From today's interview at the Mothership:
On Tyler Thigpen and Tony Gonzalez's relationship...
He kind of liked this guy in the summer. He really did and liked some of his attributes and now that he’s playing a lot, I think, he’s helped him.
It does and when he makes the throws and his ability to make some plays on his own. I think that’s what is so exciting about the guy. When the train is delayed he finds a way to make a play. That’s a credit to him. And Tony is good that way, too. I mean Tony can sense when a quarterback is in trouble and adjusts his routes very well and finds a way to get open.
On moving Derrick Johnson to middle linebacker...
Just to look at it as we move on down the road next year. We’ve got some decisions we have to make. We want to see if he can play ‘Mike.’ He played it in college and was a very good player. I think he wants to do it, but it puts a little more burden on him too. You have to be more focused because you have to get the team lined up and call the plays and makes the checks. That might help him too.
On more position switching by the Chiefs...
Not really, I think we’ve had some guys moving around there. Wade (Smith) has played guard some, Herbie (Taylor) had to play guard. But we don’t want to get into all that. I think the offensive line for the most part has been pretty steady.
At the linebacker position we’ve been hurt a lot and have had a lot of different guys playing in and out. This is just another way to move Derrick to a position he can become a good player for us.
On NFL players and owning guns...
The 12 o'clock rule rears its head again. Nothing good happens after 12 o'clock. That’s my basic rule and I’ve always told them that. If you go out and you’re looking for the girl to wink at you and she hasn’t winked at you before 12 she isn’t going to. You might as well go home.
I think they understand where I’m coming from and what’s going to happen. It's not a lot of fun to see a guy like that going to the pokey with the cameras flashing. It's not good for anybody.
On his era versus today's players...
No, this is different: television, talk shows. Everything that happens in this league is talked about whether it's right or wrong or indifferent. That's what you don’t understand when you sign on. When you sign your name on the contract there are a lot of things that go along side besides being a football player. Sometimes you lose sight of that.
On a player's personal history and drafting him...
It's a lot of things. It’s not just one thing. I think the first thing you think about when you evaluate players is where did he grow up, how did he grow up. You lose sight of that. But it all starts from somewhere. Then you think he might struggle here, he might struggle there. Can we help him? See, when you draft players you try to help them. I’ve always felt that way as a coach. You try to make them better men, too. Help them be better men. That’s a little bit of your obligation as a coach, too, because then they’ll be really good football players, in my opinion.