Interim head coach Mike Kafka
KAFKA: Made the tough decision today to let Shane (Bowen) go as our defense coordinator and effective immediately we're going to let (defensive coordinator) Charlie Bullen run the defense as our defensive coordinator. I have a lot of faith in Charlie and obviously these decisions aren't easy and Shane's a good person. He's a good man. He's a good coach. Just the results just weren't where we wanted them to be and so Charlie's going to step up for us and rally the group. The defensive staff will rally around Charlie and put together a great plan. I got a lot of confidence in the room and a lot of confidence in our staff to do that.
Q: What changed since last night? I believe you were asked, I wasn't there, but I believe you were asked last night about Shane, and you said you had a lot of confidence in Shane going forward.
KAFKA: I just had an opportunity to watch the tape, look back at a few weeks, watch a lot of the defense, watch a lot of what was going on, the communication, and just felt like this was the right time to do it. When I got the job, I didn't want to make a lot of rash decisions and jump to anything really quick. I wanted to have some time to sit back, evaluate it, look at it and kind of figure out what the best thing to do was. So, I wanted to be calculated in how I handled it and I thought today was the right time.
Q: Why Charlie? Because obviously when I look at this, you've been with (inside linebackers coach John Egorugwu) Eggs and (defensive line coach Andre Patterson) Dre for four years, so I assume you have longer relationships with them and (secondary coach/pass game coordinator) Marquand's (Manuel) actually called plays before I think in the NFL with the Falcons. So, what made him the right choice?
KAFKA: Yeah, I mean, you're right. We have a lot of experience on that defensive staff with Dre, with Marquand and with Eggs. Those guys are going to do a great job and they're going to be a great asset for Charlie. I have a lot of faith in Charlie and the things that he's brought from the pedigree that he brings coming into this defense. I think he's a smart coach. I think he's detailed, he's aggressive and his room has had a lot of production, and I think he's ready for the task and I know he's ready for the task. And so he's going to jump in, he's meeting with the staff right now and these guys will get rolling for him.
Q: Last week I believe you had (former linebacker and Northwestern head coach) Pat Fitzgerald in to watch a couple of practices. I know he's a mentor of yours. He's also from the defensive side of the ball and I'm just wondering, is he someone who maybe you would lean on in this time given Charlie doesn't have really a lot of experience as a defensive coordinator, maybe have Pat as a consultant, if you will?
KAFKAL Coach Fitz is a good friend of mine, you know, just visiting, but he really won't be involved in terms of our staff.
Q: In terms of Charlie's experience, again, he's never been at DC at I don't think any level. That being said, do you anticipate maybe a little bit more support, if you will, in the play calling process from those who have done it or for a collective group effort maybe?
KAFKA: Yeah, well, Charlie will call it and then I think one of the strengths our defensive staff has is a lot of really smart coaches in that room that can put together a great plan for him and support him and myself included. I'm part of that. How can I be an asset for the defense? How can I be an asset for the offense? How can I be an asset for the special team? So, it's all hands on deck. Everyone's going to be a part of it. The players are included in this as well. And so we all got to take ownership of our individual jobs and then our collective jobs as a unit.
Q: You spoke about looking at the film, having a chance to look at the film since yesterday afternoon, last evening. What are the things that have disturbed you the most about what's been going on with the defense, particularly late in these games, as you have had time to assess what you've seen?
KAFKA: Here's what I'm excited about. I saw a group of guys, a group of men, step up and battle and take a really good team toe to toe. And so there's a lot, there's a lot of good things that came out of that game. From the coaching staff, I think there's some areas where we continue to improve and we'll have those meetings today. We'll go through, we'll find where we can just build a little bit of an edge on defense, offense and special teams. And then we'll go and put together a great plan for practice to attack those edges and figure out where we can just find a way to just get a little bit better. And so that's going to be our focus. That's going to be our messaging to the coaches and the players. No one's panicking. No one's going down the dumps. Our spirits are high. Our spirits are confident. And now it's about putting together a great plan and then go and execute that.
Q: If I could just ask a follow regarding offense. It just seems like your offensive line particularly has been really good for the most part of the season, particularly yesterday, I thought. Can you speak to the good things you guys did on offense? I mean, obviously, the result of the game is what is in everybody's mind most. But it seems like you guys have been kind of wasting some very good offensive performances this year in a year after you struggled offensively a little bit the previous two.
KAFKA: Yeah, I'm very pleased with how our offense is playing. Not satisfied yet. I think there's a lot of things we can get better at. But our offensive line is playing really well. And that's hats off to (offensive line coach) Carm (Bricillo) and (assistant offensive line coach) James (Ferentz) in the O-line room and then the players obviously going out there and executing. But hats off to those guys. They've taken it upon themselves to really lead that group, lead the offensive group and set the tempo for the unit.
Q: You just got this job two weeks ago. This is the first time you've had to do this with another coach. How difficult of a day is this for you?
KAFKA: It's certainly tough decisions to make. My thoughts are with Shane and his family. I think you try to make decisions that are the best for the football team. That was a decision I made today. But my thoughts are still with Shane. I have a lot of respect for him, working with him, and a lot of respect for him and his family. I wish him the best in the future.
Q: Schematically, how much can Charlie change at this point? And is there anything specific that you're looking for to change on the defense?
KAFKA: We're going to give Charlie the reins to go and make the corrections that he sees fit for the defense, whether it's personnel, whether it's scheme, whether it's communication, calls. And so he's going to have to work hand in hand with the with the whole defensive unit to make sure that it's his vision on how he sees it. And obviously, I'll have my fingerprint on there as well and be there and try to be an asset for the group as well.
Q: Were these your decisions alone or who did you work with on this?
KAFKA: Yeah. My decision. My decision to make this move.
Q: And you talked about what Charlie's going to bring. What kind of identity do you want the defense to have under him now for the last month and a half?
KAFKA: This is all pretty fresh right now. We're getting on the same page. He's still meeting with the staff. Guys are still reviewing the tape as our offense, defense, special teams units. But we have a great plan. We had a great vision and a great conversation this morning about what that would look like. Again, that's something that we're going to build in-house and build with the players together as a group and as a team.
Q: I mean, do you have time to build it in five weeks, in however many games you have left?
KAFKA: Yeah. We're going to have to figure that out.
Q: You said it was your decision. Did you consult with (Senior Vice President, General Manager) Joe Schoen on the decision to fire Shane Bowen?
KAFKA: Absolutely. I mean, all those decisions that go through the football side of it, I have conversations with Joe and make sure that we're both on the same page and united on it.
Q: And did you consult him on the decision to make Bullen the interim defensive coordinator?
KAFKA: Yes, I did. All those conversations, whether I'm thinking, it happens throughout the week. Any of these decisions on playtime, scheme, thoughts. I mean, we talked about some of the trick plays before the game when I was going to call those. So he has some anticipatory things when he's up in the box, he can see how the flow of the game is going. But any of these kind of big decisions that come up, those are conversations that we've had. We had them, talked about them after the game, talked about them this morning and just making sure we make the right decision for the team.
Q: On (defensive lineman) Dexter Lawrence, were you told by the medical staff he was not available due to that injury at the start of overtime? Were you told by his position coach he wasn't available? Was he the one who said he wasn't available? How did that go?
KAFKA: Yeah, the communication was brought up to me. And again, he was a guy that was battling through this game, this injury, and probably just toughed it out for us and was trying to give us everything he had. And so, the decision was just to kind of play him in like those pass situations, second and longs, third and longs, so he can be a factor on a limited snap count. I thought that was the right thing to do in handling it and hats off to Dexter for toughing it out and working through that because he got dinged up pretty well. I mean, this guy was like in tears on the sideline, just wanting to be out there with the players and gave us his all.
Q: You said (cornerback) Dru Phillips came back into the game. When he went down, it looked like he was motionless for about 10 seconds. What was his injury and why did he go back in the game?
KAFKA: Well, our medical staff checked him out and cleared him to get back in the game. So, I trust what they saw. I know that he went into the tent, went through the whole procedure and I was aware of it and the medical staff cleared him. So, we're going to put him back in if that's what our medical professionals said.
Q: Was that a concussion protocol clearing or was that for some other injuries?
KAFKA: I think it's just like their normal procedure, any kind of head, neck, they go and do those testing. I mean, I'm not 100 percent sure in all the concussion protocol procedures, but that's like pretty common practice. Anybody that goes through head and neck stuff or gets dinged like that, they're going to check them out.
Q: Why not wait until the bye week when you have the two weeks. What made you want to make this move now?
KAFKA: I just really feel like this is the right time to do it and it gives Charlie, we have a long week this week. He's got some extra time here on a Monday night to get organized and get with the staff. So, just felt like this is the right time to do it and give our team the best opportunity to win.
Q: I know you said you talk through everything with Joe. Where does ownership stand in these kind of decisions in regards to coaching changes at this point, for you?
KAFKA: They're tied into all of our decisions that we make. We talked it through, me and Joe on the football side of it. And then Joe loops them in, loops them in on all of our decisions. They're on the same page and they're supporting us.
Q: On the injury front, is it still just (linebacker Demetrius) Flannigan-Fowels? He's the only one that kind of came out with something that might be significant, like long term here, several weeks.
KAFKA: Well, I'm not sure on the timetable. He's going to come in today and get checked out. But he was the one that kind of left the game yesterday.
Q: Where do you go from here with this team? What are your goals as you go down the stretch now?
KAFKA: Our goal is to go 1-0 this week. That's our only focus is to find a way to win this one game and find a way to win today. So our prep, you'll see a bunch of players coming in today, getting some workouts in, start getting ahead of or review the tape from yesterday, find ways to get better. They'll be in the building tomorrow. We'll be able to give them those corrections, then start getting a head start on our next opponent. But that's really what all our focus is on, just today and this week.
Q: Your offense has outperformed your defense for much of the year. Do you still believe there's a solid relationship between the two units or do you think there's a fractured side to it?
KAFKA: We're a team and it's a team game. It's the greatest team game in sports. Offense, defense, special teams, we've all got to find a way to win this game and it's never about one unit, it's never about one person, it's never about one player or coach, it's about the team. It's about everybody being on the same page, everybody making sure that we have our details right and ability to perform when we need to perform at the end of the game. So that's where we're at right now and as a team, we'll continue to find ways to do that, be creative in our practice routine, be creative in our installations, be creative in our meetings, and then going and being creative and being detailed and executing on game day.
Q: What's your message to the fans here as you go down the stretch from your viewpoint?
KAFKA: Our goal is to win, is to find a way to win this week and so that's our mission and we're going to turn over every stone we can, we're going to detail out as much as we can, we're going to put our players in the best position we can to find a way to win this week.
