How are you?
I'm doing good. A tough, hard-fought game, 60 minutes against a really good opponent. Give Tennessee a lot of credit. We're just making one more play down than they did at the end there. Credit to our players and our coaches. Tough win on the road so we'll enjoy this one on the way back and get ready for next week.
When did you know you were going for two?
When we got the ball.
Why?
Going for the win. We're going to be aggressive. That's what we want to do. That's the mindset I want the players to have. If it didn't work, I could (inaudible) with it. I thought that was the right decision. You're an inch away or whatever it was. I trust Saquon (Barkley). I grabbed a couple of defensive players and busted their tails out there. I went up to some of the offensive guys that weren't out there too and I said, 'Hey,' we got the ball, wherever it was. I said, 'If we score, I'm going for two, you guys good with that?' And they said, 'F-yeah.'
Was that decision made easier by the fact that Saquon (Barkley) is playing? Do you feel like, 'I have the best player in the game?'
No. I think, again, that's probably part of it but it's also a testament to the players that are on the field, all of them, and Mike (Kafka) and the offensive staff. They knew the play they were going to call. I asked them when there was a timeout in there as we're going for two, 'What do you like?' And we had to play that we were going to call. Again, something we practiced since training camp that hasn't always worked. But the guys knew what to do. And it was a good play designed by Mike (Kafka) and good execution upfront. And I know Saquon (Barkley) played quite a few snaps in the preseason. But how many yards did he have today? Yeah, I told you all year that he's had a good spring, good summer. When you have a guy that you have a lot of trust in, you put it in their hands. It's a player's game. So, they're down there at the two-yard line, go ahead, tie and try to play it again. Trust your players and let them go.
Looks like you had a fiery conversation with Daniel (Jones) after interception. What did you say to him and how did you like how he bounced back?
I wasn't talking to Daniel (Jones). I was talking on the headset to some of the coaches, but I just said what'd you see. He thought he could potentially back shoulder it. And I said, 'That's not what I saw, but you got the ball in your hands, so you're going to get the ball back at some point. Our defense is going to get it to you. Let's drive down and get it again.'
Brian, the mood in here at halftime, you were down 13-0.
Fine. I mean, it's the NFL. Take a look at all the games. There's been some slow starts early in the season and you study that. You talk about resiliency. You've got to talk about overcoming things. You've got to talk about sticking together. All that stuff happens in training camp. It happens in spring. It happens – you just don't turn it on and off. That's not how you lead or build a team, which is, we've got a long way to go. I've said this since the beginning. It was good to get a win. The guys kept fighting. They kept believing. That's why you play two halves or 60 minutes. You can't get too down on yourself, and you can't get too up. There's going to be difficulties throughout a game, and you have to have a strong mind. You can't be an overanalyzer. You can't second guess every call that a coach made or a decision that a player made. You have a plan, you stick to it. You lead in tough times, and you hope it turns out the right way. It's the same thing. If things are going really well, is you don't get too high. You got it. This league will humble you real quick. Trust me, I've been humbled a bunch. Again, all the credit goes to our players and the coaches for fighting and competing for 60 minutes. And that's first, one. It's important. It's important to get a win. But I really appreciate those guys for the work they've put in since we've got here. Now we're trying to build something. We're a long way away, but it was nice to get the first W.
Why was Darius (Slayton) was limited to a half a dozen snaps?
I don't know exactly how many snaps it was, but we had personnel packs. Seven, there you go. We had personnel groups for all our receivers. We'll do that for every game. Maybe it's more, maybe it's less. It just depends on what we're calling and what Mike (Kafka)'s calling and what we see. And he's in plenty of them. Some of them, obviously we didn't get to some of them. I thought the plays that he was in on, he did his job. Made a good decision on the one play down there at the end of the drive there, I think was – to take care of the football and get four, five, six yards, or whatever it was.
Brian, what were your thoughts as they're coming down the field on that last drive. They get the pass on the left side and it looks like they'll be in position for a field goal.
Yeah, that's football, you know? I thought it was tight coverage. Darnay (Holmes) was tight on him. (Ryan) Tannehill made a good throw, and they caught it and they centered the ball and then they blocked it with four. We iced them. Whether it helped or not, I really don't know. But he just was off a little bit, what to the left?
How are you feeling when he lines up for that kick?
How was I feeling? I was hoping the sumbitch would miss it. You know, it's funny. It's a special moment because it's my first win but last year coming here for the Buffalo game, I lost my grandfather on the airplane as I was landing. So, that was weighing heavy on me after the game.
What was weighing heavy on you after this game?
Yeah, you know, when he missed it, you know, I thought about them. It was – I don't come from much. Those two people helped me get to where I am.
How different is it from the last time you were here?
Yeah. You know, it was tough one, but a different story, this one.
With (Kadarius) Toney, you see how dynamic he is. Do you have to get him involved in more?
We'll see, whatever we think we've got to do for that week. We've got a bunch of receivers active. We'll figure out ways to put him in the game. Maybe it's less. Maybe it's more. Each week is different. Who's inactive might be different. I think it's it depends on everything leading up to it. And that's why we make those decisions.
What was your thought process when the left guard position there? How did you decide the rotation?
Bobby (Johnson) did a great job. We knew we were going a couple of series and flipping them in and out and Bobby did a great job with that. Communicating with those guys. Those guys were, I couldn't give you a play-by-play of all of them, except on one of them, I knew we got it. The first half we were – field position was killing us, right? We had a big punt return, and we fumbled the ball and a little scramble. So, I thought we were efficient. You know, we made the wrong decision down there. Threw an interception but I thought Daniel (Jones) played a heck of a game. Took care of the ball for the most part, but more importantly was accurate, made good decisions, led the team down to score points when we needed to. And I'm glad 26 is on our team.
The touchdown to Shep (Sterling Shepard), was that a broken play or was that where you got to go?
No, I mean, there was four guys out of the pattern. Fifth if back didn't have to protect. And we got behind him a couple of times in the game, and one time it was (David) Sills. I think both times it was Sills. It was a little tough on the one towards the end of the half there. We ran a little out and go. It was cloudy, the safety role on top. The other one, I think the guy just slipped or the safety was way over there. But, every shot, we want him to be efficient. It's a heavy zone team, take what they give us. If it's – what was it? Seven to nine from 80 yards or not even 80 yards, whatever it was. Just keep on doing the right thing and hopefully you get a couple of shots in there.
Any idea how severe Wan'Dale's (Robinson) thing is? What happened to him?
No. He got hurt. That's all I'm saying. I think he landed weird or something. I haven't even got to him. I just asked him at halftime real quick, 'You doing OK?' He said, 'Yeah.'
By not going for the extra point kick at the end, you put yourself potentially in line to be criticized or do you feel like as a head coach you have to coach without the fear of consequences?
Absolutely. I mean, that's what you sign up for when you're a leader. Being a leader is tough. It's not easy. There's going to be plenty of times that I fail, and I understand that. But I try to prepare the best I can along with the other coaches on the staff and that's what I want out of players too. You've got to be able to take the good with the bad. And there'll be plenty bad. I understand that but I just have a lot of confidence in our players.
Did you get the game ball?
I did. It was nice. I think Shep (Sterling Shepard) brought us up. He gave both Joe and I a game ball. Saquon (Barkley), sorry. Saquon brought us up and gave both of us a game ball. Which I appreciate but I don't play the game. It's those guys that earn it and get hit and fight through it for 60 minutes. But we've got a long way to go. It's good to get one win but we've got a long way to go. It's a lot of things to correct. I know that.
