Tony Oden – December 15, 2018
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Friday, February 15, 2019
Safeties Coach Tony Oden
(There is a little familiarity here. You worked with Jim Caldwell and George Godsey and a lot of these guys seemed to have worked together too. How does that familiarity help you guys?) – “Any time you’re familiar with anything, it helps. Pros and cons go along with things, people’s personalities, people’s quirks or whatnot. They know that you work well with them. There’s always a getting-to-know-you process. If you know someone, you’ve already advanced to the next step. That definitely helps.”
(You’re one of the few holdovers from the last staff here. Do you think that’s a little asset probably for you and Coach Flores knowing you were here, you know what happened and you can be one of the guys to give him some insight going forward into the future?) – “The first thing I’ll say is it’s an honor to have the opportunity to stay. I think that is a good thing. I’m sure from both perspectives, there’s a lot of positives that go along with that. Obviously I do have some familiarity with the players. Players do have some familiarity with me, but yet there’s still a new influx of different information, different views, different ways to go about things. That’s new. Because it’s new, you’re always going to learn. That part is good. So I think we’ll both benefit from that.”
(What are some things that you’ve kind of gained from your first meetings with Coach Flores that lets you know he’s going to be a good leader for this team?) – “I think his demeanor is phenomenal. This organization has had good leaders in the past as well. One thing I’ll say with Coach (Flores) is that what he is to you guys, he is the same thing to us. He’s very honest, very open, very direct. He’s definitely a team-first person. He believes that. He walks the walk, he talks the talk.”
(Did you know Coach Flores before you took the job?) – “I did. I never worked with him before, but this is my 16th year in the league and this is like his 16th or 17th year in the league. We both having been in the back end before at some point, so we’ve been friendly over the years.”
(Did anything strike you about Coach Flores when you first discussed philosophies?) – “After he got hired, we had the opportunity to speak. It was pretty short and brief because he was being pulled in so many different directions; but I kind of had a feel for the guy and had a feel for the man. I knew he had great leadership characteristics just from talking. You know it when you see it. It’s like most, you feel it, you see it and you taste it. Those things haven’t changed. They’ve just been reiterated once you get to spend more time (with him). He’s going to do a great job because his message is always going to be the same – clear, direct, to the point – and everyone is always going to know where they stand.”
(Now that we’re two months removed from the season, how would you assess S Minkah Fitzpatrick’s rookie season?) – “He had a solid rookie season. His arrow is pointed up. He still has so much to learn; but the thing with him is that he’s willing to do it. He’s more than willing to do it. Everyone is going to be learning right now. Everyone is starting from a clear playing field, from that perspective. I’m excited to see him grow. I’m excited to see him taking more of a role if that happens. He has to earn those kinds of things like everyone else; but he is the right kind of guy. He has the right kind of skillset, mentally and physically. So it’s going to be exciting to watch him grow.”
(Anything about S Minkah Fitzpatrick stand out to you, either physically or…) – “I could go run down the whole list, but there’s nothing different than you guys have seen or haven’t seen. There’s no hidden things in regards to that. He has the skillset mentally and physically to do a lot. That’s a good thing. We’re excited to watch him grow in this system and learn in this system.”
(Adam Gase last year told us that he thought S Minkah Fitzpatrick had more value at safety. Do you agree with that?) – “That’s last year. This year is an entirely different team. We’re going to do thing Coach Flores’ way and (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Patrick) Graham’s way. Those things are still yet to be determined.”
(It’s unclear to you where S Minkah Fitzpatrick is better? You think he’s similarly able to help at both positions?) – “He can help in a whole bunch of different positons. Where he’s going to fit on our team right now, I can’t say that just yet. We’re still trying to evaluate our guys and plug and play into the things we want this year. He has the skillset to do a lot and that’s good.”
(How do you think S Reshad Jones played? Obviously he talked to us about he was used to playing strong safety and it was adjustment for him to play free. How did he adjust to that?) – “We’re talking about last year right? Someone told me this a long time ago and this is definitely not a copout. He said you can’t go forward if you’re looking in the rearview mirror and those kind of things. Last year is last year. This year, we’re going to focus on where we want the guys to be this year. Everything is still early in the process right now. We’re trying to match our guys here to the new system and see how things shake itself out. We’re just going to go forward from that and adjust things to where they are today.”
(What’s the next step for S Minkah Fitzpatrick? Where can he improve? He did so many things well, but can you point to something he can do better?) – “They all have things they can do better. I don’t know if there’s one thing I can put my finger on. Once again, there are some differences in things we’re going to do. So what he can improve on from last year may not be the same thing he can improve on this year. Like most rookies, just learning the NFL game and the changes in that, those are always going to be there greatest things that they can learn. Technique is technique. Each team is going to do something a little bit differently. This philosophy may be a little bit different. Just learning the game, learning the tempo and all of those kinds of things. The off-the-field things, as far as being a pro, those are things you can apply to every rookie early. Every rookie, in my opinion, going from their first year to their second year, is where they get their biggest gains because they already know what to expect. They come in and think they know, but until they get in and go through it daily, now they know what to expect, so now they can adjust accordingly in the offseason. They are not training for the Combine and pro days and all of that kind of stuff. Now is when their ceiling gets a little bit higher.”
(Did you have an exit meeting with your guys, or was their not one done? Have you met individually with S Reshad Jones, S T.J. McDonald, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, etc.?) – “There were conversations. There’s always conversations at the end of the season.”
(Without asking you to give away state secrets, what was your mission to S Minkah Fitzpatrick about where he could get better?) – “I told him, get some rest, take some time off and we’ll talk when you get back. We don’t want to start working too early. It’s good for those guys to get away and pause for a second, just like coaches.”
(How about with CB Xavien Howard? He had a breakthrough season this year. What do you say to somebody like that when they are at a level now?) – “Just keep going. Just like we were talking about, last year is last year and this year is this year. We’re always on a what have you done for me now, what have you done for me lately type of deal. He had a good year last year. (He has some) things to work on. I’m excited about that for him. I haven’t had any football conversations with him since the season, but the most important thing is what can you do from this moment on?”
(What have you sacrificed to get to this point in your career? It might be another career or for some players it’s food.) – “That’s easy for me. The thing I’ve sacrificed the most is my hair. (laughter) That’s it. My hairline when I started this profession, I had a nice, crisp hairline. Now, it’s lacking, so I’m going to blame it on football and lack of sleep and all of that kind of stuff. (laughter) No, seriously the biggest thing you sacrifice for us is stability. You have to move around a lot. We are living our dreams and we’re not forcing our families but our families are living our dreams with us as opposed to theirs. So there is more sacrifice for them than there is for us. When people talk about moving and talk about our profession, the very first thing I point the forward back is our family.”
(How many times have you moved?) – “More than my hands (can count).”
(Coming back and moving forward, having pieces like CB Bobby McCain, CB Xavien Howard, how do you anticipate moving forward and having those core pieces to work with starting a season?) – “They are definitely some phenomenal pieces. We’re still evaluating where things are going to go, where people are going to go, the new system and those types of things. That is yet to be determined. The one thing I’d say about those two guys is that they are smart players, good players and extinctive players. It’s exciting to see where they are going to fit in the new system.”
(Generically speaking, what are you looking for? What is your focus on? ‘This is the type of defensive back I want to coach. This is the type of guy I want in my secondary?’) – “Guys that can make some plays. (laughter) Guys that can stop them from catching it and if they do catch it, we can tackle them. Those are the guys we want. That’s a very generic way of saying it but at the end of the day, that’s what they have to do. Stop them from catching it and if they do catch it, tackle them and keep them out of the end zone. (laughter)”
