The world according to Rod
Lions' Marinelli puts emphasis on passion, changing the culture
Lions coach Rod Marinelli heard and answered almost a season's worth of questions in three days at the NFL's annual meetings.
Quarterbacks, offensive philosophy, tempo, conditioning, training habits, goals -- Marinelli covered all the subjects relating to the Lions in interviews with the media.
Here are some of his thoughts about the key issues facing the Lions:
On the pecking order of quarterbacks Jon Kitna, Josh McCown, Dan Orlovsky and Shaun King:
"If we walked out today, he'd (Kitna) take the first snap. Somebody's got to come out first. It doesn't mean anything."
On whether that means Kitna is the starting quarterback:
"No, no. You've got to line them up. Only one guy can get under there."
On the possibility of adding another quarterback:
"I feel comfortable with those guys. I really do. What I'm really comfortable with is their leadership, their passion. How they're going to direct this thing. That position is more than just physical abilities. That's what I want."
What he likes about Kitna and McCown:
"Great, great passion for football. They're here (at the training facility in Allen Park) all day. They come in in the morning and stay all day. They like it. They just really like football. They think it's really important.
"Shaun King is the same way. Shaun hit the top of the hill (with Tampa Bay) and slid down. He is focused and working. That's what you want for that position -- that the other members of the team see that passion. They see them in there all day, grinding, working, demanding that the routes be run right."
On the importance of a team following a quarterback's example:
"That is your leader. The position demands leadership. Now you put a man with great leadership ability that is driven in that position and how he reacts under pressure, your team is looking at him. He's the guy making the call in the huddle -- how he makes that call."
How soon he wants to resolve Joey Harrington's situation:
"Quickly. That would be nice. He just kind of made his decision to move in a different direction. That's kind of how I left it. I wish him the very best.
"The thing I can tell you is, he's got terrific talent. That's a pretty good start. Then it's getting the right coaches with him, doing things right and getting things done."
What he expects from offensive coordinator Mike Martz:
"I think high-tempo, high-velocity offense. We're going to explode. That's one thing I'm really excited about with Mike.
"I was in personnel one day (before hiring Martz). I could see the talent we had on offense, the young receivers. Seeing them, I had to get the best guy in football. I made up my mind. Get these guys excited, get them to explode. I want to be daring.
"The guy is brilliant. I mean, he's brilliant."
On Martz having a different kind of personality:
"Guys that are really different are gifted. He's walking down the hall, 'Touchdown, Lions.' He's just awesome. He's confident. He knows how to move the ball. He's won a Super Bowl (in St. Louis) doing that.
"People walk down and watch him coach the quarterbacks. I'm very lucky. I can say that, but it also is backed up with his resume. Look at all the quarterbacks he developed. Guys you never even heard of at one time. He does a great job of developing people. Quarterbacks, receivers -- the guy is unbelievable. He really is."
On the timetable to name a starting quarterback:
"I think it works itself out. It can be done quick or it can be done maybe a little bit later.
"I think it's a process. You don't want to say this is a day I want to make it until you're ready to make it. Everything I've been involved with, it all works itself out."
On the importance of having a veteran receiver, Corey Bradford, as an example for the young receivers -- Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams:
"We brought in Corey Bradford from Houston and Kippy Brown (the new receivers coach) had a great relationship with him and felt unbelievable about the guy's work habits. He is built on work."
On how Mike Williams responded in the first week of the offseason program, and about working to keep his weight down:
"He did what we asked him to do. I've got a tremendous receivers coach who's working day in, day out with these guys. I believe every guy is going to be a good player."
On the weight issue:
"That's one of the things we've got to keep working at. The tempo of the offense is awesome -- breaking the huddle, and speed and precision routes. We're going to get in shape just by showing up. The amount of running we're going to do is awesome.
"If you're a ballplayer, you want to run. That's the name of our game is run. That what they do in practice is run. We'll see."
On his reference to elevator music:
"It started when I was first coaching in Tampa and everybody may have an opinion about how we do something. I would just say, 'Men, I appreciate your wisdom and everything you're trying to tell me, but you're like elevator music to me. You're singing, but I'm not listening.'
"I go into an elevator, and the music's on sometimes. I could never tell you what the music is because I don't listen. When I'm in the elevator, I'm confined in the elevator. I go up in the elevator, but I make the decision what I listen to. That's what it's all about. It's elevator music. I've always lived by that tune."
What he hopes to get out of the draft:
"Obviously, we're looking for the best player. That's No. 1. Would it be nice to have the best player fill a need, too? I think right now we need bodies, more people, in our O-line. We're a little bit short at safety in terms of numbers. We've got to hope we can hit on some of our linebacker positions. We don't have enough numbers right now."
On Donnie Henderson, the defensive coordinator:
"He played when I was at Utah State. It's really fun for me to watch him grow. You talk about a guy who will hold these standards through -- he's a hammer. He's smart. He's very, very smart.
"I have a long, long relationship with him. There are a lot of basic philosophies that we both have. Probably the No. 1 thing about Donnie is how strong he is, and disciplined."
On wanting a fanatical, all-out defensive mentality:
"That's my goal. I want to get them playing on the edge a little bit. How hard I want to play. That takes a massive amount of energy and repetition to get these guys to understand how hard it is. As a head coach, I want it in all three phases."
On creating good habits and setting standards in the offseason workouts:
"Very important. You may be running wind sprints, and you get tired. You start coming apart when you're fatigued. It may be a little thing -- lining up behind the line before you run.
"Everybody's behind the line when you blow the whistle. It's trying to do things right under duress, which our game is built on. You try to create that for them. It's not what you're doing. It's not running the wind sprints. It's how you're running the wind sprints. That relates to the game. That's big to me. Then you get the habits you're trying to create."
How players on Tampa Bay's Super Bowl team in 2002 -- Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Simeon Rice -- had high profiles but loved to compete:
"They wanted to be the best. The wanted to go to the Hall of Fame and they wanted to have a Super Bowl. They all kind of came up together, and the others who came on board, they brought them in. This is how we do it. Let's go fast. Whatever it takes, let's be here all the time. Their drive was football. They loved it. They wanted to be the best."
On Shaun Rogers, the Lions' Pro Bowl defensive tackle, and whether he can become a leader:
"He has unbelievable talent. His talent level is really special. He's got all the tools. I want him to be himself. The only thing I want him to be, each of these guys, is be your best self. Whatever yourself is, be the best. Don't come out of your box. Whatever your box is, go to the top of the box."
Who are the Lions' leaders?
"I don't know yet. I don't know until we start doing it. I haven't gotten them on the field yet to really see. You hope to get them in that situation, and how much fun it is, but how hard it is.
"It is hard how we want to play. You see which guys, under duress, want to step up and really lead by example."
On changing a losing culture in Detroit:
"Losing is tough, man. Losing is tough on every man, every person. Probably the fun part of the whole thing now is fighting your way through all the losing, all the negativity. The unbelievers.
"What I try to do is set a certain standard and start moving ahead every day. That's the only way you combat this stuff. That's the whole issue of our league, is winning. I want to make it change where it's a lasting change."
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