Here is a transcript of Andy Reid's media session at the NFL Combine on Wednesday (via Chiefs PR).
OPENING STATEMENT: "Alright, so we only have one injury to talk about. Listen, it's great to get together down here in Indianapolis. It's kind of the first opportunity we have as a complete organization to come down and look at all the players. The scouts have been out beating the bushes and evaluating these guys, and so they obviously have a better understanding of them than the coaches do. The coaches now have an opportunity to come down and watch them run around a little bit and then most of all, and probably most important, is an opportunity to talk to them. That's what we're here doing. Other than that I'm going to leave it up to you guys here."
Q: Is there one part of the evaluation process that you enjoy the most?
REID: "I like being around the guys and seeing. Whether it's the weigh ins or the bench press. Whatever it is, you have the time to watch to just see how they interact amongst the different situations and amongst their teammates there for this combine and then the individual interviews are pretty good too, a bit staged today. They've been well coached, so you try to work your way through that the best you can, but it's still an opportunity to talk to the kids."
Q: What happened to your leg?
REID: "I had a little surgery done. I had a knee replacement."
Q: Will you be ready for training camp?
REID: "No, I'll be ready to go. I won't be starting on PUP."
Q: Is that why you missed the Senior Bowl?
REID: "Yeah."
Q: You've been in situations as a head coach where you've had final say in personnel and also been with a GM with a lot of power. What are the benefits of both and why are you more comfortable now with a strong GM?
REID: "Well first of all, I've got full trust in John (Dorsey). Not that I didn't in the other guys, I was just put in that position, but with this, I have full trust in John and I've been with him a long time. I've known him for a long time and I've been there, done that with the other part of it and I enjoyed it for that period of time. It's great to have a change, great to get back into the coaching part of it which I desired with this move, to actually get back in and coach offensive football."
Q: It looks like another deep draft of wide receivers. Is that just one of those things or something that maybe colleges are doing now that turns out better wide receivers to make them more consistent?
REID: "Yeah, we've talked a little bit about that. From a throwing standpoint in the National Football League, you end up throwing the ball quite a bit. I think the college game has really helped. It's helped because they're throwing the football more and these guys are having more opportunity to run the routes that we run and go against these different coverages that are little bit more sophisticated at the college level and have to make adjustments on those coverages. I think from a quarterback's standpoint, tight ends and wide receivers, it's a beautiful thing."
Q: Speaking of targets in general, two of the top receiving targets were your tight ends.
REID: "Two top-flight tight ends were receivers. That's saying you can't have enough of those guys. You surely like to be fully loaded from that standpoint and a tight end standpoint. We were fortunate this past year having three guys that we felt very comfortable with and were able to get in some personnel groups where we utilized all three."
Q: What are some of the matchup problems with three tight ends?
REID: "You can't double everybody. The more of those guys that you have, it can be a threat on the defense. You add the speed factor into it, I mean a receiver is different, so you can take the redeeming quality and try to exploit it. Speed is one of those things you can start to feel a little bit further."
Q: Todd Bowles was just up here talking about how much he learned from you as far as determination. What did you see from Todd when you had him and how do you think he'll do as a head coach?
REID: "I was a big fan of Todd Bowles. I wish we would have had him sooner on staff. I tried to get him one other time and was unable to do it, but fortunate to have him that one year that we had him. I think Todd is a smart guy on and off the field. He's got a sharp mind and loves football. I think he's great with people. He's honest. He's going to shoot you straight and from a player standpoint, that's all you really want. Have a good teacher and someone that will tell you the truth."
Q: It was a tough situation for him with you. How did he do?
REID: "I thought he did great. We had some good people on that staff I thought, him being one of them, and I thought they all handled that well. It was a bit of a mess, but they handled it well."
Q: Can you brief me on your decision to release Donnie Avery and A.J. Jenkins?
REID: "Yeah, I appreciate both of those guys, Donnie and A.J. Two different situations, one guy is a little bit younger than the other guy and Donnie has had a lot of good years in the National Football League. Hopefully he continues to have good years. I' m pulling for him. A.J.'s just learning. He'll continue to do that and hopefully hooks on with someone and has that opportunity."
Q: Have you spoken to Eric Berry?
REID: "I have. Yes."
Q: How is he doing?
REID: "It was a couple of days ago. I texted with him. He's doing well. Definitely headed in the right direction as far as the actual medical part goes. His spirit is strong. He's a stud every way you look at it. I mean, anybody that's got to fight that, they've got a special place in my heart for sure."
Q: Have you talked to Alex Smith?
REID: "Have I talked to Alex? Yes."
Q: How is he?
REID: "He's doing well. He is relaxing with family. Spleen is good. He's getting himself ready for the coming year."
Q: In regards to a general manager-coach relationship, what is the key factor that makes it work? Why do Green Bay guys seem to get it right?
REID: "They have great communications so they check their egos at the door. They come in and they work their tails off and they are honest with each other, which is important."
Q: How much of that enables you to be comfortable with just being the head coach?
REID: "I think that's big. You're asking me from the Philadelphia perspective. It's great to have (vice president of player personnel) Ed (Marynowitz) in a position where (Head Coach) Chip (Kelly) has a trust in him. Ed is on the rise, he's a good one and I think it was a great choice by Chip."
Q: Why is Ed Marynowitz on the rise?
REID: "Just a sharp guy. Good evaluator, he will tell a good player from a bad player. He stayed one step ahead of it and looking to the future on things. I think he is going to do a great job there."
Q: What is your philosophy or strategy on franchise tags?
REID: "It's different, every year it's different. It depends on the player situation. Every one of them is different with how you go through the process on it."
Q: How are LB Derrick Johnson and DE Mike DeVito?
REID: "D.J. and DeVito, they are doing well. The neat thing to watch is they work out together and challenge each other. They are rehabbing together so they push each other. Both of them might be in the best shape of their lives right now."
Q: Will they be ready for the first game of the season?
REID: "There's a chance, yeah. Well, we will see. I will get you that."
Q: What is your assessment on OL Jeff Allen?
REID: "Jeff is doing well. I think he will be fine as we go too. He's working hard."
Q: Does Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub need to become a position coach to get a head coaching job like John Harbaugh?
REID: "I would hope not. I hope not. Not that he wouldn't be a great one, but I think that's an underappreciated position. I'm glad Ozzie (Newsome) didn't look at it like that. I don't think Ozzie would have cared if John was a position coach or not."
Q: John Harbaugh switched over.
REID: "Well, he was right at that crossroads. There's a little crossroads right there, if you're going to switch to a position coach and you're way up on the pay scale as a special teams coach and you don't want to step back. There's a decision if you're going to go that route. That's the route we went with John. I would hope that's not the case with Dave. I think Dave's ready to go and would do a great job."
Q: Are you surprised that John Harbaugh's success hasn't opened the door for more special teams coaches?
REID: "I think they look at the guys. They just have to go ahead and take that next step and hire one and see how it works. I think in our case with Dave, he could get hired and go in and do a heck of a job."
Q: Back to A.J. Jenkins, you said he still has a chance to play but he's just a bit young. Why give up on him?
REID: "There's some thing's he needs to work on and he'll do that. We kind of put through what we needed to put through and worked through what we needed to. I wish him the best as he goes forward."
Q: What do you know about Ed Marynowitz, even though he's young, he's like 30 years old, is he the kind of guy who can stand up to Chip if there's a disagreement?
REID: "This isn't warfare. You work together. Chip is great at that and Ed is great at that. I don't think that's a problem. They will communicate. It's not going to be a boxing match."
Q: You've called the offensive plays forever.
REID: "No, I turned it over for number of years."
Q: Mike McCarthy gave up his play calling, why is it that important to you to have that role? Do you lose anything from a global perspective of the game when you are play-calling as the head coach?
REID: "I think everybody will give you a different answer on that. I think Mike feels that way now, just from things I've read, I haven't talked to him about it. Whatever he has decided to do will be the right thing. He's a pretty sharp guy. He's a heck of a head football coach. He's a great football coach too. He obviously has confidence in (Tom) Clements to do that and EB (Offensive Coordinator Edgar Bennett) to do that. I think it will work out. He knows better than I do, the situation."
Q: I meant from your personal experience. You loved play calling.
REID: "I did. I had a guy that I had 100 percent trust in so I had no problem doing that and it worked."
Q: You signed Alex Smith to a huge extension, how do you deal with a guy on the board playing the same position as a player you just resigned?
REID: "Take the best you can, you stick to that. Your players know it. The people around you know it. If it's a quarterback, it's a quarterback. If it's a running back, it's a running back. You've got to try to stay true to that the best you can."
Q: How do you deal with wanting a player to help you right now, do you get impatient?
REID: "I've got a lot of patience. You do what you do."
Q: Do you feel like you've exercised that in your career?
REID: "Yeah, that's what you try to do. In Philadelphia we drafted two corners and basically sat them for a bit until the old guys got older. Then they stepped in and did a nice job for us."
Q: What did you like about Terrelle Pryor to sign him?
REID: "Well, listen. He's a young guy that has great athletic skill and ability. He's from Pennsylvania; I mean how are we going to lose? We thought it'd be an opportunity for him to see if he's fitting into the things we are doing."
Q: How do you feel about the video replay changes the NFL is investigating?
REID: "I'm not going to comment on that. The league will do what's right there and I will just leave it at that. I'm not up here to stir anything up."