Tag: press conference

Brad Holmes: Lions will be ‘very intentional about our intangibles’ in adding players

Detroit GM Brad Holmes says the Lions will be “very intentional about our intangibles” in adding players

Lions GM Brad Holmes has a keen eye for talent. He’s proven that over the years as the man in charge of picking the players for the Detroit Lions, as well as his prior role as the director of college scouting for the Los Angeles Rams.

For Holmes, seeing the talent is the easy part. He wants players with more than just the physical gifts in potential draftees and free agent signings for his Lions. He made that abundantly clear in his year-ending press conference on Monday.

“We have to get past just looking for the most talented player,” Holmes stated.” In my opinion, that’s the prerequisite of evaluation. That’s the – who’s the fastest? Who’s the strongest? Who’s got the most height? That’s a very coherent thing to do. No, it’s how do you find the right intangibles in a football player? And that’s what’s made us who we are.”

Holmes cited 2021 fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown as an example of a player who “had the intangibles that we were looking for to set our foundation.”

If that sounds familiar, it should. It’s in lockstep with what head coach Dan Campbell said last week,

“We’ve got to add more talent, more competition that thinks the same way that group of guys in that locker room does. And it’s non-negotiable if it’s not. There’s no level of talent that is worth bringing something that doesn’t fit what we’re about in there.”

That might lead to some external criticism. Holmes called out some individual reporters who had slammed some of the picks the team has made. It’s clear Holmes, Campbell and company are looking for more than just talent. They want specific types of individuals who happen to have great talents.

Or, as Holmes summarized,

“It just goes back to what we build and being very intentional about our intangibles and what we’re looking for in Detroit Lions.”

Dan Campbell, Lions looking to add specific types of talent this offseason

Dan Campbell and Lions looking to add specific types of talent this offseason, and some fans might not like it

It’s the time of year when Lions fans love to look at the players available in free agency and the 2024 NFL draft. It’s fun to ponder the possibilities of adding more talent to the team.

Head coach Dan Campbell knows the Lions need to keep adding more talent. However, he has made it clear in the past that just because players are talented doesn’t automatically make them a good fit.

Campbell doubled down on the idea of culture trumping talent — with zero exceptions.

“Yeah, I think the whole point was to create a core that had certain standards,” Campbell stated last week. “Obviously, they’ve got to be good players and we have that. But they’ve got to be a certain way and there’s got to be a certain mindset and a certain identity, and we have that with our core. And we’ve got to add pieces that are like-minded.”

Campbell continued with an edict that players who don’t fit the core identity will not be considered, period.

“We’ve got to add more talent, more competition that thinks the same way that group of guys in that locker room does. And it’s non-negotiable if it’s not. There’s no level of talent that is worth bringing something that doesn’t fit what we’re about in there.”

Let that last sentence resonate in your mind as you think about players the Lions might sign in free agency or select in the 2024 NFL draft.

“There’s no level of talent that is worth bringing something that doesn’t fit what we’re about in there.”

Campbell didn’t specifically state what types of things would preclude consideration. Based on several pronouncements in the past from both Campbell and GM Brad Holmes, the mantra of smart, physical players who love football and embrace being a reliable, responsible teammate is what the Lions are looking for.

Remember his words:

“There’s no level of talent that is worth bringing something that doesn’t fit what we’re about in there.”

Highlights from Brian Gutekunst’s press conference to end 2023 Packers season

All the important things to know from Brian Gutekunst’s press conference to end the 2023 Packers season.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst wrapped up the 2023 season by answering questions for roughly 30 minutes inside Lambeau Field. His young team — led by Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love — went 9-8 and advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs during a rollercoaster but exciting season.

Here are the highlights from Gutekunst’s season-ending press conference:

— Gutekunst said he’s “excited to build around” Jordan Love moving forward.

— Any consideration to trading Jaire Alexander: “No.” Said he is proud of the way Alexander responded to Week 17 suspension.

— Believed Anders Carlson was “by far” the best option at kicker for the Packers. Excited about where he’s headed.

— On wanting Aaron Jones back: “Absolutely.” Called Jones a “difference maker ” on the field, an “influential leader” in the locker room and the “heartbeat of the team.”

— Confirmed the Packers and Love’s representation will move forward on contract negotiations over the next few months. Said an extension is important for the “stability” of the team.

— Not expecting major shift in what Packers want in defensive players under Jeff Hafley. NFL is still mostly a 4-2-5 nickel defense.

— On free agency/cap situation: “We’re getting to a little bit better spot.” Feels good about team’s spot going into free agency and the ability to add players if need be.

— On Love: Proud of the way he went through his first season as a starter. Learned how to play the position at the line of scrimmage and led teammates in games. “He’s got very, very high upside.”

— Expecting 11 draft picks. Thinks they’ll have “more volume at the top,” which should allow more flexibility. Included possibility of using picks to acquire veteran players in trades.

— On Rasheed Walker: “He did a great job. You have to give that kid a lot of credit.” Said he fought through some injury things and was a “warrior” in 2023. Thinks he can play on the left and right side. Wants more competition in the offensive line. “Has a bright future.”

— On Zach Tom: “He played really well at right tackle this year.” Can play all five spots, can be good at all five spots. Says Packers want the best five for the offensive line.

— On Jeff Hafley’s defense: Believes versatility — especially in the defensive front — will pay off with a defensive coordinator change. Hafley’s influence will have “some” effect on personnel but not substantial.

— On Christian Watson: Said he’s an “impactful player.” Packers looking into ways of helping Watson and others staying on the field. Says some young players need time to get into a groove with their process.

— On safety: “Pretty solid at safety” in the draft/free agency class. Need to “add numbers” at safety. Important position in today’s game.

— Said Packers have Super Bowl expectations in 2024 but that isn’t new. Thought Packers were going to the Super Bowl before late collapse in San Francisco.

3 years later: No more sweating bullets for Lions fans on the Dan Campbell hiring

It’s the 3-year anniversary of Dan Campbell’s epic introductory press conference, and my how times have changed the perception

On this day three years ago, January 21st of 2021, the Detroit Lions introduced Dan Campbell as their new head coach. The hiring was not necessarily the most popular choice for the perennially downtrodden franchise. Campbell had scant head-coaching experience and an unknown relationship with new GM Brad Holmes.

January 21st unleashed the mother of all introductory press conferences. The intensity and violence Campbell exuded were straight out of a Megadeth song. Watching it had many Lions fans sweating bullets.

While Campbell leans to Metallica, the Megadeth classic “Sweating Bullets” lyrics were certainly applicable on that day.

Feeling paranoid, true enemy or false friend?

Anxiety’s attacking me and my air is getting thin

Lions fans wanted to trust in the risk in the one-time Detroit tight end and the kneecap biting he espoused. But many also bought into the narrative that this new hire would wind up being a punchline, an embarrassment for a franchise that was just coming off a symphony of Patriot Way destruction. For many, the countdown to another coaching extinction began on that fateful day three years ago.

Hindsight is always 20/20

Looking back, it’s still a bit fuzzy

Three years later, we can look back and laugh at the cryptic writings from so many outlets on that day. The dystopia they predicted never materialized. The endgame they mocked to Detroit in 2021 instead sees Campbell and the Lions hosting a playoff game today after winning one last week. The system did not fail!

Hello me, it’s me again

You can subdue, but never tame me

Now the rest of the league is sweating bullets over Campbell’s architecture of aggression in Detroit. The Lions are conjuring something special under Campbell. So far, so good…

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McCarthy: Cowboys have ‘established a championship program. It’s just not the world championship yet.’

From @ToddBrock24f7: The embattled coach spoke of “hard, direct questions” from Jerry Jones that will nevertheless give him a 5th season to try to win in Dallas.

Mike McCarthy hosted his annual end-of-season press conference on Thursday, secure in the knowledge that he would remain the Cowboys head coach for 2024.

That in and of itself is enough to have a significant faction of Cowboys Nation expecting his fifth season with the club to bring more of the same: regular-season fireworks followed by a big fat postseason dud. While the 60-year-old coach repeatedly used words like “raw” and “numb” and “emotional” to describe his feelings about how the team’s latest promising season went up in flames in the early rounds of the playoffs, McCarthy was clear about one thing.

“The reality of it is, this team’s going to change,” McCarthy said. “We’re going to have changes.”

As for what exactly those changes might look like, though, it’s too early in the offseason evaluation process for McCarthy to say.

“We’re just getting started,” he vowed.

Many — and perhaps most –– observers believed Sunday’s embarrassing blowout at the hands of the Packers in the wild-card round would instead be the ending to McCarthy’s tenure in Dallas. The 48-32 home loss marked the third January in a row that saw the Cowboys fail to reach the conference championship and extended the franchise’s Super Bowl drought to 28 years.

And while McCarthy asserted that he and his players “take no responsibility” for the shortcomings of Cowboys squads from past eras, he had a message for supporters who will now have no choice but to continue to look to his group to end a wait that’s closing in on three decades.

“We have an unbelievable fan base, and they should be frustrated. We’re extremely disappointed. Disappointed for them, disappointed in our performance,” McCarthy said.

“But my message would be this: We’ve established a championship program. It’s just not the world championship yet. We know how to win, we know how to train to win, we have the right people, but we have not crossed the threshold [of] winning playoff games. It’s extremely disappointing to sit here talking about it. But I know how to win, and we will get over that threshold. I have total confidence, and that’s why I’m standing here today.”

Jerry Jones had commented that Sunday’s wild-card loss was as shocking a setback as he can remember in his ownership, prompting widespread rumors that McCarthy would be relieved of his duties – even with a year remaining on his contract — in favor of one of the high-profile coaching candidates currently on the open market.

In a statement delivered Wednesday evening that followed reports McCarthy would remain in place, Jones said he had “great confidence” in McCarthy, citing his regular-season winning percentage (higher than any of his eight predecessors, by .002 of a point) as the reason why “the best step forward” for the organization is to continue “the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership.”

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The coach characterized his three-hour meeting with Jones on Wednesday as productive and wide-ranging. And while he conceded there were “hard, direct questions” from his 81-year-old billionaire boss, McCarthy suggested that he never felt he had to go into that conversation fighting to keep his job.

“We talked about everything: the right, the wrong, the indifferent, what we need to build off of. I don’t know if there’s much we didn’t talk about, as far as topics that apply to the football operation. Hard conversation, definitely, throughout a number of points here, but they’re conversations that I personally always look forward to. I’ve never walked out of a one-on-one with Jerry where I didn’t think I was better, one way or the other.”

McCarthy may feel better about his standing with the Cowboys now that his fifth season on the job is secure, but Cowboys fans will likely need a bit more convincing that the team can be better with him still at the helm.

McCarthy talked about having established “a championship program … just not the world championship yet.”

Problem is, that second kind is the only one that anybody really cares about.

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Mickey Loomis on Saints’ 2017 draft stars Lattimore, Ramczyk

Mickey Loomis shared few details (but differing outlooks) on Saints 2017 draft stars Marshon Lattimore and Ryan Ramczyk:

You can point to some moments in the New Orleans Saints’ recent history as important milestones or turning-points — one of them being the team’s historic 2017 draft class, which started with a pair of future Pro Bowlers. The Saints owned two picks in the first round that year and spent them on two instant starters in cornerback Marshon Lattimore and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk.

But both players’ futures with the team are in doubt. Time and injuries and drama behind the scenes have prompted speculation that neither of them could be long for New Orleans. And when Saints general manager Mickey Loomis spoke to reporters on Wednesday in his end-of-year press conference, he was short on details, but offered vastly-different messages on each of them.

Let’s start with Ramczyk. He’s missed 13 games over the last three years with a persistent knee injury, including the last three matchups in 2023. Ramczyk has been dealing with a degenerative cartilage condition and said earlier this year that career-ending surgery is an option in the offseason, and while Loomis didn’t go into details, he did share a more-uplifting perspective on the right tackle’s outlook.

“I have a positive feeling about where he’s going to end up,” Loomis said. “And I think he does as well.”

That sure suggests Ramczyk will be back in 2024, even if Loomis didn’t spell it out clearly. But what about Lattimore?

Lattimore has missed a full 17-game season’s worth of matchups over the last two years, but the injuries were unrelated. This year he got rolled up on by a teammate while helping finish a tackle, and missed the final seven games with a slow-to-heal high ankle sprain (which typically sideline NFL players for six to eight weeks). The year before, Lattimore suffered internal organ injuries in a freak accident when he collided with other players while rallying to the ball. Both times he got hurt while cleaning up someone else’s mistake.

Rumors have swirled about discord between Lattimore and Saints head coach Dennis Allen leading to a possible trade. And the Saints made that more likely by restructuring Lattimore’s contract for 2024 to center on an option bonus, not a signing bonus, which his new team would be responsible for paying.

But when asked about that decision, Loomis kept his hands close to his vest, saying the restructure was about cap management. On the unique option bonus maneuver, he responded: “There’s a reason but I’m not going to get into it.”

That’s not exactly telling the world that Lattimore is available and the Saints are open for business, but it’s awful close. Trading one of the best defenders in pro football wouldn’t make a lot of fans happy, and the optics of giving Lattimore the boot while keeping a head coach with a career-losing record would be awful. But that appears to be a path Loomis is willing to tread even if it’s expensive and unpopular.

So while we’re reading the tea leaves here, Loomis’ comments suggest that Ramczyk will be back in 2024, but Lattimore may not be, if the team can find a trade partner. Or at least the team is prepared for life without their star cornerback. Or maybe we’re reading his words all wrong. Either way, it’s shaping up for another eventful Saints offseason. Hopefully a successful season and return to the playoffs is waiting on the other side of it.

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5 takeaways from Commanders GM Adam Peters’ introductory press conference

Our thoughts on Adam Peters’ introductory presser. What are yours?

Adam Peters is officially a Washington Commander. On Tuesday, managing partner Josh Harris introduced Peters in a joint press conference where the pair took questions for around 30 minutes.

Peters appeared genuinely excited about this opportunity, again calling it “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

While Peters didn’t tell anyone who the Commanders would select with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft — that’s a joke — he did give some insight into how he will build the Commanders. Fans will love his answer.

Here are five takeaways from Monday’s presser.

QUOTES: Tom Izzo speaks after Michigan State basketball’s win over Rutgers

See what Tom Izzo had to say after MSU’s win over Rutgers:

It has been a roller coaster of a season already for Michigan State basketball. A bad start before a hot run was halted by a two game losing skid at Northwestern and Illinois. Though, the Spartans were able to right the ship on Sunday against Rutgers, beating the Scarlet Knights at home, 73-55.

The Spartans have a favorable stretch of games upcoming, and getting a win against a pesky Rutgers team was imperative in making sure they take advantage of the upcoming stretch.

Check out what head coach Tom Izzo had to say after his team’s win:

LOOK: Alabama fans share thoughts on new HC Kalen DeBoer

See what Alabama fans had to say about the new Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer.

Nick Saban’s retirement sent shock waves around the nation; many were surprised the legendary head coach stepped down. For Alabama fans and athletic director Greg Byrne, there was immediate concern regarding who the next coach would be.

Two days after Saban retired, the Crimson Tide had a new head coach, former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer.

On Saturday, DeBoer was introduced as the man at the helm of the Alabama football program. He and Byrne addressed media members and fans about the hire, the change and the future for the team.

Fans were quick to take to social media to share their thoughts and reactions on DeBoer as the new Alabama head coach.

Dan Campbell has ‘controlled fury’, vows that Lions ‘will use this as fuel’

Detroit head coach Dan Campbell talks about the Brad Allen officiating fiasco and says he’s “got controlled fury”

We got our first Dan Campbell press conference since the postgame of the Lions’ controversial Week 17 loss at Dallas. Campbell’s demeanor calmed in the 36 or so hours after the officiating gaffe by Brad Allen that cost the Lions a go-ahead two-point conversion.

As Rage Against the Machine would put it, “Calm Like a Bomb”…

“I’ve got controlled fury and I’m ready to go,” Campbell told reporters on Monday afternoon. “I’m absolutely ready to go. I don’t go the other way, and the team won’t either.”

The focused aggression in the face of such an infuriating moment extends to the players, according to Detroit’s head coach.

Campbell added: “We will use this as fuel. I’m full octane right now.”

The fuel is set to ignite in Ford Field against the Minnesota Vikings in the regular-season finale on Sunday.