tk13
01-19-2006, 05:56 PM
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2006/01/19/qa_with_herm_edwards/
Q&A WITH HERM EDWARDS
Jan 19, 2006, 5:00:24 PM
HERM EDWARDS: “At this point our offensive staff is almost complete but we still have some candidates. I never like to announce who the candidates are in case they don’t get the job. I never want to put a coach in that position.
“Al Saunders is going to take the offensive coordinator’s job with the Washington Redskins. I had a great talk with Al last week and knew he was trying to become a head coach in this league. Obviously, he thought his best opportunity was to go to Washington. We talked today and I wish him a lot of luck. He’s done a great job with our offense. What we’ve got to do is continue to have success with that offense and Mike Solari, our new offensive coordinator, will do a good job.
“Mike’s and my history dates back to 1976 or ‘77. We actually played together at San Diego State and were on the same team together with John Fox. I have a lot of respect for Mike Solari and at one time I actually talked to him about becoming the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets. He decided to stay here so it wasn’t really a big deal when I got here. I knew I was going to have to talk to some guys and just felt at this point it was his time to do this. I think he’s got a great mind; has a great feel for this football team and its players, and we’re surrounding him with a group of good coaches. It’s just his turn.
“This league is about giving guys opportunities. You can see that with some of these new head coaches. I think all of them are qualified. None of them have ever been a head coach but I was never a head coach until someone gave them an opportunity. Along with position coaches that’s what you have to do. I’ve elected to do that here.
Q: Did you talk about keeping Al Saunders as offensive coordinator?
EDWARDS: “We talked but I knew Al was the kind of guy who every year was going to want to be a head coach. That’s the thing you always guard against. Whether it was this year or next year he’s always going to be a candidate, so I think when you get in that situation with a very, very good coach you want to make sure you have some kind of consistency with your offense. With me being the new head coach I just thought that was the better avenue for us to travel. I think it worked out well for Al and worked out well for Mike Solari.”
Q: Does that mean Al was not welcome to come back?
EDWARDS: “We talked about what I was going to do and Al was looking.”
Q: Did you try to convince him to stay?
EDWARDS: “I don’t try to convince anybody. Al had an opportunity to be a head coach in this league and you’ve got to give him an opportunity to do that. I think the situation arose in Washington with some others and he had a couple of hard decisions to make.”
Q: Concerning Mike Solari, was continuity the main thing when you talked to him about being offensive coordinator?
EDWARDS: “That and some of the position coaches. When you do that you put a guy in a position who’s never called a play. Well, I was never a head coach and never walked out in front of a team until I had to do it. I just think you give people the opportunity to do that and you’d be surprised what can happen. He was ready for it; he has been a very, very good coach in this league and it’s his turn.”
Q: He’s been in charge of the running game for so long, are you going to bring in somebody for the passing game?
EDWARDS: “Well, Terry Shea is here and he’s going to be our quarterback coach. Dick Curl has been a head coach, so I think we’ll have a passing attack, believe me. We have a quarterback who’s pretty smart the last time I check. So, obviously, our passing attack won’t be any different than it was before. You might see a few differences but our offense for the most part will stay intact. As I said, Al did a great job building this offense and I think the coaches who have been here have been a part of that and most of them have been retained.”
Q: You had a conversation with Larry Johnson. Did you tell him that he was going to be the number one running back next season?
EDWARDS: “Did Larry say that?”
Q: Yes he did.
EDWARDS: “Then obviously that’s the truth.”
Q: Can you talk about that conversation?
EDWARDS: “No, because that’s a conversation between Larry Johnson and myself. Now, that doesn’t mean Priest Holmes is not a part of this football team or not a big part of our offense. But at this point I think it’s Larry’s turn to be the starter and it’s his job to keep. He needs to understand that and it’s a mindset he needs to have.”
Q: When you look at offensive coordinators most of the time you’re looking at guys who have come up the ranks as quarterback coaches or receivers coaches or even running backs coaches. You don’t see a lot of offensive line coaches. Why is that?
EDWARDS: “Because they’re not given the opportunity, but I think there’s one guy we kind of lose track of. A guy that I have followed and who actually started here with me except he was at Missouri and that’s Andy Reid. I can remember going over there as a scout and he was a line coach. All of a sudden he went to Green Bay and became the quarterback coach and low and behold – wait, I don’t think he even became the quarterback coach really; he was the tight end coach – he went on to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It’s just a matter of giving those guys opportunities. As I told Mike, in this league the offensive line coaches have a name for the group; they call themselves the Mushrooms. They’re a very tight group of offensive line coaches. I said when this announcement is made all those guys will all cheer because Mike has been a staple as a coach in this league, not only with coaches but players.”
Q: How do you know he’s ready? You talked about offering him a job in New York, but…
EDWARDS: “I’ve watched his work. It’s no different than anyone else when you’ve been given an opportunity. I go on instinct and go on watching a guy prepare and how he prepares his guys. And, we’ll surround him with a bunch of great coaches, too.”
Q: Have you talked to Donnie Henderson who’s been let go by the Jets?
EDWARDS: “I have talked to Donnie"
Q: And?
EDWARDS: “We talked. But he has an opportunity to be a coordinator and that’s what he’s trying to do.”
Q: What about (the Jets) special team coach?
EDWARDS: “At this point he’s under contract and Donnie isn’t.”
Q: One of your players was involved in an arrest last night. What can you tell us and what is your policy about such matters?
EDWARDS: “It’s under investigation. We’re aware of the situation and when I gather more information I can obviously give a better account of what happened. I won’t get into the details and, in fact, you probably have more detail than I do. I don’t get the police form. But I know one thing: there’s always two sides to a story and I haven’t spoken to Greg (Wesley) at this point. But when I do we’ll find out exactly what happened and let the powers-to-be go through what needs to happen. Players have to know that anyone in this organization has to know that not only do they represent this team when they’re on the field but off the field, too. Nothing good ever happens at 12 o’clock. As long as you remember that you’ll be ok.”
Q: What’s been your policy in the past?
EDWARDS: “My policy is my policy. I don’t think publicly I have to state a policy. I’m not going to do that. It’ll be dealt with correctly in a way that players will understand. But there are always two sides.”
Q: You have players who have considered retirement in the past and may be considering it now. Have you had a chance to talk to any of these guys?
EDWARDS: “The conversation I had with Priest was a week ago and it was a very good conversation. He obviously is going to have to make a big decision. He hasn’t made that decision but if I know Priest Holmes I think Priest Holmes will be back.
“I talked to Will Shields and he’s preparing for the Pro Bowl. I said you can’t leave now. When I first got here we drafted him. I anticipate these guys will be back, but hey, they can change their minds. As far as I’m concerned these guys will be back.”
Q: If Priest does return what kind of role will he have?
EDWARDS: At this point we haven’t had an offensive staff meeting, so for me to tell you it would be just my opinion and I don’t do that. I think you have to meet with your staff and decide what’s the best situation for all your players. Obviously, he’ll be a big part of our offense.
Q&A WITH HERM EDWARDS
Jan 19, 2006, 5:00:24 PM
HERM EDWARDS: “At this point our offensive staff is almost complete but we still have some candidates. I never like to announce who the candidates are in case they don’t get the job. I never want to put a coach in that position.
“Al Saunders is going to take the offensive coordinator’s job with the Washington Redskins. I had a great talk with Al last week and knew he was trying to become a head coach in this league. Obviously, he thought his best opportunity was to go to Washington. We talked today and I wish him a lot of luck. He’s done a great job with our offense. What we’ve got to do is continue to have success with that offense and Mike Solari, our new offensive coordinator, will do a good job.
“Mike’s and my history dates back to 1976 or ‘77. We actually played together at San Diego State and were on the same team together with John Fox. I have a lot of respect for Mike Solari and at one time I actually talked to him about becoming the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets. He decided to stay here so it wasn’t really a big deal when I got here. I knew I was going to have to talk to some guys and just felt at this point it was his time to do this. I think he’s got a great mind; has a great feel for this football team and its players, and we’re surrounding him with a group of good coaches. It’s just his turn.
“This league is about giving guys opportunities. You can see that with some of these new head coaches. I think all of them are qualified. None of them have ever been a head coach but I was never a head coach until someone gave them an opportunity. Along with position coaches that’s what you have to do. I’ve elected to do that here.
Q: Did you talk about keeping Al Saunders as offensive coordinator?
EDWARDS: “We talked but I knew Al was the kind of guy who every year was going to want to be a head coach. That’s the thing you always guard against. Whether it was this year or next year he’s always going to be a candidate, so I think when you get in that situation with a very, very good coach you want to make sure you have some kind of consistency with your offense. With me being the new head coach I just thought that was the better avenue for us to travel. I think it worked out well for Al and worked out well for Mike Solari.”
Q: Does that mean Al was not welcome to come back?
EDWARDS: “We talked about what I was going to do and Al was looking.”
Q: Did you try to convince him to stay?
EDWARDS: “I don’t try to convince anybody. Al had an opportunity to be a head coach in this league and you’ve got to give him an opportunity to do that. I think the situation arose in Washington with some others and he had a couple of hard decisions to make.”
Q: Concerning Mike Solari, was continuity the main thing when you talked to him about being offensive coordinator?
EDWARDS: “That and some of the position coaches. When you do that you put a guy in a position who’s never called a play. Well, I was never a head coach and never walked out in front of a team until I had to do it. I just think you give people the opportunity to do that and you’d be surprised what can happen. He was ready for it; he has been a very, very good coach in this league and it’s his turn.”
Q: He’s been in charge of the running game for so long, are you going to bring in somebody for the passing game?
EDWARDS: “Well, Terry Shea is here and he’s going to be our quarterback coach. Dick Curl has been a head coach, so I think we’ll have a passing attack, believe me. We have a quarterback who’s pretty smart the last time I check. So, obviously, our passing attack won’t be any different than it was before. You might see a few differences but our offense for the most part will stay intact. As I said, Al did a great job building this offense and I think the coaches who have been here have been a part of that and most of them have been retained.”
Q: You had a conversation with Larry Johnson. Did you tell him that he was going to be the number one running back next season?
EDWARDS: “Did Larry say that?”
Q: Yes he did.
EDWARDS: “Then obviously that’s the truth.”
Q: Can you talk about that conversation?
EDWARDS: “No, because that’s a conversation between Larry Johnson and myself. Now, that doesn’t mean Priest Holmes is not a part of this football team or not a big part of our offense. But at this point I think it’s Larry’s turn to be the starter and it’s his job to keep. He needs to understand that and it’s a mindset he needs to have.”
Q: When you look at offensive coordinators most of the time you’re looking at guys who have come up the ranks as quarterback coaches or receivers coaches or even running backs coaches. You don’t see a lot of offensive line coaches. Why is that?
EDWARDS: “Because they’re not given the opportunity, but I think there’s one guy we kind of lose track of. A guy that I have followed and who actually started here with me except he was at Missouri and that’s Andy Reid. I can remember going over there as a scout and he was a line coach. All of a sudden he went to Green Bay and became the quarterback coach and low and behold – wait, I don’t think he even became the quarterback coach really; he was the tight end coach – he went on to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It’s just a matter of giving those guys opportunities. As I told Mike, in this league the offensive line coaches have a name for the group; they call themselves the Mushrooms. They’re a very tight group of offensive line coaches. I said when this announcement is made all those guys will all cheer because Mike has been a staple as a coach in this league, not only with coaches but players.”
Q: How do you know he’s ready? You talked about offering him a job in New York, but…
EDWARDS: “I’ve watched his work. It’s no different than anyone else when you’ve been given an opportunity. I go on instinct and go on watching a guy prepare and how he prepares his guys. And, we’ll surround him with a bunch of great coaches, too.”
Q: Have you talked to Donnie Henderson who’s been let go by the Jets?
EDWARDS: “I have talked to Donnie"
Q: And?
EDWARDS: “We talked. But he has an opportunity to be a coordinator and that’s what he’s trying to do.”
Q: What about (the Jets) special team coach?
EDWARDS: “At this point he’s under contract and Donnie isn’t.”
Q: One of your players was involved in an arrest last night. What can you tell us and what is your policy about such matters?
EDWARDS: “It’s under investigation. We’re aware of the situation and when I gather more information I can obviously give a better account of what happened. I won’t get into the details and, in fact, you probably have more detail than I do. I don’t get the police form. But I know one thing: there’s always two sides to a story and I haven’t spoken to Greg (Wesley) at this point. But when I do we’ll find out exactly what happened and let the powers-to-be go through what needs to happen. Players have to know that anyone in this organization has to know that not only do they represent this team when they’re on the field but off the field, too. Nothing good ever happens at 12 o’clock. As long as you remember that you’ll be ok.”
Q: What’s been your policy in the past?
EDWARDS: “My policy is my policy. I don’t think publicly I have to state a policy. I’m not going to do that. It’ll be dealt with correctly in a way that players will understand. But there are always two sides.”
Q: You have players who have considered retirement in the past and may be considering it now. Have you had a chance to talk to any of these guys?
EDWARDS: “The conversation I had with Priest was a week ago and it was a very good conversation. He obviously is going to have to make a big decision. He hasn’t made that decision but if I know Priest Holmes I think Priest Holmes will be back.
“I talked to Will Shields and he’s preparing for the Pro Bowl. I said you can’t leave now. When I first got here we drafted him. I anticipate these guys will be back, but hey, they can change their minds. As far as I’m concerned these guys will be back.”
Q: If Priest does return what kind of role will he have?
EDWARDS: At this point we haven’t had an offensive staff meeting, so for me to tell you it would be just my opinion and I don’t do that. I think you have to meet with your staff and decide what’s the best situation for all your players. Obviously, he’ll be a big part of our offense.