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May 28, 2025 • 19 mins
HC Dan Quinn speaks to the media after today's OTA practice.

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cool to spend time with you as this time of
year get started. One of the main topics that we
talk about is the focus on the blending of year
one and year two players, you know, as there have
been part of the system. And I think one key
factor in that a little bit of the straw that
stirs a drink, that's the coaches, because like this time

(00:21):
of year, you know, it's so much about them and
their time to shine and the teaching and the emphasis
that has to be put in and teaching those systems
on you know, all three phases and so to have
you know, the crew back that doesn't happen very often.
And I want to take a minute and say how
how much I appreciate that and them, because I really do.

(00:43):
And then it was also a cool day. Brian Mitchell
came through and spent you know, some time with the
returners today and with over nineteen thousand return yards and
thirteen special teams touchdowns. I had invited him in the winter,
Hey man, you mind coming through for a day and
hanging out with us, And so I couldn't think of
a more ideal person to share some insights and you know,
some ideas about returning I'd asked him he had not

(01:06):
returned a kick until he got to the NFL. Now
that that was just wild man, Like, how what a
work ethic it takes to say, yeah, I'll figure it out,
Like I'll find my way whether I'm playing running back
or returning kicks or punts or covering kicks. Like that's
a real one. So all that said, and let's get
rocking with you guys and start the day.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Let it rip. There we go.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
I like it, all right, you're close, all.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Right, show right with with Jane. What difference do you see?
And a lot of talk about this side bigger? Does
he look bigger? And what's the result?

Speaker 1 (01:42):
I know he's worked hard through the off season, but
he's just in command of the things that he wanted
to work. Uh, he and his teammates, they've really put
in a lot of work together. I'd say that probably
is just it's felt excellent John, in terms of like
the attitude of the guys and their work. You know,
to really put it in you can you can sense

(02:02):
when people are going for it. And uh, you know
he's certainly one that is.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
And you guys were so big on the tenants of
these things last year today, they're Terry Laramie Marshaun, what's
your approach with that? It's a voluntary situation, but you know,
you obviously would like guys here, but it's voluntary, So
how what's your approach that?

Speaker 1 (02:20):
I think it's not one size fits all for everything.
And in my opinion, like this has been a fantastic offseason,
And it's not just the players, it's also the coaches too,
John to say, can we level up? You know, and
to level up, you know, what do you look at?
What do you want to change? What do you want
to keep the same. And so the off season has
been excellent, you know. And so I've been in touch

(02:42):
with uh, every guy on the team, and so I've
really enjoyed this time. I also have some you know,
stronger relationships than you did maybe a year ago with
everybody being new and now, so that blend of the
year two players, you know, to go through with it.
It's one of the things I do enjoy about coaching,

(03:02):
Like if you can get to know the man before
the ballplayer, it helps take it and push it a
little further. And so for the guys who are the
year one, the new players here, not just a rookie,
but a new free agent that may have joined the team,
getting to know them and watching him practice today for
the first time. Like you could see guys work hard
in the strength and conditioning, but it's another thing to

(03:23):
see the speed of processing and on the field. And
so today we just did some seven on seven and
some two minute and then we'll add more team as
we go. I like to ramp it up, you know,
as opposed to doing everything all at once day one.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Hey, Dan, it would be easy for somebody in Jaden's situation,
coming off the year you had, getting the attention he
has to maybe come into camp and look a little
you know, figure ahead, whatever it is, doesn't appear that way.
What's been your sense of him as the person coming
in here, you know after this offseason.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Yeah, he's an amazing teammate. The amount of work that
he puts in that unseen here to get ready to play,
to you know, to learn it, to teach others, to
you know, connect the guys that's going through. There is
no flinch in Jaden Daniels. He is an absolute like

(04:16):
as focused and relentless as you could about getting better.
And so that's why I said for for us around here, like, man,
we appreciate that, and there's a lot of things that
you know, he and the rest of us are really
digging in hard honestly, all right, can we get this better?
And if he does that, I do that, Others do that,
like we thought collectively, and there's there's a lot of
space we can get better at.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
I may have asked you this some point in the
off season, but with defenses obviously getting the year of
seeing him on tape and getting a sense of what
Cliff wants to do with him and things like that,
what's the key for adjusting to that as you're starting
this whole off season processes it like to react to
what we think is gonna happen, or hey, we do
what we do. How a guy work the other side

(04:58):
of the ball?

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, I would say there's a lot of playbook that
people haven't seen, you know, number one, you know, featuring
some new players and some into some different spots. And
you know how important that is to us been to
say what can unique players do and find the spots
to do them. I think Cliff's excellent at that, And
so as we're going through that's what's kind of fun

(05:18):
about now. Exploring some new thoughts, some new ideas and
some scheme while like sharpening on the things like can
I go from you know, really good at something to
elite into the best at this concept, this, this type
of play, this footwork, And so that's what we spend
a good bit of time doing. But there is also
some exploring time on all three phases because it's one

(05:41):
thing to put it on paper, it's another thing to
see it and move and what does it react and
how does it look.

Speaker 4 (05:49):
We've obviously seen him at sporting events, charity stuff, but
just curious if we can get an update on Sam
Cosme's recovery.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yes, Sam is doing excellent, Like he has really put
the work in. He's hitting all the markers that he's
supposed to. We're not going to miss one step along
the process. But it starts with him, man, like just
the the everyday intensity that goes with it, and there's
a like a work mindset that comes out of that.

(06:15):
And like that's important because that's who Sam is and
he's off to you know, really strong start hitting all
all the markers he's supposed to do up to down.

Speaker 4 (06:23):
You've talked at length about how you and Ap talk
every day and go over the roster and everything when
it comes to not any one specific player, but just
contract stuff, extensions, negotiations, all that stuff. How involved are
you how much do you want to be involved?

Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, it's more like you know, him keeping me up
to date on the things, you know, and say, this
is what's going on. And so that's like the balance
that we share back and forth. This is a scheme
and practice on the scripts. Why we're gonna put so
and so at this spot to do things, and he'll
you know, hit me back on the same thing. So
it's a nice balance to know, always going to keep

(07:00):
each other, you know, in the loop on the things,
whether it's practice on my end giving him information or
on the business side him giving me insights about you know,
where things are and what we're doing. So it's just
nice to have that, honestly, to have that connection and
being able to talk it through. So we do talk
about the team, you know, every day, and so it's
not one topic, you know, on the same day.

Speaker 4 (07:21):
Any updates to share.

Speaker 5 (07:25):
None, Hey, it.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
Could be the first to though. If there is one
to share.

Speaker 5 (07:30):
I want to ask you to Tyler be Ottish. Looks
like the old line has the potential to go through
some significant changes from last year's group. How important can
a guy like him be in that development of that
new group.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
I love the competition. You know at a number of spots,
whether it's the offensive line and you've you've got your
first look at you know some groups today and there
are some really deep groups that it's going to really
foster excellent competition. And so no different with Tyler, you know,
in terms of directing it, we want to hit on
the important factors to go for the big guys on

(08:03):
both sides, this off season is important. It's the strength,
it's the conditioning, it's getting everything aligned just right. But
their time really is in the training camp space. You
know who to target, where to go, and so that's important.
So I can play quickly like like we've all heard
of like speed of things. It's like the speed of

(08:24):
the read. How quick I can see something to go
And that's what like this time the spring ball is
about for the big guys, can I get it targeted
where I'm supposed to get to. But I love that
they are putting in the work together O Line, D Line,
the strength work, the conditioning work, because if we can
get that part up and then this time of year
we're building, you know, the understanding of the systems. It

(08:46):
just allows everybody to play faster. And Tyler's right in
the middle of all that.

Speaker 5 (08:49):
And I know you're working with a lot of players obviously,
but Dietrich wise one of the newer players here. Just
your overall impressions of him coming to the team this year.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, and he had come with great recommendations, you know,
from you know, people that were you know, in his past.
When sometimes you get a text after you hire somebody said, man,
this guy is remarkable, not before, but after you've already
signed them, it's usually a good sign. And that was
the case with he and with Jonathan. It was easy
to see how he would fit in here. He's so
strong playing blocks, he's square, He's had like excellent background

(09:22):
in the run game. So for him to fit in
it was a very easy fit for us. This is
what we know this player can do, this is what
we've known about the work ethic, and so he's been
off to a great start here.

Speaker 6 (09:33):
Sorry, and you bring this up again. It's been a
big talker today, Jayden. Do you notice does he look
any different physically. I mean, he said he's gotten in
the way through we.

Speaker 1 (09:41):
Even got like side by side of the mirror anything,
but like he's doing great. Honestly, I don't know what
else to share with you about that. He's at the
right markers that we want him to be. So he
and all the guys have you know, certain weight and
body composition that they're all hitting for. So for him,
he's in, you know, the space that he wants to.

Speaker 6 (10:01):
Go, do you And then just in Beck the coaching staff,
how rare is it to retain so much of a
coaching staff, and then how big of his an advantage
is that even in It's a.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
Really big deal. And that's that's why I did lead
off with that intentionally, because I don't think we've got
a chance to really talk about that as much as
I thought we would, because looking back, for me, it's
pretty rare. And we've also added in Brian Schneider, somebody
that you know, I've had some experience with who is
also another like true heavy hitter on the special team side.

(10:34):
But I guess it fast tracks some of the things
that we understand, but it also allows us probably to
get a little deeper, you know, than we were in
year one, to get closer, better understanding of one another.
And that's been a big deal for me. So year
one to year two for a player is big, as
for coaches it's big too. And so man, I really

(10:57):
appreciate that.

Speaker 7 (10:58):
With that continuity of coaching staff from you down to
to offensive corninator, quarterback coach. What does it do for
a football team when you have a quarterback going from
a rookie year to a sophomore season, Having that sort
of continuity in the same staff, in the same offense.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
Yeah, it's really important. We wanted to keep really the
for lack of a better word, I think Adam may
I have shared with an ecosystem, you know, together of
some really strong staff members that we feel excellent about.
So for some to decide to stay here when they
had other opportunities not to, I think that speaks a

(11:33):
lot of what they're building collectively, you know, players and
coaches together, and so it meant a lot.

Speaker 8 (11:40):
Hi hell, knowing this phases voluntary, do you make an
effort to stay in touch with guys like Terry or
Marshawn or Laramie when they aren't here.

Speaker 1 (11:51):
Yeah, just make it a point to stay in touch,
you know, in season, off season, and just make sure
that's like my job to make sure you know, everybody's
hitting the right markers of what we're doing. And so
those guys have been excellent in terms of the communication
with me and speak you know, to Terry specifically, like
he's throwing a great offseason.

Speaker 8 (12:08):
And when you look at the positional groups where there's
still some things to figure out, like the O line,
the secondary, what do you look for to see? All right,
this guy he clearly fits here. We need this guy here.
I mean, what are some of the things that you
want to see?

Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yeah, because it's usually not you know, something that we'll
see in one day, But it's all these markers, Nikki,
if you keep hitting it over time and then it's okay.
Now I've got a broader sense of what that would
look like. So you want to keep track of the
things that individually players are doing. All right, that looks strong.
What if we gave him more reps at that spot?

(12:45):
And we're also learning some of the newest players here,
what can they do that's that's unique or specific to them?
I can remember asking Debo, is there any specific route
that's not here that says man like, this is one
thing that like you're excellent at and just and he goes, no,
I would I say, if it ever comes, I'd like

(13:07):
to know that, you know, like that goes for him
or any other guys. But that was my way of
pouring back into them, knowing, like, there's a lot of
things that we're learning, but you also can help fast
track it by saying, this is one thing I can
do better than anybody. And so whether it's he or
Dietrich or others, I do pride a little bit because

(13:29):
they're good dudes and they're learning the system here, but
I also want to know, like, I'm interested in your background,
I'm interested in what you've done, and so I do
that some with the rookies, but not as much for them.
It's more, these are the principles of what we're doing.
Some of the other guys who played some longer, they
know themselves better and they've done it at a high level.

(13:50):
So I'm usually one to ask that I've learned a
lot from players through the years and that hadn't.

Speaker 4 (13:57):
Stopped development plan for coaches as well.

Speaker 1 (14:05):
It does, and that's one of my big off season
goals to see can we improve as a staff, and
well what does that mean, Dan, how does that? What
does that look like? It's us improving to really help
the players and so for them to be at their
very best, like we also have to be improving. You
can see how that, you know, can work together. So

(14:28):
it's not just this is what you need to do,
it's also us rising with them to take it to
new spots. Think of new ways, new techniques, new teaching methods,
new ways to communicate it. And if we can improve
and not just say well, let's you know, mistake out
what we did last year and put it down, but
in fact improve ourselves as coaches as a staff, then
you've got a chance to do some really cool things

(14:49):
because it's not just one person growing, you know, it's
the player and the staff and they feel that when
the coaches, you know, digging in to find it and
the best of the best coaches man like lie at
wake at night thinking like how am I effing going
to get this guy better? And family show and there's

(15:13):
a lot of coaches here that do that to say
I'm going to figure it out, and like that's what's
fun about this time I said earlier. It's why it
is their time to shine. Like there's a lot of
teaching that has to go on. These next three weeks
are critical for the players that are still learning the
system or trying to find a role, and so we'll
find out a lot. Every day matters. The drills matter,

(15:36):
the teach backs matter because we're finding out a lot
about them.

Speaker 5 (15:41):
Do you have a favorite principle to teach younger coaches
or things that you're focused on this year specifically that
stand out?

Speaker 1 (15:47):
Not a specific principle. Usually it evolves something with communication.
We could all say that there's another piece that I
dig into a lot on the planning. You know, how
are you going to use the practice reps, how you're
going to use this part of individual to work something?
And then the last part is an evaluation. Okay, first
with ourselfs as coaches, what is it that you want

(16:08):
to improve on? And then the next step what are
you doing? What is the actual work on? And if
you can get that part right as from the self awareness,
say it, this is something I want to improve on,
then it's much easier for me to assist and dig
in to help back.

Speaker 2 (16:24):
Them on that.

Speaker 9 (16:25):
Thank you, hey, coach, We've heard repeatedly about what you've
done for this culture and just guiding and leading the
you know, the brotherhood. I know you've mentioned before that
the team, they act on it, but so much from
the players, coaches, they all talk about your role in this.
So who do you lean on for that leadership style

(16:48):
that you have? Where did you get a lot of
that learning and teaching from to then share it with
your organization here.

Speaker 1 (16:55):
I think one of the early parts of leading is
that you think it's you know, what can I do
for them? You know, for that, and then as you
really get closer to people, it's developing the leaders you
know from within, because that to me, you're talking about
like the culture is like how we act together, you know,
what are the things that we do on an everyday basis.

(17:17):
So I love that you guys saw us competing, like
starting from bags and going through special teams and then
seven on seven with guys really going to strain like
today's practice for the first practice from AFAR would not
have looked like a first practice, but that came from
the players of being ready and having that culture of like,
hey man, like when we go out to do this,

(17:38):
like so work on these specific things and so for me,
it's more gas onto that to say, all right, how
do we get the whole group better? Canny by the
attitude that they can bring for one another. If they
can look after one another and know what each other
is working on and improving upon, then there's no limit
to what you can become because it's not reliant on

(18:01):
one person watching you or you on your own figuring
it out. It's a whole, you know, network of people
like just supporting the hell out of you. And that
to me is what we're after and chasing. And this
is absolutely the type of team that, like man, I
want to play for and dying to coach for because
they do really want to push one another to see
how good they can get.

Speaker 7 (18:23):
Hi, Dan, you know last year, you guys are kind
of like the Hunters.

Speaker 1 (18:27):
Now this year is always the Hunters. Okay, okay, we're
not go there. I know I'm cutting you off before
you get started. Okay, Yeah, that way we don't have
to like get into all you the hunter the hunted
like we are always the hunters.

Speaker 5 (18:39):
Explain that then, because you've had a lot of success,
you're going and in a sense, you know, last year
you're a one game away from going to the Super Bowl.
So obviously the bar has been raced.

Speaker 7 (18:48):
Teams below you are looking at trying to knock you
guys off in a sense, So that role reversal of
how this team is going to handle success. What does
that what does that look like to you?

Speaker 1 (18:59):
So well, we've got a lot to prove and so
for us, that is what the hunting is. It's the
It's not something that's going to be on at the
end of the season. It's right now about these next
three weeks. We've got a couple of weeks o Ta's
in a mini camp and it's like absolutely going after
it as hard as we can to see how good
we can get, and then we'll worry about training camp.

(19:20):
But the hunter is a mindset. It's an attitude of
absolutely delivering and going for it. But that's who we
that's who we are, and that doesn't change on anything
you know done previously. It's just how we get down
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