Q. Pete, I was just wondering, regarding the 49ers defense, if you could talk about what Fred Warner does for that defense.
PETE CARROLL: He's a great player. He's the leader, it seems, and he's everywhere, in the running and the passing game. He's a really good blitzer. He makes big plays. He comes through. But he's a really good football player. I think they've got about everything they could hope for in a middle linebacker.
Q. Ugo mentioned earlier in the year that during the off-season he worked with a number of wide receivers. He also mentioned George Kittle in particular. I'm wondering how you've seen Ugo adapt to different guys that he's had to cover this year.
PETE CARROLL: He's been matching up well. He really knows how we're playing the different coverages and the techniques and stuff, so he mixes his looks really well. He's hard to figure out. He's a good disguiser in terms of pressuring and all of that. He's not had trouble with the taller guys or the smaller guys, so he's doing good. He just has banked on his experience, and he's learned a lot in a short time.
Q. Pete, it seems like nobody's benefited more from Carlos Dunlap's rival than Jarran Reed. He's had 24 pressures the last seven games, 12 quarterback hits. How specifically does having that premier proven edge guy help a rusher from the three tac, one tac role, and what have you seen specifically from Reed the last few games that's allowed him to have that success?
PETE CARROLL: I think in a seven-span game, it gives you a chance to get 22, 23 -- 24 pressures. It totally helps him. You know, just the factor of the push just makes the spacing more available. It makes the quarterback have to move a little bit more, and all of those things help the other guys. So he's been a big factor, and it's not just the rushes that he brings.
It's really the difference -- the breakdown of the pocket for the other guys. And Jarran Reed has had a really good run from that. That's a lot of the responsibility could be put back on what Carlos is bringing.
Q. I was also wondering if you could provide an update on Marquise Blair. It's been a few months now since his energy. What's it looking like for him potentially being back for the off-season program?
PETE CARROLL: I haven't seen him in about ten days now, but his spirits are good. He's working really good. He's doing great on his recovery. It's not going to be any problems for him getting back as far as everything I heard. The thing I like is his spirit is really positive and upbeat about returning, and he's working real hard at it. Thanks for asking.
Q. Hey, Pete, I feel like guys like Jamal Adams and Carlos Dunlap have taken over the headlines defensively the past few weeks, but Bobby Wagner once again putting together a pro bowl season, leading the team in tackles. I'm just wondering what you can say about his consistency and his contributions this year, what it's meant to the team.
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, I think Bobby's done a great job offing in the center of it and keeping everybody's heads in line and really helping us set kind of the style of play and the tempo of learning and practice and all. Bobby is such a great practice player and so intent in doing everything right that he just sends a great message because he is the voice of the group. As guys have come and gone and then they've come back to us, he and KJ and Diggsy, they've really been the steadies, keeping everything connected.
Bobby's a great football player, and he continues to have huge impact, and his numbers just haven't dropped off at all. He continues to be such a big factor for us in so many ways other than just the tackles he makes.
Q. Yeah, Pete, what is it about D.J. Reed that's allowed him to make the transition to playing on the outside as well as he has? It seems like most of his experience coming to you guys was more inside and safety and stuff like that.
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, he's got great awareness. He's got great quickness. He's got world class quick feet. You put that with the awareness and the savvy that he has, he can get to places, he can stick to guys. He's got a knack for making plays. He's got a really good hand-eye coordination in the timing on the ball and all that. So he makes himself available for play making.
He's got a lot of great attributes. He's just a different package guy than we've had. But he's a ballplayer, and I mean all of us have seen that. We've seen it in the kick returns. Everything he's done and special teams and all of that, he just makes good decisions and good choices. He gets it. He's really bright.
So all of those are just -- you check all the boxes there.
Q. Is there still any chance of Phillip Dorsett coming back at all or any update on him?
PETE CARROLL: I don't think Phillip is going to make it -- I hate to cut him out. If we were fortunate to be playing a month from now, but he's working hard. I saw him working again today in the weight room. He's busting it. He's doing a lot of good stuff, but it's going to be a haul for him to make it back.
Q. Pete, back to D.J. Reed, no front office is ever going to hit or bat a thousand, whether it's draft picks, free agents, whatever, but with that, how important is it to get lucky on occasion? Something like this where a guy falls in your lap, but also you didn't project him to be an outside corner, and now he's kind of turned into a great option for you. Is that a part of some good fortune along the way that comes with trying to get to a Super Bowl?
PETE CARROLL: If I don't address this, then I'll just have to accept the fact that we're just lucky on this one. I don't think this was luck. I think John knew. John had it. John and his guys that do the evaluations, they knew he was a good enough football player to play nickel, safety, or corner. That's what came right in from the first day we were talking about him.
I think the quickness of his transition is what we're really surprised by, how easy it was for him to learn and to jump in, but our guys thought he was going to be a big factor for us. You know, think about it, we've hit some of these guys, and we've done a nice job of finding guys that can help us in this kind of situation, whether we have to trade for them or claim them. I think it's way more than luck. I think it's the ability to discern and figure it out and know who's coaching them and the style and all that kind of stuff. John's put all that together again in another situation.
Q. Sorry, that might be on me. For some reason, I thought last week or a week ago, you mentioned you didn't view him as an outside corner when you first got him.
PETE CARROLL: I didn't. John did. That's the importance. We work together, and he helps me out sometimes when I make mistakes. Fortunately, as it started to happen, we saw some opportunities for him to play, we got the conversation going, and I said, sure enough, let's try him. There was no question that he could factor in. The only problems were my shortcomings.
Q. What do you see out of the 49ers? I know, obviously, the season has been rough on them, but for them to kind of bounce back and play well against a team playing for a playoff spot last week against Arizona. What does that tell you about a team when things aren't going well and they can still pull that performance?
PETE CARROLL: This is a championship team. They have all that in their heart and their background ask their experience, their coaching staff, all of that. For them to withstand all of the challenges that they've had and to hold it and be able to come back and keep playing football games where they play really good across the board, that's just a statement of who they are. Kyle's done a great job with them. Robert's done a great job with the defensive side. They're very together. They're a tough football team regardless of what their record is. That's deep in the makeup of the players and the coaches and all that. They've got it.
Q. On a related note, is it kind of strange to be finishing out in Arizona instead of down in Santa Clara?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, everything's strange. You know, everything's strange. It doesn't really matter where we play these games because there's nobody there. It doesn't have anything to do with the venue to us. We're pretty familiar and comfortable with going there, so that's a good thing. It would be different if we were playing at Stanford or something like that.
But, yeah, it's just been another unusual issue in a season. We're playing in somebody else's stadium, so that's how it goes.
Q. Robert Saleh is one of the few guys who's left from here and been able to build an elite defense. Why do you think he's been able to be successful in that way when some of the other guys who have left haven't been able to?
PETE CARROLL: That's an interesting way to put your question. I like that. Well, I don't know that it's that much different than the other guys. I don't know. Maybe it is. But when you have an opportunity to draft like they've been able to draft the past few years, you get a chance to accumulate talent. They've done a great job of drafting, and they have benefited from -- I think there was a time when they had like four number 1s in the front four, stuff like that. Who gets that chance? Washington did.
It makes sense. When those guys show up, man, it makes such a difference. This has been a defense that's been really centered around what the front four guys have been able to create, and so Robert's done a great job of putting it together and then taking care of the back end too. They're great against explosive plays.
All of our coaches have tried to do the same thing. I would think all of our guys would be able to benefit from the good drafting, and I think all of our guys can ball coach. So Robert's done a magnificent job. I'm really fired up for his future and what's coming up and totally endorse his ability to take on the next level and be a head coach and do it really well.
I did everything I could to avoid answering the question the way you asked me.
Q. No, I get what you're saying. To D.J. Reed, with his size, is he maybe an example of how important like maybe short area quickness becomes in the league, where guys are lining up with bunch formations and stuff versus maybe the length and long arm guys that you guys made popular to value?
PETE CARROLL: Why did you bring up short when you're talking about D.J.? I don't understand. In this game of football, there ain't nothing that replaces quickness. You know, quickness is one of the most important elements in all phases of every position you play, and when you have -- like an example is like Doug Baldwin. Doug Baldwin had magnificent quickness and change of direction, COD and stuff, and it made him a great player.
D.J. has a chance to be an excellent football player over the long haul because he has that special element and it makes up for so many other things. One of the things I have to do well is be able to adapt to the different makeups of the players and what they bring us and not be short-sighted and closed minded. Guys can only come in one size and shape and all that. So this is a good opportunity and illustration of that. Way back in the day when I was at the Jets, we drafted Aaron Glenn as a first round corner, and he was about the same size as D.J. is, but there again, the special qualities outweighed any of the kind of categories you like to put a guy in.
The other part of the question -- let's not talk about corners. I think for the other positions -- the safeties, the linebackers -- the game being more opened up and the field being more available to the quarterbacks and all, the quickness does make a difference, and you're seeing smaller linebackers play, and the safeties and linebackers, they cross over at times. That's to get the athleticism and the quickness on the field because of the space that we're playing in.
In the old days, there's a lot of tight formations and everybody jumping over the pile and three yards and a cloud of dust. You needed to be big and strong and stout and all that. That's not the game we're playing anymore, and you're right in observing that.
Q. Pete, we're coming up on Black Monday for NFL coaches. I'm wondering who or what has informed your decision-making regarding the hiring of assistant coaches as well as the managing of staff, if you have any thoughts.
PETE CARROLL: Say that again. Who or what? I was distracted by you and Greg wearing your U boat outfits. Where did you park your U boat? I'm sorry. Will you start over again.
Q. That's all right. It's a 15-yard unsportsmanlike. Who or what has informed you about hiring assistant coaches as well as managing staffs during the season? Do you have a couple of prime directives in what governs your decision-making?
PETE CARROLL: That's an interesting question. No. No, I don't have anybody other than John and I talk through everything. We just try to figure stuff out. I don't know where I would go. I would say this, in making decisions, I'm constantly drawn to talking to people that I know real well who know the people that we're dealing with to try to glean as much information as we can about an individual -- makeup, background, history, how they react, their demeanor, their mentality, all that kind of stuff. We try to draw out all the information that we can.
So in that regard, I'll use anybody that can help me, and John is the primary guy that I deal with if I was going to lean on somebody. But then there are coaches that I have faith in that I've known for a long time and really trust what they know and see, and I'll listen to them carefully as well. Is that what you're getting at kind of?
Q. Well, I didn't know if anybody in your past, either in the first two times in the NFL, have influenced you as far as what to look for and what to avoid in coaching talent?
PETE CARROLL: I couldn't even pinpoint it because it's just been such a menagerie of people on that. Really, I think in the years at USC, when I was really in charge of everything and there was nobody else there to even talk to, you know, those nine years there, we had a lot of movement, guys coming and going and all that. I think I had generate my own expectations and my own standards because I only had guys on my staff that were friends that I could talk to, and I didn't have any guys in the organization at all.
I will say I do have some particular people that I lean on, the ones that I've known over the years that I can count on, guys I know really well. Carl Smith would be a guy in particular that he and I knew a lot of coaches, and we would do our homework on guys, and I always relied on Carl to help out and stuff.
Q. Going back to the 49ers, how valuable is their fullback Juszczyk, and what does he bring to their offense?
PETE CARROLL: Oh, he does everything. He's a great player. He's as meaningful a part of the offense as anybody in the NFL, other than the quarterback position. He has so much that he offers on offense, and he's so good at so many things. I think he's in the Pro Bowl for the fifth or sixth time in a row because he's the only one doing what he does. He's that special.
He can play tight end. He can be out of the backfield. He can lead on all the blocking principles they have. He can carry the football. He's good in the red zone and on short yardage. He's just a great football player.
I think it's a really great statement that Kyle made when he chose him early on. He went out and sought him out and paid him and knew exactly what he was going to do with him. Boy, they haven't missed a beat. He's really a big time player.
Q. And you mentioned that quarterback C.J. Beathard expected to start. What do you see on film from him?
PETE CARROLL: He looks very similar to the other quarterbacks as they've played. They get the ball out fast. They make good quick decisions. They're good on the perimeter. They don't expose the ball. He hasn't thrown a pick yet. Big and strong. And when he has the chance to run, he makes yards. That's kind of like Jimmy and all the other guys, they've been pretty much the same. So the offense really functioned well last week in his big start, and they look really good.
Q. Back when you made all your draft picks this spring, you guys focused on getting guys that you thought could be ready to play quick given all the circumstances of the year and so forth. Now that we're here at the end of the regular season and those guys have had a chance, how do you think that decision has worked out for you with the guys you've brought in, the impact they've been able to have this first season, and how much do you think it will inform how you guys go in the future with your decision-making in that regard?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, we have got really good results from these guys. These guys have all factored in and done something to help us win. Other than the fact we haven't been able to get Darrell out, all the rest of the guys have really fit in. It hasn't been too big for any of them. They've been able to handle it. They've responded well. They've played well early. They're growing now. Guys are experienced players for us and contributing.
So I think there's nothing to change us, I think, moving forward from that. The care that we took in the individual guys and who they were in their makeup. It was really important for us. I don't know why we would change. We really like this class. If we could do it again, we'd be thrilled.
Q. I like the U boat thing, Pete. I've never gotten that before. Chris Carson talked to us before the season about his contract. He wants to be in Seattle. Made it sound like he wanted to have one already. Where do you think his head is on that and where the motivation might be now that he's coming back from the injury and a big chunk of his contract year lost to injury?
PETE CARROLL: I think Chris is really one of us, and he's fit into the program great. What he said, he obviously means, but I do know Chris has got to -- he'll look out for himself, so he's got to see what the situation is. We would love for him to be with us. He's been a terrific part of our team, and hopefully we can keep that going. In my mind, I can't imagine anything else happening.
But from the business side of it, he's got a chance to see what's going on, and so hopefully we'll be able to figure it out and keep him.
Q. Is he as close to the Marshawn Lynch persona at running back than you've had since Lynch was in his heyday?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, his style is so obvious. I just love the way he does it. There's only one Marshawn. Marshawn is one of a kind, and he was an extraordinary everything -- player, mentality, and everything that he was about. One of a kind. But as far as hitting the line of scrimmage and letting guys know who you're playing against and leaving the message behind when he hits you, the creativity and his hand-eye coordination, his beautiful catching ability, all that kind of stuff. I think he's what we're looking for.
That's why Carlos was such an important get for us too because Carlos is very similar in that regard. Both those guys really bring it, and we love that style of play, and it adds to us, and it gives us the approach that we can play off of.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports