in things. And there were good ones. That’s why we didn’t talk to a lot of the guys that you would otherwise suspect. That was one of the reasons. Adam (Gase), I know he wouldn’t, at that point, change where he was going. And I like Adam. It wasn’t a question of that.”
(You obviously helped pick the coach, helped pick the GM. Are you going to have any input at all on the quarterback, because that is the other one?) – “One thing – I don’t pick players and I don’t call plays.”
(Do you have opinions on quarterbacks or do you share them?) – “I ask questions in making sure they do their homework, and they do. They know what they’re looking for or you shouldn’t have them working for you. I believe very much in Chris (Grier) and I believe in Brian (Flores). I saw the staff he put together. You could see the quality of the staff, together, that he was able to bring, even though he had probably less time than anybody else. The people that he brought believed in him, which tells you an awful lot about him to get the kind of staff that he brought in. You could see it wasn’t this guy who just brought all of his friends with him. This guy is I think really unique and really a quality guy. His story is unbelievable of how he got to where he is. What’s interesting is here’s a guy that I believe – right now being a head coach in the league, he’s probably the only coach that has only ever coached for one team and didn’t bounce around anywhere else. Tell me another coach who has that kind of background.”
(Has Patriots Owner Robert Kraft or Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick or anybody else sort of said anything to you about Head Coach Brian Flores since you’ve seen them here?) – “Yeah. I sat next to Kraft at a dinner and he was telling me ‘You really got a good guy.’ There was no reason to (tell me that unprompted). But everywhere I’ve gone, people really respect him and what he’s done. You’ve met him. You can see what kind of character he is.”
(Is it a fair read that you’re in this process that you’re going through for the long term?) – “I’m looking at it now to do it the way I’ve built every business and build it from the ground up. I’m prepared to stay with it. You can call me on it any time you want – ‘You know what, you’re abandoning your idea.’ I am committed.”
(The growing pains of having a young team and having a young coach, a first-time coach … How do you think you would cope with the growing pains of dealing with wins and losses?) – “As long as we’re getting better and we’re going out there and guys are giving it. The players, you have to worry about. These guys who play football, they play to win. That’s why you don’t talk about tanking. These guys are giving their all on the field. You don’t take those kind of hits and practice and put all that in there knowing the team is tanking. They believe that. We have to see who is getting better and they see themselves getting better, and they see something developing here and we’re building it. That’s what you really want to see this year. The wins will take care of itself. That’s what the whole thing is – growing and them feeling it, that we’re building something here in Miami and this is where we want to be in Miami because they’re doing it the right way. That’s what you have to feel. If a guy’s not there and he’s just playing for the money or his contract, get rid of this guy. That’s not what we’re looking for. That’s easier said than done. How many guys as free agents really do well? If they did well, the other team would’ve signed them if they really felt they were that way.”
(As far as this process, what do you call it? Is it rebuilding, is it a bridge to better things?) – “It’s building a franchise to sustain itself over a period of time. That’s what you want. You don’t want to be ‘We made the playoffs this year, now I have to wait four more years.’ We’ve been doing that. But look at the growth. Look at the kind of guys we’re drafting and see how they’re growing and the commitment of this staff and the organization behind them.”
(And do you feel that this is the best place that the organization has been in that you’re knowledge of being in the league?) – “It feels like this is more me.”
Chris Grier – March 25, 2019
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Monday, March 25, 2019
General Manager Chris Grier
(How are things?) – “For me, these meetings are informational; but I’d rather be at a Pro Day looking at players and doing evaluations and stuff right now. But this is part of the job.”
(How are you comfortable with the current constitution of your roster?) – “I think right now it’s still a work in progress. You still have the draft, and whether it’s June 1st cuts or May 8th – after that day when you can start signing guys that don’t work towards the compensatory system. So there are still a lot of options (to) still turn over the roster. But I’m very excited about it. (Head Coach) Brian (Flores) and the coaching staff have been great to work with. They’re everything we thought they would be. It’s been good but we’re still evolving.”
(You have a lot of things on your plate in terms of getting from here to the final roster in September. But if I could pin you down, what’s your number one concern as far as offensive line, defensive end or whatever? If you could fill one thing right now, what would it be? What position would it be?) – “One thing for any franchise would be a franchise quarterback.”
(I should have said outside of the obvious quarterback.) – “I’d say other than that is what we’ve talked about from Day 1, the building blocks – the o-line and defensive lines, getting those right. Losing Ja’Wuan (James) was a blow. It just creates another piece that you have to fill. We’re prepared for it. We have the draft; we’re still in free agency. We’ll keep working through that but I’d say the offensive and defensive lines right now, just building that for the future still.”
(If I could ask you a quarterback evaluation question, because that’s the thing now … When did you guys come to the thinking that QB Ryan Tannehill is not going to be the answer for the Miami Dolphins?) – “When Brian (Flores) got hired finally, and he got all of the staff in, it really took about two weeks going through it as a staff talking about the offensive side. Once we got (Offensive Coordinator) Chad O’Shea in and (Assistant Quarterbacks Coach) Jerry Schuplinski and (Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks) Jim Caldwell and the rest of the offensive staff, they sat together and they worked hard for two weeks grinding through it. They made their decisions and talked through it. Then, Brian and I obviously discussed it and we made that determination roughly a couple of weeks after they were together as a staff. They really spent two weeks going through all of our offensive film the last couple of years and watching every snap and working through that way. That was the determination and we decided then that we were going to go in a different direction.”
(But you had an opinion of QB Ryan Tannehill beforehand that you didn’t share with them, as you said. So was that your opinion before then?) – “It was an organizational one. I’m not going to say who was this way or that way; but all of us, we talked through it and at the end of the day, we all thought that was the right move for the Dolphins moving forward.”
(Why QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and what is your vision? Is it more or less a year or two years given his age? What’s the long-range vision for him?) – “I think when we signed Ryan, first of all for him, it was important for that second year. He wanted that two-year deal. We’re looking for someone that … We understand and Ryan knows too that he’s not a long-term solution for any team. I think it was very important to have the right type of guy. I think if you talk to anyone about Ryan and what type of person he is, he’s very popular in locker rooms. Last year you know DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans were very vocal in their support of him. And I think for that position, having a guy that’s respected for his leadership and what he’ll do in the locker room is very important, and also if that guy is going to be the bridge in the next year or two for the other guy as a mentor, it’s important he understands that. Ryan is a perfect guy to be a mentor for a young guy, just to show leadership and how to be around guys and how to relate to people. It was very important and that’s why Ryan was a guy we targeted.”
(Can you take us through the timeline of the QB Ryan Tannehill trade? When you decided to move on? Were other teams in the mix? Was Tennessee the focus all along? We thought maybe it would get done before the start of the league year but it went a couple of days after. I guess the way his contract was written, it allowed you some more flexibility. How did that all come together?) – “Really with Ryan, when we made that decision, I called Ryan and talked to him. We had a good talk about it. Obviously he was disappointed, I’m sure; but Ryan is a total professional as you guys have known and been around him. We told him and we also said we’re going to be kind of deliberate in how we do things because we feel Ryan’s a good player in the league and there would be value, we thought, from someone. And we did. There were a couple of teams who had called; but they weren’t in a hurry. I think everyone was waiting to see how it was going to play out in free agency, the early parts of it. And I think also they were doing some of their evaluations of draft prospects. So we were in discussions with a couple of teams and then (Titans Executive Vice President/General Manager) Jon Robinson was probably very aggressive in wanting to do something and so we saw the opportunity and they worked well with us and we got it done in probably about two days.”
(How would you describe QB Ryan Tannehill’s seven-year tenure as Dolphins quarterback?) – “I would say at the end of the day you’d probably say inconsistent; but I would say Ryan gave his heart and soul for the organization. No one is a tougher guy than him. I mean, you guys have seen some of the shots that guy has taken. He never complained. He had some really great moments, some great games that were tremendous. And then he had some games where not only he, but the entire offense struggled. I would say he was inconsistent with moments of really, very good, top football, and then other moments that probably the whole team struggled. But I appreciate him because I know what he went through. At that position, you get judged by wins and losses unfortunately, and he took a lot of blame for things that were out of his control. I wish him the best and I think he’ll do a good job there in Tennessee.”
(Was it a mistake to stick with QB Ryan Tannehill as long as the organization stuck with him?) – “I don’t know that because I think Adam (Gase)’s first year here we went 10-6 and made the playoffs and right when he got hurt, he was playing really good in that stretch for about six or seven games. So it was the first time with Adam, working with Adam, and him going down in training camp the following year and then last season, (it was) inconsistent ups and downs. So I don’t think so because I think after that 10-6 year with Adam, you probably thought, ‘Hey, maybe it’s going to turn and now it’s going to be what people hoped he would be as far as being a top 10 pick in the draft.’ The expectations are always – at that position, when you’re picked that high – through the roof. No, I don’t think it was a mistake. I think the one thing maybe we could have all done, and me pushing too, is drafting someone behind him to come through, that could maybe back him up. But we had other needs and it was a different mindset in terms of how we were doing things.”
(So teams jumped over the Miami Dolphins to get a number of quarterbacks – last year, the year before that, QB Patrick Mahomes and QB Deshaun Watson. Do you think those guys would have been a better move than sticking with QB Ryan Tannehill? Or at least bringing those guys on to compete with him?) – “I think with each quarterback, you have to defer to what kind of the head coach is looking for at that position. We’ve always talked about that before, especially if your head coach is a play-caller, in terms of the mesh, in terms of personality, how it fits, style, etc. In some of those cases, some of those guys may or may not have fit what Adam (Gase) was looking for. That’s always an important piece in evaluating. There are some players there that we liked a lot and what we were looking for; but we also weren’t willing to mortgage the future at that point in time, in terms of working with Adam and going through the process. Patrick Mahomes? We liked Patrick Mahomes. I would say we probably didn’t spend a ton of time with him in terms of spending time, but we met with him briefly, spent some time. Our guys who went on school visits liked him. (He is a) very talented player. As far as the other quarterbacks, they were all really good players but for us, at that time, we weren’t willing to give up a couple of first-round picks to move up at that point.”
(So going forward, would you be comfortable not drafting a quarterback this year?) – “I would say that all options are on the table for us still. Like I said, it always has to be the right guy in terms of personality, leadership skills, what you’re asking him to do in terms of, is he going to fit with what Chad (O’Shea) and Brian (Flores) believe in? Again, it’s going to be a lot of time here in the spring, still getting to know a lot of these kids to determine if that’s who Brian and Chad and myself all believe is the right guy to lead us into the future. Whether it’s this year or next year … Or maybe we could take one both this year and next year. But I think at that position, you can never be satisfied until you have the guy you really feel can give you a chance to win a championship.”
(So all of the options for drafting a quarterback on the table? This year, next year? Maybe taking one in each draft? Are those all options you guys are considering?) – “Yes.”
(What is the timetable on getting a quarterback? Do you have to get one by next year or could it be two years? Would you be comfortable with that?) – “I think it’s imperative that you have one that you can win with in this league. If we get to this year’s draft and we feel it’s him, we’ll be aggressive in trying to get him. And if we feel that it’s not this draft – which we’re still in the process of going through that – maybe there’s someone down the line here that may have potential that we like and then we’ll focus on 2020. But right now, we’re completely focused on the 2019 draft and there’s some interesting prospects in this year’s class.”
(How far would you guys go down the line? When you formulate this strategy, there’s guys who are freshmen now in college. Will you look at them? How do you do that process?) – “You always look at a two-year window, so when guys are sophomores in college. Obviously if some is a freshman and has a great year, you’re aware of who they are; but you really don’t start getting to digging on them until maybe a little bit in their sophomore year. But there’s coaches in passing that say, ‘Okay, this is a really different kid.’ Then you really start, when they’re juniors, of really painting the picture. But you have to be very respectful of the colleges. There are guys, coaches are invested in them and they’re helping the university win, so it’s also about being respectful and not interfering and making them feel like we’re trying to get all of their players leave early, because that’s not the case. We would like them to be mature, prepared and play as many games as possible before they get in the NFL, but that’s where we are right now.”
(So if there’s this two-year window, at what point will you start to target a guy? Is it six months before the draft or a year before?) – “I don’t think you can really target guys yet until you get to know them. You could have a guy who has all the talent in the world in terms of arm strength and everything, but then you get to know him and maybe he’s not the smartest guy or his teammates don’t like him. You really can’t start targeting them until they get to this point, a couple of weeks before the draft, once you have the complete picture of who he is as a person, on and off the field. Obviously, living in South Beach and Miami, as you guys know – Fort Lauderdale – it’s a different area. There are a lot of temptations, and can your guy, as the face of the program, can he handle that? Is this a small-town kid who’s never been exposed to it and he comes here and is like ‘Oh my god?’ He might not be able to handle that. You really don’t lock in on people until a week or two before the draft.”
(Where do things stand with DE Robert Quinn and can you give us your thinking on the QB Ryan Tannehill trade and perhaps Quinn on eating some money to ensure you get a better draft pick?) – “We gave a couple of teams permission to talk with Robert. I think it came out that he’s going to New Orleans. I haven’t talked to them in probably a week or so about it. There are a couple of other teams who have called and inquired about him recently. For us, as well as with the Ryan trade, we were just looking at all options available to us. In terms of buying a draft pick, that’s been done over the last few years by multiple teams and it was an option and with Ryan, we thought there was value in the player and we were fortunate to find a team that was willing to do it, as well with Robert. Robert is a good player. We can keep him on this roster if we have to. He’s a good player, he’s got value and he probably fits some other schemes a little bit better in terms of what he does, so he and his agent and other teams are talking to us about it and that’s where we are right now with that.”
(How would you describe how much of a priority it would be to get CB Xavien Howard signed to a long-term contract before the season?) – “It would be great. We’ve been talking to his agent back and forth a little bit and they’ve been very good to work with. Xavien wants to be here and wants to be here long-term. So yeah, it would be important because I think it could send a message – which we want – that we want our good young players to be here. So we’re working on trying to get something done. Whether it gets done or not, who knows. There’s a lot of things that goes into that, getting those decisions done. But yes, if we could get it done, it’d be great; but who knows.”
(CB Xavien Howard has suffered two knee injuries in his career that now have cost him significant time. Is that at all a concern going forward that he might have chronic knee issues?) – “A little bit but not really. Our doctors are very confident that what he’s had is not something that’s going to be a long-term effect to him. Really, Xavien practiced at the end of the year last year. He came back and it was probably us holding him out more – the staff. You’ve got to give Adam (Gase) a lot of credit on that as well, not throwing him out there just to go out there to be out there. He wanted to make sure he was doing best for his career going forward. Xavien wanted to play and Adam was like, ‘No, it’s not worth it right now. We’ll go out and play and let the young kids play and do it.’ No, it’s not anything we’re really concerned about.”
(Do you have any insight on where the staff believes S Minkah Fitzpatrick is the best fit? Is it safety, boundary corner or maybe like last year, a bunch of everything?) – “It’s been interesting because they got to watch him play a lot and they also studied him coming out in the draft the year before and they were like he was one of their favorite players coming out. That’s the unique thing about Minkah, he can do a lot of stuff. I think they have a position where he’s going to be locked in but I would rather have Coach Flores tell you guys that if that’s what he wants to do. But I will say they really enjoy watching the film as we did, and I think he can still get better from what he was as a rookie and we’re excited about his future.”
(If you place S Minkah Fitzpatrick in a certain position, does that allow you to draft for other positions? Or are you kind of using Minkah as a special tool that if you need something at another position he does play or vice versa, you can pick up multiple players at multiple positions. Is that something you guys will do because he’s that versatile?) – “I think position flexibility is always important; but I think especially with young players, if you can put them at one spot and let them sort of master that one position instead of each week, bouncing around … It’s hard to do. To his credit, he did a very good job of it last year; but I think just letting him – especially when he’s young – stay at one spot, I think that’s what Brian and the coaching staff are focused on.”
(What did you like about CB Eric Rowe? Does he have enough talent to contend for a starting position?) – “Eric was a very talented player coming out. He was someone that we liked coming out of college and we’ve been very fortunate that Brian (Flores) and (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh (Boyer) have coached him in New England the last couple of years. We almost traded with Philadelphia for him when they made the trade (with New England). We were in on that, as well. For him, the whole key has just been staying healthy. With the corner(back) market where it is, he’s a talented player, and to get him at the price we did is the reason why. He and a few other good players, the market for them, the price they were, we were very fortunate because our coaching staff knows him and they have experience with him. So they’re excited and he’ll get a chance to compete for that job, opposite ‘X’ (Xavien) Howard.”
(You mentioned earlier the term mortgaging the future. Is it safe to say that given the situation the team is in now, you’d be that much more likely to trade up if there was a quarterback available that you had a conviction on?) – “I would say yeah. I would say all options are on the table. I wouldn’t say that we wouldn’t. We also know that that’s the key for any franchise going forward. So if there is a guy there that we like this year that we feel we need to go get, yeah we will be aggressive, trying to get him; but we’ll also be smart about it. There is also a limit to what you should do in terms of being smart about it. People made a big deal about 2020 with what we’ve been doing but that’s also where the market has taken us as far as acquiring those picks and compensatory picks as well. So we’ll have a lot of flexibility to do stuff, whether it’s this year’s draft or next year’s draft.”
(We’re not going to ask you about tanking; but I do want to ask you about the long-term plan. The way we’ve seen it and we’ve written it is yeah, you’re getting all these assets for 2020. What do you see as the broader vision without infringing on state secrets here? What do you see is the plan for this team over the next few years?) – “We’re going to keep building it. From Day 1, when we made the change, we talked about building the foundation and building it up the right way. So that’s all it is. There’s no tanking. It’s hard when you say you want tough, competitive guys who love ball and you bring them in and say ‘Hey, let’s not do it this year. Let’s just relax and enjoy this year and we’ll come back next year and be tough and competitive.’ So you draft those types of guys and even now, when you add (Ryan) Fitzpatrick to the list, he was leading the league in passing for a while there (last year). So you’ve got Albert (Wilson and) Jakeem (Grant) coming back and Kenny (Stills). You’ve got (Kenyan) Drake and (Kalen) Ballage catches the ball well. It’s been interesting listening to them talk about Mike and how to use Mike Gesicki. We’ve got a lot of guys that can run and catch and a lot of speed. So it would be kind of hard to shut that down. As Brian (Flores) has talked about, we’re competing but we’re going to build it the right way. We’re going to be smart about it. And just acquiring picks is another way to hopefully speed up the process for us.”
(When you talk like that, it sounds like there is excitement in what is possible, but isn’t that bad? If you guys go out with your talent and win eight games, what has happened?) – “Well if we win eight games then it means we’ve drafted well with a lot of good, young players playing. They’re winning games. But also next year we have, I think, 11 or 12 picks right now with stuff going on still. So in terms of the future, we still can do a lot of stuff in 2020.”
(So winning eight games could fit into the master plan? Winning eight games next year, you could fit that in?) – “I don’t know how many we’re going to win. Everyone keeps saying tanking and we’re going to go and be crap. I don’t know what we’ll be. If these guys go out and we have some good, young players and they play well and we win eight games, we go, ‘All right, we’ve won eight games and we’ve got right now 11 or 12 picks right for next year and with the draft still approaching, who knows if we get more?’ So having that and those picks in 2020 gives you a lot of maneuvering in this year’s draft and next year’s draft to keep building.”
(In terms of the 2020 draft, one scenario is to move back in the first, move back in the first or maybe out of the first round all together to get an extra first-round pick in 2020. Is that something that’s even on your mind or would you know we have to take a player in the first round this year?) – “You always need a partner to do a move like that. So we’re not going to do anything just to do it and say let’s do it, and then we come out and look bad on a move. All options are on the table. We’ve talked about looking at this in a two-year window and you should always keep looking in that two- or three-year window. That’s been our approach. It’s been great working with (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore) and Brian (Flores) on it. And (Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner) Steve (Ross) as well. Steve has been great in terms of our plan and vision for it and he’s been really good in terms of how we’re approaching things.”
