TITANS PRESIDENT/CEO STEVE UNDERWOOD, GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON AND HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT- January 18, 2016
PRESIDENT/CEO STEVE UNDERWOOD
(opening statement)
I want to thank all of you for coming today. This is an important day in the history of our franchise and we are very glad to have all of you with us. Before we begin, I would like to make just a few comments about our process. First, I would like to thank Vin Marino, our Vice President of Football Administration, for holding the reins while we didn't have a general manager. I have known Vin for over 20 years. He just does a great job for us and we are very glad to have him here and appreciate what he did for us on an interim basis. I want to introduce our new general manager Jon Robinson who is to my far left. All of you know our new head coach Mike Mularkey. We are so grateful to have them and their families here with us today. And I also want to thank all of the rest of our staff. You know there is a lot that goes on when you are conducting searches and interviews. They did a lot of extra work and we are very grateful for all of their help. I think for me maybe the most critical thing about today is that we conducted 10 kind of far-ranging, lengthy interviews with our candidates for both jobs and our controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and Kenneth Adams, two of our owners, together were here for every word and every questions of every interview. That is so important that our general manager and head coach were selected by that process by our controlling owner and in that way finding the very best fits for our organization and where our club is now. Jon Robinson is the product of the most extensive search for a general manager in our club's history. We are so impressed with Jon's experience, his vision and his focus on restoring our franchise to greatness. We are persuaded fully that he will work with our staff and our coaches to restore our franchise on and off the field and Amy believes that his talents and attitude are just what we need at this moment in time. I want to give Jon the opportunity to introduce himself to all of you and make a few opening remarks.
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GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON**
(opening statements)
Thanks Steve. Man it feels good to be home, it really feels good to be home. I can't thank the good lord enough for guiding me and my journey throughout this football life. Thanks especially to Amy, Kenneth and the entire Adams family, words thank you are not enough. I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity that you have given me not only to be the general manager but to work with Coach (Mike) Mularkey. To my family, my wife Jamie, daughters Taylor and Bailey, thank you for your support. Your love and most importantly your understanding of time constraints of professional football. To my dad, mom and sister Alison, I love you guys. Thank you so much dad and mom for raising me the right way, teaching me to work hard. Your parenting is the reason that I am here today. My sister Alison, thank you for being my receiver, running back and about four other positions in our front yard football drills. Some people along the way that I would like to say thank you to, my high school coaches Randy Barnes and Barry Duncan. Thanks for all the lessons you taught me Coach. To Mike Hutchens, the trusted confidant there in my little hometown, thank you. To my college coach Jay Thomas, who is like an older brother to me. I can't say thank you enough to Jay for all that he taught me about football and about life. To Mr. Kraft and the entire Kraft family, thank you for letting me be a part of a truly special organization. Scott Pioli, for taking a chance on a young linebackers coach at Nicholls State University. Thomas Dimitroff and Nick Caserio, not only for your tutelage in the world of personnel, but for your friendship. To Coach (Bill) Belichick, thank you so much for the discussions we had about football. Thank you for including me in the process of the Patriot Way and thank you for letting me observe really what it means to build a team. To the Glazer family in Tampa, thank you so much for the opportunity you gave me to saddle up with Jason Licht there. The future certainly looks bright there with a lot of the young players we were able to add to that football team. And last but certainly not least, to Jason Licht, the general manager in Tampa. Jason put his neck on the line for me 14 years ago when I was a young coach and recommended me to the Patriots organization. He has been a true friend throughout the profession and he did the same thing two years ago when he offered me the chance to come to Tampa as his personnel director. Jason thanks again for allowing me to lead the personnel department there for you and most importantly thank you for your friendship.
Our goal here is to win, bottom line. That is a measuring stick that all franchises are measured by. Mike (Mularkey) and I have an aligned vision of what we want this team to look like. We want tough players, we want coachable players, we want smart players and most importantly we want players with a team-first attitude. My role here is to insure we find those players. I will coach the personnel staff on the type of players that we want and identify the guys that are true fits of what we are looking for in a Titan. Thank you.
PRESIDENT/CEO STEVE UNDERWOOD
(opening statement)
I first met Mike Mularkey five years ago when we were conducting a search for head coach in 2011 and I was very impressed with him then. Mike has been here as you know the last couple of years as assistant head coach and for the last few months as our interim head coach. We interviewed a number of other highly qualified candidates. I think for me Mike is a perfect fit for our organization, he is a perfect fit with Jon (Robinson) and a perfect fit for our owner and we are very pleased to have him with us as our new head coach. We are looking forward to restoring our franchise as I have mentioned and just can't say enough good things about Mike in that regard and maybe most importantly his shared vision with Amy and with our new general manager.
**
Titans head coach Mike Mularkey and GM Jon Robinson introduced to reporters at Saint Thomas Sports Park. (Donn Jones Photography)
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY**
(opening statement)
I want to thank you and Amy and Kenneth, Jon and really Steve through the interview process. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to lead your team, to lead this football team. Like Jon, I thank my family, my wife, Betsie, my two sons Patrick and Shane and all of my family members down in Florida. They have been with me by my side for the last 30 years in the National Football League and I could not have done it without them. I'm thrilled to have a fresh start with this football team. I love working for this organization. I was put in a challenging position and I accepted it midway through this past year and tried to run with it and see if I could do something and make a difference quickly with a team and I feel like I did that. I learned a lot in these last nine weeks. I felt like I had some ideas prior to but I learned a lot these last nine weeks of the season. I saw a lot. I saw things that need to be changed, couldn't change them. I can now, you will see that in a number of areas. Jon and I we have not worked together before but we will work closely together from this point on. We have had really good discussions for the vision we have for this football team. For our fans, we believe we can bring a championship to this city with the same vision. We have talked about it from day one of what it is going to take and it is very similar to what Jon just said. You heard me say that the first time I got in front of you when the coaching change took place. We want smart, tough, physical players, coachable and accountable, and that is what Jon and I will do. We will work together to find those players, but you will see change happen and I'm thrilled that I get a chance to do that. I am very thankful for the opportunity and ready to move forward in a positive direction.
PRESIDENT/CEO STEVE UNDERWOOD
(on the perception that the head coaching search was not as exhaustive as the general manager search)
We were never turned down by anyone that we asked to interview, well we did get one turn down with an explanation from one of the GM candidates, but I think he turns down most everyone. We had many, many agents and representatives ask to interview. Amy had listened to interviews for head coach over several days. We added one candidate at the last minute. Somewhere during that process I think it coalesced for Amy and she made a decision. She already knew Mike, she had a comfort level with Mike, but she wanted to reach out and look around to make sure there were not any other viable candidates for her in terms of our club and where we were going. Jon was also in all of those interviews and I think all of us agreed several interviews into the process that we had found the right person to lead our club forward. Incidentally, the list you mentioned was an aggregation of virtually everyone in the league who might be available. We narrowed that list and I think I mentioned this during the first press conference to a group much smaller than that as we sort of moved forward in the process. I don't think that I ever suggested we were going to interview 155 people.
(on if he suggested they were going to interview more than two candidates from outside of the organization)
I don't remember making that suggestion, but we interviewed four total candidates and had conversations of course about many others.
(on saying earlier they had 10 candidates)
We had six candidates that we interviewed for general manager and four that we interviewed for head coach, a total of 10 interviews, and we felt comfortable in terms of both jobs with the people that we had interviewed. The six people that we interviewed for example for general manager, three of them had already been GMs in the league and I think that all three of the others now that Jon has become a general manager, the other two gentlemen will also someday be GMs in the National Football League.
(on what he would say to people that maybe were uncomfortable with the process of the hirings)
I'm not really sure how they could be uncomfortable with either of the processes. We interviewed six highly qualified people to be general manager. That was after making a list that was significantly larger than that, having discussions with a number of people in and out of the league about GM candidates. With respect to our head coaching candidates, you know there was already a pretty good working knowledge of Mike. We had interviewed Mike once before to be a head coach. He has been our interim head coach for most of the season and we interviewed three other highly qualified candidates. So I'm not really sure what discomfort level you are talking about.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on the length of his contract)
Multiple years.
(on why it was important to him to have a multi-year contract)
That is the only thing that has ever been discussed. That is the only thing. Obviously, this has been my third opportunity to be a head coach and that has always been the situation.
(on why he feels he will be more successful during this head coaching stint)
I am very confident in myself and I will be confident in the guys that I'm hiring. I'm going through that process right now. I'm a good football coach and circumstances dictate a lot of success for people and they also dictate sometimes failure. You can't base it all on one thing. There have been a number of coaches that have been in a position that I have been in that have had a chance to come back and have another opportunity and be successful and I have always felt that way again based on circumstances that will allow me to have success. I am going to surround myself with people that have the same feelings as I do, the same beliefs, same coaching style. These guys know what they are getting, the players know, they saw me for nine weeks. They know what they are getting, this organization knows what they are getting. It is not like starting brand new. I know what changes need to be made and fortunately I get a chance to change them.
(on if he hired his staffs in Buffalo and Jacksonville)
Yes.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(on if Mike Mularkey has control over his staffs)
Yes.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on what the changes are that he needs to make to the team)
Schematically we are going to change some things offensively and special teams. Not a drastic change offensively more of things that I'm familiar with, I call it user friendly within the offensive system, but definitely the special teams system will change. Obviously, what I'm talking about is obviously some coaching changes. There will be multiple coaching changes and I'm in the process of hiring those coaches right now or interviewing those coaches to be hired.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(on his immediate to-do list)
It is first to evaluate the staff. I have met with the in-house staff. I have been on the road at school calls and college games with some of the road scouts, but the next four months will be an evaluation process for me and those guys. Senior Bowl is next week so we will hit the ground running with that with player evaluation. Free agency is right around the corner. We are going to probably instill our philosophy really more so in May, but again attack free agency and the draft with that philosophy now. The actual grading scale and the numeric changes and the values we place on specific positions that will occur more in May, post-draft, rather than trying to change something midstream currently.
(on his initial thoughts about the roster)
They spanked us pretty good in the first game there down in Tampa. I have evaluated the players. That was one of the things that I liked about Mike is that he had personal interaction with the players on the roster, so he could help me identify really the personalities. All I have to go off of is what I see on film. I think in the end we want to put the most competitive 90 guys out there on the field this spring during OTAs as we can and let them battle it out. That is what we want to be. As Mike and I have both referred to, we want a tough, physical football team and we are going to try to get 90 guys out there that are tough and physical and get to 53 in August.
(on how important it is to have a quarterback in place)
That is big. I was kind of in this seat last year, and we vetted Marcus (Mariota) pretty good and it's definitely very comforting knowing that you have that guy in place and just need to put some pieces around him both offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, so that the team has success.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on who is definitely on the coaching staff at this point)
I spoke to a number of coaches yesterday. I've got interviews lined up coming in here, but really, Jason Michael is going to coach the quarterbacks. That's really the only thing that's set in stone right now.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
*(on if he knew for sure that Mike Mularkey would be the head coach when he accepted the job) *
No, I did not. I got to know Mike through the interview process and really got a chance to talk to him and see what his philosophy and what his vision was. I can't speak for Mike, but for me, it was really a natural fit for me. I love the fact that I think he—I don't think, I know—he's going to bring a toughmindedness to our players. He's looking for the same thing in players that I'm looking for, and my job is to get them for him.
PRESIDENT & CEO STEVE UNDERWOOD
(on if Robinson has control over the 53-man roster)
Yes, he does.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(on how aggressive the Titans will have to be in free agency this offseason)
I think we will try—not to dance around the question—but want to identify guys that fit what we're doing. Whatever or wherever that cost is, wherever that median meets, we just want to get good football players that are committed to the vision that Mike and I have about being tough and having a team-first attitude. I can't stress enough how team-first is paramount for Mike and I.
(on how much he will use what he learned in New England and Tampa Bay)
Oh, a ton. I think the team-building process in New England speaks for itself. They're perennially powers that are going to be reckoned (with), to deal with in January. I think the way we scout, the way that we identify players, the process that our scouts will go through to identify players to add to this football team. I'm not going to say it's exact. We kind of tweaked some things in Tampa to make it fit us, and that's what we're going to do here. We'll take my foundation as it relates to scouting players, and we'll tweak it to fit the Tennessee Titans.
(on how big of a priority the free agency period will be)
Again, I think that's something where you look at the value of players. The one thing you don't want to commit to is overpaying for the value of the player. So wherever we think he fits from a dollars-and-cents standpoint, we'll most certainly do what we've got to do to acquire the player if it makes sense for us.
PRESIDENT & CEO STEVE UNDERWOOD
*(on who the top quarterbacks are that Mularkey has helped develop) *
Kordell Steward, Matt Ryan. I'm not sure of all of the quarterbacks that Mike has helped develop. I work mostly on the business side. Amy did ask a lot of questions of Mike about how he intended to develop Marcus, who we consider to be the centerpiece of our franchise. It was no small factor that he is sort of a quarterback whisperer. That was a leading factor in the decision to hire Mike.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on the quarterbacks he has helped develop)
I've been fortunate to be around quarterbacks with different experiences, Kordell (Stewart) being the first one in Pittsburgh when I was as coordinator there. We had success with Kordell, and again, you know my philosophy. It's about building the system around the players, starting at that position, which is critical. It pertains to all of them, but the quarterback position is the one that you can't force-feed a system on anybody and expect good results back. We built it around Kordell back in 2001, and we won 14 games with Kordell. The next year, we had to make a change to Tommy Maddox. Tommy had been out of football for five years selling life insurance. We had the ability—I'm saying 'we' as a staff—we had to adjust quickly to Tommy's abilities. We had a good season behind a different quarterback, a different style of quarterback. And again, just my most recent (experience) with Matt (Ryan), being the third pick in the draft, very similar to Marcus here, starting as a rookie. So I've had experience with young guys. I don't know if it's horse whisperer, but whatever it is, I've had some success with these guys.
(on why Marcus Mariota will be different than struggling quarterbacks he had in Buffalo and Jacksonville)
I think you've seen it already. You've seen a year, really a challenging year for Marcus, with all the things that he got to see: the coaching change, the injuries, the opponents we were playing against. He had quite a year, and you never saw it really affect his play. I can see the arrow going definitely up with Marcus. What he showed for one year, those other guys had those chances and they did not show that. As many times as you tried to make it work, it did not work. Marcus has shown it and really showed it from the start.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(on the value of his experience in Tampa Bay)
I thanked Jason (Licht) initially, but I was really exposed in New England—I'll backtrack. I was really most specifically on the college side as the college director there. So my duties there were to organize all of the scouting of the college players in preparation for the draft and rookie free agency. When I got to Tampa, I was really exposed to everything as it relates to the day-to-day operations of running the football team, to the Monday meetings with the trainer and Jason, working through the emergency list, the practice squad list, preparing for free agency, along with overseeing the college draft. It really opened my eyes to everything that goes on on a day-to-day basis, on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis that an NFL team has to prep for.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on the possibility that Dick LeBeau returns to the staff)
I've talked to Dick a couple of times. The coaches have had off until tomorrow, but I have talked to pretty much every one of them. I have a pretty good feeling that Dick will be back with us next year.
*(on if he knows a reason why the head coaches being hired around the NFL have offensive backgrounds) *
Not right offhand. I think a lot of these guys have had success. Maybe that has stood out this year or this time of the year. I don't know why it's a pattern, but it does seem to be a pattern.
(on what he learned in Buffalo and Jacksonville that might change this time as a head coach)
I think that there's subtle changes. I think our team saw that this year. Again, you guys asked me that question earlier when I got this. Obviously with the experience, you get a chance to look back and saw what's pertinent to winning and not winning, and what's important to you. I think these players saw that. Some of these guys have been with me before. Harry Douglas, in Atlanta, knew my style, even there. There's nothing drastic about what I've changed, but I think the players see every day that I come in here, they see how important it is for me that they have success. They know I want them to be successful, and I'm trying to do whatever I can to get the success out of them. I think they see that every day.
(on if it is fair to say he is not a proponent of the Bill Parcells quote 'You are what your record is')
No, no. I'm just saying, there's situations in every place you've been that are going to provide you opportunities to win or not win. Not getting into any details at either place, but the record is what it is. If you look at it, there's a lot of games in there in the loss column that we had opportunities to win, and we just didn't win them. That includes here. We had a couple opportunities here.
(on the fans' reaction and feelings about him being named head coach)
I understand their feelings completely. All I ask is they give us a chance. I think that's very important, that they give us a chance. Give Jon and I a chance to build a roster that they can be proud of and the city can be proud of. There's going to be changes. It's not the same-old from last year. 2015 is over. 2012 is over. 2004 and 2005 are over. I'm talking about the now. I'm not talking about the past. There's going to be changes for this team to go in the right direction.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(on the importance of this job being in his home state)
It's pretty special, yeah. It's pretty special. Growing up two-and-a-half hours west of here, to be able to come home and be a part of an organization, the home-state team, it's pretty special.
PRESIDENT & CEO STEVE UNDERWOOD
*(on Robinson's comfort level with outside questions about team ownership) *
There's no question about a potential sale of this team in the future. The team is not for sale. It has never been for sale.
(on if the NFL is trying to develop groups to purchase the team)
You know, it's really hard to do that when it's not for sale. You know, you can have all of the buyers in the world, but if there is not a seller, you can't sell anything. The team is not for sale. It's never been for sale. When you find a source listed about whether or not the team is for sale, then feel free to ask those questions about that person. I know all of the sources. They're the people that own the team. I don't know how many times we have to deny that it's for sale. The team is not for sale.
(on people who own other teams appearing to be the sources for those reports)
I've never heard that. I've never had a single other person say that.
(on whether Amy Adams Strunk should have been at the recent owners' meetings)
Amy has been to owners' meetings, and she'll be at the meetings in March. Amy was busy trying to fill our two most important roles here while those meetings were going on. I have been involved with meetings about Los Angeles for 20 years. The league has been working for two decades to try to put a team back in Los Angeles, and I've been to most all of those meetings.
(on Underwood not being an owner)
No, but I speak for the owner, and I voted for the owner at the meetings in Houston.
*(on how he voted on the Los Angeles matter) *
The ballot was secret.
(on case that the NFL is not happy with the ownership group)
I have never heard anyone say they were unhappy with the ownership group. The commissioner has …
(on the ownership structure)
Yes, there is a difference. The commissioner has mentioned that there are issues with the ownership structure, and we address it with the league on a weekly basis.
(on when the league's issues with the team will be resolved)
I don't know. It has been ongoing since Mr. Adams' death.
(on whether the league's unhappiness stems from the change of control from Tommy Smith to Amy Adams Strunk)
No, no. Tommy never owned any part of the club. Tommy's wife, Susie, owns part of the club.
(on whether the change from Tommy Smith to Amy Adams Strunk has caused issues)
I don't think so, no. They are concerned with the ownership structure, not with the individual owners.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(on what level of improvement is fair to expect over the coming year)
I don't like to put a number on things. We want to add, like I said, to keep coming back to that, we want to add competitive, tough guys that are going to go out there and fight on Sundays for this football team. I think that this is going to be a fun process, and I'm looking forward to it. But to put a number on it and a prediction, I'm not ready to do that.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on if the team's recent problems were caused by not having the right players or not developing the players)
The roster is going to change. It always does when, obviously, a new head coach comes in, (and) a new GM. You're going to look at every position and see where it needs to be addressed. There were a number of reasons last year and really the last two years we dealt with some of those losses. Obviously the injuries, some of those were more impactful than I think anybody really understands. Development of some of the players, that can be probably true as well, and that's why we're making some changes in some of the coaching positions. But I think we recognize what needs to be corrected, both Jon and I together, and we'll address those when that time comes.
(on his role with acquiring Michael Turner in Atlanta and if that is the kind of player needed in the backfield)
I did have a hand in that. At the time, I knew he was a free agent, and I made the comment—I think Peyton Manning was too—I said, 'If you can get either one of them, that would be great,' knowing that I'd probably end up with the guy I wanted, Michael Turner, knowing the situation. But yeah, I did have a hand in that.
(on if a Michael Turner-like player is what they need in Tennessee)
We're going to look at that. Jon and I are going to look at that and talk about that.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
*(on how open he is to trading the first pick in the draft) *
Sure. I can't say with certainty that we are going to move the pick or that we're not going to move the pick, but I think we'll look at any and all offers that come this way and make a decision that's best for the football team. If that means sticking and picking, then we're going to stick and pick. If that means moving around and working the draft with trades, then that's what we'll do.
(on if he has the philosophy of trading down in the draft to obtain more picks)
I think it's important not only that you maximize the value of the pick but you understand the value of the player. If the value of the pick and the value of the player are together, then you make the pick. If the player you want, maybe you can slide down and get him four picks later, that's knowing the draft. That'll be my charge, to kind of anticipate where those guys are going to go and try to strategically position ourselves to make our football team better.
(on balancing prospects competitiveness and ceiling levels)
To me, football has got to be very important to the guys that we're going to bring in. It has to be of utmost importance next to their faith and their family. The balance of guys who are competitive and who are athletic, those are the guys who are usually playing in the Pro Bowl. Competitiveness and athleticism? Sure. I don't think we want to add a bunch of projects to the team. I think we want to add guys that are going to buy in to Mike and I's philosophy.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on what his offense will look like)
I think if you've seen it, really Atlanta and Pittsburgh have been my longest stays. There's a lot of deception, trying to make defenses think. And if they are, they're not reacting quickly. It's a balanced offense, I can tell you that. But that can go either way based on the situation in the game. It's not a high tempo like Philly, but it's very user friendly. We'll be able to get in and out of the huddle, I think, quicker than we have over these last couple years. The terminology is then condensed to first of all help the quarterback, which in Marcus' case is, I think, critical. But it allows us to play at a good tempo, a good speed. And then it's change up of… I'm not going to give our hand away. I think people in the league know that they're going to have to do their homework when they play against our offense.
(on if he's completely throwing out the old playbook)
It's not drastic. This offense that's been here the last two years went in a different direction somewhat, as mine did when we put this together back in 2001. They've gone their different ways, for whatever reason, wherever I've been. I've been in other offenses and thought, 'This is a better idea than mine. I'm going to institute that and put it in there.' So mine's evolved a different way, too. It also allows new players to come in and pick it up rather quickly, but it is difficult to defend.
(on how much he will maintain the verbiage of the previous offense)
There'll be some similarities, but it'll be cut down. Again, it's not a complete overhaul because it comes from the same tree, basically. But it will be adjusted and a lot of it will be to help Marcus.
(on if he is hiring Terry Robiskie to be the offensive coordinator)
Terry is in the interview process. He's part of the coaches I'm bringing in for that position.
(on who will call the plays)
Whoever the offensive coordinator is.
(on the two biggest positions of need to address in the offseason)
I'd say probably our secondary as one. You know, our offensive line, we never really had a true…It just wasn't consistent due to injuries or for whatever the reason was for some of the changes that we made. We've got to make sure we're good up front there.
(on the development of Dorial Green-Beckham and Jeremiah Poutasi)
The year of playing is going to be huge for DGB. When he came in here, he had not played football in two years and was kind of thrown into the fire because of our receiver situation. You saw spurts of things he was capable of doing but not consistent at all. And that's something he's got to be more. He's got to be more consistent. At least he's got a year under his belt. He'll have an offseason if he's healthy. He can start already getting ready for this next year. And Jeremiah, I think, again tough situation that he was put into. I think the change was the correct one that we made and he's probably a better guard. And again, he's got game experience. He's got game experience against very good football players. So these guys are going to…We had a lot of young guys on this team, especially offensively, that had to play when they were not ready to play. They were thrown in because of whatever the situation was, but the experience will be invaluable when it comes to this next season starting up.
(on Dorial-Green Beckham's potential as a receiver)
That's up to him. He's young. He's got to learn how to be a pro, and I think having guys in that room like Harry Douglas was very good for DGB. I think a lot of that will be up to him, how he prepares, starting now.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(on his philosophy for a scouting staff)
I have a structure in place. There's usually a set number on the pro side and a set number on the college side. I don't think we need 30 scouts. Much like with players, you define clear roles within the scouting department. It'll be my charge to teach them how we're going to scout and then let them do their job, much like we ask the players to do.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on his message to the team when they come back for the offseason training program)
Very similar to the one we just talked about, about not looking back at 2015. We're not looking back at anything. We're going to focus on the now. Where are we today and where are we going from here? I've had a lot of responses from the players already excited about starting, wishing it was not January, wishing we could get this thing going right now. So I know there's a lot of them that are happy with this.
(on the running back situation)
We're going to address that as we will all the positions. Jon and I will go through. We've gone through the roster numerous times already as we will continue to do as we head down to Mobile. But we'll address it.
(on if there's a player on the Titans' roster who could play a role similar to Michael Turner)
I would say no. We've seen kind of what we have on our roster right now. Does it have to be a Michael Turner? I had Jerome Bettis when I was in Pittsburgh, so I had a very similar style of backs. Is that what we're going to go with? We'll talk about that.
(on how many candidates he is interviewing for the offensive coordinator position)
Three total.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(on the identity of the Tennessee Titans)
Tough, physical, smart, team first.
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY
(on if Green Bay Packers Associate Head Coach Tom Clements could join his staff)
No, he is under contract, so no. He's not one of them.
(on the defensive coordinator position)
Obviously, I'm talking to every coach. I spoke to Ray (Horton) as of yesterday morning about it, and we're still talking through all the details of his position, as I will with every coach that comes back in here tomorrow.
(on if Ray Horton asked to leave the coaching staff)
I'm not going to comment. That was part of the conversation, but I'm not going to.
PRESIDENT & CEO STEVE UNDERWOOD
(on his priority moving forward)
We're going to start about $3 or $4 million worth of capital projects at this building. We also have a huge renovation about to begin over at the stadium. We also need to continue all the evaluations of our existing staff. I work on a lot of special projects trying to keep our owners and ownership informed. This has been a taxing process, I will give you that. But I think if you end up in a good place after a long project, it's worth all the time and all the work and all the effort. So we're behind on some of the things that we need to do. We have a lot of great people here and a lot of great senior staff. We've got tickets to sell. We've got suites to sell. We have sponsorships to sell. We have our great partnership with Nissan. There are many, many projects to work on going forward.
(on the process of finding a head coach and general manager)
Honestly, I'd say it was a little bit of both. At least what I hope we did for our owners is give them the entire panoply of the talent that was available for them to look at for both jobs. Those were the big, long lists. And then you go through a winnowing process trying to figure out who fits best here for the position that our club is in. That includes the interview process, the research that we do and provide to Amy and to Kenneth. Both of these men to my left did a great job in their interviews. Really, all of our candidates did a great job, but they stood out, and that's why they ended up being hired. They both have great resumes, great histories in our league, and we think are perfect fits for where we are as a franchise at this moment in time.
GENERAL MANAGER JON ROBINSON
(closing comments)
I just had a couple closing notes here. If you only remember one thing from this presser, please remember this. This goes out to our fans. This is my home, and you guys are my family. I've been a Titans fan ever since '97 when this football team moved here. We're going to build this team the right way. All decisions that we make will be made in the best interest of this team – your football team. Please let us earn your support. I grew up on a small 10-acre farm in West Tennessee. I watched my dad get up every morning and drive to a tire plant where he worked for 30-plus years. My mother packed his lunchbox before he walked out. I helped work that farm as supplemental income. I know what hard work is. Coach knows what hard work is. I was part of an organization in New England for 12 years that is still the standard of excellence today. We're ready to go to work for you because you're our family. Thank you.
