How do you compartmentalize the season ending…
Yeah, it’s extremely disappointing. I think, none of us were approaching this year thinking 8-9 was good enough. This was an important game for us to just handle our business from a tonality standpoint, unable to undo the previous misgivings of the season and we didn’t do it. Yeah, it’s disappointing to say the least. So, you take that for what it is, and then you have to take hard looks at a lot of things which we’ll begin that process tomorrow.
On WR Tyreek Hill saying he wants out from the organization…
You know I think in regard to things that are stated, I guess it would be second-hand – for me, I hadn’t heard that but just in general emotions are high especially after a game like that. But there will be conversations that will be direct in the next couple days which is kind of the process of the end of season meetings. I think, obviously, there’s a lot of power in having a team that wants to play together and go for a common goal, so that is inherent, but I’m not going to put too much weight on second-hand, postgame disappointment statements. We’ll see how the next couple days progress with those conversations with him and I.
On WR Tyreek Hill not playing in the fourth quarter…
I was informed that he was unavailable right before a drive. I was not informed that it was a new injury, and I think at that point of time my focus was on the players and I didn’t take the time to go and try and figure out more into that. There were guys on the field that were competing, and we were trying to win a game, so my focus was there.
On if Hill pulled himself from the game…
I was informed he wasn’t available, and I didn’t really have the time to dig more into that and we’ll see what comes of that after watching the tape and talking to coaches and the training staff.
On who told him Hill was not available…
It was discussed by the coaching staff on the headset and the play clock was running, so I moved on and called plays for people that were out there.
On if he’s been informed if he’ll be back next season by ownership…
Yeah, my full expectations are to be back. I’d prefer to keep our conversations to our conversations, this isn’t really the platform for it but that’s my full expectation. Really you focus on you have to make stuff meaningful, and if you’re going to be 8-9 and fall short of your goals you have to find reasons why and make sure that those are not the same mistakes that you have moving forward. So, yes, my full expectation is to be back.
On if he expects GM Chris Grier to be back with the team the next season…
Yeah, my full expectations are our relationship will continue to be strong and a working relationship for sure. You’ll be able to ask pointed questions as the week, I’m not sure if it’s tomorrow or the next day, whatever day the end of the season press conference is with him and I.
On if the team was impacted by seeing the score of the Denver game on the scoreboard…
No, I was very focused on the game. I was made aware that they were showing the score and highlights from the game during the game, and I think as a team, we were really focused on beating the Jets. Individually, I’ll get more information and kind of get a feel when I watch the tape if anyone was affected, but overall, it was a group that was trying to win a game and lost it.
On Tyreek Hill not being available in the fourth quarter…
I’m not going to – my response, it would be unfair for me to match emotion with emotion. Right after a game when your season ends, when you’re fighting for it to extend, and with the full belief that you have the ability for that to happen, I’m not going to make a rash judgement on something that, again, it’s a little cloudy in the heat of the moment for multiple reasons. So, clarity will be found, and you do move forward with conviction as a football team, and I’ll look forward to having conversations with him this week.
On how far away he feels the team is from AFC playoff teams like the Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens…
I think it doesn’t really matter how I feel because my job isn’t to have feelings. I think the biggest thing is that there’s a lot of things that we’ll be able to reflect upon in the coming days, and today was about the team and the game. I think that will be a very fair question to ask during the week, just because, again, I try not to have wholesale reflections. I think that’s unfair to, whether it’s a plus or a minus, wholesale reflections postgame. I’m really more comfortable talking about the game we just lost.
On if Tua was close to receiving medical clearance for the Playoffs…
I think that was a fair estimation. If he could have played today, he would have played. From the medical standpoint, he was not cleared with reason. There weren’t precautions, it was that he was not available. He really wanted to play; I really wanted him to play. The hope was the season extends longer, and his availability would be real. So, I know that hope was held by him. I obviously hope he plays every game. You can count me into that hope. We had to win a game to get there, regardless of the opponent or the other games and regardless if, it didn’t matter who won the Kansas City-Denver game if we didn’t win. So, our focus was there and we didn’t achieve that.
On his immediate thoughts on what this team needs to improve on…
I think I’ll be super fired up for you to ask that question in a couple days. It’s not because of anything, I don’t feel like it’s responsible on my part to just spew what I’m feeling or thinking right now. I’ll probably have some strong convictions, but now is not the time or place. I feel like that would be irresponsible on my part to throw something out and potentially ask you guys for take- backs.
On Snoop Huntley’s performance…
I think it wasn’t up to his nor I’s expectation to start the game. There was some stuff that I feel like he has been pretty routine on that turned into un-routine. I did think that he competed and found ways to make some plays in the second half, but ultimately, the story of the game, in my opinion, it felt like we found success in the latter half of the season playing complementary football and this felt anti-complementary. We got a bunch of stops early in the game, and when that was occurring, we couldn’t get the ball in the end zone or score points. In the second half, we were able to put together some drives and we didn’t get the stops. Ultimately, the success that this team had found, that formula for three-phase complementary football, it just wasn’t there for us today, turning the ball over numerous times, we got an early takeaway but ended up severely in the minus. You’re going against the gods of football if you’re trying to win games severely in the minus. So, that’s kind of the way the game ended up.
