(on his team) This is one thing I know. I can sit there – and I’d have to move some people here and there – but I can sit there and put together what I think is a championship-calibre football team. Now, do we need depth at certain spots? Absolutely. But I think we’re one of the few teams where, if you said line up and play today, we could do that and be very, very competitive.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
(is your left tackle on your roster right now?) I think I have a couple of guys who could play left tackle and be very good at it. Shawn (Andrews) and Todd (Herremans).
(which one would be your left tackle?) I don’t know that yet. I’m just kind of juggling that around and seeing how everything lays out between the rest of free agency and the draft. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. But if I had to line up, I could put either one of them there (at LT). I could put either one at guard. Stacy Andrews can play tackle or guard. And Jon Runyan’s on the mend. So I don’t what’s going to happen with that situation.
(still possible Runyan will be re-signed?) We’ll just see how it goes. I’m not saying yay or nay.
(moving Andrews and/or Herremans outside from guard) Shawn Andrews and Todd Herremans came here as tackles. Against their will, I moved them into guard. They want to be tackles. They bug me all the time about playing tackle. They would have no problem moving out to tackle if that’s what happens.
(Herremans’ play in ’08) I thought Todd should’ve been in the Pro Bowl last year. I think that’s the kind of football he played.
(state of your o-line right now) I know I’ve got enough guys (at o-line) to line up there and have a very successful offensive line. That’s comforting.
(is getting a left tackle in the draft important?) I think I’ve got those guys here. Am I always looking for good offensive linemen? Yeah. But do I think I can go and play with what I’ve got and be very successful? Yeah. You’ve got to remember something. Even though he was a right tackle (at Arkansas), Shawn Andrews probably was the finest offensive tackle I’d ever seen come out of college football. I would have no problem putting Shawn or Todd (at left tackle). But because they don’t have that (left tackle) label, because I put them at guard, that doesn’t mean that’s all they can do
(on the play of center Jamaal Jackson) I thought Jamaal did a pretty good job in the pass game. I think he can keep working on some stuff in the run game.
(do you want to find competition for him at center?) Nick Cole is pretty good competition. He came in (at right guard) and showed what he can do. That will make us take a good look at Nick (as a starting center candidate), I’m sure.
WESTBROOK and RUNNING BACKS
(how important is it to find a back in the draft to complement Westbrook?) We’re keeping our eyes open for that. I like to have 2 or 3 running backs. So I will keep my eyes open for that spot.
(can Westbrook still be a carry-the-load back?) I think you need to supplement somebody else in there. But he can be your primary ballcarrier.
DONOVAN McNABB
(on Donovan McNabb) We sure like Donovan, obviously. We understand that from a player’s standpoint, he’s the face of the Philadelphia Eagles. We want to keep him at that position.
(on how much he’s talked with McNabb since the end of the season) We talk all the time.
(any concern that he might not show up at minicamps if he doesn’t get a contract extension) That (not showing up) isn’t going to happen.
(How concerned would he be if McNabb didn’t show up for minicamp?) Obviously, the quarterback position is very important. I’m always looking at the positive. The positive is, that (when a veteran doesn’t show) the young guys get to work with the ones. The negative is that you sure want your starting quarterback there.
(if he didn’t show up at minicamp, eagles fans would act like a nuclear bomb hit the city) I don’t really care about that (fan reaction). Supposedly, we’ve already had a few nuclear bombs hit there. I just kind of move on and whoever that next guy is hops in. That’s not saying I don’t love having the best players there.
(are you confident he’ll be at minicamp) Yes.
(on dawkins) He’s a great person. Philadelphia saw Brian come in and grow up as a man. They were able to see his kids grow up. Brian left a legacy there that should put him in Canton.
(the reaction by fans to his departure) I understood that completely.
(your decision to bench McNabb last November) Things get blown up in Philadelphia. I understand that. So I put that equation out of my mind and can’t worry about that part of it (fan and media reaction). I’ve got to do what’s best for the football team. And honestly, in that situation, what I thought was best for Donovan. You never know how things are going to go. I could sit here and tell you, `Ah, I knew everything would work out like it did.’ But you never know what’s gonna happen in this game when you do things like that. But I felt like it had to happen. Donovan is the type of person that carries the world on his back. As a result of that, at times, people around him expect him to carry the world on his back. And they’re not doing their jobs to their fullest. It’s too much. Too much for one person to do. That’s the point where this got to. It wasn’t from Donovan not trying or doing anything wrong. No human can do what he was trying to do. We were leading the league in drops. We weren’t playing great defense during that stretch. The offensive line was struggling. Everybody was having their thing. And to be honest with you, I wasn’t coaching very good. Everybody needed to pick their game up. And that’s kind of what happened after that.
I knew Donovan could handle the (benching) situation. That’s why he’s here. That’s why I drafted him way back when. I knew he could handle these kinds of situations. And two, I know guys like him on the team and they won’t ever let him sit on that bench very long. They will pick their game up and do what they’re supposed to do and we’ll become a football team again.
(Donovan’s refusal to acknowledge he benefited from the benching) I completely understand. This wasn’t Donovan coming over to me and saying he wanted to sit on the bench. That wasn’t what it was. No player wants that. Especially a player that competitive in a game that close. That’s not what he wants. But if that’s what we needed as a football team, I don’t mind being the bad guy. That’s my responsibility to get the football team right.
(what would have happened if Kevin Kolb had lit it up in second half?) Donovan McNabb was going to be my quarterback the next week. Because I’ve been around the guy too long. Donovan was going to be the quarterback.
(on Kolb’s frustration at looking at spending a third straight season on the bench as McNabb’s backup) He’s been a starter his whole life. He’s just learning how the whole backup thing works. But that was a great learning experience coming into that (Baltimore) game. That (performance) wasn’t Kevin Kolb. If you go back and look at the preseason game when he had a chance to play against New England’s 1s after they’d just been chewed out by Bill Belichick and how well he played there, and look at the other opportunities he’s had to come in. Kevin’s going to be a good football player. It’s just that Donovan’s a good football player too, right now.
BRIAN DAWKINS
(could you and the team have handled the Dawkins’ situation better?) There are certain ways you can do it. You can just release a player and do kind of like they did with Marvin Harrison in Indianapolis. Or you can actually try to get something done. Then if you lose him, then, you know what, you end up not being the good guy. But at the same time, in your heart, you know you tried to do something. Then you wish him the best of luck.
Brian, to me, will always be a Philadelphia Eagle. Brian should be able to walk into our office at any time, even if we’re playing them, and shake everybody’s hand and keep his high and know that he’s left a special legacy in Philadelphia.
(difficulty in letting a player like Dawkins leave) This is the hardest part of the job from my standpoint. It’s not an easy thing to do, not an easy thing to talk about. But that’s part of this business. It’s been part of this business forever. Since professional sports has been in business.
There’s a good part about being a head coach for 10 years and there’s a bad part. The bad part is you’re starting to get on the edge of your players’ careers. Then you have to make some tough, tough decisions. And that’s not fun. There’s nothing fun about it.
(your contact with Dawkins prior to him signing with Denver) I had talked to him a few times during the process.
(why couldn’t you have said all you’ve said about Dawkins today when he signed with the Broncos?) It might’ve reduced the amount of criticism about the Eagles being a cold-hearted organization) A week later, Joe (Banner) talked about it. I just let it go there. That was enough. Listen, Brian deserves his due. There was no easy way to do this if you were going to continue to try to negotiate and bring him back. I thought Denver did a heck of a job. They gave him a tremendous contract. And more power to them. But there wasn’t going to be an easy way of doing it. And then, I think it’s very hard for me to bring in, who at that time was the top offensive line free agent (Stacy Andrews) and try to make it his day and then talk about Brian Dawkins. I will never do it. That’s just not what I do.
(you could’ve taken questions on Dawkins after the Andrews’ press conference) I guess I could’ve done a lot of things. But that was (Andrews’) day and you let it go at that.
On safety Sean Jones' one-year contract: "If it works out and he plays well, it's a win-win for him. He either ends up coming back with us or he's able to get a nice contract somewhere else."
On Quintin Demps getting the first crack at being the starting free safety: "Yeah, but there will be competition. Both Quintins will have a shot. Quintin Mikell is established.
On how he will line up the safeties: "Quintin Mikell can play either one. Quintin Demps played free and we just have to see how the whole thing works out. We brought Demps in here to do what he did. We were able to ease him into the lineup as the season went on and give him some good playing experience. It's a matter of him coming in and being able to retain what he learned last season and then going out physically and play."
On how Sean Jones gets on the field as safety: "There are things we can do, so there is going to be some flexibility. And Sean is a big guy. Putting him down close to the line of scrimmage does not hurt you at all. At the same time, as long as he keeps his weight right he can run very well, too. I'll open up (the safety competition) and let them go. But I can tell you that Quintin Mikell is right on the edge of going to the Pro Bowl."
On his feelings when he heard about defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's cancer late in the season: "I had known before we actually played the last couple games. I had an idea what was up. That's tough. We've been together so long and you don't want to see somebody in as much pain as he was in. When he gets to the point where he can't walk, that's tough. That's not a good thing. It was just a matter then of making sure he received the best help he could get and I think that's happened.
"His emotional makeup is very similar to his emotional makeup on the field. He doesn't want to talk about it, he just wants to get it done with. He's attacking it and trying to get it right. As a matter of fact, right now he's in Spain. I really think his number one goal is to be able to golf. He was trying to get it taking care of by this trip. I don't know if he got that far, but he wanted to be able to golf in Spain. I don't know if (the chemotherapy) is done yet. I think he had a couple more stages left of that, but he's been through enough. Most men would be on their back, but he's just stubborn. He's been in the office every day.
"He's way better than what he was. He can get around now. To say he's getting better, I would say drastically better since the (NFC) championship game. He's made progress."
On whether Johnson can handle the full responsibility of being the team's defensive coordinator: "I think so, yeah. And then he knows he has (secondary coach) Sean McDermott who he's trained. Sean can step in and take over there if needed, but I don't know if it will get to that point. Jim knows that and he's prepared Sean for that. Jim is always going to be my coordinator as long as he can do it. You never know how bad it is, but I think it's important that he knows (he's the coordinator) and all the guys around him know that. Jim banks on Sean a lot anyway, so maybe he does a little bit more. He'll do what Jim can't do, but right now I think Jim can do everything."
On Brent Celek and the tight end situation: "I expect (Celek) to get better in the blocking area, but he's not far off there and he's very willing. We'll get that part taken care of. He can be a number one tight end in this league and for us. I have no problem with that. However, you need depth at that spot. We do have (Matt) Schobel there and Schobel is a good receiver. We probably need to get another guy in there. I like to have three tight ends.
On whether the third tight end needs to be an outstanding blocker: "They better be able to do both. I always feel like you can teach the blocking part of it. He's got to be willing to learn the blocking part, but getting guys that can catch the ball, that's hard to teach. You try to get a guy with decent hands and with the potential to be a blocker."
On whether Oklahoma's Brandon Pettigrew, the top-rated tight end in the draft: "I think he can do both. I think he's savvy. He's not real fast, but he's just a huge human being."
On the team's coaching changes (Ted Daisher special teams coordinator, Rory Segrest from special teams to defensive line, James Urban to quarterbacks coach and Doug Pederson to offensive quality control): "I like them so far, but there are a couple of them I haven't been in the heat of things with during a game. Ted Daisher I've been close with and Rory at the defensive line spot."
On the defensive line: "I think what you'll get is probably a healthier dose (at defensive end) of Victor (Abiamiri). He's another year older and healthy. He was coming on early, then was injured and then came on toward the end. It will be good to get him in there and get a full season out of him. I'll always keep my eyes open (for other defensive linemen). I just think everybody is better when that spot is a strength. I can't sit here and say, 'No, I'm not going to take sombody there (in the draft).' "
On whether Abiamiri is now the starter ahead of Juqua Parker: "They're both going to play. I look at it as we have eight (defensive linemen). I'm slowly figuing out how the hockey players do it in case we have 18 games.
On whether he could look to upgrade the wide receiver position: "I'll always look at something if there is a great player out there and it doesn't matter what position. I'm always looking to better our football team. Do I think we have good enough guys there? Yeah, I do. I think you get an even better Jason Avant this year. He kind of reached his abilities last year and now we can get a whole season out of him. You have a healthy Kevin Curtis. You have to remember, Kevin was coming off a sports hernia and that was an unbelievable thing he did by playing through that. You've got Reggie Brown who is a starter and you've got a young DeSean (Jackson) coming back and this is a very important year for him ... because the defensive coordinators have had some time now to study him. They'll find out ways to shut him down, so he has to make sure he picks up his game another notch."
On whether Jackson will remain the team's punt returner: "He's still going to punt return as we sit here today."
On Reggie Brown's disappearance from the offense last season: "One of the unfortunate things in this business is -- it's a good thing, but also an unfortunate one -- when you get hurt and a young guy is playing well, then it's hard to get back in there. (Brown) came back and I moved him to X receiver spot, then he got banged up again ... and he just was going back and forth. Then Kevin came back and DeSean was playing well and I kind of just let it go at that. I tried to work Reggie in there. He's a competitive kid and he wants to be out there playing. Those aren't easy decisions from my side and I know it wasn't easy for him to accept that. He's got a lot of good football ahead of him. It's not that Reggie can't play. He's got to come in and play like the rest of them do. There's competition there. If somebody snoozes, then they're not going to be the one playing, whoever it is."
On the Wildcat formation: "We're not going to feature the Wildcat. I'll be curious to see what people do with it. I thought Miami had a pretty extensive package and I'm curious to see if they continue to expand that. What normally happens is if the colleges are doing one thing and that's where the quarterbacks are coming from, it seems to me a pretty high percentage of the college teams are going to the spread offense. That's what you're bringing into the NFL and somewhere you have to explore that. We're going to let (Jon) Gruden explore that during his sabbatical ... and see how it fits into the NFL game."
On how the personnel decisions are made within the Eagles' organization: "Most GMs come to the head coach and talk to him about the players ... and I'm sure most GMs would say that if the head coach really didn't like the guy, they'd probably go in a different direction. I'm saying most. I'm not saying all of them. From my standpoint, I want to make sure I have a good GM, because I'm still involved in the football part of it. I want to have a good college director and a good pro director. I bank on those guys. Then you have to be able to tie the money side of it in and balance that.
"I have people who bring me that information and then we make our decisions more in a joint fashion than we do. It's not, 'I want this guy.' I want their opinions. If you don't share your opinions, that's when you're not here. I'm not sitting up there going, 'I'm the almighty that I know every player backward and forward and my opinion is the right opinion.' That's not how we go about that. I respect the guys that I hired and you have to because they're taking these huge numbers of players and whittling it down for you. There's no way that I can watch every guy who comes out in the draft. There's a process that you bring it down to a workable number and then we sit down and we go through it together and look at these guys. We have it set up now in the college game, where I have it right here on my computer at the hotel that I can click on and watch all the college guys. I'm mobile. And then I can talk to Tom about certain guys and I can crank out more guys than I used to be able to in certain situations."
On whether Reid makes the final call on all situations, including the decision to let safety Brian Dawkins leave via free agency: "Listen, we spend a lot of time together talking. I have a lot of respect for Joe Banner. In this day and age, you have to be smart. If you're going to sustain your program, you have to be smart. Put the whole Dawkins thing aside. You have to work together. It's not a situation where the front office hates the GM and the GM hates the money people and the head coach hates all of them. You can't do that. That's not how it is. Everybody has to work together to get this thing right. It's important that everybody is willing to do that. Joe and I meet every day. We talk every day about things. When we do something, we do it together. It's not Joe, it's not me. We do this thing together.
"Because he's the money guy -- and this has happened from Babe Ruth's time on -- he's always thrown under the bus. It's the craziest thing. He's never going to be the good guy. He's the good guy when he signs the huge player, but he's the bad guy the majority of the time. All these guys in this league, that's what happens. But we do it together. We talk things through and try to do things that are fair for the player and fair for us and then we move on. And we're very disciplined. We always try to be disciplined."
On whether the defense can be better even without Dawkins: "We will see. I'm not going to say anything that would slight Brian Dawkins. He's a great player and he's coming off a great year. But I will say that I think Brian was a good teacher also. I think it's important (to remember) that Quintin Demps is not Brian Dawkins, but he was able to see what Brian Dawkins did and now he went about his business. I think that was one reason why Quintin Demps had a chance to play last year and I think it's a great goal for Quintin Demps to shoot for. He should try to be as good as Brian was. To say he's there now, that's not fair because you're talking about one of the all-time greats.
"I think the linebackers have a chance to be even better. They're the same guys and they're getting another year older and they've had a chance to work together. And I think our defensive line is a very strong point. I think our secondary can be as solid as any secondary in the league and it's important that they are."
On whether second-year cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu can be the Eagles' fourth cornerback: "I'll tell you when we get into the minicamps. He's a phenomenal athlete and he's been going to all the meetings and doing all the stuff he was supposed to do, so we'll see how he handles the whole situation. I'll be watching."
On whether he'll promise that the team will make a first-round pick this year: "I want to maintain my flexibility."
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