OPENING STATEMENT:
“I appreciate you being here. Our kids and coaches have been through a lot in the past 24 hours. My focus now is the next nine games in conference games. How do I inspire these kids to play fast, physical football? That’s my number one, making sure I take care of the kids, that’s the most important thing for me. I gave them 24 hours to grieve and then we got to get back to business, so that’s hard for some individuals. They had a player-led meeting that went very, very well and we are all in. It is bittersweet because coach (Herm) Edwards is my dear friend and gave me the opportunity. This opportunity on the grand scale of things is a dream for me as well and all I can ask for is opportunities. So what I do with that opportunity in the next nine games is to try to put a product on the field that Sun Devil Nation is proud of and I’m gonna do my best and you’ll get every effort that I have– heart and soul into this program. I wanted to thank Dr. (Michael) Crow, I had a conversation with him as well as Ray (Anderson) and Jean (Boyd) and the senior staff and it’s all been positive, so I’m ready to get to work. I’m glad we had one more day off that is non-mandated for our kids to come in so I can catch my breath a little bit before practice starts. But I understand, I don’t take this lightly, I’m an Arizona guy. I've been here for 20 some years, I understand the landscape and what it means. My kids are born in Arizona, there’s not one coach that I think in the nation that loves Arizona and is in place at Arizona State that will think I can do a better job than I can. That’s just the way I always bet on myself. But just to let you understand, my kids are Arizona kids, so this means a lot for me, this means a lot for my family. I get emotional I think this means a lot for the coaches of Arizona and their dreams and inspirations for them, so I got a lot on my back but hopefully to prove to them that my success is achievable. I’ve been coaching for a long time and the success that I’ve had has not been a secret, it’s about loving kids, it’s about inspiring kids. It’s about being a good teacher and then the last part is listening to them, the face of the kids, their understanding of what’s right and what’s wrong nowadays, you have to be a listener and understand them and I think I bring a pretty good trade into that with the experience I have. So at this time, I’ll answer any questions you might have.”
ON MESSAGE TO THE TEAM MOVING FORWARD:
“I was put here four years ago with Coach Edwards and he gave me this opportunity and everybody knows that story, the same opportunity he has given these kids with their scholarships. I let them know yesterday that we need to pay him back, it’s hasn’t gone well and unfortunately there’s a parting of ways, but our job in the back of my mind is to make sure that on Saturday night when he’s sitting at home that he’s smiling, he’s thankful. But I owe all of my gratitude to him, and it is so hard.”
ON CHALLENGES OF TRANSITION TO INTERIM HEAD COACH:
“I don’t think it’s been hard at all because I’ve had that experience in doing that. I think Glenn Thomas is an incredible coach. Do I have some suggestions? Yes, I do. I think coach Donnie Henderson with coach Martin Lewis are exceptional coaches, will I have some game time suggestions? Yes, I will, especially in that moment I let them coach, if I see something that I don't like, I will make sure that I let them know. For me, it’s about the attention to detail. I had a meeting with the coaches today and we are not going to let anything slip by. If it’s done wrong in practice, we’re gonna make sure it’s done right, set that foundation for these kids. I think if we set that foundation, it’s gonna be a miracle, it’s gonna be changed right away but it will be changed where we don’t make those dumb mistakes as we call it during the games. So, we can call it as we can call it during the games and so paying attention to detail, understanding what the kids can do from a personal standpoint and then playing the right kids and personnel at the right times.”
ON ATTRIBUTES THAT HELP HIM AS AN INTERIM HEAD COACH AFTER SERVING AS A HIGH SCHOOL HEAD COACH:
“It was funny last night when I got home and talking with my wife as soon as we walked in the door at the same time we were like, oh shoot. But I was in charge of 300 kids at Chandler, we played at a competitive level. I always wanted to play the number one teams in the country because I thought our kids could do that and we were very successful in doing that. I feel the same way here in Arizona State, I think we have the talent to challenge anybody I thought were a couple of plays away in the Oklahoma State game to be right in it, but miscues I think cost us, the mindset has not changed. I feel I have the expertise from a game management situation and I’ll fall a little bit on Marvin Lewis, but that hasn’t changed. I think we can compete with anybody in the country. I like the challenge of competing with three top-20 teams right off the bat. If I came in and we challenge the team that was mediocre and we got a win, so what? So now let’s go in and win these next three games and that’s our mindset and we’ll attack it full goal. Now all I ask my kids is to play physical, play fast and play smart then let’s see what the outcome is, how that comes.”
ON HOW YESTERDAY FELT FOR HIM STEPPING INTO NEW ROLE:
“I didn’t learn until later in the afternoon. I came in and we had a staff meeting prior to the staff meeting with Ray and Jean and me we met with Herm and that was an emotional deal for Ray, Jean, myself and coach. They gave me my blessing and asked me if I’d take on the responsibility to be the head coach. I accepted right then and there, the hardest thing was meeting with the team with coach Edwards in there because I know how he feels about those kids and how our whole coaching staff feels. And so that transitioned from there, we went to a staff meeting, let them know that I need them and we then went to our team meeting and that time Ray and coach Herm addressed the team. So I had a few words of encouragement for the team of what we’re going to look forward to. Then I met with the leadership staff yesterday and they provided a ton of insight for me and they were all in and again, like I said, they had an all-team meeting today, so I’m excited to get to work tomorrow. I think our coaches all are, too. There’s gonna be subtle changes that I’ll put a thumbprint on and that might seem drastic to the kids there because they’re so into a routine. But I think those are subtle changes that need to happen for us to be successful. I asked my coaches in the nine or 10 weeks that we’re going to play to give it all for me and for our kids mostly. We all agreed and so I got here at 5:30 this morning and there were seven coaches here already. So that tells you a lot about the type of men that are taking care of our kids.”
ON CONCERNS OF THE PLAYERS BOUNCING BACK:
“It’s for us to push forward, here’s how I see this whole season. The last three games were preseason. This is where it all counts now, these next nine games and so we’re at 0-0. We’re ready to play Arizona State football and I’m here to inspire these kids to play that. I think we’re ready. Looking back at those three games will do us no good, we’re going to look forward. This transition has been hard and it’s been 24 hours but in reality, we’ve got to get ready to go. I’m excited and if you look in the coaching world there’s maybe less than one percent of people to have the opportunity that I have. What you do with that opportunity is what counts. I look for that challenge and I’m excited and ready to go.
ON THE TRANSITION TO COACHING IN COLLEGE AND HOW IT’S PREPARED HIM FOR TODAY:
“Being fortunate enough at the high school level you thought that you knew it all. I was in charge of 300 kids and when I came here I was in charge of six. There were some days I walked the hall and I didn’t know what to do. But that transition of learning from coach Herm and learning from coach Marvin and learning from Coach Billick and learning from all the predecessors on what to do and sometimes what not to do. That has set me in a place that I feel comfortable to take the lead at Arizona State as I think I will be successful. I do have my thoughts on things and I do have a little bit of ego thinking that I can do it. I always am going to bet on myself. That transition from high school to college is the recruiting part is probably the biggest transition. The X’s and O’s the loving of the kids, the teaching of the kids, the inspiring of the kids all of that does not change no matter what level your at.”
ON IMAGINING IF HE’S EVER BE IN THIS POSITION:
“Never, Never, it’s funny, about 15 years ago I go to the Arizona coaches convention. The first year I was there I sat about 40 rows back. I heard a successful high school coach speak and heard a Division I coach speak who was a former high school coach. I always thought ‘shoot I want to be that guy’ and every year I moved up for 15 years and then I sat in the first row. I then told my wife ‘I think I can be that guy’ and she said ‘Wherever you’re at you have to make sure you take care of business.’ and she’s the rock of them. Today, I woke up and she said ‘Just get with it, let’s get going man.’ Going back to that transition that was a dream of mine and like I’ve said before I always bet on myself, I could see myself up there every day and now I'm up here. It’s the opportunity that I was asking for. With that opportunity you gotta make sure you can keep that opportunity, so that’s my plan. I also want to make sure that I can keep my coaches and families at Arizona State too. That’s on my back too, I want to make sure we can keep our kids at Arizona State with the transfer portal. We want to make sure that we do a great job in the next ten weeks so there’s no change. He (Chase) didn’t call me, he’s probably sleeping in and I love Chase, I’ve had him since he was 12 years old through the good and bad times. He’s a remarkable kid and I’m so happy where’s he’s at right now.
ON WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE SUN DEVIL FAN BASE:
“I am going to ask for their support, I am going to ask them to help us in their hard times. I understand the last game we’ve played deflated them. It’s a chance for us in a new season with conference coming about that we can prove a lot of nay-sayers wrong. But again I'm going to ask for their help. You’ve got an Arizona coach who loves Arizona in this spot, now let’s come and help an Arizona guy stay here. I am going to ask for that, there are going to be suttle changes so I can engage with the fan base a little bit and get their support and for our kids as well. I understand their deflated and only winning solves it. I wanna put a team on the field that plays hard every single play and we’ll see what the outcome comes out of every single game.”
ON WHAT’S HE’S LEARNED TO BE SUCCESSFUL:
“Waiting your turn, and you try to infuse that into the kids. You have freshmen that think they should play right away and they really don’t understand the process. As a coach you see what you see ahead of you in other programs or whatever. You think you can do it. I’ve learned you have to wait for that process and learn. If you do what you’re supposed to do where you’re at those opportunities will come and I’ve learned a lot to sit back and be quiet, learn and when the opportunity comes to take full advantage of it. I think that’s every day in life, everyone wants instant gratification without putting in the hard work. I think the hard work gets you that gratification. I’m excited and absolutely excited."
ON BRINGING A FAMILY ENVIRONMENT TO THE LOCKER ROOM:
“That’s something I am going to try to instill. That family environment. People can always talk bout family, faith and football. Until you really understand and let the kids into your life and see what you are about that family. You really can’t talk about it, so How do I instill that? That’s my family being around our kids, our coaches’ families being around our kids. Football is just a game. If I can teach them more than that, I think they’ll be successful. I get a little teary since football is my life. Inspiring kids are my life. My kids sacrificed twenty years so I can do what I love. I want to make sure I teach not only my kids but I want to teach our kids that being a successful father, and citizen in a society is important. Let’s all drop that and go play football so that Ohana is a huge meaning for me because it’s all about family. So I will instill in the next couple weeks a couple of things that I think will help our program."
ON MEETING WITH RAY ANDERSON AND MICHAEL CROW
“I wasn’t involved in mutually parting ways. The only part I was involved in was the handing over of the torch. That was it. The only question they asked me was if I would accept the job. Herm was there. He gave me a huge hug. I told him I loved him. I told Ray I accept the job so that’s about as far as that meeting went. And then I walked out and walked into my office and kinda did a dance a little bit. A sad dance because of coach. I called him and texted him last night. He’s in a good place now which makes me happy. “
ON CONTRACT TALKS:
“It’s funny because I go back on the waiting part. Let’s get the job done and then things will come after. I don’t worry about that part. I've got kids to worry about who are ready to play football."
ON REACHING OUT FOR ADVICE FOR COACHING:
“There’s been stories of coaches on our staff who have been through that transition and I was very fortunate that three people on our staff pulled me into our office. They came in, first to congratulate me, secondly to let me know and give me knowledge that they've been through that process. This is what the interim coach did that was positive and this is what the interim coach did not do and didn’t hold his words right and there was a negative consequence. I learned from that. I’m a lifelong learner and a good listener so I took that all into account. I wrote every single one of them down to make sure that I don’t make that mistake. I’m fortunate to have coaches on this staff, whom I truly call friends, give me that knowledge. Do I lean on them? Yes I do. Absolutely. Joe Conley was one of them, Robert Rodriguez was another and Marvin. There’s a bunch of them here and there, but those were the three that I respect tremendously.”
ON UTILIZING EXPERIENCE FROM THE COACHING STAFF:
“I have to make this my team. They have incredible experience from game planning. I will lean on them on how to handle situations because now I’m going to be in a position to make hard decisions that deal with our players and deal with our coaches. The one thing that I've learned is that you always take care of your kids and your program first. There’s no if’s, and’s, and but’s. Your kids are the ones you take care of first. I’ll never put the program and the kids behind any of the coaches, they come first. I will use their expertise and knowledge to give me some insight into situations that might occur.”
ON PLANNING TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN RECRUITING:
“First of all, it all comes down to the recruiting aspect of it. Having the right kids at Arizona State is number one. My goal, and I’ve told this to our coaches today on the recruiting basis and I will be out there Friday. I will personally recruit Arizona kids. I know their coaches, I know what they’re about, and I know what the kids want. I've sat on the other side of that and what they’re sold against. I will personally recruit Arizona kids. They have to be a good fit. They have to be athletic for us to win. They have to be of the same athletic ability as the teams we are going to face. The NIL and all of that stuff will play it’s part. I think Arizona State has a plan to catch that up but it all comes down to the kids that you have in your program and we’ll start with Arizona. I’m in a position right now for the next ten weeks to make an impact and to get our kids in Arizona excited about Arizona State football. If you do not win and you put out a poor product, people are going to look elsewhere and I understand that. We have to make sure that these kids wanna go nowhere else but Arizona State. My conversation with these kids will be personal because I understand them. No other coach can recruit to Arizona State with the knowledge base that I have.”
EXPECTATION FOR YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE RUNNING BACKS AS THE HEAD COACH:
“That has been sad too, we have promoted one of our analysts who has been working with me and our running backs for the past 2 years who is very knowledgeable and has the relationships. To me, it’s about the relationship with my kids that is the most important to me and he is a great fit. Will I pop into that room, occasionally? Yes, and the hardest thing for a position coach is when the head coach is your position and coached your position because you have every answer right? So I want to make sure that I help our running back coach develop. I want to make sure that I keep their relationship with that running back because they’re a special group of guys that help us win football games. I called each one of them and asked them last night, ‘I need their help’. And they were like, ‘Coach we’re all in’ and so I know they got our back and I for sure got their back."
ON WHAT HE’LL MISS BEING A POSITION COACH:
Just the X’s and O’s part of it. You know, the game planning part of it. Now there’s so many external factors to deal with as a head coach from an administrative standpoint and then being a counselor to everybody as well. So there’s many hats on a head coach and I’ve done it for a long time so I understand that. You do miss the X’s and O’s part. The game time gives you that sense of it, meeting with the coordinators and the team. I will sit in all the meetings, so I better understand what’s going on on both sides. The hardest part for me is, you’re always an offensive guy. So I really have to stand on the defensive side of the ball at practice so the defense guys don’t think I’m favoring the offensive guys, but I’ll always trickle back in there. But I have all my confidence in Coach Glen and Coach Billick, they’ll put together a plan that will be successful for us."
ON REFLECTING THE LAST 24 HOURS:
I have had no time so far to reflect. My wife put it in perspective this morning, she said, ‘Just go have fun”. You ask your kids to go out and work hard and have fun right? And how do you do that? I’m going to have to work my butt off and then at the same time have fun. It’s kind of weird in my crazy mind. The only time I have fun is when I win. And that’s it. It’s when I win with my son in a little basketball game, that’s when I’m having fun if I’m losing, I’m not. So in my crazy world, winning is fun for me… So when we win, I’ll have fun then."
ON HIS FAMILIES REACTION TO THE NEWS:
They were always all like holy crap, you know. My oldest daughter is playing basketball at Virginia Commonwealth and she has some games coming up and I’ve talked to every single one of them. Our household last night felt exactly like when I got the head job at Channel. You know that support, that uneasiness, that craziness that will come with it. It felt like that. And so last night at 9:30 all of our family got together on the table and I missed the craziness of our household with the two older ones gone, it became too quiet now. The other two go into their rooms, play with their phones, whatever. But last night it felt really good because everybody’s around, it was loud like it should be. But the excitement in their voices and just them understanding that dreams can come true. And so, I know it’s cliche but in my situation it has."
ON RECRUITING AND PRIORITIES WITHIN RECRUITING:
“We'll be thorough with those commitments and making sure they're the right fit. Again, I will personally go and recruit the Arizona and Arizona kids. We're going about making sure it's the right fit. Now there's gonna be some hard questions and answers that the parents are going to ask. But it's all fitting, there's a right fit for everyone at Arizona State, the right ones. My job now is to first, get our team ready to play football. Second, recruit the best players in Arizona. Winning helps that the more you win, the easier it is to recruit, the easier it is to sell. So if I were to put in priority, my job is to win first. And then with that comes the recruiting part of it. And recruiting is a 24/7 deal. And I think I'm ready to stay up 24 hours a day … But no, Chris, to go back to that point. Is it tough in this world? Yeah. Because I feel sorry sometimes for the high school students because of the transfer portal a little bit. But I think there is so much to sell here at Arizona State. You know, I've lived it. I've been on the other side of it 20 miles away for 20 years. There's so much here that I love about Arizona State. And so I'm ready to get to work.”
ON DEALING WITH THE POLITICS OF BEING INVOLVED IN THE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCENE:
“I think with anything, you have to be straightforward. In my case, as the the former Running Backs Coach, I was allowed to take one individual. Now, when I go and search the whole nation, that number one individual has to be special. I didn't really care if he came from Ohio or Virginia or Arizona. If it is even, and a kid wants to be at Arizona State, that's the guy you go for. I think that there's so many choices out there that people make different choices. But I will personally, like I said, go after those guys, hopefully flip those guys that have committed somewhere else. But understand from an authenticity level that I'm an Arizona guy. This is the reason why you need to be here. And we'll see what what happens.”