Coach Callahan's Tuesday Press Conference Quotes

Head Coach Bill Callahan weekly press conference quotes

Sept. 14, 2004

 

“I’d like to recognize a few players from last week’s game against Southern Miss. The offensive player of the game was Cory Ross. Our defensive player of the game was Daniel Bullocks. Special teams player of the week versus Southern Miss was Adam Ickes. Our defensive scout team player of the week was Brett Byford, and our offensive scout team player of the week was Andy Kadavy. We’re proud to announce those players and their contributions to our team.” <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“As we lead into <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Pittsburgh, I just want to say that we’re excited about the upcoming challenges this week. This is an excellent opponent with a lot of talent, even though they are young. The thing we see on film is that they are a very good team in all areas, and they are a very physical team. I’ve known Coach (Walt) Harris throughout my career. It started at the University of Illinois. I was his graduate assistant back in 1980 and 1981. I was trained under Coach Harris, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for his abilities as a football coach and as an offensive coach. Basically I cut my teeth at the University of Illinois under him, and I know that he’ll have his team prepared and they will be very physical.”

 

On the emotional value of the Pittsburgh game:
“I don’t play into that. I just really want to focus and work on our players getting prepared for Pittsburgh. That’s what we can control ? our preparation. I’ve said that many times to our players. This is a team that when you look at them on film, they’re very stout and physical on the defensive side of the ball. They’ve got a huge defensive line, they’re big inside, and they’re thick, square, physical players. They’re not very complex. They’re a team that knows their philosophy of defense, and they’re going to challenge you in a lot of different ways. They have the ability to change up and do some things, but they don’t need to. They’re a good team, and they’re a bowl team. They represent that very well, and their play is very representative of their head coach, I will say that.”

 

On Dennis Wagner:

“Well, number one, he has brought them (the offensive line) all together. He’s got them communicating on the same page. Number two, he’s worked extremely hard at the fundamentals and techniques of the game. And number three, for him to come in, take a foreign system, essentially, with new verbiage, and get all his players on the same page, and adapt to everything new that we’re doing, that has really impressed me. He’s bought in. He understands what our goals are offensively; he understands exactly what the philosophy is. He’s a student of the game. He immerses himself in the preparation and knowing everything about what we’re trying to get accomplished, and some of the experiences I’ve had. I’ve talked to him about some of the experiences he’s had in college football. It’s been a great dialogue. It’s been a great opportunity for me to learn some things about college football that I haven’t been exposed to, and he provides that knowledge for me. Overall he’s an excellent coach, a great person, and not only that, he can really recruit well. He knows the West Coast well, and he really takes pride in his recruiting. He’s been an accomplished recruiter for years. We’ve got a lot of things that are admirable in Coach Wagner, and he continues to do a good job in a very challenging position right now.”

 

On coaching against someone he knows:

“I’m very comfortable with where I am and, I’m sure, where Coach Harris is. We’re not playing each other, our teams are. The important thing to focus on is the players and what they need to get done on the field. Like I said, I’m going to focus in on our team and what we need to get done. We have a lot of work to do, that’s pretty obvious. As you look at last Saturday’s performance, we have a lot of work to do in a lot of areas, and that main area of turnovers and ball security is a thorn in my side. I want to make sure we rectify that, and we go to Pittsburgh and play the way we’re capable of playing.”

 

On Pittsburgh struggling to put up yards against Ohio:

“I saw good talent on the field. Even we struggled in the second half of the Western Illinois game. I think that’s just going to happen in an opener. I think that’s just a common occurrence. I respect Ohio and how they played; they played physical, they played well. It was good competition. I thought it was a heck of a game.”

 

On the players’ confidence after the loss to Southern Mississippi:

“I would like to think it didn’t hurt their confidence at all. I think when you generate the numbers and the output that we did on the offensive side, I really don’t think the confidence is rattled or shaken. I really don’t. I just feel that, and I can back that up by the way our players responded in the postgame comments, in the locker room with the team and myself, personally, and then on Sunday when I visited with the team. They were very focused. This is a driven team, and I’ll tell you something, this team is unique. They’ve been through a lot of challenges in the last year or so, and this is just another one of those challenges we’ve got to go out and work hard on to improve. But you look at everything that has transpired with our systems, and we’re very confident. We’re still up there numerically, and I’m not a big stat guy, but it does show productivity. Again, I’d like to rectify those areas and continue to maintain where we are in terms of production.”

 

On the defense against Southern Miss:

“I was very impressed. As I spoke with Coach (Kevin) Cosgrove at the end of the game, the conclusion of our recap of Southern Miss, it was evident to me that our defense had their backs to the wall several times. There was only one occasion where we didn’t respond. To have our defensive players and our defensive coaches talk about how they didn’t do enough to win, that’s a lot of unselfishness on their part. I felt that personally I let them down because maybe the play selection wasn’t just perfect, and put Joe in some positions that were tough. So I’ve got to look at that as a playcaller and try to put Joe in better positions where we don’t have those types of things occur. Just going back to the defense, their selflessness was really key and how they stayed together and banded together. It’s easy to point fingers when things go wrong or go haywire. It’s obvious that one side didn’t play real well, but I thought our guys hung in there real well, stuck together and they’re going to rally and look forward to this challenge going into Pittsburgh.”

 

On Cortney Grixby:

“We’re going to play him. This is an important game for Cortney, and I’m sure that he’s going to be picked on, he’s going to be worked on or game planned by the Pitt offensive staff, and that’s going to occur. And it’s our job to put him in positions to make plays and give him help when necessary, but we’re confident that he can come in there and play, or else we wouldn’t put him on the field. He’s athletic, he’s young, he’s going to make some errors, some mistakes, but that’s a part of the maturation process of a young corner in the Big 12. He’s handled it well. He’s really an impressive young man. As you watch him, the air of confidence that he has, you’ve got to have that at corner. You’ve got to have a guy out there who’s going to take on all challengers. With all due respect, he’s going to make some errors, make some mistakes, but he’s going to go out and work hard, and he’s going to compete. He’s going to try to win at that spot when the ball is in the air at his spot.”

 

On changing the game plan:

“I don’t think you change. I’m not changing the game plan, I’m not changing what we do offensively. But how we address certain situations, we could help the playcaller, whether it’s with a particular protection or a route, or something that he’s very confident in. That’s what we do. On a weekly basis, we’ll have our quarterbacks submit their favorite plays, their least favorite plays, and I review it prior to the game. The night before the game, I’ll sit in my hotel room, and I’ll look at those calls that he really likes and has confidence in. So when I go down my sideline card, I can make those markings and call the things that he’s very confident in. That’s what I try to do, and I try to balance that with what we’ve already practiced in the course of the week. That all ties in, hand-in-hand, and normally, as you get that type of feedback, you’re going to get the plays that you did well in practice, that you have a good sense about. They normally show up on the quarterback card on Friday afternoon.”

 

On receiving input from the quarterback:

“I have always done it in my career. I have always sought out the quarterback’s advice, his feelings toward the play selection, toward the game plan, toward what we want. We converse about it. When we hit the game, we’re on the same page and we feel good about what we’re going to dial up and call and feature. That’s important to me as a head coach and also as a playcaller.”

 

On Joe Dailey’s preferences for play calling:

“Well, there are favorites, and there are least favorites. There are plays that we’ll put in sometimes in practice that he won’t have a great feel for. I’ll agree with that. There are certain things we have to be flexible with. We’re not going to force feed anything that’s not comfortable to the quarterback because, like we all know, this is an important position where that player has to feel confident and comfortable with everything that’s being called. There can’t be any hesitation or any negativity in terms of his thought process about a particular play. We really try to feature what our players do well and what they like to do well.”

 

 

On Dailey’s confidence level:

“I think he’s at a level right now where I’m certain that he’s a little bit down because he’s such a responsible young man. He wants to do great, and I communicated with him several times to assure him that, as a staff, we have the utmost confidence in his abilities. It’s his job to go out and perform to the best of his ability and let the system work for him. It’s going to be important for him to bounce back, and he’s a captain, a leader of our team. There’s no question in my mind that it’ll come up in practice. We’ll work out hard and demonstrate the talents that he’s capable of using, and the things that he’s done well in the past.”

 

On emphasizing fewer turnovers in practice:

“We put on more of an emphasis, a heightened emphasis, in terms of turnovers. When you come to practice, and you watch your players perform, we’re always talking about ball security. Coach Jordan is chasing down anyone who doesn’t have the ball locked up, and we address it immediately. Now our defensive scouts, when you make that transition, we’re asking them to prod the ball out, or strip it out. We call it ?CRP,’ club, rip and pull. We’re trying to do those things and trying to find ways to create turnovers on the defensive side of the ball, so that has always been addressed. That is something that’s always emphasized, and always will be, because it is the No. 1 goal in our offense, not to turn the ball over.”

 

On wide receivers Grant Mulkey and Terrence Nunn:

“Terrence Nunn is still a very young player in our offense, and he’s continuing to learn. There are going to be ups and downs whenever you play a young player. I understand it very well. Grant Mulkey is an interesting receiver. He comes in at that third receiver spot, our ?E’ spot, and he’s really done a nice job. That’s a brutal position because a lot of it entails coming across the middle and taking the shots that you have to take to clutch a first down reception or to make a big play to keep a drive alive. And he’s done that. He’s demonstrated that. In the spring he did it, and he did it again on Saturday. So I’ve got confidence in his abilities, and he knows where to be, he knows how to do it. It’s just tremendous to have a receiver like that who has the toughness to go over the middle and take a shot, and take the physical shot that he did on Saturday, and then come back and play again.”

 

On going on the road to Pittsburgh:

“I love going on the road. There’s no doubt, I love going on the road and playing, and I look forward to road challenges. That’s where you get a real good sense of the character of your team, and the focus of your team especially. This is a goal of ours, to go on the road and play well in adverse situations and hostile environments where you have to enter the lion’s den, in a lot of respects, when you travel within this conference. This will be excellent for our continued preparation of playing on the road. I love road games, and I like the early start. We’re going to have to wake up early and get ready to start fast in this game, just like Pitt will.”

 

On playing at Heinz Field:

“I’ve had some good memories. As a first-year head coach, we went in there on a Sunday night, and we set some tremendous records when I was in Oakland, but that’s all in the past. I like the environment of Heinz Field, and I love Pittsburgh in that respect. They’re great fans. They’re football people, they’re blue-collar people who live and die with their teams. And just the passion of going into Heinz Field, and Three Rivers, when it still existed, was really exceptional. We watched the Terrible Towels come out, and you watch people rally behind their team when they were rolling pretty well too in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. They’re a good team. The Steelers have always been a good team, and the thing about Pittsburgh is their physicalness, whether it’s on the pro level or the college level. I remember years ago going into Pitt’s stadium when Dan Marino was still playing. I was at the University of Illinois and watching him play, and that great championship team that they had, and they were extremely physical. That was a great team. Those are great football teams. They have a lot of pride in their football, and we expect it to be a highly physical game this Saturday.”

 

On Steve Pederson:

“Steve’s been great, and like I commented yesterday, he’s been very supportive of what we’re trying to get accomplished. I appreciate the fact that I get to do what I do, and I don’t have that type of so-called ?interference.’ It’s been really good, it’s been great.”

 

On Pittsburgh fans versus Steelers fans:

“I don’t know that because I haven’t engaged the Pitt Panther fans with the exception of the early 1980s when we went back there to play, and they were certainly rolling at that point in time, and they were certainly behind them. The people in Pittsburgh, they’re not fickle people. They’re diehard football fans. They’re true blue. That’s the great thing about Pittsburgh ? there’s no phoniness about those people. What you see is what you get, and it’s a great environment. They’re tough people, and like I said, they’re a tough team. A lot of that stems from their roots and from that Western Pennsylvania area. It’s going to be a great challenge for our team.”