Q: You saw this team win three Super Bowl rings and were obviously an integral part of that. When you look at this team on film, how does it compare with those three Super Bowl champions?
RC: I think it compares very favorably. They have good players at every position, all the way across the board and they all seem to be producing as well. They look really good.
Q: From a defensive standpoint – and obviously we're not going to get into specifics here – What does Randy Moss and the general upgrading of receivers do to this club offensively and what challenges does it pose?
RC: Randy has always posed a problem when he has been in the right situation, and it looks like he's in the right situation. He's just making unbelievable plays. As I've looked at these first four games, you could make a Randy Moss highlight reel out of what he's able to do. I think that helps Tom [Brady]. With that being said, if you didn't have Randy Moss on the team you would still have a very good football team and I would venture to say that it would be ranked at the top of the league still, offensively, because they are that good.
Q: You mentioned highlight film – the catch that Moss made against the Bills on that long sideline route where the corner pretty much has him covered and obviously the catch he made in the end zone where he goes up and over the back against Cincinnati on Monday night and then tiptoes both feet in bounds – It's like, you can have him covered and it doesn't matter.
RC: Well, right. That's true. Defensive backs have had good position on him but he's able to go up and get the ball and make the play. Even sometimes when they think that they are running in stride with him, he just keeps running and extends and makes the play. He's one of those guys who is hard to cover.
Q: You've seen an awful lot of good teams. It seems to me right now, particularly with Brady running the show, this team has as many weapons as any team I've seen, and I would ask you the same question. Have you ever seen a team that can attack you in more ways?
RC: Not really. As I watched them, the thing that comes to mind is Indianapolis and Peyton Manning and how he runs that offense. It's very comparable because they're hard to stop and the Patriots are hard to stop right now.
Q: How important is pressure on the quarterback? One thing Tom just talked about a couple of minutes ago is he's concerned you guys will bring as much pressure as you possibly can to disrupt his offense. How important is that?
RC: Any time you can get pressure on a quarterback, that generally disrupts them a little bit because he's worried about getting hit. He has to move off the spot [which] disrupts his timing a little bit, so as much as we can, we'd like to be able to do that. Now, along with that comes a downside also, because sometimes to bring pressure you have to man up so you have to pick and choose your time.
Q: What do you tell your defensive backs this week regarding Moss and his ability to make plays even when there's tight coverage? That could be challenging for a defensive back to know that even if he does everything right he still could get burned.
RC: Sure. You tell him that he's got to be perfect on his technique, and when he thinks he's in good position, you're not in good position. You have to get in better position. If they approach it like that, they might have a chance.
Q: What do you think Rodney Harrison potentially returning to the lineup this week is going to do for the Patriots? Coach Belichick was non-committal this week as to if he would be active, but Rodney says he wants to play. You know him as well as anyone – What does he bring to the table?
RC: One, I know that he wants to play and if Bill will let him play he'll be ready. He brings that veteran leadership, that physical presence, a winning attitude. All of those things are a positive and that's what you want on your football team.
Q: Were you surprised by the suspension?
RC: Yes, to a degree. I don't know all of the particulars about it, but let's say I didn't expect it in that situation.
Q: You waited a long time to get a chance to be a head coach. I say this facetiously, but it's not one of those deals where you look back and say, 'Be careful what you wish for,' is it?
RC: No. This job, you never know until you sit in this seat, there's always something that comes up that you don't expect, no matter how well you planned and tried to get ready for…When you see progress, when you see your team make progress, when you see your team listen to you and try to do what you tell them to do and try to play as a team, then you feel good as a head coach. I think that some of that is beginning to happen here. The first two years we were trying to make progress and we did make progress, but it wasn't showing up on the football field. I think that some of the progress that we made in the previous years is beginning to show up on the field this year, to this point. It's still early in the season.
Q: I was a little bit surprised when you let Charlie Frye go as early as you did. I wondered, 'Is he going to go to [Brady Quinn] this early on?' Clearly, you saw something in Derek Anderson that people maybe weren't aware of. He's played awfully well.
RC: Yes, he has. He's done a good job. He came in the game last year and won the Kansas City game for us. He showed that he could run the offense, move the team and, like I said, he did win that game for us and showed he had the ability. We knew he had the ability. He has a strong arm and he's beginning to show that maybe he deserves the spot that he has.
Q: Why did you let Frye go as quickly as you did?
RC: Well, there was some interest in Frye and there was some trade value. Ever since we drafted Quinn, I think people around the league knew probably somebody would go eventually. They just didn't know when it was going to be. There had been inquiries all along. Frye was a third-round draft pick and people liked Frye when he came out – liked his competitiveness, liked his ability to move around. There was interest in him, so we decided to go ahead and make that move to get something for him at that time, and it worked out.
Q: How is Quinn progressing? We've been around long enough to know that the guy who doesn't play is always the one the fans love the most. He's an Ohio kid, he has the Notre Dame glamour. I think it's tough on Anderson and a little bit tough on you to pick the right time, and clearly the way your guy is playing right now that time could be a ways down the road.
RC: Yes, and that's not a bad thing. If Anderson keeps playing well and we're able to win ball games, I think that just helps Brady's development because he can sit and he can watch and study teams. Then when he does get in there, I think he'll be more ready. Sometimes we try to force young kids in before they're ready in today's game. I think it can benefit him not to be forced in.
Q: What has been the best part of this job for you?
RC: Well, the best part has been winning games. That's why we're in it, and so when you win you feel good. Then, like I mentioned earlier, to see your team grow, mature and start understanding what you're telling them and the importance of playing as a team and not being selfish and things like that.
Q: What does coming back to Foxborough mean to you?
RC: I'll tell you what – I've been back to Foxborough, because I was there in my first stint and then went to the Jets, came back as a visiting coach, and so now this is the second time I'll be coming back as a visiting coach. The facilities will be a lot better and I'm looking forward to that. We're excited about coming and trying to play against one of the better teams in the NFL.
Q: What about matching wits with Bill?
RC: Well, Bill doesn't play and I don't play.
Q: It's too bad – You'd win that one, by the way.
RC: If it was a physical match-up, I'd probably win. If it was a race, he might win.
Q: What does getting Willie McGinest back on the field mean to you? What can he do for you down the road?
RC: I think that he has a presence on the field because of his experience, his leadership and the play-making ability will be huge for us. Plus, it allows him to get into a rotation so we can rotate some of our outside linebackers and have an opportunity to keep them fresh. I think that helped us last week, because Kamerion Wimbley, who generally plays every play of the game, didn't have to play every play. Then in the fourth quarter, he was able to harass the quarterback a little bit, so his leadership ability and affording us the opportunity to rotate guys into the game to keep them fresh.
Q: Obviously you brought him in for his talent, but also for his pedigree and what he knows about playing in big games. Can you say how much influence he's had positively in terms of the locker room and setting and example for the guys?
RC: He's had a tremendous influence. As a matter of fact, the team elected Willie as one of the captains, so that lets you know what they think about him and the work that he has been doing in the locker room, and also out on the football field. He's a very good football player.
Q: What's been the biggest adjustment to go from being a long-time coordinator to actually running your own show? What adjustments did you have to make personally in your own leadership style and/or tactically?
RC: One of the biggest things that you have to understand is that now not only are you responsible for the 25 or 28 players on your side of the ball and the maybe four coaches that you work with, now you're responsible for a whole team and a whole organization. It's not just the team anymore, it's the organization. It's video, it's equipment, the dining facility, it's marketing, it's the video…It's everything, it's all-encompassing and you as a head coach are the face of the organization, and that's a big responsibility.
Q: You left out media in that list. Do you yearn for the days when you could only speak 15 minutes a month?
RC: No, I enjoy talking to the media. Everybody thought that I wouldn't be able to, but…
Q: No, I knew you would. That's what frustrated me for a number of years.
RC: I enjoy those guys and one of the things that we've done that helps a little bit, believe it or not, is on Friday we make the coordinators available and so I don't have to talk on Friday. Because on Fridays anyway, you're talked out by Friday, not having to talk on Friday, that helps a little bit.
Q: There were some rumblings before the season started out in Cleveland that it's the third year, the record wasn't going so well the first two years. Did you sense the external pressure that maybe people were starting to lose a little bit of patience with the franchise?
RC: Well, I'll tell you what. In coaching, every year the coach feels pressure. You have to win football games, and so as a coach all you can do is coach them the best that you can and try to give them a good plan and then let them go play. The situation, being the third year, really in my mind it's no different than the second year or the fourth year or the fifth year. I think every coach feels some pressure in the situation he's in. I don't think any coach goes in and says, 'OK, I've got a five-year contract, so I don't have to worry about it. I'm going to be here for five years.' That's not the case, because I've been in this league and I've seen guys fired after one year as a head coach. We know we have to produce and if we don't produce, then somebody else gets the opportunity.
Q: You spent a lot of years with Bill Parcells and a lot of years with Coach Belichick. Could name one or two things that you've gleaned from each that have helped you as a head coach?
RC: I think that Parcells was an excellent motivator. He would find out which buttons he needed to push on a player and be able to push those buttons to get a player to play. Some of his methods and techniques, I've adopted some of those. With Belichick, he's a great tactician of the game. He can make adjustments quickly and easily on the sideline and not have to wait to get into the locker room to get it done. His preparation allows him to do that, and so I try to steal some of that myself and use some of that to try to help us.
Q: How has your relationship with Bill changed since you were here?
RC: It hasn't changed. Bill and I are good friends. We worked together for a long time and I still consider him a friend. I think he considers me a friend. We don't talk every day. Occasionally we might call and say hi, see how you're doing and give each other encouragement, but we have a good relationship.
Q: So you think Bill likes you better than he likes Eric Mangini?
RC: You'd have to ask Bill that.
Q: I think your reception on Sunday will be better than the Jets' head coach is going to get when he comes in.
RC: I hope it's a good reception, both from the fans and on the field. |
