So what are your thoughts on how Sam Darnold has looked in only a couple games this season, but in this new look Seattle Seahawks offense without Kenneth Walker in the backfield and without Clint Kubiak calling plays?

plays?Yeah, I- I think the thing that helps is that, um, um, they've been together before.

You know, Brian was in, in San Francisco when, when Sam was there, so there's some familiarities there.

So when he came in, it wasn't like they didn't know each other from Adam or anything like that, and I think he had a, a really good feel for what he, he knew Sam could do, and he's kind of incorporated those things into this offense here.

A lot of similarities between the two offenses in San Francisco and Seattle anyway because of the, the coaching backgrounds.

So Sam has...

I think has adjusted very well.

And I guess the follow-up question is, are there any weaknesses on that Seahawks defense?

So what are your thoughts on how Sam Darnold has looked in only a couple games this season, but in this new look Seattle Seahawks offense without Kenneth Walker in the backfield and without Klint Kubiak calling plays?

plays?Yeah, I think the thing that helps is that, um, um, they've been together before.

You know, Brian was in, in San Francisco when, when Sam was there, so there's some familiarity there.

So when he came in, it wasn't like they didn't know each other from Adam or anything like that, and I think he had a, a really good feel for what he, he knew Sam could do, and he's kind of incorporated those things into this offense here.

A lot of similarities between the two offenses in San Francisco and Seattle anyway because of the, the coaching backgrounds.

So Sam has...

I think has adjusted very well.

And I guess the follow-up question is, are there any weaknesses on that Seahawks defense?

So what are your thoughts on how Sam Darnold has looked in only a couple games this season, but in this new look Seattle Seahawks offense without Kenneth Walker in the backfield and without Clint Kubiak calling plays?

Yeah, I think the thing that helps is that, um, um, they've been together before.

You know, Brian was in, in San Francisco when, when Sam was there, so there was some pir- familiarity there.

So when he came in, it wasn't like they didn't know each other from Adam or anything like that, and I think he had a, a really good feel for what he, he knew Sam could do, and he's kind of incorporated those things into this offense here.

A lot of similarities between the two offenses in San Francisco and Seattle anyway because of the, the coaching backgrounds.

So Sam has, I think, has adjusted very well.

He's had the one game against, uh, the, the Commanders where he turned it over a couple of times, but he did throw for well over 300 yards in that ballgame as well and three touchdowns.

And I guess the follow-up question is, are there any weaknesses on that Seahawks defense?

So what are your thoughts on how Sam Darnold has looked in only a couple games this season, but in this new look Seattle Seahawks offense without Kenneth Walker in the backfield and without Clint Kubiak calling plays?

Yeah, I think the thing that helps is that, um, um, they've been together before.

You know, Brian was in, in San Francisco when, when Sam was there, so there was some familiarity there.

So when he came in, it wasn't like they didn't know each other from Adam or anything like that.

And I think he had a, a really good feel for what he, he knew Sam could do, and he's kind of incorporated those things into this offense here.

A lot of similarities between the two offenses in San Francisco and Seattle anyway because of the, the coaching backgrounds.

So Sam has, I think, has adjusted very well.

And I guess the follow-up question is, are there any weaknesses on that Seahawks defense?

we

went in different directions, especially towards the time I was getting ready to retire.

She wanted to go more into religion and become a minister.

And I was more wanting to have fun with the rest of my life and do all the things that I wasn't able to do because I was playing football for all those years.

So we were just a little bit different that way, and we ended up partying.

But we raised four amazing kids, and we both have 11 grandkids now.

And we're still really good friends.

One thing

I'm just curious a- as someone who, who played, someone who's around the team and still lives up there, what impresses you in the way that he leads this organization and, and, and coaches the X's and O's as well?

First of all, he's very intense.

Um, he's a no-nonsense guy.

But he's, he's very relaxed around his football team, so he doesn't get...

Even though he's an intense guy, he doesn't give that impression to his football team.

Um, they're a very connected group, and that's something he really tried to, to bring in with the culture that he created when he came in as the Seahawks head coach to, to get this team as connected as quickly as possible as he could.

And they are a very, very close unit.

Does that look like a team capable of winning it all this year?

Where did you come from before you got into the NFL?

Well, you know, I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and played Pop Warner football.

I started playing there when I was nine years old.

And my first year, I didn't play quarterback.

I played actually linebacker, and I played wingback, believe it or not, because we ran the wing tee.

So our quarterback ran the ball all the time.

Then the next year, I moved up.

just not

When you look back at your journey, 20 plus in the NFL, six in the CFL, college, high- Like, what, what, what comes to mind?

Just able to overcome whatever was, was put in front of me as far as an obstacle or whatever.

I was able to somehow, uh, stay on, stay on that path of, of what, what my goals were when I was a little kid growing up.

That they were dreams at that time, you know? I, I was dreaming if I could play for, for the Rams, 'cause that was my team, um, being in Los Angeles.

And then, um, I dreamed of being a Laker one day, or I d- I dreamed of being a, you know, Dodger.

So all those things started to become a reality later on in life, and um, and those dreams turned into goals, and I just figured out a way to make those goals happen, and I wasn't gonna let anything stop me.

And, and a lot of it came from my mother, believe it or not.

Um, mentoring Cam Ward, what has that been like? And did, did he, is it true he asked, uh, your permission to wear the one?

And, you know, I'm wondering who you think, Warren, is the next to join or the next couple to join in that conversation when we talk about the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

Man, there's so many.

You know, we're waiting to see if certain guys can bounce back from last year.

I mean, we're waiting to see, you know, how Williams in San Francisco – not San Francisco, in Chicago, how well he plays this next year growing in that offense.

I mean, there's just so many different – you know, quarterbacks that have a chance to make that emergence.

Justin Herbert, everybody's kind of waiting on him to be the next guy.

The kid down in Jacksonville, you know, again, he's got a chance to be a great one as well because of where he was drafted.

Who do you like in the AFC West? Another very competitive division.

If you wind the clock back to when this all began, if they'd simply come to you and, and said to you, "This is what we would like you to do," you wouldn't have been averse to that idea.

I've always been open to it.

It was never discussed and it was never threatened that if I didn't, that I would obviously be terminated.

The real reason stemmed from the Nations Cup.

We lost heavily in our first game, and I pretty much knew there was commentary then that they were gonna make a move because they were already talking to, um, Felipe.

It was quite commonly known.

The players knew, staff knew, I knew that the president's wife had been in conversation with Felipe to come in.

Which for a country which clearly has no shortage of football talent, they really should be doing way better.

Do you ever personally wonder about his commitment to football and everything that comes along, if he's committed with everything that comes along with being the face of a franci- franchise?

Yeah, I really don't know Kyler that well.

I knew his dad, but, um, I, I never knew Kyler.

And, and he has kind of a, uh, you know, really laid back personality, and I think as a quarterback, you probably have to give a little bit more of yourself to the team.

You can't be who you wanna be all the time.

Like, I'm kind of laid back, too, and I was that way coming out of, coming out of college.

Kind of a shy guy, kind of to myself.

Were you that kind of guy? Were you, would you grab a guy by the jersey if you had to? And for all the lay people watching and listening, can you explain what it's like knowing that as the face of the franchise, all eyes are on you, every move, everything you say, everything you do at all times?

Do you ever personally wonder about his commitment to football and everything that comes along, if he's committed with everything that comes along with being the face of a franci- franchise?

Yeah, I really don't know Kyler that well.

I knew his dad, but, um, I, I never knew Kyler.

And, and he has kind of a, uh, you know, a really laid-back personality, and I think as a quarterback, you probably have to give a little bit more of yourself to the team.

You can't be who you wanna be all the time.

Like, I'm kind of laid back too, and I was that way coming out of, coming out of college, kind of a shy guy, kind of to myself.

But I also knew as a quarterback, you had to give of your personality to the football team to let those guys know that, uh, you had their back and, and that, that, that they had your back.

Would you grab a guy by the jersey if you had to? And for all the laypeople watching and listening, can you explain what it's like knowing that as the face of the franchise, all eyes are on you, every move, everything you say, everything you do, at all times?

What was that like for you, Warren? And what's your relationship now with the young Titans quarterback?

You know, it was a big decision because, you know, people look at their number as like gold and you want to, you know, hang on to that as long as you possibly can.

But I got a good run out of that number all the way from college, you know, through the Canadian Football League, all the way through my 17-year NFL career.

So I felt like it's time to give it up to somebody else who I think has the same abilities to do the same type of things that I did as a quarterback.

So I I really have a lot of faith in Cam.

I love his background.

I love where he comes from, the Houston area where I played most of my football.

What do the Titans have now in a play caller and how can Brian Dable help a young quarterback for the Titans like Cam Ward?

What was that like for you, Warren, and what's your relationship now with the young Titans quarterback?

You know, it was a, a big decision because, you know, people look at their number as, as like gold and, and you wanna, you know, hang onto that as long as you possibly can.

But I got a good run out of that number all the way from college, uh, you know, through the Canadian Football League, all the way through my 17-year NFL career.

So I felt like it's time to give it up to somebody else who I think has the same, uh, abilities to, to do the same type of things that I did as a, as a quarterback.

So I, I really have a lot of faith in Cam.

I love his background.

I love where he comes from, the Houston area, where I played most of my football, and, uh, I think he's gonna create his own legacy with that number.

What do the Titans have now in a play caller, and how can Brian Daboll help a young quarterback for the Titans like Cam Ward?

How were you able to handle that? I was going to have a strong backbone in your wife, but how did you handle that as a dad?

I think I'd be a lot more worried about it today than I did back in the 80s when I was playing the 80s and 90s.

I was more worried about just my kids either being taunted or things like that by other kids.

I don't think I was ever worried about their safety.

Today, I probably would, because there's a lot of nuts out there.

And you see those things happen all the time with school shootings or whatever it might be.

But yeah, I was more worried about that.

That's the whole point of, you know, what we want to do.

Tell us about the NFL Alumni Fatherhood Champions program, which you are down here promoting.

It's a program that's, uh, through the NFL A- Alumni, and, uh, what we're trying to do is help promote great fatherhood.

Great fathers, uh, are very important in a young kid's lives.

Um, I grew up without a father, so I, I know how important it was for me when I had kids to have a father in my life, because I know what I missed not having a father in my life.

I would see other boys with- on teams I played, their dads waiting on them after the games were over, or their dads giving them instruction, all those different things.

I missed out on all of that.

So I know how important it is and, and I was very involved in my kids' lives growing up with all the different activities they were involved in, and I wanna make sure they're, that other fathers have those same opportunities to do that with their kids, whether they have a good relationship with them now or not, or whether they have a, a good relationship and they wanna improve that relationship.

Um, the quarterbacks in this game, May and Darnold, your thoughts?

Uh, tell me about what you're doing with the NFL Alumni Fatherhood Champions program.

Well, that's exactly what I'm doing.

I'm doing a Fatherhood Champions program, which w- what we're trying to do is give, uh, dads the right tools to help reconnect or connect with their families much better, and, um, having a father in the household is, is very, very important, I think, for any young kids.

I don't know if you had a dad when you were growing up.

I didn't, and that was something that still left a hole in my heart for, for, uh, you know, not having a dad that I could talk to about things that sons talk to their dads about.

Uh, so this was a program that I really wanted to get involved in because I know how important it is for not only to have a dad but have a dad that's really connected to his family and connected to his kids.

And this, this program will give you, uh, the tools and different things that you need to improve those relationships that you have with your kids, if you don't have that right now.

What have you seen a- of his evolution, uh, over these last few seasons, and, and what sort of perspective can you provide for when people count you out for something, and then you can prove them wrong?

What would you tell Josh Allen, who's obviously dealing with a really tough time?

Yeah, I'd tell him, like you just said, to keep plugging away because He's in the prime of his career right now.

He's still got probably another, I don't know, four or five really good years of being able to be the dual threat quarterback that he is right now before things start to slow down.

So as long as they are cognizant of putting really good pieces around him, I think they'll eventually get to one.

And I think that's the problem this year.

He just didn't have enough weapons, and he had to do so much on his own.

And when you have to handle the ball as much as he did, bad things might happen sometime, and that's what happened to him.

But how different is it going to be in that locker room, Warren? Because you went through that.