With any player, especially at quarterback, I don't care if you're talking Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Drew Brees: you want to make sure to continue to hammer down the fundamentals, and it all starts with your feet. Everything starts with footwork.
Sean McVay
You show me anybody that's great in anything they do, I'll show you somebody that's persevered, demonstrated that mental toughness to overcome some obstacles and adversity.
One of the things that are consistent amongst all great leaders is they're a great teammate that is invested in the guys around them to raise the level of play. You do that by believing in guys and caring about them.
You learn about people when they do go through a little bit of adversity.
When you care about the players you are working with, that's when they want to play hard for you.
With the inexperience I do have, I feel so fortunate to be around Wade Phillips.
For whatever reason, I've always been interested in those types of things - leadership books and different ways to connect with people in a real, authentic, genuine type of way.
I think once you stop learning, you're going to stop growing.
We're trying to win football games, and whoever we feel like gives us the best chance is who's going to play behind center.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to be a head coach at some point.
It's not normal when you finish playing collegiate ball to be able to jump right into the NFL and work for Jon Gruden. That doesn't happen if you don't have your grandfather that has the connections and has earned the respect around this league. And for that, I feel very fortunate.
Some of my closest friends in life are guys that I was able to play high school football with.
Marist is a special place.
I've got a lot of respect for a handful of coaches, and there's a lot of great stuff put out there on film. So, I always want to stay up to speed on those current trends and figure out if you can steal something that fits your players and your system. I'm certainly not afraid to steal from some of these great coaches.
It's kind of ironic that the only Super Bowl I've been to as a fan was when the Rams played the Titans. I was at that game. My grandpa, when he was still involved in the NFL, he got me tickets for my birthday.
I probably don't have any room in my mind for anything but football. My dad tells me I'm a total vegetable outside of just knowing football.
It's funny, if you've ever met my grandfather, he's probably one of the most even-keeled men you'll ever meet.
The No. 1 job is to help a player reach their highest potential, and that's not possible without being able to relate with them. That's been helpful, and as far as my knowledge base is concerned, that stems from being around great coaches willing to share.
When you look at what we want our individual player to represent from that makeup, if you will, we're looking for mentally and physically tough players who are smart and want to compete. And when you say smart, you're talking about situational awareness. Guys that are instinctual. That are smart football players.
The only thing I can control is working as hard as I possibly can to do a good job and make people right on the opportunities that they've given me.
What I think about is about the opportunities that Mike Shanahan gave me as an inexperienced coach. I think about watching a Kyle Shanahan work. Just seeing the stuff he was running, his approach to different scenarios, and getting another understanding of what you can do as an offense... all of that helped me grow.
We're dealing with men here. What we're trying to do is help them become the best players they can be, and we're all collectively trying to win games. So what I always tell people is that the way you earn these players' respect is, do you make them a better football player?
It's always a consistent approach of trying to get better, listening and learning from everybody else, and then that will help you become a better leader.
Matt LaFleur's a great coach.
You look at Matt LaFleur and where he's been. It seems like successful quarterback play follows him.
Jon Gruden taught me the foundation of what I know about this game. Took me under his arm, taught me to see it from a big-picture perspective.
If you get a chance to coach against one of your mentors, and a guy that taught you almost kind of the foundation of what you know about this game, I think it would be a fun, humbling opportunity.
To be able to win a state championship my senior year with the coaches and with some of my closest friends in the world - that was a special memory.
As coaches, you want to be able to put your players in a system that's conducive to their success.
I have no life - other than I love football.
I think he's accomplished so much, I don't think it's fair to put me in the same category as Coach Payton. I think, hopefully, if you achieve even close to what he has in this league, then maybe you start to get mentioned.
I could go on and on about my support for Kirk Cousins, and I feel fortunate to have been able to work with a guy like that.
If we're going to ask our players to be coachable, we've got to be coachable as coaches as well. That displays an ownership and an accountability that we try to all have and makes the players more receptive to the messages we try to implement.
I think, in terms of looking at the trajectory and being around some of the same people, it's certainly flattering words, but I definitely have not done enough to be mentioned in the same sentence as Coach Payton.
That's one of the things I like about our business: our fraternity of coaches. As competitive as it is, guys find time to share when they can.
I think what we've tried to preach to our players is we're going to let the best players play.
I think people underestimate when you have a brace on your knee how much that truly restricts you.
What I do have is an appreciation for the fact that I've been very blessed and fortunate with timing, in getting opportunities that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten, if I weren't from a football family where my grandfather had so much success. I'm not naive enough to think otherwise.
I would say that I probably remember football stuff... but it's not like you see it once and then it's just there. I go back and watch film, watch plays, and, in my brain, I probably only have room for so much.
Love that guy, and you can't say enough good things about Brandin Cooks.
I've been around great veteran coaches, and they want to help you grow as a coach if you're willing to learn.
When you're a position coach, your next goal is to be a coordinator. While trying to be the best tight ends coach you can be, I always wanted to be an offensive coordinator at some point. When the opportunity presents itself, you want to make sure you capitalize on that.
When you talk about forming an offensive identity, it's about, first, let's figure out what our players do best.
My grandfather has a whole lot of respect for Coach Carroll and the way he handled himself and the contributions he made to the 49ers organization.
Since I got into coaching, Coach Carroll's been nothing but great to me and always been willing to help and share some advice and give a perspective.
I think, a lot of times, we talk about asking our players to be accountable. But I know that I'm imperfect. And if I can't admit a mistake, then what does that represent to our guys?
You always want to surround yourself with better people than you.
I love being in a city with great weather.
I like to be outdoors as much as possible.
There is a mutual respect that exists between coaches and players, and ultimately, it's about us trying to help them reach their highest potential.
