Kansas City Chiefs head coach appeared on the Jim Rome Show (610 in KC) this afternoon. He talked about making roster moves, open competition at quarterback, Dwayne Bowe and Larry Johnson.
The audio will be available at Jim Rome's website within the next day or so.
Here are a few of the notes I took.
On the Chiefs training camp:
"We're still in training camp mode. We're not in Wisconsin anymore but we're still in training camp mode."
"We had two practices yesterday, one today and two tomorrow. I do believe we've made some progress....and I'm encouraged with where we're at with 19 days to Baltimore."
On the culture change:
"I think ti's a process for sure. As far as we have to go, some a little more difficult than others, I think all you can do is set your expectations for your players and coaches. Let them know what you expect and try to hold everyone accountable to that. And continue to bring in players if there are guys out there that you think can help you like we did with the trade for a couple of Miami linemen."
"That's all I've promised to them. I'll do my part to get us as best as we can be."
On making more roster moves:
"Continuing, upgrading the competition to make everyone better. To say that we're done, I can't make that promise because you don't know what the future holds."
"Like I told the players, don't just compete with the other players at your position. You're competing with the entire NFL."
On whether the QB position is really an open competition:
"I've held true to that across the board. This is an open competition for everybdoy. Some spots are becoming a littlre more clear while others aren't so clear. But from day one I've let them all know they were competing, and the guy that gives us the best chance will play."
On the wide receivers:
"I think we're making progress at the receiver position. Early on, it was a bit of a struggle. We've added a couple of players who have kinda helped lead the way. I think we're getting progress from some players at that position as they're now starting to get it."
"I'm encouraged with the receiver position and think we've made some progress there."
On Dwayne Bowe being demoted:
"I would say...I hate to use the word demoted because this is an open competition and each day we tried to put in the guy we thought was doing it the way we wanted it done."
"Dwayne Bowe has made some strides and is starting to act like he's getting it. Early on, concentration was an issue. Not doing the right thing was an issue. But again, in these last two weeks, and the last two games, he's made progress that gets me a little bit excited that maybe he's starting to get it."
On the offseason weight loss compared to last season:
"You'd have to ask them. We had great offseason attendance in our workout program. The guys really worked hard. They lost probably 300 pounds during that then another 300+ pounds on their own in the time they had off."
"At our training camp weigh in, we had a 760 pound loss."
On Larry Johnson:
"I've been taught by some pretty good mentors that taught me and the thing I kinda carried along with me as an assistant coach and now a head coach is that you go by what you see."
"I try to go by what I see. I let the players know that. And everything I've seen from Larry at this point is a player that wants to be a part of something special. I have no problem with where we're at. The player has done everything asked of him."
On mentors in football:
"Coach Parcells obviously."
"My father, you can't ask for a better situation to grow up in. The teams, to be around the Pittsburgh Steelers, on a daily basis. You can't have a better situation to learn from."
"Dan Henning, who's down in Miami with coach Parcells. A young coach that gave me a lot of responsibility, a lot of input and just a guy that really helped me grow."
On Bill Parcells:
"I've always said Jim is that working for Bill is like dog years - One = seven."
"When he put his arm around you it was like a second Dad. You were looking for approval, for sure. It's just the way he went about his business is the way I learned works most of the time. Our personalities jived so he's an easy guy to look up to for me."