Brian Flores – October 10, 2019
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Thursday, October 10, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I know the goal is always winning and if you can develop guys, I’m sure that is a goal as well. Sometimes there are examples where you might have to pick one or the other. I will give you an example and want your thoughts in general on this. T Isaiah Prince, he’s obviously a developmental guy (and) you are eager to see what you have in him, but a veteran like T J’Marcus Webb might give you a better chance to win right away. So in a case like that and in general, do you say winning is the clear-cut priority or do you say player development is on par with it, close to it, in terms of what your personal priorities are?) – “That’s about six questions there. (laughter) So, I will start by saying that to me the most important thing is everyone going through an individual process throughout the week. That is meetings, that’s walkthroughs, that is the preparation, that is practice and their fundamentals, so everyone’s individual development and the process – to me, that is at the top of the list for me. As far as one player versus another – you mentioned Prince versus Webb – I think everything is case by case. Yes, you always want to develop young players but you want to develop all of the players on your team. Every week we are going to try to give ourselves the best chance to win the game or what we feel is the best chance to win the game. So, all those things you take into account. I don’t think there is a specific set way for anyone. For me personally and for our coaching staff, it’s not set. It’s not specifically, ‘we definitely want to do this,’ or ‘we definitely want to do this.’ I think every week we are trying to put this team in the best position to win, but I think the process of actually going through that is of the utmost importance for this group. Development is very important. I think we are trying to do that at all positions; but look, these guys work extremely hard and trying to put the best players out there that we feel can help us win. I don’t know, did I miss anything? (Laughter)”
(No, no that was good.) – “(Laughter).”
(Yesterday C Daniel Kilgore and I am paraphrasing here – he told everyone that the perception of this team and whatever terminology is being used – tanking, rebuilding – is not there. We, he said we as players, we go out there and work our backsides off every day. Do you like the fire in someone like that when one of your captains goes out there and says that?) – “I think that is the approach that we need to have. I think that is the approach that we have as a total team. Yeah, I like that. I mean what coach wouldn’t want that? I think that is – to me, that is standard operating procedure for any player in this league. Kilgore works every day. The game is important to him. It is important to everybody in the locker room so it doesn’t surprise me at all. I think that is how this team is wired. We’ll go out and try to win every game; but that really starts Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, in practice, in meetings. That is where it starts and I think that is what he meant by working every day to try to improve, get better and really execute on a consistent basis.”
(But when the approach isn’t there to back up the results, how do you continue to reinforce that ‘hey, we are doing the right thing?’ Because you guys have not been competitive in a game yet.) – “I think at the end of the day, that process – and maybe that process needs to be changed – but I think from a work standpoint, from a trying to improve and get better standpoint, that is the only way I know. I think continually getting better in practice, continually working to improve their execution, continuing to work and improve the communication – from my experience over time, that works and we will continue to do that. I have seen that from this team and I think that’s what Kilgore was kind of mentioning. I think you see some of those things on a daily basis and if we just keep continuing to do that and the process is right, the results normally take care of themselves.”
(Regarding veteran leadership on this team, I am wondering what you are seeing whether it is more pronounced because it is such a young team or whether it is a little more laid back because these guys haven’t been together for very long or is it about what you have seen earlier?) – “I have said this before: leadership to me is guys that work hard and put the team first. You show leadership. We have some older players – whether it is Bobby (McCain) or (Daniel) Kilgore – or some young players from Christian Wilkins to (Jerome) Baker to Walt Aikens. We have guys who love to play, it is important to them and they do all the things necessary to lead a group – to lead a group of individuals. I think all of those guys I mentioned, along with a lot of players on this team, are doing all of the right things. I mean it is a team of teams. You need leaders really across the board – so your nickel group, your dime group, your 11-personnel group offensively, your kickoff coverage unit. You need leaders really across the board. I mean it is something that we try to develop on a daily basis. It is something we talk about and I think we are getting better in that department and hopefully it improves over the course of the season.”
(A lot of leadership is developed by making plays on the field. How is that going with this team?) – “I would say leadership – I mean a lot of people say that it is developed by making plays on the field. Playmaking is developed by making plays on the field. Leadership, to me, happens behind the scenes and it is the preparation on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Normally when that process is right, then you end up making plays on Sunday and kind of the whole thing comes together. I think if a guy goes out there, gets a tip ball and catches a couple of interceptions, that doesn’t necessarily make him a leader, in my opinion, at least. So I think it is something you develop and leadership is something you do every day. It is not a one-off. So that has kind of been my opinion and my approach and my message to the guys who have that type of potential on this team.”
(In what ways has coaching this younger Dolphins team been different for you than more veteran New England Patriots teams in the past?) – “I mean I have coached a lot of young players, guys who were young, guys who weren’t familiar with a standard or a process or a way to be a professional. I think that is a part of coaching – is helping young players do that. I think that places – I was in New England last – I think it is something that you try to develop. It is not something that happens overnight. It’s something you develop over time and I think it is something that we are building towards here. This is a young team. There are a lot of guys that are eager and willing and want to do it the right way, and I think that is what you are looking for more than anything. I think if they continue to work on that, working with the eagerness to do it right, I think over time the leadership will develop.”
(Yesterday S Bobby McCain said something that kind of caught my eye. He said “as a team we have got to bring more energy when guys make plays. That is understandable when you are 0-4 and everything, but still you have a job to do so we have got to bring more energy.” What is your reaction to that?) – “I think energy, enthusiasm, urgency – all of those things are important to a football team and Bobby knows that. We talk about leadership – that is something that we have talked about as a team. I think we need a lot of things. We need more energy, more enthusiasm, more urgency, more execution. I see where he is coming from. I think more energy comes from better execution. When you have better execution, you can make more plays and when you make more plays, there is more energy. So there is a little bit of a – there is a process to that. We just have got to get better with the process and I think – There was a lot of energy in practice yesterday. I expect there will be some more today and hopefully that builds into over the course of the week and that we are an energetic, enthusiastic, tough and physical team on Sunday.”
(An Xs and Os question: You mentioned Washington Redskins Interim Head Coach Bill Callahan’s running background. How do you prepare for that knowing you prefer running nickel and dime sets in your back and in your secondary?) – “Well, he is – He has got every run that has ever been installed so we’re really preparing for really everything. I know you mentioned nickel and dime sets, so they have got some 11-personnel runs, they have got some 10-runs, they have got some 12-runs, they have got some heavy-grouping runs. So we have to really prepare for it all. I don’t necessarily think we would put out a dime grouping with a big personnel grouping, so – but if it happened, and that happens occasionally, we have to be able to kind of make the adjustments and play that play. But preparing for Coach Callahan and the myriad of things they could do in the running game and pulling guards, tackles, centers, misdirection – they do a lot. We have got to do a good job of reading our keys, believing what we see, setting the edge, tackling. It really boils down to basic fundamentals and techniques, so it is going to be tough. He is a good coach and they do a good job in the running game. We need to be ready.”
(Do you look at individual matchups maybe like that one – the Washington run offense versus your run defense – and say that can be the deciding match up for this game?) – “Everything could be the deciding match up. That is kind of how I look at it. Every play counts and I am not exactly sure which one it is going to be – it could be the run game, it could be the pass game, it could be a one-on-one match up with a tackle and an end, it could be a one-on-one with a punt return – I am not necessarily sure. We try to hit them all and we try to be precise and execute every one of them because I am not necessarily sure and I have coached in a lot of games where there is a play in the kicking game, a play offensively, a play defensively, it’s in the first quarter, the third quarter, an onside kick. It could be anything. So we try to prepare and put our guys in the best position to execute and to play at a high level on really every snap, because I am not necessarily sure which one it is going to be. That is the difference between winning and losing. That has always been my approach and I think it will always be that way. “
