Yeah, you know, how important have the four guys that played for you previously, How important have they been in the implement implementation and the execution of the defense so far? Um, Probably not very much. As far as the implement implementation of it. It's not that tough. Um. You know, there's a lot of guys that didn't play for me in the past that have come in and played well. So I don't know if that means a lot, but execution
obviously means a lot. Um. You know, those guys have track record of being able to execute and be able to make plays, and I think that's the important part of it. You know, I think attitude probably means a little bit also, you know, I mean they were you know, those guys, those guys fit what we wanted to do. And you know, in a tough situation what happened here on defense last year, you know, I mean I've been there, I've been you know where your defensive stats don't look
real good. I don't think this was the worst defense in the NFL last year, but you know, situation, Um, that came up, their numbers weren't very good. I think having an infusion of some new guys helped move them past that a little bit. And I'm not just talking about those guys, I'm talking also guys like Rodney McCleod. Um, you know, coming from a different team. Um, you know, I think that that that helped the guys that were
here put last year behind them. To you, I mean some of the cornerbacks for instance, to go to talk about how you let month in to play a certain kind of swagger white attitude also, And that's the way football is meant to be played. I mean, you know, I mean it's it's an emotional game, it's a physical game. Um, you need to play with some passion, you need to be competitive. Um. If you don't have those things, you're
not going to be successful in the football. Feel regardless of what your skill level is, what your forty time is, you know, all those other things. It's give us a chance to go four. Oh it's an NFC team, So yeah, it's personal that way. But as far as the Lions, you know, I think you guys will probably be surprised how much I root for the Lions. You know, as as long as it's not in direct conflict with the Eagles, I want those guys to win every week. I got.
I got too many, too much blood and sweat in that building. And there's a lot of guys there to meet, an awful lot to me, you know, and start with Stafford and Pettigrew and Levy. I mean, those guys were our first draft class. I want those guys to succeed. I don't want them to concede this Sunday, I'm gonna do my very best to try to try to try to beat them. But I think everybody be surprised how much. Um. You know, you you have relationships that are that just
don't go away when you leave or player leaves. Um. Those guys have had my back when I coached there, and you know I've had their back and I'm sure that'll continue. Not this Sunday though, all thinking to be going back there. Yeah, it's been there, done that. You know. I played when I was in Buffalo low Um, I was able to get a win there. And then also we played a snow game there. Um in Detroit when I was with Buffalo and we played the Jets there. Um, And I visit there a lot of times in the
off season. You know, I don't have very many friends, but my wife has a lot of friends. UM enjoyed. I certainly enjoyed my time there. And it's uh, you know, it's it'll be part of our family's life, not just my life. It'll be far part of our family's life.
And you know, you look back and um, you know, I think you'd take a couple of years and you can appreciate the good times maybe a little bit more than when, um, you know, when when you're in the middle of things back there in twenty fourteen for that game. Does that make this one that much different than well? I think that was probably a little bit different in that. Um, I mean I probably had about ten coaches that worked
for me that were still on the staff. I probably, I mean most of the team, you know it played for me. I mean, sure, that's going to be emotional. I mean, you're not a human being if it's not. UM, you know, and and you and you're won't do everything you can to win every game. I mean every game is a big game. But yeah, I mean, um, I think I have one coach stole left on the staff. You know, I was trying to count them up. I think I have maybe a dozen, maybe thirteen players that
you know, we're there. You know this league moves fast. Man, this league moves fast. I won't be as many familiar faces. But like I said, um, you know I have, I have the relationships. Don't just go away when you're no longer working for a team or a guy's no longer playing for you. To Nigel being arrested, arrested for the second time, do you bear a certain responsible because you certainly played a role in bringing him here? Well, I
think that. I mean, first, I mean, the worst thing I've ever forgotten at the airport I think has been a razor or a belt or something like that. You know. And I'm the guy in line. If that person five people ahead has a bottle of water in their luggage, I'm throwing my hands up, like, seriously, do you ever travel? You do you not know that you can't take water in?
This takes it to a different level. I think the most disappointing thing for me is it takes away from the Nigel that we see every day, A good teammate, a hard work or a trustworthy player on the field. But hey, facts or facts, I mean, you do these things. Um, you know, pretty pretty soon you're gonna be labeled. And he's got a lot of ground to make up, because it's not just him, it's you prefer it's the rest of us. Also, it's everybody that wears that helmet, you know,
all the people in your organization. He represents not just himself, he represents everybody. And he's got some ground to make up. That way, he's got to earn some trust back. How did your time in Detroit change you as as a coach? If at algia more gray hair, but as a coach, um, I don't know. I think you know, we all all, we all would like things to Let me put it this way, it doesn't end well for head coaches in
the NFL, no matter how much you wanted to. I mean you guys, I mean you know, look, as much as success as Andy Reid had here, it didn't end well for him. You know, I mean you could you could probably roll up just about any um coach that's ever coaching the league. It's you know, it didn't end well for Tony Dungee at Tampa, ended well for him at Indy, didn't end well for Belichick at Cleveland, didn't end well for Pete Carroll at you know, the Jets
or the Patriots. I think when we're in it. We all expect to be that person that's just somewhere for twenty five years or whatever. And you know, I think, you know, we just realized that, you know, it doesn't always work out that way. I think probably the biggest thing is just having a chance to take a step back from it. It'd let you maybe realize what's important, what's what the most important things are. And I'm I'm
a I'm a small, small stuff, sweating guy. I mean, every detail is important to me, and I'm gonna I'm gonna treat it that way, you know, And there's there's an intensity to that that I think is important. But I think you um sometimes as a coach, and I'm not speaking just for myself, but probably a lot of other people, you don't. You don't enjoy yourself when you're in the moment. And I think I probably enjoyed myself in the moment a little bit more now after that experience.
I think it's um, it's a lesson you can only learn if you're in it. I mean, when you take over a team that's own sixteen, that's a unique challenge. And if I remember, you got him to ten and six in playoffs in year three? I mean, how proud are you of the job you did there? And how difficult was that inheriting that situation. Our goal was to win a championship and we didn't get that done, and I was disappointed with that. I'm sure the people at
Detroit were disappointed with that. So um, you know, uh, you know, I think that the same thing here. I mean, we start three and zero, Um, that's not enough. There's no tie breakers based on your first three games at the season. You know, I tell that to the players, you know, you know there's there's there's no defensive rankings that are tie breakers. You know, we're trying to win games and I didn't win enough and Detroit hopefully we can change that here. As a leader as well as play, well,
it's it's his play that makes the most difference. You know, you can be all the leader you want if if if you're a crappy player doesn't make much of a difference, he's not. He's a good player. And I think that you saw that against a really good offensive unit from Pittsburgh. He was all over the field. Um, you know, played with a lot of passion, played with a lot of spirit, was competitive um, you know, and that's when you talk
about leadership. Those are the things I think that are the best, you know, the things that show through the best. It's not you know, saying something before the game or you know, being in the locker room. It's your play on Sunday and your teammates knowing they can count on you to get the job done. That fourth and five stop. You know, I don't know if the game was really in the balance there, but that really took the game
out of the balance when he had that stopping. Harry is maybe the best receiver in the NFL right now. We had him doubled. But when he ran shallow, Malcolm was on him by himself, you know, like to say, make the interception right there. But just getting that stop, we still got to turn over, turnover on downs. Some of the ends of talking before about when you're wide nine, they don't. It's not typical in that dull gossie. They run through almost I guess at the tight ends there,
et cetera. What's different about yours than perhaps, Yeah, they shouldn't be talking. They shouldn't be talking about what their techniques are. But but you guys all probably want to apology to Washburn because nobody thought you could stop that. You thought that the Um I'll say you, but um, you know he was. He was the guy because of wide nine and um, you know you were and you were terrible with stopping the run. Um walk. I work with Washington a long time. I have a lot of
respect for that man. Um, But we can play the run, and their techniques allow them to play to run and also be able to rush the quarterback and puts those guys in good positions. Um, you know. It's but it's not just those guys. You know, linebackers behind them, the safeties behind them, Corners have to be able to tackle. Um. You know, there's a lot of layers that go in to stop in the run. This defensive line has been together a lot of years, which is kind of unusual
in a free agency era. I think five of them since two, thy twelve or more longer. How much of a factor do you think that is in thew ability to play together, just knowing each other so well and having good relationships off the field, all that stuff. Yeah, I think the relationships probably means something as far as playing together. They played in a couple of different schemes. I don't know. I think the more the more experience they get playing what they're playing now will help them.
I think there is something to be able to playoff a guy and just understanding his skill set and how he's going to play. But don't underestimate the camaraderie part of it. I think that does mean a lot. Alvin Johnson, how's it a different issue? Well, I've become a big fan of Dancing with the Stars. Um, honestly, I've never watched it, but but I'll go back. I root for all those guys success. Man, I root for his success. Um, you know, I mean, I don't guess there's there a
number you're supposed to call in. If there is, I'll call. I'll call in because because that guy, that guy deserves anything good that happens to him. Was one of the hardest workers I've ever been around it. He treated every day like he was trying to make the team. He was the most talented guy, but he didn't act that way. Um. He's one of the greatest players to ever play in this league. Um. But more than that, he was a great teammate, a great guy off the field. He's an
easy guy, to root for. And he's a much easier guy to play defense when he's dancing with the stars instead of on the field, because a big joker demanded double teams, and he could wreck your game if he did. An I saw firsthand he wrecked a lot of guys plans even when they had n't doubled. I mean there were a lot of plays we doubled Antonio Brown, he still made his plays. You know, those great players. I
think that's probably my definition of a great player. When a coordinator starts his game plan with this guy, this guy can't beat us. We got to stop this guy from beating us. And you can still do it. And you know, I was with Calvin for five years. I bet you every single game that he played, the defense coordinator started his game plan with number eight. He wanted and gonna beat us. And guess what, he still set an NFL record for receiving yards in a season in
two thousand and twelve. I think it was two thou and twelve. You know, even if he was doubled. You know, we used to say it all time, even if he's even if he's he's still open, you know, So it does change how you approach them. But a lot of it has to do with the trigger man and has to do with the quarterback. He's scrambled and probably a lot more than he has in the past. I'm talking about Stafford. He's making some plays with his feet. Got a couple of big first downs with his feet this year.
Made some plays there because they're dangerous team third and long. Those teams third and long, they don't have very much of a chance. They're converting almost fifty percent or third and eleven plus. You can only do that if you have a quarterback. Number one, they can stay alive. Number two they can rip a ball in there. And we're of our work cut out for us. Even though Calvin's not there, Stafford still gets the ball. He moves the ball around to all their receivers. He doesn't just have
one favorite, moves around to all the eligibles. Uses his backs can make any throw on the field. And like I said, he's moving into pocket and scrambling, maybe a little more than he has in the past, and it puts a little bit more pressure on the defense. We're going to play very well to stop him. If you do, you want to be a head coach again, yeh, I'm just trying to stay off the hot seat. You know, Hey, everybody, everybody talks about hot seat this time. Yeah, I'm just
trying to keep myself the hot seat. UM. You know, I think in anything, if you do a good job, if you're if you're a quality control coach, you do a good job of that, maybe you get a chance to be a position coach. Maybe you get a chance to be a coordinator. If you do a good job with that. Um. The way this league is, you don't have time to think about a whole lot other than doing your job. I'm trying to do my job. I'm trying to put our defense in position to help us
win games. And if I can do a good job of that, then I'll be happy. Thanks.