Brian Flores – July 25, 2019
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Thursday, July 25, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(It’s your first training camp as an NFL head coach. What’s going through your head right now?) – “A lot of excitement. You go through the end of the season, you go through the offseason for today, so (there is) a lot of excitement. I think the team, we’re ready to go. We’re raring to go. I think we understand that it’s an opportunity – a great opportunity – for us to go individually, but more importantly as a team. Individually from a fundamentals techniques standpoint, and then putting those together with your teammates, everyone working as one.”
(How much will WR Albert Wilson participate in camp right now in the beginning stages?) – “Albert’s working his way back. He’ll participate in some individuals and maybe try to get him into some other drills, but he’s definitely doing a good job and working his way back.”
(You all are looking at WR Allen Hurns having him try out today according to an ESPN report. What is it that you feel you can use or need for this receiving corps?) – “I think we take a look at everyone who’s available, so (General Manager) Chris (Grier), (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore), our personnel staff, they do a good job of just evaluating everyone who’s available. Is this person a fit for our team? Regardless of position, age, etc. So I think that’ll be something that’s ongoing. Obviously Allen is available, and we’ll take a look at him like we do really anyone who’s available.”
(What has or will be the message you have for QB Josh Rosen and the approach you want him to take to this training camp?) – “The message to him is the same as everyone on this team: be ready to come in here every day and compete. And that’s compete in the meetings, compete in the walkthroughs, and obviously compete in practice. So that’s the message to Josh, that’s the message to ‘Fitzy’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), that’s the message to everyone on the team. We want to improve every day. We want to build as a team and improve individually. I should say that in the other way – improve individually and build as a team. That’s the goal. Let’s take it one day at a time and string the days together. That’s the message to really the entire team, really the entire organization.”
(Back to WR Allen Hurns for a second. He obviously had that pretty awful injury during playoffs. Are there any concerns health-wise with him going forward?) – “I think that’s part of the process like it is with any player. We’ll evaluate him on film, evaluate him from a health standpoint, and that’s the case with really anyone we bring in.
(What are some things you look to accomplish this season? What would be an underachievement of that, and what would be an overachievement of that?) – “My focus is on today, so to think down the road – season, seasons, etc. – our focus is on today. Let’s put one foot in front of the other. Let’s improve individually, as a team, as a coaching staff and then try to build on that in our meetings afterwards. I don’t even like to think about that, because I’m focused on the individual period. That’s where my focus is, nothing really past that. And that’s the message I’ve sent to the team. There’s no reason to think about either preseason Game 1 or preseason (Game 2) or Game 1 in the regular season or Game 8. Let’s get better today. Let’s not waste energy on that. Let’s put all of our energy into today.”
(Where will you spend your time during practice?) – “I’ll be on offense, I’ll be on defense, I’ll be on the kicking game. I’ve got my eyes on really, all parts of the team, all parts of the organization, and that’s kind of my thought process. I think that’s fluid for me. If I see something I don’t like, I’m walking over there. If I see something I feel like we need to do a little bit better, I’m walking over there. If I feel we need to improve in the area, if someone needs a good yelling-at, then I’ll go where that needs to be as well. If somebody needs a pat on the back, I’ll do that as well. You won’t see too many of those, but that’s my plan for practice.”
(A lot of attention will obviously be on the quarterbacks. What would you like to see out of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and QB Josh Rosen to start off camp?) – “I’d like to see – first and foremost – get the quarterback/center exchange, get in and out of the huddle. First and foremost it’s get in and out of the huddle, get the quarterback/center exchange and just our fundamentals and our technique from a footwork standpoint, from an accuracy standpoint, from an in-and-out-of-the-huddle standpoint, from a communication standpoint. It’s Day 1. Look, we’re not going to be in midseason form today, and no one in the league is going to be in midseason form. This is about building. It’s really what it boils down to, and I want to see these guys build today, or really work today and then build on that day after day after day and string good practices together.
(Do you foresee the quarterbacks swapping who works with the first unit/starting unit during training camp?) – “I think that’s fluid as well, and we’ll see. We’ll talk about that daily as a staff. Obviously we want quarterbacks working with different receivers, receivers working with different quarterbacks, offensive linemen working with different backs, safeties working with different linebackers, so that’s very fluid. We’ll be moving guys around, moving offensive players, defensive players, kicking teams. We’ve just got to get the right 11 on the field, so it’ll be fluid. There will definitely be some movement from that standpoint.”
(We haven’t had a chance to talk to you since DT Kendrick Norton’s accident. How’s he doing, and what do you think the prognosis for him long-term is?) – “Kendrick, he’s in great spirits. I spent a lot of time with him after the accident. I talk to him on a pretty frequent basis. His spirit, the way he’s handled this situation is really – it’s amazing. That’s a testament to Kendrick, his support staff, his mom Tess – she’s a wonderful lady. Spending time with him and his family, he’s got a great support system that includes that Miami Dolphins, and we’ll support Kendrick any way we can.
(As you guys begin training camp today, are there areas where this team is a little bit further ahead than you thought they would be either on the field or off the field?) – “I think this is a hard-working group. This is a group that’s motivated. This is a group that wants to work, wants to get better and wants to improve, and I’m looking forward to working with everyone on this team. As far as me having higher or worse expectations, I wouldn’t say it’s either. I’d say right now it’s too early to, we’re just focused on today. My expectation is to get better today, to improve today, to coach them hard today and tomorrow and the next day and every day moving forward, and I think we’ve got a group that’s willing to put in the effort, the work and hopefully string good days together.”
(What is your either window or deadline as the case may be for selecting a starting quarterback?) – “Again, that’s something that I would say it’s too early to – I don’t have a concrete deadline. I would say that. I think we’re in an evaluation process, really from now and throughout. I think in this league, with the players that are in this league and how guys develop and the light bulb goes off for certain guys at certain points. Then, there’s always opportunities for changes to be made, and that’s a good thing for everyone on the team. There’s no spots that are slotted. There’s no sacred cows. I’ve said that before. People, our team, our organization need that competition, and the best players are going to play. The guys who practice who we feel like are going to give us the best opportunity to win, those are the guys that are going to be out there.”
(How do you anticipate the loss of Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Jim Caldwell on a day-to-day basis impacting QB Josh Rosen and the rest of the quarterbacks you have?) – “The most important thing to me is Jim’s health. I’ll say that first and foremost. He is obviously taking a leave of absence for health reasons. I talked to our staff about just splitting his roles, his responsibilities. We’ve talked at length about how we’re going to do that. We’ve got a good plan in place, something we’ve talked about, really I would say, over the last two weeks, two to three weeks extensively, and there’s a plan in place; but his experience, his knowledge, it’s not something you replace easily, I’ll tell you that. He’s in a consulting role. I talked to him yesterday. He’s still with this team; we just won’t see as much of him as we’d hoped to.”
(Do you anticipate elevating somebody into his QB coach role?) – “That remains to be seen. Right now, we have a plan in place to split those responsibilities, and that could happen; it may not happen. That’s just something that we’ll evaluate on a day-to-day basis, and if we feel like we need to do that, then great. But I think we’ve got a really good offensive staff. (Assistant Quarterbacks Coach) Jerry Schuplinski stepped into that role. (Offensive Coordinator) Chad (O’Shea) has taken on a little bit more, (Tight Ends Coach) George Godsey’s taken on a little bit more, (Running Backs Coach) Eric (Studesville) has taken on a little bit more, (Wide Receivers Coach) Karl (Dorrell) has taken on a little bit more. Our quality control guys have taken on a little bit more and that’s what we want on this team, whether it’s from a coaching staff standpoint or from a player standpoint. If something happens, we just have to split the duties amongst some other people and do the best we can.”
(What was your message to the team today?) – “Improve. My message was to focus on improvement – fundamentals and your technique. Take those techniques in individuals to the group drills, those techniques from the group drills to the team drills. We’ll come back in, we’ll watch it, we’ll improve and we’ll try to get better tomorrow. But the focus is on right now. I want a tough, smart, disciplined team. They know that. That starts in practice and there’s nothing more important than practice, so hopefully we got here with the effort, the energy. Again, it’s Day 1. I hope we get great execution, 100 percent execution; but there’s never been 100 percent execution in a football game, so there’ll be some mistakes out here. Hopefully we learn from those mistakes, we improve, we get better and we build.”
(How do you anticipate choosing captains on this team and how do you anticipate the leaders stepping up?) – “Obviously leadership’s important to me, but if you want to be a captain on this team, you have to earn that role. You have to earn that in the meeting room, in the walkthroughs, on the practice field and on the game field, so that remains to be seen. I would say that’s pretty much the criteria. Someone who’s productive, someone who shows leadership both on and off the field, someone who brings the effort, intensity, energy that we’re looking for on a day-to-day basis.”
(I know you were on the radio with Joe Rose this morning talking about last night and any restlessness. Can you elaborate a little bit on what was happening there?) – “Well, I was having a great night of sleep. Then my son Maxwell decided to pop in the bed, and he’s a, let’s call him a restless sleeper, and I was up. I probably lost an hour. He came in about 3:30, 4 a.m. and I was up shortly after that. I don’t mind my kids coming into bed. That’s a great time for me whether it’s my son Maxwell or my son Miles or my daughter – my daughter normally doesn’t. She goes to Mom. But no, I don’t mind that. This time of year, when you start getting going into football coaching and long hours, those moments – it doesn’t matter if it’s late at night or early in the morning – I cherish those, so that’s a welcome situation to me.”
(What did your personal workout routine involve today?) – “Yeah, I got a little sweat going. My guy Drew does the ‘Murph’ workout. I didn’t do the full one. Let me tell you that right now. I did a modified version of the ‘Murph.’ Drew and Matt, Matt’s the ‘Murph’ king over here.”
(Is that part of the daily routine?) – “That’s part of my routine and workout right before. I’ll try to cut the sweating down a little bit tomorrow. It’s my first day, alright guys? (laughter)”
(What do you tell a fanbase that is conflicted between winning and looking ahead to the future and wanting a high draft pick?) – “I tell them support the Dolphins. You’re going to have a tough, smart, disciplined team that works hard, is not going to beat themselves, and we’re going to fight to win every week. That’s what I tell them, and they’ll support us to do that.”
