Q. The responsibilities that Press and Jim Bob Cooter and Mike McCoy will have in terms of -- how do you envision forming the game plan and their roles?
DOUG PEDERSON: Sure. Mike McCoy is the quarterback coach. He's going to coach the quarterbacks. He'll also be involved with game planning. That's one of the things I like to do in the places I've been is we like to interject everybody and their ideas, but Mike will coach the quarterbacks.
Jim Bob as a pass game coordinator can assist the coordinator. He can assist -- it's just another way of looking at it without coaching a position, right. It's another way of breaking down defenses, help Press wherever he needs help. He can assist in the tight end room or the receiver room or wherever it might be, and then also help us with game planning.
Everything will run through Press Taylor. He is the offensive coordinator. Between he and I we'll make the final decisions on everything that we do offensively.
Q. Every coach on your staff has NFL experience. How important was that and how much was that a factor in the hiring?
DOUG PEDERSON: I think it's important. I don't think it's the end-all be-all type of thing that they have NFL experience. However, I'm coming into an opportunity as a new head coach again, even though I've been a head coach, and I want to make sure there are guys that have great experience, great teaching, great knowledge, not only of the game of football but what we're going to teach offensively with schematics.
I looked into the college world to bring guys up. I've had guys in Philadelphia where they came from college. You always want to hire the best guys, and some of these guys have actual NFL experience playing, and I think that's important, as well.
Q. How much do you feel like the role of the passing game coordinator on top of a quarterback coach, on top of an offensive coordinator, is that in your mind something that's becoming more necessary in the game today, or did you just feel for this particular situation it was the right thing to do?
DOUG PEDERSON: You know, it's always the interesting question, right, why a pass game coordinator or a run game coordinator on defense, why a passing game coordinator on offense. I just think, too, there's a lot of -- with the technology and the data and the availability of information that's out there, it's again, another set of eyes to help us when we put game plans together. It helps us break down all the data, all the information that we're getting from Exos or PFF or whatever it might be on our players, on our opponents. Some of it's analytical obviously.
Having those guys in place to -- because as a head coach you've got a lot of responsibilities doing other things. You're diving into the defense, you're diving into special teams, you're in a meeting over here, I'm talking with Trent or whatever it might be, so having that extra guy, offense, defense, really benefits the coordinator, but it can really help me, as well.
Q. As a follow-up, this is a little bit off topic. When you were being courted for this job, did you --
DOUG PEDERSON: We didn't go on any dates. (Laughter.) I did get a meal out of it.
Q. Had you taken a deep dive into this franchise over what has transpired over the last decade --
DOUG PEDERSON: As far as just --
Q. What has gone wrong? What is --
DOUG PEDERSON: It's hard for me to speak to what has gone wrong or is wrong or whatever. I don't know, quite frankly, and I really don't care about that. What I care about is moving forward from two weeks ago when I was hired. That's what we're trying to change. That's what I'm trying to change. I'm trying to turn this into a winning program, a winning organization.
Do you learn from the past? Of course. You study it, of course. But at the same time, my focus has always been a forward-thinking approach to everything we do.
Q. When you look at this roster, what do you see?
DOUG PEDERSON: I see talent, honestly. I see -- is it perfect? No. We just finished up two weeks of evaluations with the staff that came in here, so obviously getting those guys on board with the players that we have -- look, every year there's turnover in the NFL, right? Every roster goes through, every team goes through the same process. But when I see -- you see flashes. You see the offense taking strides throughout the course of the year. You see the defense making those strides.
Now it's about just we've got to be consistent every week. There's got to be consistency, and there's got to be ownership with that.
Are we going to go out and add talent? Yeah, we're going to add talent. We're going to add competition. We're going to bring value to the roster. Every team does that, and we're no exception to that.
But I see talent here. I said I think in my opening remarks a couple weeks ago that it's not an overnight fix, and it's going to be a fix that we've got to do it one player at a time, one coach at a time, and get it turned around.
Q. What stood out about Phil Rauscher? It's been a major concern around both injuries and the lack of production. You talked about your staff has plenty of experience. He's got eight years in the league, but one as an interim and one as the offensive line coach. What stood out about him?
DOUG PEDERSON: I think the way his guys have played for him. There's been a lot of stability, consistency with his offensive line. For me, too, he's a great teacher. He's a great communicator. He's a detailed guy. That's who I am when it comes to the Xs and Os and being fundamentally sound. Those are the things that kind of drew me to him, and just excited to have him on staff and getting a chance to work with our O-line.
Q. Take us back, give us a history of your relationship with Press. What did you first meet him? Why was it so important for you to bring him here?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, Press and I, when I was hired in 2016, Chip Kelly was the coach there for three years, and actually brought Press on board as an offensive quality control, and he worked with the QBs. I kept him in that role, then I moved him around a couple years later into the receiver room, and just kind of kept listening to him, giving him more responsibility every year that I was a head coach, and then eventually got him into the quarterback room, became a pass game coordinator for me, and just a guy that is highly intelligent, very smart. He's detailed. He's organized.
He's the type of guy that as I went through my tenure there in Philadelphia, he's the kind of -- you always have the coaches you keep your eye on, and he was always one of those guys for me that I kept my eye on. I knew that one day I think he was going to be an offensive coordinator. I felt that in my heart that he could be. I was going to eventually make him a coordinator possibly in Philadelphia, and things changed.
Yeah, I'm so excited for him because of the working relationship that we've had and how we think alike and how we bounce ideas off each other, and just looking forward to watching him flourish from here.
Q. A couple weeks ago you said that you were going to call plays; do you still feel that way or did anything change in that thinking with the staff you put together?
DOUG PEDERSON: No, I still have full intention of doing that, calling plays. That's really what I love to do throughout the course of the week. That's how I study and help with game plans, and then ultimately on game day.
But look, the way I call plays, it's still a very collaborative approach. It's me and Press game day. We're sitting there talking and he's giving me ideas and suggestions, and I'm going to -- Press is probably going to take some stuff from Jim Bob Cooter, Mike McCoy, they're going to get together between series. That's how this whole thing works on game day. At the end of the day it's coming together and making the right call at the right time, and then of course just teaching our players.
Yeah, for me I'm going to continue to do that, but it takes all of us to get that done.
Q. You said something interesting that day, as well, that if it's not working for you today, you might hand it off. Is that literally -- do you take the headset off and say, you take over? Has that happened to you?
DOUG PEDERSON: It has. It has. You don't physically take the headset off because we've got the communicators and stuff that they can't switch out that fast, but I've done that. I've asked the coordinator to give me the play call, and I still have the communicator to call the play. But they're giving me the play in my headset.
It's a lot like Coach Reid and I in Kansas City; he called the plays, but he called them through me. I was the coordinator, and I was the one communicating, so it's just a little bit of the reverse role there.
Yeah, listen, if it's not working and I'm struggling to find a play, I'm all for giving that up and letting the coordinator do it.
Q. What was the conversation with Mike Caldwell like? What's your vision for the defense and what does he bring as the defensive coordinator?
DOUG PEDERSON: You know, Mike and I, we go way back too. We were former players together in this league. We kind of cut our teeth together on the Eagles staff, him working under Jim John sore, playing for Jim Johnson and then of course Coach Reid, and then our paths kind of separated. He's kind of been with Todd Bowles, and we know Todd was a head coach, tremendous coordinator in this league, the things that Mike has always kind of been in the linebacker room, and the structure of defense that we play and the majority of the guys in the NFL play, it fits what we do. It's an aggressive mindset, and those are the conversations that Mike and I have had is we want to maintain the aggressiveness, we want to be able to put our players in position to make plays. Moving a Josh Allen around, moving a Chaisson, moving these guys around, moving safeties around, other backers. Really presenting a picture to the offense where maybe you don't know where the blitz is coming from. You kind of watch what Tampa Bay did this year and the success they had on defense.
But again, it takes players, too, and we understand that. But I'm excited, again, for him to really come in here and having Bob Sutton there to really, I think, even to help Mike, I think that's a big step for him to use.
Q. Is it too early to decide what the scheme is?
DOUG PEDERSON: I think it is. It's too early until we get the players in here. It's one of the biggest things as coaches we try to figure out the identity. Every year you hit the reset button and you try to figure out the identity, because again, we're about to get into free agency, the draft is coming up, all that stuff, and things are going to look different. You get into the off-season program and you're trying to figure things out, so identity-wise it's kind of hard to put a thumb on it right now.
Q. Have you spent enough time with Trevor to kind of get a feel for his personality and how that'll mesh with Mike and Jim and Press, and how important is that sort of relationship for those guys to be on the same page?
DOUG PEDERSON: It's a huge relationship, and it's one that I encourage, not only myself but Mike, Press, Jim Bob, the guys to really cultivate and reach out to him, and of course he was in the building a couple weeks ago, had a chance to meet him and talk to him.
I encourage all my staff members to reach out to the guys this time of year and really start building a relationship with them. It's going to be a really good dynamic because what I understand of Trevor is his mindset, how he thinks. He's eager to learn. He wants to grow. I've got great teachers in the room that can help him and help him be successful.
That's not only on the field but I think off the field, as well, and that's what I'm looking forward to in April when we get the guys in here.
Q. You were obviously coaching last year, but did you do any research on him or did you kind of keep your ears open about him when he was coming out?
DOUG PEDERSON: I didn't do a lot. I was just mainly watching the game kind of as a fan, too. But as things got closer and you start talking to people that -- outside of Jacksonville who kind of know him a little bit, you kind of get into the mind and how he thinks, and a guy that kind of thinks the way we do. That's encouraging.
Then of course we have to think like he thinks, too. It's a two-way street. I'm excited about that.
Q. Will you have an assistant head coach? Is there someone who would say -- heaven forbid you were to get sick or something --
DOUG PEDERSON: Yes, now that I've got the staff in place, it's something now as I begin to kind of look around the staff, I'm not going to hire another guy as far as that goes, but I will name an assistant head coach pretty quickly here as we go. Now that we've got everybody in place, it really gives me time to get a feel for the guys and the direction I want to go with that position.
Q. You're sitting out a year but probably going to be a head coach again; do you have in mind who my staff is going to be? Does it come together like that?
DOUG PEDERSON: It does, and it can. You want to have an idea. You do -- I started a month out before the end of the regular season really starting to kind of put some pieces together, put some names down, formulating lists. You know, when you finally get the job, you hope that these guys are still available. You still have to -- you go through the proper channels and do your interviews and all that, and for me, things -- especially with the coordinators, I think that's the key for any head coach is have the great coordinators. That element really kind of fell in place for me with Press, Mike and Heath, special teams coordinator.
Then after that you kind of -- especially on offense, you want to target an offensive line guy. I think that's important to have that piece, and the quarterback coach, especially in the situation that I was coming into here in Jacksonville with Trevor. Again, you're thinking about the defensive side, then you're thinking about the guys that were here, the staff members that were here and if there's a fit with one of those guys. You just start -- the pieces and the dominos start to fall, I guess.
For me, it took two weeks to fill out the staff because I wanted to take my time and interview as many guys as possible for all these positions. Here we are today.
Q. What is the value in your opinion of having, like you said, coaches return and just them knowing the relationships already, knowing the players, what kind of value can they bring?
DOUG PEDERSON: A lot of value, a lot. Like you said, they know the guys. They know the ins and outs of the building, they know the strength staff, they know the equipment guys, they know everything, and it's valuable, plus they know the team and the players. That's why you -- for me, I think you have to start there, with the staff, and see if there's a fit.
Again, it's the one side of the busy just do not like because you've got to let good people go and they're usually good coaches and it disrupts families and lives and all of that, but at the same time I want to make sure that I do surround myself with quality guys.
Q. Is the strength and conditioning staff remaining intact, or is that still a work in progress?
DOUG PEDERSON: It's kind of a work in progress right now. We're going to take a look at that department. Obviously we want the best for the players moving forward. We're going to take a look at that in the next few weeks.
Q. Have you had any input at all in the EVP search or do you have any communication with Shad on how that search --
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, and quite frankly I think those questions can really go to him at this time, but I do want to be a part of that process.
Q. In Philadelphia, Carson, as well as he played as a rookie, he made this pretty dramatic improvement to his second year. What goes into that process, and how much do the coaches and the players get together, self-scouting, whatever, what went into that process and do you see that for Trevor?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, it's a little different because first of all, in Philly, I retained the entire staff, so going into year two we had the same -- I had the same coordinator, same quarterback coach, myself, the whole thing. A little different here because after Trevor's first year, things got disrupted, new head coach, new offense, everything.
But the one thing that is consistent, I think, is the growth that Carson made in year two and the growth that we anticipate and hope that Trevor can make in year two. That just comes from him communicating to us, us communicating to him, starting in OTAs when we get the guys in here and get on the grass and really start working the fundamentals, that's where you start seeing the growth in young quarterbacks in that second year into year three.
It'll be on Trevor a little bit to come in, learn some new terminology, pick up some new ideas, things of that nature. But we're hopeful that in year two he'll make some good strides.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports