Mike McDaniel – December 22, 2023
Friday, December 22, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Are you able or willing at this point to rule out either OL Robert Hunt or OL Austin Jackson for Sunday?) – “I can rule out Robert Hunt. I cannot rule out Austin Jackson. I would not like to rule him out and he shouldn’t be ruled out. We’ll get some work with him today and see how that goes.”
(OL Austin Jackson is practicing today?) – “Yeah, he’ll be participating in a limited fashion.”
(And WR Tyreek Hill, what’s his status and was it a high-ankle sprain for him?) – “I mean, it was his ankle. There is a lot of science behind it that I just was like (motions over his head). He’s had a good week. No setbacks, so we’ll see how he does today. Feel good about him. We have the present day to go through, but he’ll be out there working, so excited about that. And no setbacks from yesterday.”
(I know it was just a workout, but we have a history with DT Ndamukong Suh, and when I say ‘we,’ I mean people in the media and people in the organization. Obviously, you guys wouldn’t be looking at him if you felt that there wasn’t a need or that you didn’t see it as a viable option. But have you considered adding somebody like that could change or alter the dynamics of your locker room?) – “Absolutely. I think the main thing is that Chris Grier does not stay bored, ever. There’s a list that he doesn’t need to dust off because it doesn’t accumulate dust. I think it’s important that we explore all scenarios. Sometimes if you just close your mind off to something and say ‘no, I’m assuming this would be like this, or this person, his mind is at this spot,’ you kind of just have to really go in with open – basically, you don’t want to assume that things wouldn’t work out because you’re assuming things. So removing assumptions, I think we had a nice discussion. I don’t see anything imminent happening, but I think it’s important to not ever close your mind off to whatever and just keep open discourse to see where guys are at. And that’s all that was.”
(The decisions with S Jevon Holland and CB Xavien Howard. Is there a certain point in the season where even as conscientious and diligent as you guys have been about protecting a player from themselves and having a trainer have a major part in these decisions, is there a point during the season whether it’s a season finale, a playoff game, where you defer entirely to the players and say it’s your call no matter what the trainer is advising you about risk of potential re-injury?) – “I think there’s a point in your relationship with people where over time, you learn to trust their word. Everybody’s different, so they might mean I’m good to go and that means they can play a quarter and a half or two and a half quarters. Well, you’re also protecting the team as well because when you have someone that goes into a game that maybe is short-sighted and then has to come out early, that tangibly affects the rest of the team and the depth and how stretched thin because of the league-wide mandate on how many actives you can have. There are a bunch of things at work, but kind of in the vein and the spirit of what you’re asking, I do think that adjusts as the season progresses and as you develop your relationships with people and know, by consistency, what they mean and how that’s going to play out.”
(And with those two guys in particular, S Jevon Holland and CB Xavien Howard, any sense on Sunday?) – “We’ll see how today progresses. I mean, there’s just a lot of guys in those categories that you don’t want to get ahead of yourself. I think Xavien specifically yesterday had some encouraging practice and didn’t take a step back. Both of them, I’m not feeling at liberty to say I know what they’re going to feel like tomorrow, let alone after they get some work today. So we’ll progress through that and then make a decision collectively with all parties, including them, involved.”
(S DeShon Elliott went through a full practice yesterday. Is he through concussion protocol yet? Is he in the final stages?) – “He’s in the final stages. He’s now cleared for contact for today and so we’re hoping that he gets fully cleared after practice. But things have gone well.”
(RB Raheem Mostert was a DNP twice. Is there any reason for concern there or is that extra vet rest?) – “Extra vet rest with a guy that doesn’t like taking it. But at this point in our relationship, I’m like, I don’t care Raheem, you’re not practicing. And then he says, okay. That’s how that works. (laughter)”
(What about RB De’Von Achane? It seems like he’s gone through a few different things lately. How is he doing now?) – “You find out new things about your younger players each and every day and he is garnering the regard and respect of the locker room because he’s had some things and he’s learning how the NFL goes and how you play with some of that stuff. We’ve had to take some extra precautions with his workload the last two weeks. No setbacks and he’s doing well, so I’m expecting to see him. I can tell you that. I’m expecting to see him on Sunday … He’s doing well, and hopefully he’ll be able to get even more reps as the coming weeks come. Happy about him.”
(How much does what you do on offense transform itself from say, September to December, as you find out about your team?) – “Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever answered that question, but it’s like ever-present, every single season, where you’re very aware of what you’re practicing and the concepts that your players are comfortable with. And then you’re very aware of what defenses see and what your tendencies are, so then you’re evolving things constantly, new problem solving’s occur. And by the end of the season, you’re orchestrating – our offense knows more plays and knows the offense so much better than they do Week 1. And some of the stuff that you do because you’re accumulating reps and as long as you’re building upon things and building upon each other, we couldn’t come to the players Week 1 with the game plan that we have Week 16, because it would be like, whoa.”
(So you’re adding a lot but not…?) – “Yeah, you’re adjusting and like you’re alluding to, you’re adjusting to what works for your players. You’re doubling down on new things. And then you’re evolving to how defense are really going against you. So it’s a multiplicity of evolution every single year. I’ve always found that at the end of the season, typically, especially last year, this year for our guys, is our offense is more complex because they have spent more time and have been more diligent and know more things. And we have new motions and different snap points and new combination blocks and all sorts of things that are building. It’s one of the best parts about everything that we are doing here. It’s truly a players’ scheme because it’s highlighting what they do well and having them evolve live speed during the course of a season. So it’s very much a different scope than when we first started in September.”
(Kind of expanding that timeline, you mentioned Cowboys DC Dan Quinn earlier this week. You’ve worked with him. You’ve gone against him. Do you draw on that past experience against him in terms of game planning for it? Or is it just 2023 Cowboys for the gameplan?) – “No, you do to a certain degree, where you understand when you watch tape, I know firmly – I can actually hear him conduct the team meeting. There’s a couple plays I was watching, I was like, ‘Oh, he loved this clip’. He said, ‘This is us, for sure.’ And then you kind of know where he’s going to emphasize, but for me it’s like once you see it, you can’t unsee it. I can see all his relationships with is players, how connected he is, and how willing they are to strain on every play that I watch. So I can see his coaching just littered within the actual scheme. Then you also know that I knew the second the game had happened last week, that the version of the Dallas Cowboys we were about to see, was going into the game expecting to have their best tackling day and to force some turnovers, because the second a defense that has really been as good as anyone in the league at both of those things, everybody has down games, but you’re going to return to your priorities, to your mantra, to the backbone of what makes you you after a game where guys are a little irritated. Much like us two weeks ago, this Dallas Cowboys team has a bone to pick with football in general and we’re going to get their best shot, which is what we want because we’re not just trying to accumulate wins, we’re trying to get better and be our best in this time of the year. We built up all year to have a challenge like this, so we’re excited to take it.”
(In the last Hard Knocks episode, you showed a lot of accountability for your play calls. What do you hope that brings the team?) – “How else would I be? I think you have to set the tone of what you want things to be like. And if you want accountable players, you better be accountable at every turn for yourself. So I think that’s my obligation as a head coach is to, in any moment that I know that I can be better, I shouldn’t keep it to myself because there’s no point in that. I mean, that is the least that these players deserve. The least. You want to talk about they come to work every day and are listening to people who are instructing them things and their dreams hang in the balance. That’s a tough life to live, and they have to hear so often, ‘Hey, do this way, do this that way.’ I mean that’s a big deal. And for you to better as a football team, we are depending on them to be accountable. If I’m depending on people to be accountable for me to even have a job, the very least I can do is the exact thing that I’m asking of people. Yeah, it just seems like it’s not that big of deal. Yeah, it was a bad play call. I think people, out of insecurity, I think people try to run away from ever being wrong and I don’t think that’s the game of life. I think everyone messes up. Everyone’s fallible inherently. So, it’s about learning from things. I’ll always be accountable. Like this answer is probably too long.” (laughter)
(On the play calling, how much do you like having Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith in your ear on game days to remind you of things? Is that something you encourage from him as far as certain things you want to get to?) – “I think on game day, the coaches all do an outstanding job, but namely Frank does an outstanding job of kind of adapting to the communication timing and being able to know the things to say and the timing to say them, and kind of keep me from deviating from a certain course or get me on to the right track. It’s collaborative in that we all are just trying to have the best play called that we have available to us. So however we get there, that communication starts with Frank, but goes to every position coach and assistant. People will chime in with the only standard being the idea of talking just to talk, that’s not. So we aren’t too heavy verbally on game day because people know to speak when adding a piece of information that’s helpful for the next decision.”
(How far in advance, there’s so little time in between plays and so much going on on the sidelines I’m sure, so how far in advance do you plan the plays? Are you one-two-three plays ahead and do you script plays at the beginning of the game for that matter?) – “So you script the first 24 to start the game off but typically on any down, I’m thinking one of three things. The next call, so the play is called and I have about three plays on my mind; one for an earned first down, one for zero to negative gain, and one for half the gain. So for instance, if it’s first-and-10, I’m thinking for the next play call while we’re lining up for first-and-10, second-and-5 or second-and-10. So you have those three so you can keep the tempo of the game and then you get to second down and then it goes to two scenarios, or I guess it’s three still. It’s your first-and-10 call, if you get no yardage what that third down and distance, and then if you’re somewhere in between. So you’re doing that on every play, at least that’s how I do it, every play for three hours, which is why you shouldn’t judge me so much in my postgame press conferences.” (laughter)
(Do you follow the 24?) – “Yeah, typically yeah. I mean, you just adjust usually the first couple plays. Usually the first 24 plays we really like. If you get off of them for a situational reason, usually I’ll go back to them. But at the same time, that’s not 100 percent because so often defenses are doing things that they’ve never put on tape before, so then you’re adjusting with that. There is a lot of adjustment.”
