Why Matt Eberflus kept calling defensive plays instead of hiring a defensive coordinator and an explanation of how they dealt with Alan Williams' resignation.
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00:00 (soft music)
00:02 - Was out, it was after, of course, after practice.
00:19 It was later in the day, guys were in position meetings.
00:21 And what I did was I went around to each position room,
00:24 talked to the guys or if they were in, you know,
00:26 walk through at that time,
00:28 'cause some of these guys use ITC walkthroughs,
00:31 and just visited with guys and told them, I said,
00:33 hey, you know, this is what it is.
00:35 And going forward, the defensive staff
00:39 is gonna still be intact where they are.
00:41 Everybody's got their same responsibilities.
00:43 And on Sunday, I'll be calling the defense
00:44 and ask them if they had any questions
00:47 and worked it through from there in that time window.
00:51 So in real time there.
00:52 So that's what we did.
00:53 Every day after practice,
00:53 I said, lean in and lean on each other.
00:56 And we've been spending time
00:57 building relationships with each other.
00:59 And that locker room is tight.
01:00 It's a tight locker room.
01:02 And you could see it the way they practice.
01:05 And we're just gonna keep pounding the rock.
01:06 And that to me is really good how they practice today
01:09 and the energy they had out there
01:11 tells me everything about the bond they have
01:13 and the relationship they have as partners,
01:15 as teammates in the locker room.
01:17 - It's personal.
01:18 You know, so people were respecting space
01:20 and respecting that, I believe, you know.
01:23 So that's what I believe it is.
01:25 It's no disrespect to the question.
01:27 It's no, you know, none of that.
01:29 So that's where we're at.
01:30 - There's been a lot of things that have happened like this.
01:31 You know, you have different things happen personally
01:35 with your players, with your coaches,
01:37 during certain times.
01:39 And that's when you see real leadership.
01:41 You know, that's when you step up, you know,
01:43 and that's why, you know, go around, talk to everybody,
01:45 visit with everybody, make sure everybody's squared away,
01:48 make sure they understand the vision, you know,
01:49 for the football team and where it's going.
01:52 And I think that's the most important thing you do.
01:54 And me and Ryan, as soon as all this stuff started
01:57 to go down, we came together.
01:59 What's going to be the vision for the week?
02:01 You know, how are we going to do this?
02:02 And it was lockstep with ownership, with president.
02:06 And coaching families are, you know,
02:11 you move here, you move there, you know,
02:12 you gotta be a tight group, you know.
02:13 So again, we just reached out for support
02:16 and that's where it is and it's personal.
02:18 And we just left it at that.
02:20 And then we just said, hey, you know,
02:21 if you need anything, we can help you, let us know.
02:23 And then I spoke to you.
02:25 It's personal, you know, so people are respecting space
02:36 and respecting that, I believe, you know.
02:39 So that's what I believe it is.
02:41 It's no disrespect to the question.
02:43 It's no, you know, none of that.
02:45 It is where it is, you know,
02:46 this is the best thing for right now, you know.
02:48 And I think that's where it is.
02:50 And it's the best thing for our football team
02:53 and for our organization, you know.
02:54 So that's where we see it.
02:56 And that's where we feel really comfortable.
02:59 'Cause when I was in the interview process,
03:01 you know, you go through and, you know,
03:03 you have to either be the CEO, okay, and be that,
03:07 or be the play caller, okay, and the head coach, you know.
03:11 And that's, you have to be flexible there
03:13 during those times and you have to be, you know,
03:16 your vision has to be both at that time, you know.
03:19 So when you're working through those things
03:21 and you see the best scenario
03:23 for that particular football team,
03:25 so you're always ready to go ahead and do that
03:28 as a defensive coordinator, you know.
03:29 So I feel very comfortable with calling the defenses
03:32 and being the head coach, you know.
03:34 So, and again, I interviewed for, you know, six jobs,
03:37 you know, from 18 to the one I got here,
03:39 you know, the sixth one I got.
03:40 So that to me is a natural fit for where we are right now.
03:45 And I think it's gonna be a good fit.
03:49 Bye-bye.
03:49 (upbeat music)