Ole Miss, LSU, how's on-the-field matchup in your eyes?

Well, in my mind, both of these teams are fantastic offensive teams.

They, they've got really good players.

I think Trinidad Chambliss is probably the most dynamic player in college football in terms of making plays when they're not there, but being very efficient in making plays when they are.

I mean, this guy's a fabulous player.

Uh, they've got a great runner.

Um, and so they got a great offensive team.

How would you h- handle, you know, kind of this week of preparation when they have a Kent State coming in and not have, like, another deflating loss after what just happened at Texas, knowing that, "Hey, everything we wanna do is still out ahead of us"?

What are your thoughts on that Michigan offense? Obviously going up against Venables and that defense in a, in a, in a kind of a spot where you need to look good.

Yeah.

Well, I think Venables is one of the best defensive coordinators ever.

And I know he's a head coach now, but he's still calling the defenses.

And he's the one guy that's so aggressive that he's always putting you b- trying to put you behind the eight ball by creating negative plays on offense.

And, you know, he does it by...

He's one of the guys on defense that's taking advantage of the green dot all the time.

What did you see from them on, uh, Monday night?

Are we anywhere near having an answer, you think, coach? And how do you kind of view what's happening in Louisiana right now and how it affects potentially going forward?

Yeah.

Well, I, I think, you know, we obviously need some guardrails in college athletics, um, especially in football and basketball where, you know, you have so much revenue and now people are making, you know, money and it's become pretty much of a business, but we really don't have any guardrails.

And just like this whole situation with the...

I mean, just think, Pat.

Five or 10 years ago, uh, or even when you played in the league, I mean, it was not even anything that could ever be a thought in your mind that a pro player would come back and play college football.

I mean, it was, like, unfathomable.

Dabo's a pretty good football coach, is he not? Like, what are you kinda thinking going into the game and how all this affects it, Coach?

Your thoughts on where the SEC is kind of viewed right now and how the season's gonna go, and is Kirby legitimately the hope for the SEC to kind of get college football title and crown back to the South?

Right.

Well, you know, I talked to Kirby and Sark both, and I think both those guys have really, really good teams.

And I think they're probably the two teams that at least on paper, looking at the season, probably have the best chance to be successful and maybe go a long way in the playoffs.

I think there's other teams that definitely can challenge them, you mentioned them, including Alabama, who has a lot of unknowns and may be able to sneak up on people a little bit this year, um, uh, under the radar.

But, um, I like Georgia's team.

And you know what I've noticed about, you know, this new era of college football with lots of transfers and change in rosters, the people that can keep their players and they have an aging team, like Georgia had a very young team last year, they're going to be an older team this year.

But what do you expect from him this year?

We gotta play this week, we gotta do that." But your thoughts on what expectations should be for the LSU Tigers, Coach?

Yeah.

Well, I, I think that Lane did really well in terms of roster management, bringing 59 new players in, and a very good recruiting class, but also a very good top end bunch of guys out of the portal.

Uh, they've got some really good players.

Do they have enough depth on their team to be able to sustain the grind of playing the kind of schedule they have to play, and do they have the culture built, uh, to be able to do that? I don't think there's any doubt that Lane will be successful at LSU.

I just don't know if it's realistic to think that turnaround's gonna happen immediate, immediately.

Uh, but I, I tell you what, Sam Levitt, if that guy comes through at quarterback, I think they got enough pieces around, um, on defense as well as on offense, uh, to really be a good team and be a contending team.

Uh, what are your thoughts on Texas going into this year?

Mm-hmm.

I think the best conference gets defined by how many good teams do you have from top to bottom, and I think the SEC has a lot of good teams from top to bottom.

So I do think that the Big Ten has had three really, really good football teams.

I mean, Michigan had a great team, beat us in overtime in the playoffs.

You know, three years ago, Ohio State, Indiana, th- they, they had really, really good teams.

We continued.

Last year, we had five teams in the playoffs, you know, as an SEC conference, which s- says that there's, you know, pretty good depth in this league.

How good a season do you think they are in for in Tuscaloosa?

Over

... go to pot.

It's over.

So, uh, I do think if you were going to compare Fernando, you would say he fits more into comparing him to those three guys we just talked about.than he does to some of these other guys.

He would be in the conversation if he was in that draft.

And I agree with you on the RPOs and...

But the guy is sneaky athletic, doesn't look athletic, but probably better than he is.

[laughs]

What do you think's going through his mind, and what is he trying to get accomplished today, day of national championship?

Yeah, well, you know, I, I think whatever you did for the 15 games that got you here, you wanna make sure your team stays in that mindset.

I mean, I know there's a lot of clutter out there when you're playing a big game like this, national championship game, but that's not where you want your players to be.

You want them to be focused on the things they have to do to go out and play well and execute, and let everybody else talk about all that other stuff.

So, you know, that's the key.

I think one of the things that these guys are going to have to go through, which Kirk's gonna have to go through, is he has done this phenomenal job at Indiana.

So everybody wanted to come to Indiana.

I guess, what would you do if you're the Miami offense to try to slow them down?

Good, good.

So, um, I, I've never talked to, you know, Kirk about going to the NFL.

I don't really know that he has any interest in doing that.

Now, I will say this though, it, it, it is a fairly difficult transition to go from college to the NFL if you've never been in the NFL before.

Uh, you know, when I took the Dolphins job, I'd been in the NFL for six years, you know, prior to that, four years as a coordinator of the Cleveland Browns, two in Houston as a secondary coach, so I understood the NFL.

Um, but if you've never coached in the NFL, you know, I mean, developing players is not a lot different, but how you bring players to the team is tremendously different, and, um, and I, I think you gotta have a organization that is vertically integrated from top down, uh, to be able to have success in the NFL because you have a lot more impediments in terms of competitive balance in the NFL.

You got a salary cap, uh, you got... you can't draft whoever you wanna draft, you gotta draft who's available when you pick, so that sometimes that doesn't work out.

Oh, yeah.

How much around the actual football game, um, do you have to try and keep out from the team just because, you know, granddaddy of them all, there's a lot that goes into the Rose Bowl, the parade, all that type of BS that isn't actual football? How hard is that to keep that out of the locker room and from the team?

team?Yeah, well, I think all kind of distractions are, you know, a challenge this time of year, especially with the calendar being like it is.

You got a lot of distractions at these bowl games.

You also got the portal coming up on the day after the game, so you got players thinking about that.

You got coaches leaving to go other places.

I mean, there is a tremendous amount of distractions.

But I think the key to the drill is, how mature is your team about handling disruptions? You know, I, I, I think that's really important this time of year for, for all the teams that are in the playoffs because the attention the media gives it as well as all the other things that, that are going on.

Just CDL.

I guess, what should people be watching? Espen- say the first half, like what should we be paying attention to, to kind of see, or what are, what are you going to be paying attention to early in that game to see how it's playing out?

Well, I think two things are very interesting in this game, and it's the, the style that both teams play defense.

You know, Miami has got really talented front guys.

I mean, they dominate the line of scrimmage, they rush four guys most of the time.

These guys make a lot of negative plays by how aggressive and physical they are.

I think Jason Taylor's done a fantastic job of coaching these guys up front.

Um, so, and then you go on the A&M side of it, they're not as big, they're very athletic, they can run, and they rely on different kinds of pressures and slants to give you negative plays.

And are you assuming that these guys will be able to handle it, uh, Pete Golding and Dan Lanning, pretty fine, because they both come from your coaching tree?

What are your thoughts on the two teams and how they're playing at this exact moment?

Yeah, I think Georgia's playing really, really well.

Uh, I think, you know, since the 'Bama game, uh, they've made significant improvements on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense.

And in the last three games, something that was a little bit of an Achilles' heel for them is getting off the field on third down.

They've been doing that better.

And to me, uh, in the first game, Alabama went nine for nine in the first half and got ahead by 14 points by going nine for nine on third down, which was a huge difference in the game.

So, um, I think that's going to be important.

What are your thoughts on the two teams and how they're playing at this exact moment?

Just, uh, is it a, uh, like a work ethic? What, what do you think it is that really creates the best offensive lineman in your eyes?

You know, I, I think that offensive line and defensive line are probably the two positions in football that are the most, like, technique centric.

If you, if that explains footwork, hand placement, uh, knowing the right angle you gotta go to block a guy, when to come off of a zone block to get up on the next level.

I mean, all these things are kind of, um, coachable, uh, and technique centric in terms of who can understand the concept and be able to go apply it on the field.

Uh, so and, and I, and I think some guys struggle with that, some guys don't.

Uh, it's a p- it's, it's a place, to me, where the guys have the most pride in what kind of competitors they are, how smart they are, how smart they play.

Uh, and they're usually a really tight-knit group, uh, because they don't get a lot of accolades for what they do and they have a very difficult job.

What would your strategy be in today's game of trying to hire a new coach, and also, does not being a part of the NIL and transfer portal, for instance, a former NFL coach, does that have its challenges?

How do you see that game going? And do you think that most of the questions that people had about Texas, you know, a couple weeks ago have maybe been answered because they're kind of, you know, coming back pretty strong here, and I think a lot of people see them as, okay, you know, this is maybe a little- partially the team we expected to see coming into the season?

Well, I think Texas has improved for two reasons.

I think in the last two games, Arch has played better.

He's playing with a little more rhythm and not hurrying everything up, and he's been more effective and efficient in his, you know, completion percentage is way up and all that, and the offensive line has played better.

So those two things I think have made them show improvement as a team, but they still haven't been a dominant team.

I mean, even the games that they've won, they either had to come back and win, win in overtime, or, you know, just barely beat Vanderbilt.

And then they had terrible issues last week in the secondary where they gave up over 300 yards passing, so, uh, they still have issues on their team that I think they need to resolve.

You know, was there ever a time where you went to watch a Julio Jones or a Derrick Henry, and they were maybe hitting a baseball 600 feet or dunking a basketball from the free throw line, a- and you honestly had more respect for what they were as an athlete and a football player? Was there ever a time, too, where, where you damn near wanted to recruit a kid and get e- get him to commit early so he didn't, you know, go to the NBA or go to the MLB within a year? And what do you think about that when it comes to, you know, recruits now, who typically, um, focus in one sport and then, you know, in their off season are playing that same sport or preparing for that sport's next season? Do you think that recruits all over should be playing at least two sports, and how much does it show you when you get to see a guy outside of football compete, uh, in a different field?

What are your thoughts on Joey and the program that he's kind of built here at Texas Tech?

Well, I think he's done a phenomenal job here.

And, uh, you know, I sat through the interview with him, uh, earlier today.

And, um, you know, I'd met him in 2004.

We were recruiting some of his players, so I've always thought a lot of him.

But in the meeting today, it was amazing, philosophically, uh, what a good team builder he is, and how he's done a great job, uh, very similar to the way I approach things.

Winning and losing is the same.

Hmm.

What is different, you think, between those two particular programs as opposed to people that have used NIL and been good and then got bad? Why do you think these two have been kind of sustainable here for the first couple years?

Well, I, I think that first of all, you know, Kirk Cignetti's done a really good job of, you know, everybody uses the term rat poison, but, uh, he's done a good job of controlling the spotlight on his team and keeping his guys focused.You know, the more distractions you have, the more fragile psychologically your people become in terms of their ability to sustain success.

Consistency and performance ddefines success to me, not just having one successful game or season or whatever.

And he's done a really good job of that.

I think this is still the question mark for Vanderbilt.

You know, can they deal with the flash? You know, can they deal with the success? Uh, I saw signs at Alabama when they played a couple of weeks ago down there, you were there, uh, where that wasn't the case.

So, can they do that? Did they learn their lesson there and can they finish this season strong? Which if they do, they're going to have a chance, possibly, to get in the playoffs.

But right now I, I can't have you play as hard as you can because if you do, the other side of the ball is screwed." Did, did, did that happen often? And when the OCs did get the word from you, not, not the negotiation, the ass chewing, I'm assu- assuming just basically, "Hey, you better run the ball or your ass is out of here, Lane Kiffin." What was that kind of like, uh, when your teams were that dominant?

Do you think Lincoln Riley's got USC kind of moving back in the right direction or, uh, what do you, what do you think about this USC team?

Yeah, I do.

I think they've, they're, they're definitely moving in the right direction.

I said, first of all, I think they're the only team in the Big Ten that's scored 30 plus points in every game.

So, they're still doing a good job on offense.

The issue, to me, with Lincoln Riley's team was, how physical can we play on defense? Can we stop the run? Can we create positive, you know, down and distance situations? And they're doing a better job of that.

You know, they, they are, they are doing a better job of playing defense.

(laughs)

The guy's good.

Uh, so I do think it's sustainable, but I altho- so think there's a lot of risk involved when you have that much change every year on your roster.

You know, I was always able to be in a position where you could develop players and you knew what was coming and, you know, they bought into the culture and, you know, the older guys influenced the younger guys and, you know, it just kept on and on and on.

So you had this sort of built-in tradition when it came to- Expectations, yeah.

... what the expectations were.

And, uh, but when you bring new players in and you have that many every year, that's, that's a more difficult challenge, I think.

Chris Ballard said it once whenever he was trying to develop the Indianapolis Colts, and he has his best team right now and I'm happy for him getting a chance to experience a little happiness as a general manager.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

[clapping] [laughs] Yeah.

Yeah.

Whoo! Come on, coach.

AJ, are you riding with us? What's your reasoning?

Yeah, I, uh, I think the Bills are going to the Super Bowl.

But I'm g- I'm taking New England here to cover.

Geez.

... that the things that I always try to do with our team when we played on the road, and we're gonna play in a blackout, a whiteout or whatever it was, is to emphasize to the players that the fans don't make any plays in the game.

That, yeah, there's gonna be noise, and we're gonna have to handle the noise like we do in all circumstances on the road.

And, um, that could have an impact on the game, especially when it comes to the offensive line, false starts, those types of things putting you behind the sticks.

But I really, really tried to emphasize to the players that, um, you know, those circumstances, those external factors, like a whiteout, re- really doesn't have any impact on the game.

It's gonna be about what you do inside the 53 yards wide and 100 yards deep that's going to make a difference in the game.

And, you- you know, you gotta make these people sit on their hands, and, uh, you do that by good execution.

(laughs)

(laughs)

It might take longer for some guys than others, but that's the way I approach it because I wanted to be able, we wanted to be able to make adjustments in the game.

And I- I- I want players to play fast and I want them to be confident in the game, and I was always going to pare it down for the game so they could do that.

But if we had to make adjustments in the game, uh, and play better situation football, there were things that we could do.

I mean, you've been in the situation where a team's getting into bunch pass and whatever you plan, you know, the play and the game plan, you can't stop that pattern in the way- the way y- your geared up to stop it in practice.

So you have to be able to change, and if the players can't adapt, you really can't change without going out there and making mistakes.

So I- I- I was never a real simple guy, I wanted the players to pl- play fast.

Oh, yeah.

Um, just what are your thoughts on, on Clemson kind of as a whole going into week three here?

Yeah, I think that, you know, you can look, you know, way into this too much, but in my opinion, the one issue that Clemson has is, first of all, their best wideout is out, but their offensive line has not performed very well.

I mean, the quarterback has been under duress the whole season.

I mean, in the LSU game, this guy's running for his life and it affected him.

So, one of the goals you always have on defense when you're playing against any quarterback is, can we affect the quarterback? And when you don't have a good offensive line, that makes it a little more, a little easier to be able to do that.

And Budnick is a really good player that hasn't had an opportunity to play very, very effectively this year, and I think it's because of the pressure he's getting.

So, they need to fix their situation in the offensive line.

Ah, it all worked out.

As we sit here on Friday, what are your thoughts and what do you think Kalen has been telling his team, and how do you think the Roll Tide world is really feeling about it all at this point?

Yeah.

Well, you know, m- my message was, you know, basically when you have a negative consequence and you don't teach and do a good job of identifying what do we need to fix so the players have something that they can relate to, i- if you don't teach, it really creates... uh, it affects morale in a negative way.

So I think you got to be positive and show the players when they did it right, "Here's the success we had when we didn't do it right." Whether it was even one player didn't do it right, uh, may- maybe that's why they had success.

But I do think that there was something in that game that is tough to understand, in my opinion, in that Alabama looked great going down the field on the first drive, Florida State gets the ball and goes right down the field and scores, and then the whole sort of psychological disposition of Alabama's team changed.

For what reason? I don't know.

Was it anxiety? Was it expectation? Um, but one thing about coaching at Alabama, they expect you to win every game and there's a high expectation and the standard is really, really high for what you're supposed to accomplish and what you're supposed to do.

And, uh, I think the Saban metrics would be a good thing from hearing it behind the scenes.

Mm-hmm.

... wait their turn, and I think that's the thing that Ty has done extremely well.

You know, Ty...

Th- th- there's so many of these guys that grow up now being outcome-oriented, you know, and they're always looking at results, you know, "How many passes did I complete? How many touchdowns did I have?" And then they s- they create these expectations for themselves and when they don't live up to them, they get frustrated very easily, and that body language is not good for a quarterback, it's not good for a team.

So, that's the big thing that Ty's had to sort of work his way through, is, you know, not get affected by a bad play, stay focused on the next play, 'cause he's got all the talent in the world.

He's got legs that are real, he's a very accurate passer, he's a good decision-maker, he's smart, he's a good leader.

So, it'll be interesting to see how he can maintain the consistency and performance that defines success by not getting affected by ups and downs in a game.

Whoa.