Q. Where do you feel the team is right now? How do y'all feel about the improvements you're making under DeMeco?
CAL McNAIR: You see it every day. The team is getting better. That's really what we want to see during this time period.
What he says is iron sharpens iron, so he has the guys working against each other trying to get better. We're looking forward to getting to training camp which is where really I'll get started for the season. It's coming along really well.
Q. What are you excited about?
CAL McNAIR: On the team?
Q. What excites you?
CAL McNAIR: Just everything. I love the offense. I'm a big fan of this offense. Excited to see the defense come together, under DeMeco. Watching the team really come together is really exciting for me because it's all about the team coming together, playing great ball.
Q. Yesterday, putting J.J. into the Ring of Honor, what went into that process, the conversations with him? What does it mean to put him in?
HANNAH McNAIR: A think a couple years ago Janice started that conversation with him, When you're ready, you come back, we're going to treat you right and put you in the Ring of Honor. That conversation started before with Cal's mom and J.J.
CAL McNAIR: He's been a dominant player in the league and for us, meant a lot to our community. So we're really excited to have this happen.
HANNAH McNAIR: Best defensive player.
Q. He says, I'm coming back home. How does that hit you guy when he says something like that?
HANNAH McNAIR: It's right. This is his home. It's right. It feels really good.
CAL McNAIR: Feels really good. Excited to have him back. After he retired, we reached out to him to see what he would like to do because we had talked several years ago about bringing him back. He was excited for that. He and his family will be back October 1st and it will be a big day, happy day for all of us.
HANNAH McNAIR: His whole family. It's really special, what we're all about.
Q. (No microphone.)
CAL McNAIR: Well, this is a day for J.J. really his day, to celebrate him. He picked this day, so we wanted to acknowledge that and have this be his day.
HANNAH McNAIR: He's all about his family. We recognize that. We're all about family. So to be able to do it on the Steelers game, to be able to have them coming here is the cherry on top.
Q. What have you seen so far from C.J. and Will, your impressions?
CAL McNAIR: They're really great kids. They are young. I shouldn't say 'kids'. I am older, so... Maybe I can't say that.
They're really great athletes, great attitudes. They're coachable. They're great teammates. We're excited to see their growth.
HANNAH McNAIR: They're hungry. I would say they're hungry, ready to learn. It's contagious for the guys around them. You can see that. They're all ready to win.
Q. Part of what J.J. said was that families go through things, they get stronger through things. DeMeco being a head coach here, that moment, bringing J.J. back into this, how meaningful is it? Where are you at as an organization embracing where he's entered into this?
HANNAH McNAIR: I would say we had a pretty good year. Pretty good year.
CAL McNAIR: It's just starting. We're having a lot of fun. We had a little fun, a little different thing you saw on Friday where we let out a little bit, Hey, something's coming on Monday. You see us doing different things, having fun in different ways. That's part of it.
But it's just a beginning, so we're really excited about where things are going.
HANNAH McNAIR: When you talk about growth, yes, you do go through hard times, you learn a lot. It's how you deal with that and how you grow, where you go. So we are going up. We've learned a lot in the past few years. I think that's taking us to the next level.
Q. What was it like to have your mom out here?
CAL McNAIR: It's very cool. She loves the team, loves football. Couldn't wait to get out here. So we're excited to have her.
Q. What is her breakdown of the deals, trades, draft?
HANNAH McNAIR: She was in the draft room. She loved it. She loves this. This is her other family. We're all her family, so... She's just as passionate about this as anybody. Her and Bob brought this here, so I would say they're excited.
CAL McNAIR: Yeah.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports