Nick Saban’s Senior Bowl Press Conference Transcript

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, February 01, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Miami Dolphins
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(Opening Statement) - "We really have to shift gears this week. I think everybody knows that we spent a significant amount of time the last couple of weeks trying to assemble a staff. We have made some progress on that. We have hired Charlie Baggett who was the wide receivers coach in Minnesota. He's a really good fit for Scott (Linehan) because they worked together. It is also a good fit for myself because Charlie and I coached together for eight or nine years in college. Twice together at Michigan State, he was on my staff when I was a head coach and we worked together as assistant coaches. We're very excited about getting that position filled. Right now we're in the process of continuing to make some evaluations from a coaching staff standpoint. I really don't have anything other to report other than Coach Baggett from a coaching standpoint.

"As we make these decisions we are certainly going to release it to you as soon as possible. I'd really rather not make a lot of comments about the rumors, speculations and innuendos. I will say this; we will treat every organization that continues to play toward a championship or in a Super Bowl with the utmost respect. I have not considered talking to any of the people involved in those situations. I would rather not be asked about something that we are not even considering at this point. That is all rumor and innuendos and I think everyone needs to understand that. We have interviewed two people from a defensive coordinator standpoint. We will continue to evaluate that position and make a decision when we feel like we have the right chemistry on the staff to do that.

"As I've said we needed to shift gears this week. I've been very pleased with the way our personnel people have organized the information for the staff that we have and for myself relative to what we can get done from an evaluation standpoint this week at the Senior Bowl. There is a lot a of good football players here on both sides. For most of us, this is the first opportunity to evaluate those players because we've basically been looking at free agents, re-evaluating our team, trying to assess our needs and see what we'd like to improve on and develop our team at home in Miami. I'm very pleased with the information, the way it's been presented to me and I think it's helped us be effective in the way we can come to practice here and make some evaluations as a staff which I think is critical for us moving forward. But really other than that, there's really nothing new for us to report. I'm really excited with the progress that we've been able to make at this point and we are going to continue to work hard and complete the staff and continue to make personnel evaluations the rest of this week and work on the coaching side of it when we get back home Thursday."

(On whether he feels like he has an advantage evaluating talent that he coached or coached against recently while in college as the head coach at LSU) - "I don't think there's any question yesterday when we watched the South practice, I have three of our own players on the defensive side of it from LSU. Having played against a lot of the players in the SEC that were in the game, there's no doubt, a little advantage not only having seen those players, play against us. But in preparation for them, watching them compete over a period of years, I think that certainly helps your ability to make a quality assessment of what their strengths and weaknesses are."

(On whether he feels it's better to evaluate talent at the Senior Bowl practices or the game) - "I think there is an argument for both. I think you can evaluate some physical skills in practice and I think that's critical. But I also think you can see how a guy takes that to a game and how he competes in a game when a coach is not there telling him what to do. I think you have let the guy go out there alone, and Bill (Belichick) used to always say, "Let the players play." Because the next step of their development is can they take it to the field and execute it in the heat of the battle. There's an evaluation there too in the game on Saturday."

(On whether he feels the team can be built through the draft or free agency more effectively) - "I think both of those things are important in making that decision. First of all, who adds the most value to the organization has got to be taken into consideration, while in turn, secondly, how does it help our football team in the short term relative to a player can come in and help us immediately as a football player next year. I think both of those things are things that need to be taken into consideration and a value can be placed on both that contributes to the final decision."

(On whether the Dolphins would be willing to trade the No. 2 pick in the draft) - "I think that all comes to what's available, and what the interest is and what's available from other people. What problems we could solve from a value standpoint by what we could get for it. I think that's all got to be taken into consideration and weighed and ventured and a decision being made accordingly."

(On what areas he feels the Dolphins need to upgrade personnel wise) - "I think that on offense we probably need to improve the quality of play at the tackles, then possibly a left tackle may help us. Not that we don't want to continue to develop the players that we have. Obviously there was a little bit of a void left last year at running back relative to the situation and I think that's something that probably needs to be addressed. Defensively, I think that we need to get some young quality football players to compliment the older more experienced veteran players that we have so that we can continue to play the kind of defensive football that have contributed to our success. We have so many areas that have quality players that have played a lot of quality football that we need to assess their volume moving forward in the future. We also have some very good football players that we would like to build around. Truthfully I don't think it's clearly defined, it's more how we talk about the players we have."

(On the Dolphins situation right now salary cap wise) - "I think that it's important, and I think we have done a good job in terms of the transition for me, Matt Thomas and Bryan Wiedmeier have done a very good job. They are very well organized and their presentations of what our current situation is, what other teams' current situations are, and how our plan for the future can manage the current situation in order for us to be competitive. I feel good about these provisions that they provided me and the plan that we have for the future. I think philosophically as an organization we probably have done a good job of protecting the future by the way we have some of the deals with some of our current players. I think that can be an asset for us moving ahead. But I do think when it comes to the salary cap you can't be short-sided and I don't think we want to do a lot of deals that aren't of real value to the organization that may have some negative affects that may effect our competitive advantage or disadvantage in the future. I think that's a real critical piece of how you manage the salary cap."

(On how aware he is of the fundamentals of the salary cap) - "I think I understand the basic fundamentals of the salary cap. I think you don't have to be totally technical and understand everything, but you can understand cause and effect pretty easily, and you can understand the current situation we're in and how to move forward, and I feel pretty good about that. There are a lot of people that have expertise in that and can lend advice, but the real key to the drill to me is how do you place personnel evaluations, to value management, to the cap. In terms of what we're paying tucked into the quality value to what you're buying and what you are spending. I think that kills you more than anything else. I think that bridge is what's critical. I understand enough about development and how that's important to help us move forward."

(On how he feels about the Dolphins quarterback situation) - "I think we have a young quarterback that definitely made some progress last year who we have to give an opportunity to in the future. To say that this guy can't elevate his play, leadership ability, compete with consistency, take care of the ball and do all the things a good quarterback needs to do so that we can have success in the future. I think the quarterback is a critical position. I feel that an evaluation needs to be continued and is ongoing and that we would like to have some kind of a veteran and some kind of a developmental player at that position beyond the first player that we have. That's what we will try to manage through free agency and through the draft."

(On the quality of players he has seen thus far) - "There are a lot of outstanding players out there and there are some good quality linemen, especially on this team. We played against and competed against Mark Clayton, and have a lot of respect for him and what he can do. I think he had an outstanding practice today. I also feel that some of the linemen on this team, offensive linemen and defensive linemen, were pretty impressive in their athleticism and how they can contribute to any team, probably early on. I thought yesterday, we saw some quality skill players as well from the South team. There are a lot of good football players here. There are a lot of impressions being made, positively and negatively, but we've seen a lot more positives than negatives."

(On Marcus Spears, Travis Daniels, and Corey Webster from LSU playing in the Senior Bowl) ? "Well, we probably know as much about our three players as anyone, probably even more than some of the scouts do, relative to their history and their consistency and performance over time, some of the situations relative to how they performed this year as to how they have performed in the past. I feel like our scouts have a pretty good handle on those three guys. I was impressed with the way that all three of those guys practiced yesterday."

(On interviewing players) - "You know, we interview a lot of players and I interviewed several players last night and I enjoy it, but I think it's very difficult ? if you can interview all the players, a player shouldn't receive a false vibe because you interviewed him and liked him, didn't have the opportunity to interview another player at this position, so now you go make a decision about the guy you liked because you interviewed him is better than the guy you didn't interview, who you may like even better. I think it's important that we do good background relative to the players that we're interested in from a character standpoint and a competitive character standpoint in terms of their ability to go out and play with consistency, overcome adversity, handle frustration, those kinds of things, and how important football is to him. You can only ask the question, if we had a room full of players here and I said, 'Everybody that wants a win, stand up.' Everybody would stand up. That would be an easy question to answer. Now, if we really want to get a true assessment, 'How many guys in this room are willing to do what you need to do to be successful?' That is a whole different ballgame. I think in this interview process, those are some of the characteristics that you try to find out from a personal standpoint ? if a guy has the willingness to do that because football is important to him, being good is important to him, having progress in his performance is important to him. History is probably the best indicator of what the future is going to bring, but I think the better you know someone, the better assessment you can make. I don't think I could really extend an interview to every player in this draft, but I think someone in our organization probably will and I think we have to trust in their ability to make a decision about some of these things."

(On looking for new players) - "That's how we evaluate players. That's how we evaluated players when I was with Bill (Belichick) in Cleveland, that's how we improved that team in 1994, we got deep in the playoffs. I don't see a lot of changes in how they go about defining what they're looking for in football players at every position. Defining the critical factors that are important to a guy being successful at that position and they know what they're looking for, and they know what they want and that's what they go try to get. I think that's important in any organization. We're going to try to do the same thing."

(On hiring a defensive coordinator) ? "I feel like we have two pretty good defensive coordinators on our staff already, and they are not defensive coordinators. George Edwards has been a defensive coordinator before. Will (Muschamp) has been a defensive coordinator not in the NFL, but in college and knows the package that is basically a pro-package from the Cleveland Browns. It's not difficult, it's just that I would personally like, we would personally like to find someone who philosophically believes like we believe, because I think the worse thing is there are a lot of competent teachers out there, there are a lot of competent people out there, but competency and chemistry is very, very important. I think we have a group of guys right now that are on the same page in terms of what we want to do and how we want to go about it. We want to find a leader that fits into that category as well."

(On hiring assistant coaches) ? "There is a salary cap on players, but there is really not a salary cap on coaches. I think people that understand that getting the best quality people to help develop your players is probably a very good value. It's certainly something that I believe in. I think it's something that we believe in organizationally, and if you can develop the players that you have to play more competitively with better technique, knowledge, experience, on a consistent basis, that is definitely going to help your competitive advantage in the future. Developing your own players is going to help in the future because still, the best quality, the best value you have are the players that you get in the draft. To be able to teach and develop those players to be contributors I think is a real asset in any organization and to have the best quality staff would obviously give the best opportunity to do that."

(On where he is staying in Ft. Lauderdale and making the move) ? "I settled into the Renaissance center, or whatever it's called and I sleep there from maybe 10:30, 11:00 at night until five or six in the morning and it's really a nice place. It's not home, but you have to make it home. It is what it is, and we enjoy it. My wife has been there for four days looking at houses. The budget for houses has risen. We have two children in school, our son is a senior in high school. He also plays for the golf team, so it's probably important for him to be able to finish his school where he is. Our daughter is in the eight grade and going to high school next year, and I think she can make the transition whenever. We have some personal issues that will not allow us to move as quickly as we like. I would just like to move today, just move and get it over with and leave much there and sell what is there, and have everybody together because family is important and being around your family I think is important. On the other hand, we have so much to do right now that it's not a bad thing and you don't feel guilty about getting home or you can just stay there and try to get as much done as possible day to day to try to get moving in the right direction."

(On spending the weekend at home) ? "I went home this weekend and I guess you could call it down time. We're still making calls and trying to get things done so we can move ahead in terms of staff and those types of things. Since Mobile is pretty close to Baton Rouge, I thought it would be a good time to have a stop over."

(On his style of play) ? "Last year's team played bump and run in your face, but the safeties played over the top a lot. There was some ? I think first of all you have to stop the run. There were some problems with that. The corners place the limitations on your defense relative to what they can do. You can't put the corners in a position to give up big plays, but the more they can do, the better off you are going to be. I think your style has to be to disguise, place some eight-man fronts which means you have to have a safety in the middle of the field. You can't cover up the corners all the time, but at the same time, do a good job on your split safety stuff so you cover them up a little bit. Last year we played split safeties almost all the time. Our style of play has always been to defend the middle of the field first, stop the run, try to create positive down-and-distance situations for the defensive team to make the offense a little more predictable. Don't give up big plays, get lots of turnovers, be a good third down team, play well in the red area, play well in special situations. That's saying a lot I think, but philosophically, I think you have to fix it up a little bit, affect the quarterback sometime with pressure, affect him with disguised coverage, but we've been a little bit more multiple in our style of play than maybe we've seen here. I think it's going to be necessary. You can be simple when you have great, dominating players. If you don't have those kind of players, I think you have to give your players a better chance by moving them right to left to give them a better chance to be successful and disguise what you're trying to do so that you have the element of confusion to some degree to some teams."

(On what his defensive scheme will be) ? "The first thing we need to do is let our players play. If we played mostly 4-3, and draw into some odd packages and nickel situations, and that is probably where we will start because that is probably what we have the best personnel to play with at this point in time. That is what we will try to do. I don't think we want to put our players that we have that are good quality players in positions that they would struggle to be successful in so as we build steam, it's a little bit ?what can we do' as well."

(On being compared to Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick) ? "I think, I'm not big into comparisons, but you can make that determination. I think we're similar in coaching philosophy of what we think is important to being successful on offense, defense, special teams, and giving the players the best opportunity to be successful, the best chance to be successful, the best chance to win. There are factors that are, I think, significant to that and I would say that we think a lot alike about that. I haven't talked to Bill (Belichick) since I took this job. He did call and leave a message. They are still playing and I'm trying to be honorable and letting him focus on what they need to do because I know how focused he is and he understands that. I certainly understand that as well. We did meet quite often in the offseason. Whether I would visit him or he would visit me, last year, he visited us in Baton Rouge and spent a couple of days and we would talk ball. When I was at Michigan State, he used to come to our camp and stay at the camp and stay at the house for three days and we would talk a lot about a lot of different things."

(On evaluating the current Dolphins players) ? "I think that is kind of a work in progress. I have watched the tape, watched the players individually, we made individual player tapes so that we could evaluate personnel, to try to assess needs, which I think is important relative to salary cap and all those things. The second thing is it's a work in progress because we don't even have a complete staff. I've looked at all the offensive linemen, but it would be interesting if the offensive line coach, when we get him hired, and the offensive coordinator to have the opportunity to make some of those same assessments and kind of get an organizational feel for if this is how we think. I think that's important. We haven't had the opportunity to do that yet. It's a work in progress. We've made some progress towards it. I have some feelings that may get verified and may not. I think one thing that we have done is try to assess the critical factors that are important to play in every position so that when we do evaluate these players, they either fit that or they don't. If they don't, how can we utilize them so that they can be productive in whatever scheme it is we use."

(On turning down the offer to coach one of the teams at the Senior Bowl) ? "I'm a ball guy, so this is what I like to do. I like watching this, I really have enjoyed coaching this team this year. We were asked to do that, and couldn't because we didn't feel like we could have our staff together in time to do it. We did do this when I was at Cleveland one year, and it was a great advantage for us and some of the personnel evaluations we could make. I enjoy this much, much more. The football part of it is what I enjoy doing, the coaching part, the teaching part, the relationships with the players are all things that I enjoy doing. The interviews that I had with the players last night, I enjoyed. Cadillac Williams, (Carlos) Rogers, played against those guys. They juked the line out of our britches this year, but they let me know about that as well."
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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