Everybody is going to have a bad game. One game does not decide somebody's season.
For me it was just about staying the course, staying true to who I believe that I am, being open, being honest, being transparent with the players, being firm with the players but at the same time listening to the players.
My first signing bonus was 3,500 bucks. I bought speakers and a five-disc carousel CD changer. Dude, I thought I was the wealthiest quarterback around.
You look at my career, everywhere I went - Miami, Green Bay, Cleveland, Philly - they were always bringing in draft picks and former first-rounders and guys with free-agent deals to take my job.
I want to hire guys that fit that mold; I want guys where it's about the Philadelphia Eagles first, that check their egos at the door.
I think the quarterback position is not one that's exempt from competition.
I'm sort of a father figure to a lot of these players.
I was hired to be the head football coach, not the general manager.
Don't misunderstand,' he said, 'there's pressure with every football game⦠Sometimes players, coaches, teams put pressure on themselves when they don't have to.
You acquire all this new talent through the draft, through free agency, always having roster moves. And so being able to bring all of that together through training camp... you keep asking yourself that question of just how well can they join together and play together, and you don't know until you start playing in July and August.
I don't want to put my game plan out there for everybody to see it and read it and teams can scheme. It just doesn't make a lot of sense.
Our players are not immune to the things that are going on in society.
Players are smart. That locker room knows. So don't hide anything.
Communicate with the front office, communicate with the staff, communicate with the secretaries, everybody. And make everybody feel a part of something. That's important.
It's easy to sit in the press box and say, βHey, they should run the ball.' Come down and stand on the sideline with me and make decisions. You should run it here, you should pass it here, let's throw a screen here, let's get the quarterback out of the pocket right here.
I think there comes a time with a quarterback, especially when things go a little sideways, that players begin to try to do things a little uncharacteristic of what they've done in the past.
With the quarterback position, because you're touching the ball every single snap, you want to make a play and you just have to guard against that. It's about making the plays that come to you, not necessarily chasing after plays.
I'm not a big social media guy, I have no Twitter accounts, I don't have Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, I don't do any of that stuff.
Football is a physical strenuous sport. These guys are running all of the time.
Coaches respect each other, and it's a tough business.
