Rudy's Blog Player
PHOENIX – Here's an excerpt from Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn interview session at the Super Bowl on Media Day.
Quinn on coaches being supportive of him interviewing for a head coaching position: "Yeah, it's a terrific group of guys today with Travis Jones, Ken Norton, Kris Richard and Rocky Steto. You should definitely get a chance to visit those guys."
Quinn on how challenging it is to put secondary in positions to be successful: "I don't th
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
ink it is necessarily new positions. They are two unique guys; Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas are both so different. Kam Chancellor, we’d all look up at him right now at how big he is. We try to feature him in the things he does best like playing near the line of scrimmage and with Earl Thomas. He is a speed backer, something that really jumps out in his game. The way he can play the middle of the field and coverages, the closing speed that he has, that is just one good example that you talked about with those guys and try to feature the guys in the best ways. With those it is real clear what they do best.”
Quinn on being a defense built outside-in and not inside-out: "I don't know if I will necessarily use that term. We just honestly try to find unique guys and how fast we can play. Then, within each team, there are unique guys and how you feature the players. I would say, for us, it is really we've got terrific linebackers who've got great speed. We just try to utilize guys in the best way. Bruce Irvin is a guy we like to use on the end of the line as a pass rusher. Really, it is just about featuring the guys and the roles they can do best."
Quinn on what type of player Dante Fowler Jr was at Florida: "Yeah, Dante Fowler Jr. did a great job. In fact, I know him and his family well. He was one that we thought would develop into a pass rusher. His first year there, he played right away as a true freshmen, which as you guys know just from being down there, it is not the easiest thing to do in that conference playing as a true freshmen. For him I am not surprised at the success that he had over the last couple of years."
Quinn on how difficult it is focusing on the Super Bowl and what's next after the season is over: "It is. I am having an absolute blast with these guys. If I didn't enjoy the moment of this experience, that would be crazy. I am absolutely having a blast. You should get to know some of these guys. They are some of the most relentless competitors. Can you imagine being on the practice field with them? In the meetings, they are always trying to find an edge; it is an absolute blast. I am having a terrific time."
Quinn on thinking about his next job (with the Falcons): "I think all of us have those experiences where you have to juggle things at the same time. For me, like I said, just being here, I am having an absolute blast."
Quinn on when knowing the time is right to be a head coach: " I think fortunately for me I have had a lot of opportunities to watch guys, so you learn from the good experiences and you learn from some of the ones that you go, 'well that didn't go maybe as well as it could of." So I don't know if there is a moment that just comes down on you, but I know that is something that I wanted to do, lead a bigger group for a long time. That is really part of the reason I wanted to become a defensive coordinator in hopes that one day I will have the opportunity to become a head coach."
Quinn on what he thinks about the rule that prevents assistants officially accepting the job before their team are eliminated: "To be honest with you, I thought the process that allows you to do it during the bye week is really one that I am in favor of. You may think it sounds unusual, but during that time you don't even know the team that you are playing. It is really a more relaxed time. When you are in the bye, 'OK, it can be this team, that team, then all of a sudden, you find out who wins you go, 'Alright man we got a game to play.' For us two weeks ago, we were waiting. It could be Carolina. It could be Detroit. It could be Dallas. It was three teams; you did a lot of work on three teams, but then until that moment hits, you got three teams recovering, until that time hits you are kind of watching. To make a long story longer, to go through the process during the bye made a big difference."
Quinn on an assistant not being able to accept a job until their team is out of the playoffs: "This is such a cool experience that where else would you rather be?"
Quinn on (Detroit) Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin: "I know Teryl Austin. I thought he did a really good job. In fact, I followed him in Florida."
Quinn on how much is it about players and how much is it about coaching: "It is about the players, it is about our role to see how far we can take the guys. That is one of the things I loved most about coaching is how far you can develop the players. It is 100 percent about the players, and the things I love most about coaching is how far we take a guy from where he is now to where we think he can go."
Quinn on how much of an impact a coach could have when the personnel doesn't change drastically: "I think we see it around the league each year of guys who have made an impact right away. I think it can have an impact on how there is so much more that goes into coaching. Connecting with the players, connecting players to players, players to coaches. I think each place in all these 32 places are different."
Quinn on players talking about him being a great communicator: "I would say one of the things I like and enjoy the most about our team is the ability to connect with the players. They are all different. How we find ways that motivate one guy might be different than how we motivate another guy. What are some of the unique things for one guy is unique for somebody else. It is honestly one of the best things about coaching is getting to know all of these guys and finding out what makes them go."
Quinn on having a quarterback who is established: "He is a terrific competitor, Russell Wilson is. Getting the chance to go against him every day and our ability to go against them day in and day out, it only makes us better. That competition between Russell Wilson and our guys, and our guys against Russell Wilson. I hope he would probably say the same thing in terms of that competition between our offense and our defense is a huge factor."
Quinn on the biggest preparation challenge this year compared to last year: "You're right when you haven't gone through the process on the first time you are not sure how some of the things will go. For us having some experience to draw on is an important one. It ultimately comes back to how ready can we get and the challenges for each team are different. The challenges that this team presents compared to the challenges from last year's team are different, although our style remains the same. The challenges are there."
Quinn on how he can focus on the Super Bowl with all the speculation of becoming a head coach (with the Atlanta Falcons): "The interview process allows us to go through it during the bye. I am appreciative of how the NFL does that. It is pretty easy to get right back into focus to play in this situation so it is easy to get back."
Quinn on the challenges he will face with the Patriots: "They have a terrific challenge all the way through."
Quinn on what he remembers when John (Schneider) and Pete Carroll were hired: "It was one of those times you could look back now and say, 'man what an awesome opportunity'. It could have very easily been where I might not of got a chance to connect with Pete Carroll in that way. The day that he took it he said, 'Hey, let's do it together.' He had known some of the people that I coached with before although he and I didn't. I watched him from afar at USC as I look back it now what a cool opportunity for me to connect with him I have said before why it was such a hard decision for me to leave."
Quinn on what he remembers when he first met Pete Carroll: "You could feel the energy this guy brings into the building. It was real. I got a real sense for a style of defense and how to play. I have been around some terrific defensive coaches during my time from all the way back to the 49ers when Jim (Mora) was the coordinator there, and then in Miami with Nick Saban and Will (Muschamp) was there. Those guys have been a big impact. With Coach Carroll right back to the fundamentals, I think that was one of the things how we tackle, how we play, a real style, and I think that has played out through the years, style and attitude of how we play."
Quinn on wanting to lead a larger group and his views on leadership: "I think that is where my background lies. To be honest, I think the head coach orchestrates a bit of everything from the assistant coaches and the messaging that gets all the way through. As I go through all of the process, everyone has their own idiosyncrasy regarding the team. The head coach is where we got the vibe from, and that is the case here with Pete Carroll."
Quinn on what it was like preparing for the Super Bowl last year: "As you guys know, when you play against terrific quarterbacks, everybody has got an idea of this check means this, this means that. What I learned early on last year in the process, is let's stay true to who we are, let's get our cleats in the grass and go attack people. That message came through in terms of our preparation for last year. Really this year is quite the same. We treat each game as a championship game. It's not where you say, 'Man, you really got to step it up now that we are playing in big game.' You can go right back to making it feel normal in the way we attack. I think the thing I learned most is to stay true to the style of how you play and that allows you to attack and play at your best."
Quinn on if this game is similar to last year: "I think there is a lot of similarities. I think it starts with how good the quarterbacks are that we face. Each game in the NFL has terrific challenges. It even started that way for us this year. I think we started our season with Aaron Rodgers, and then Phillip Rivers and Peyton Manning. Each week, the challenges are terrific in every way. It really brings you back to your own style of play. I think if you get so worried about someone else, it takes away from what you do best."
THE DAN QUINN FILE
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