Q. Urban, after a performance like today, what do you tell the team afterwards? Does this in any way diminish the optimism you have for the remainder of the season?
URBAN MEYER: No. I know -- for those that know me or maybe don't know me, no, I love our quarterback. I love our owner. I love the fact that we have a good core group of players.
I was extremely disappointed with everything about today, but you keep going and keep working. There's times we played excellent football. Today wasn't one of those days. So we've got another chance to prove to our home crowd that we love them, care about them, and we're going to play hard next week against the Falcons. That's the way I look at it.
Q. Coach, there's one thing to not play your best or play excellent football. It's a whole 'nother thing to play what you guys put out there on the field today ten games in. Do you have any idea where it went wrong and how it unraveled to that point?
URBAN MEYER: Yeah, defensively first downs, we couldn't get off the field on our first drive. They took basically the whole first quarter, but that's a very good football team too, by the way. I think they're kind of hitting their stride, very good players, good scheme.
You saw what I saw. About four times they had a chance to get off the field and we didn't do it. Offensively, I think we had three and out and then a turnover. We had four plays in the first quarter, I think.
Then Trevor, I thought, in the group took them right down the field and kicked a field goal, and that was the first half.
But to answer your question, yeah, I'm not going to panic. That was a very poor display of football in so many areas, but go back to work and try to beat the Falcons next week.
Q. Could you address Fernando Lovo leaving, going back to Texas?
URBAN MEYER: Yeah, he came to me last week, and he wants to be an athletic director, and they offered him a really good job. I knew that. Fernando's like a son to me, so all positive.
Q. When you and Trevor --
URBAN MEYER: Nothing behind door No. 2 with that one (Laughter).
Q. When you and Trevor were talking at the end of the game, what was that conversation with him like? Was it trying to just keep his spirits up because he's never been through this?
URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I just love the guy. How do you not? The guy, it's all good, it's all work, it's all positive. You saw what I saw. He took the field, tempo, moving the ball.
I love Cam Robinson. He kept going and going and going even after he got dinged. There's so many great things. That's why you get your ass kicked and there's going to be a day when we don't get our ass kicked here. It's coming. I know that guy is going to be a part of it, that 6 foot whatever it is quarterback. I care deeply for that guy.
Q. Coach, you guys are already kind of thin at the wide receiver position. What could that injury to Jamal Agnew mean for the rest --
URBAN MEYER: Devastating. He's our -- we all know what kind of person he is, talented guy, fast guy. So we'll know more tomorrow, but that's a hit square in the jaw. That's a problem.
Q. Urban, in terms of the play calling, what were your conversations both in game, and I know clearly you haven't had a chance to watch the tape back. But looking at last week, looking at this week, what have your conversations been with Darrell Bevell?
URBAN MEYER: A lot of respect for Bev. I think it's -- I've never -- it's a little bit like the quarterback. I'm very transparent with our staff. If I think it's a really bad play call or lack of execution, we address it. We've tried to adapt a little bit.
I was really disappointed today because we had some things that I thought were things that Trevor was really good at, and we just never got to it because we just didn't play well.
So, yeah, Bev's an excellent football coach, and so is Schotty, and those guys work together. Obviously, the product's got to improve here quickly, but I have confidence they'll do it. We'll do it.
Q. Seven games left, and you hate to start asking about staff changes. With seven games left, there was a report today that you've been really harsh on the running backs coach and the receivers coach and they've been taking the brunt of maybe your criticisms behind the scenes. Is there any truth to that?
URBAN MEYER: There's a report, you said?
Q. There was a report today.
URBAN MEYER: No, the only report, all due respect, is the report from me. Very disappointed on offense right now, special teams. There's times of defense. No, I mean, it's -- once again, there will be nothing behind door No. 2. We're a very transparent staff, and I'm very transparent and have always been.
I have high expectations. When someone's not performing well, yeah, we have hard conversations, but that's the game of football. So that report is incorrect. I mean, am I -- I don't know about the word hard. Do I have high expectations for position groups? Absolutely. Very high expectation. If it's not fulfilled, then we have to have a conversation about it.
I can assure you it's not -- I can't remember receivers and what?
Q. Running backs.
URBAN MEYER: There's not focus on that. We spread it around a little bit.
Q. The third down penalties on defense, there were a few times in the first half where you guys got a stop and a penalty gave San Francisco the first down. How can you move past that and get it through to the defense that those are mistakes you can't make?
URBAN MEYER: There was a holding and a sack, right?
Q. Personal foul and a holding. Both on the captain.
URBAN MEYER: Was it Rayshawn?
Q. Both of them. Defensive holding on third down and the ejection for punching someone.
URBAN MEYER: That's not like him. I know he had a taunting one earlier in the year or something. I'll chat with him tomorrow. Once again, there's -- the holding, I didn't see it. The fight, I saw something going on off to the side. It looked like two guys going after each other.
What can you do? I'm going to go address it. He is a captain. He's very well respected, respected by me, but we've got to get that fixed.
Q. Urban, that's where I was going to ask you as well. Do you feel like you're in a position where you can be hard on a veteran like that when they make a mistake and they get ejected? What's the balance?
URBAN MEYER: The days of being hard, in my opinion, I think it's the days of being honest. 15 years ago, it was a whole different animal, and that's at all levels. Being hard, especially a grown man like Rayshawn Jenkins, what the heck's going on, man? Let's get that corrected. He'd be the first one, why the heck? There's no defiance. If there were defiance, it would be a problem.
So we're just going to have a grown man conversation. You can't do that, especially in your position, any position.
Q. Coach, you've talked a lot about building the confidence of this young team over the course of the year and how you need that confidence to play with it. What does a game like today due to the confidence?
URBAN MEYER: It hurts it. I think we won two out of three at one point. So you started feeling good. You got victory meals. People starting to pep their step around here a little bit. Defense was one of the top defenses in the last four games. You kind of feel a little juice going, and then you play like that.
We've got to get them back. That's my job, that's our staff's job and our leaders' job. That was a sting to it, but we'll be back.
Q. You mentioned one time overconfidence is just as bad as not being confident. Do you feel some players started to get a little overconfident?
URBAN MEYER: You'd have to ask them. I would be shocked. I think defensively they're feeling pretty good about themselves because they're playing very good, and today we didn't play very good.
Q. Dan Mullen was fired for the first time in his life today.
URBAN MEYER: She just told me that.
Q. What was your reaction to Dan?
URBAN MEYER: He's one of my close friends.
He's a guy that was with me 15-plus years. I didn't see that one coming. I know the expectations in Florida. I lived it. It is a premier place. Dan and Megan are dear friends. I'm sure Shelley talked to Megan. So I'll call him tonight. It's a tough profession.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports