Head Coach Brian Daboll
May 30, 2024
Q. Good to have Darius Slayton back?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we have good attendance. It's good for him to be back. Again, it's voluntary, so glad he decided to come.
Q. We saw you last week with the radio in your hand during practice. Where are you in your thought process about who will call plays?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, going through practice. We'll go through training camp, make a decision here by the end of training camp.
Q. What's your involvement now on the offensive side? Are you the voice in the quarterback’s ear more consistently?
BRIAN DABOLL: That practice I was, yes. That practice I was.
Q. What goes into that decision who's going to be the play caller? Is it a matter of comfort? How do you determine?
BRIAN DABOLL: I've called plays for a long time. So it's good to get out here at practice and do it, but there's a whole process that goes through with it. There's training camp. There's OTAs. And I'll make the decision, like I said back in March, that I feel is best.
Q. What about the continuity involved there? You've had Kafka do it for a couple of years? Are you concerned about changing up the continuity, or are you pretty much on the same page when it comes to that?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, just working through practice here. We'll go through the whole process, go through training camp, go through the different situations. There's a lot that goes into it. So we'll just take it practice by practice.
Q. Will you be on the headset today?
BRIAN DABOLL: We don't have headsets today.
Q: The radio?
BRIAN DABOLL: Probably.
Q. What's going on with Andrew Thomas? He didn't take 11-on-11 last week. From the photos you guys took, it doesn't look like he's been at left tackle at all.
BRIAN DABOLL: Different guys are at different spots. We’re doing different things. He'll be in 11-on-11 today.
Q. How do you feel you've evolved as a coach since you've taken this job?
BRIAN DABOLL: I don't know. There's time for reflection at the end of the season. Right now it's just having a good OTA practice.
Q. Daniel Bellinger okay?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he'll be out here. What's been good, which I've been appreciative of all the players is -- besides Darren, and we've talked about him, there's no update on that -- every player has been here at some point, again, for voluntary workouts. So I've been appreciative for that.
Q. Is there anyone who is not practicing injury-wise that it's a long term thing? At least concerned about it nearing training camp?
BRIAN DABOLL: No, I think we're in pretty good shape.
Q. Is Daniel at a point where he's going to do any 11-on-11?
BRIAN DABOLL: Have not made that decision yet. We've talked about it. I'd say he's getting closer and closer. He's only 6 1/2 months out, so he's kind of right on schedule in terms of his rehab plan where we have him.
It's something we've talked about. We're not at that point yet.
Q. Does he want to do it?
BRIAN DABOLL: He'd want to do anything.
Q. Or is it something the medical staff is holding him back from?
BRIAN DABOLL: I'd say we have a plan, and we're following that plan. He's making progress. When we feel that's the next step, then he'll be out there doing it.
Q. I don't think you did any 11-on-11 last spring. I'm curious why --
BRIAN DABOLL: You don't think or you know?
Q. It's a hunch.
BRIAN DABOLL: Understand the question. Last year was a little bit of a numbers thing too. We were really down on defensive linemen, so it was tough to get out there and give them that many reps.
I think it's important to try to be able to do that, as long as you practice the right way. I think it's really good for the quarterback, and I think we missed on some of that last year. So that was something, just going back and re-evaluating some of the things I wanted to try to get done if we had the right numbers and we practice the right way, being a non-contact camp.
I think it's good, even though it's not full live, for the quarterback to be able to move in the pocket, feel a little bit of the rush. I think that's helpful, and it's good for the offensive and defensive linemen to work some of their hand technique. We don't bull rush or run a bunch of games and things like that just because of the nature of the camp, but I do think it's helpful for the quarterback.
Q. You've referred to Shane Bowen as a good teammate.
BRIAN DABOLL: Sure.
Q. Several times. What does that mean to you? And the second part would be last week Charlie (Bullen) and Dre (Andre Patterson) talked about how they were working together with the edge and at the line. How important is that to your staff this year, do you feel, or has it always been that way?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, it's really important. That's where it starts. I think Shane has done a really good job with all the guys on the defensive staff. It has been a good, collaborative effort. There's good communication. They're just trying to look to get better collectively and then each unit.
So he's done a really good job in that leadership role and happy we have him.
Q. What would you say is the biggest change you've made? Obviously you go back and do sort of a self-evaluation, like you say, in the off-season, and then you come and make some tweaks like the 11-v-11. Is there anything you look at and say this is my number one priority or this is the biggest thing you do?
BRIAN DABOLL: No, I think you do it -- you try to self-assess every day, but schedule-wise and things that, again, just to go back to what we just talked about, you look at what you did from one year to the next, and if you think there's an improvement that could be made or something you say, man, I wish I would have done it this way, that you're open to it.
You take a lot of input. You try to collaborate as much as you can and do what's best for the team.
Q. Did you come away with anything on the injury side that you want to change?
BRIAN DABOLL: (Aaron) Wellman has done a great job since he's been here – Frank (Piraino), our new addition. There's good communication between them and the athletic (training) department. We've made, I'd say, changes in a lot of different areas to try to improve our team, and that's all we're trying to do.
Q. What role does Steve Smith have here today?
BRIAN DABOLL: He's here. He came in. He's been here last year. We have a good relationship with him, Joe and I. He's coming out watching practice. I think he's a good sounding board for some of the young guys, particularly some of the young receivers.
So he'll be here a couple of days. We have a good relationship with Steve. Joe, obviously at Carolina, and I've known him. I have a lot of respect for his game, how he's played. We had him last year too.
Q. With the offensive line position, the offensive line coach has evolved. Why is Carmen Bricillo the right guy to bring this unit up to where it used to be?
BRIAN DABOLL: I think Carm is a teacher, a good coach, a good teammate. He has a good understanding of how we do things. He's made certain adjustments, too, to try to improve where we’re at. Again, good teammate, good teacher, good communicator. Handles the players well. Again, we're in OTAs. We have some time before we get going here. Appreciative for the work that he's put in.
And I would include James Ferentz too. Even though he hasn't coached, he's been a very, very good addition. Just played the game, just retired. Can see it through the players' eyes. Very good technician.
He played a long time at probably not the highest level of talent for him, and he'd probably be the first to admit that. But he did it the right way, being smart, being tough, being a great communicator. He's been a really good addition as well.
Q. Does that position coach, the role maybe more than others, need to be kind of an amateur psychiatrist or psychologist too just because of the nature of how many there are and the ups and downs?
BRIAN DABOLL: No. I'd just say you coach pretty much half the offense. So if one person makes a mistake up front, it looks bad for everybody. Those guys seeing it through the same set of eyes, being on the same page, that's obviously really important.
Q. Back to Steve Smith again if I may, is he available to the receivers as a sounding board, as a resource, that kind of thing?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yes. Again, we had him here last year. He's coming out for a couple of days. We have some young receivers. Again, he's played a long time, been very successful. We have a good relationship with him. So happy to have him.
Q. What do you think of how Drew Lock has played in the spring so far?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he's coming along every day, learning new material. It's different when you're at quarterback. There's a lot to learn, a lot to process. He's done a great job in the meetings. He's improved every day. Happy we have him.
Q. The jump Tommy DeVito has made from last year? Obviously every rookie does that. Just where you see him?
BRIAN DABOLL: Again, now he's in the second year of the terminology. Being able to get in the huddle, hear the call, spit it out, know what to see. It's been helpful for him. He's had a good camp. He's had a good camp up to this point.
