BRIAN CALLAHAN: So I said yesterday, a lot of things under evaluation, and a lot of things that you self-reflect on with the start that we've had so far and things we've got to get better at, and one of the things I think is going to help our football team, help me be a better head coach for our team is I'm going to hand over the play calling to Bo, and part of that process is -- and part of the decision making in that process is that Bo has been -- had some interim experience calling. He's been with a rookie quarterback before. That part of it will make it a little bit seamless in that regard.
The other part of it is that our offensive staff and our game planning process and system is going to remain in place. It's still a collaborative process. We rely on everybody to do their part. Nick is still the offensive coordinator. He'll still maintain his same exact routine and process that he's gone through to help me, and then Bo is going to step in as the play caller on Sunday to allow me to do a little more with our team and with all three phases, pay more time and attention to those things and less in the weeds of getting ready to game plan.
One of the things I told the team and told the players after our game is that, look, everyone owns a mirror. We can all look at it. We can all see where we need to be better and what can help us be better, and I think this is one of the best things for us at the moment to help me do a better job as a head coach and be more present and available for the football team and less involved in just the day-to-day minutiae of getting ready to call a game.
I think it's going to be positive for us. I think it'll help. I think at the end of the day, too, for our players, it's the same thing. There's nothing I love more than offensive game planning and calling plays, and for me to be able to do this for the betterment of our team and to put us in better position, I think we should get the same from everybody that's involved in the process.
Q. How did Nick take it when you decided to jump over him and go to Bo?
BRIAN CALLAHAN: He took it well. He's a professional. He understands that's the way that these things go sometimes. But his role isn't changing in terms of what he's doing and how he's doing it. His role in the process, his role on game day, all those things are exactly the same as they were before.
And again, the play calling thing sometimes gets a little bit overblown, if you will, because everyone has got a role, and we've all got a process. Bo is still in charge of the 3rd down game plan, and Tyke and Mike McCoy do the red zone and Nick does all the base downs and Randy does the screens. So all those things are all going to stay the same. It doesn't change that process any bit whatsoever. It's just the plays are at the at the end of the day on Sunday coming out of somebody else's mouth.
I'll be still very present in the process. I'm involved in it. But it is going to allow me to do more around the team and in both other phases besides offense in special teams and defense.
To me at the end of the day it's pretty normal in this league for things like that. This isn't some seismic shift or crazy change. It's just trying to help me do my job a little better and let some other people take on a little bit more.
Q. You were hired largely because you were a play caller. It seems like a self-demotion, if you will, or whatever. What's your feeling at needing to give it up when it was a big part of the reason that you were the choice here?
BRIAN CALLAHAN: Yeah, again, it's a pretty easy thing to do when it comes to trying to help the football team win and do the best thing for what the job is. I got hired to be the head coach, and part of that process was being involved on offense, but my job is to be the head coach of the football team.
I think that this allows me to do that job a little bit better, pay more attention to some things that might require my attention and be more present.
All those things are normal. I think it's all part of where we're at. We're 0-3, so we're trying to get better. I think that's my same message to the players as it is here at the podium.
Q. It sounds more like it's you trying to get more of a big-picture feel for yourself as it is kind of the disappointment in your play calling?
BRIAN CALLAHAN: Yeah, I have zero disappointment in my play calling. I don't have any disappointment in that at all. But it's just more just so I can see the rest of it, see the big picture better and do a better job of it.
Q. You've talked about, I guess, two parts of coaching, schematic and then position coach, dealing with technique, fundamentals and all that. How will Bo divide his time and try to do both well?
BRIAN CALLAHAN: Well, that's why we have a whole staff still. That's why I'm still involved in it. I think that everybody still has -- that's why nothing has changed. There's no disruption to the routine. There's no disruption to the weekly process. That's all the same. The system doesn't change. We're still going to run the offense we've worked and repped and invested our time and energy into for the last, whatever it is, almost two years.
That's not going to change any. So Bo is still going to coach the quarterback. That's still a part of his job. Again, he's taking over the play calling responsibility on Sunday, so he'll have to be in a couple more things that maybe he wasn't involved in directly as the quarterback coach, but the roles and the processes are still in place, and he's got a lot of help and a lot of people here that do a really good job to help put him in position to call the game Sunday.
Q. You said nothing will change, but how that will work going forward as far as Bo working with Cam Ward as far as what plays he wants up, wants down and that overall --
BRIAN CALLAHAN: It's all the same. Those conversations happen with all of us anyway. I'm in that quarterback room with those guys, and they were all a part of it, both Bo and Nick. Those guys are together all day long with the quarterbacks.
That doesn't change any. Those conversations weren't private to me only. Those guys were all in the mix.
Again, it should -- the disruption to what is happening and how we do it is going to be very minimal.
Q. Is this related to some of the issue that you discussed yesterday? Some of the questions surrounding you and the decisions in the first three weeks, is this the kind of thing that you want to --
BRIAN CALLAHAN: I think it's less of that. That's all a part of the process certainly, but yeah, I think it's more just so I can be a better head coach and not just an offensive play caller. I think that's the biggest thing for -- I think that's what we need right now, and that's my job to make that decision and put myself in that spot to help us win football games, and like I said before, I don't have any preconceived notions about it. I've been open about if this was the best thing for us, then I would do it, and I think at the moment that's where we're at.
Q. Would you consider Mike given that he's got the most experience as a play caller?
BRIAN CALLAHAN: Yeah, there was a consideration certainly. Mike has been in the role here just for a shorter amount of time, and he's a very valuable piece for me. Mike has been both from a schematic standpoint and a personal standpoint, he's been phenomenal, and I think, again, the idea was to try to take as much disruption and minimize that for the process, and I think everybody has got a really good role on offense right now. They know what's expected. They know how to do it. They've done a really nice job.
Trying to keep as much disruption away from that as possible and feel good about where we're at.
Q. What makes Bo a good coach, and were you afraid you might lose him at some point this off-season?
BRIAN CALLAHAN: I mean, Bo interviewed with some teams for some coordinator jobs. He's widely respected around the league. I've got a lot of respect for how he goes about his business. I know the type of coach he is. I know what he's capable of, and I know how he goes about his process.
All those things are all really positive for us, and I'm glad we have him, and I think he's going to do a really good job.
Q. You and Chad and Mike have been pretty open about the way that you lean on each other. How much have discussions with those guys led to making this decision?
BRIAN CALLAHAN: It's all part of the process. We communicate daily. We talk about everything. There's nothing that goes on over the course of the day that I don't have a conversation with both of those guys at different points, sometimes together.
But our communication I think is what leads to our strength and our ability to operate, and these jobs sometimes require some self-reflection and decisions that maybe sometimes personally you struggle with and you've got to look real hard at yourself and do what's best for the team, and I think that's ultimately where we're at and what we're trying to do.
We want to win. We want to win games. We want to put our team in great position to do so. That's what the fun in this profession is. It's not fun losing football games, and we want to put ourselves in a better spot, and I think that was all part of the discussion.
Q. Was that something that they suggested or just endorsed?
BRIAN CALLAHAN: No, this was something that I felt like would help us the most. We talked through it. I think we talked through the pros, cons, all those things, and ultimately at the end of the day felt like this was going to be the best thing for our football team moving forward and allow us to allow me to do a better job as a head coach and allow our coaches to coach and our players to play. I think that's the general mindset from the whole thing.
Again, this isn't like a -- this happens all the time. It is not an abnormal process for guys in these roles and for how these processes work and trying to be better at the end of the day, and all I ask of our players, and I'm no different. I'm trying to do a better job at the job that I have.
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