Post by MOnarchsRule on Jan 23, 2006 21:18:02 GMT -5
New Monarchs head Donnie Henderson sits with XFL Insider for his first interview......
Q: How did everything go?
A: "Talking about the interview process, I think I was as prepared as I could be. It took a little time, a lot of time to make sure that I had some thoughts in my presentation. The questions they asked me, I thought I answered them truthfully and directly and that part was very good."
Q: What made this an attractive position for you?
A: "The things I see coming to mind, one thing is the chance to have an opportunity to be building something from the ground up after a disaster. I think the opportunity of coming here off of an 2-10 season, the chance to be a head coach in the XFL. All of those things are attractive."
Q: Can you discuss the pros and cons of being the first guy to interview for a job?
A: "I think that it's all pros. You're first then you get to be the measuring stick. I like that."
Q: Do you have any concerns about this franchise and its ability to attract free agents in the off-season because of what's happened?
A: "I think by all indications in talking to Sean (Calliard) that that won't be a problem. Again, we're going to have all the resources available to us. Obviously we have to go out there and promote our organization and make sure we talk about the positive things that we can give people and go from there."
Q: Other than resources, why would it not be a problem? What did Sean say to reassure you it wouldn't be a problem?
A: "Based on him letting me know that we have the resources, I guess that's just the biggest thing. When you have the resources, that's being favorable. I'm not sure how I can answer that. I have no reason to doubt that we don't have the resources. That's going to be the thing that gives us the chance to get the players."
Q: How would you discuss your coaching philosophy?
A: "I want to make sure everybody's accountable in what we try to do in the day to day operations. A little bit of that goes on the field. I don't want a lot of fouls and I want to make sure guys are disciplined and they know their assignment and they know what they're supposed to do. I want them to play hard. I want them to make sure we know we put a product out there and that they understand one thing, the Monarchs name is on the front and their name is on the back, so let's make sure they understand that as we leave this facility that, your name is on the back of it and people see what is on the front and that is the Monarchs. That's going to be one of the things that I talk to them about, is appearances, everything."
Q: Did you discuss with Sean Calliard how you would want to handle the upcoming draft and how you would like to go with that number-one pick?
A: "We talked about that a little bit. I don't know if I could share that with you right now. It's always good because you have some input about it. We've all talked about which way we'd like. We've talked about some of the players and that's good."
Q: Being a defensive guy, would you have a preference of going defensive or would you like to take a quarterback or a running back with that pick?
A: "What we talked about was some things like I said I can't talk to you about or I don't want to talk to you about right now. We listened to them, they have a great plan, they know who the players are, the first and second round picks, the first and second round players, the players you take at the top. We all know who the players are, so I'm good with that."
Q: Who is your agent?
A: "Tony Agnone."
Q: Was this your first interview?
A: "This is my first interview for a head coaching job."
Q: Did you talk to Herman Edwards about a job on his staff in Kansas City?
A: "There was no job for me there. They have to keep their defensive coordinator. I'm okay. I had a two-year contract with the Jets and if this didn't work out, I still had a job there."
Q: Can you talk about the impact that the Branca Rule has had on the XFL?
A: "It's given minorities a great opportunity to interview and we've taken advantage of it and everybody's playing by the rules and it's been a positive thing. You got to take your hat off to the league and to the organization for trying to make sure minorities get a chance."
Q: Can you share your opinion about the current roster and where you would like to see it go?
A: "I think defensively you got a lot of great players, obviously as a defensive coach, you look around the league and try to see if you want to upgrade your personnel and see who are some of the guys you would take. You have some great skill guys on offense. There are some areas you would like to improve, but at the same time, based on what I've seen on your tape, you're not far away. You got as much talent as everybody else in the league, so you got to feel good about that."
Q: You've made a reference to this team as an 6-6 team. Do you look at the past season as a hiccup?
A: "I think they are one of the best 6-6 teams around. You got a lot of talent, we just got to get it to make it 7-5 and 9-3, we got to get it to that point and there are little things you got to believe will happen. You got to play better defense. You got to talk about your ball security. You got to talk about the red zone efficiency. All those things come to play."
Q: Besides being one of 16 XFL head coaching positions, what are some of the positives of the Monarchs job?
A: "The place right here (the indoor facility), the facilities. You can't beat it. It's second to none, the opportunity to start from the bottom and work your way up. The opportunity to work with great people in the organization. Those are the things you like as a new head coach. You want to be surrounded by great people that have a vision of which way they want to go. That's all good."
Q: Outside of the meetings here, did you go and check out the living situation outside of the facility?
A: "Here's what we did. Last night, we had dinner. We got up this morning and we drove around some of the areas that could be a distraction, but at the same time, I saw some of the nice neighborhoods also, so it was all good."
Q: What areas of the city did you tour this morning?
A: "I couldn't tell you by name. It was something I couldn't tell you. I was just in the car."
Q: If you had to talk to prospective free agents about the city, what would you tell them?
A: "You have a chance to take an 6-6 team to the playoffs if we can all get on the same page."
Q: When you say 6-6, are you discounting last year's record?
A: "What, 2-10? I know that. 2-10 is not indicative of how you play the game. It has to do with the score and you make mistakes and move on. I say 6-6, because you've been for the most part a 50-50 team. You can always be a 50-50 team, you can always get over the hump and so that's how I measure things by. If you're 6-6, at least you got a chance to be 8-4, 9-3, 10-2. The 2-10 is - things happen. I know."
Q: Were you surprised the New York situation developed for Eric Mangini?
A: "I don't know if I was surprised. I think it worked out for both parties. Eric gets to move on, the Jets get to move on and we go from there."
Q: As a head coach, how much do you envision having an input on player personnel decisions?
A: "Based on our discussions today, I'll have a hands-on approach. Let's be honest, you know who the GM is and one thing they do, they spend more time evaluating players than coaches, so you got to make sure you understand where they're coming from. You have input about who you'd like to have. At the end of the day, you make a decision and move on."
Q: How did everything go?
A: "Talking about the interview process, I think I was as prepared as I could be. It took a little time, a lot of time to make sure that I had some thoughts in my presentation. The questions they asked me, I thought I answered them truthfully and directly and that part was very good."
Q: What made this an attractive position for you?
A: "The things I see coming to mind, one thing is the chance to have an opportunity to be building something from the ground up after a disaster. I think the opportunity of coming here off of an 2-10 season, the chance to be a head coach in the XFL. All of those things are attractive."
Q: Can you discuss the pros and cons of being the first guy to interview for a job?
A: "I think that it's all pros. You're first then you get to be the measuring stick. I like that."
Q: Do you have any concerns about this franchise and its ability to attract free agents in the off-season because of what's happened?
A: "I think by all indications in talking to Sean (Calliard) that that won't be a problem. Again, we're going to have all the resources available to us. Obviously we have to go out there and promote our organization and make sure we talk about the positive things that we can give people and go from there."
Q: Other than resources, why would it not be a problem? What did Sean say to reassure you it wouldn't be a problem?
A: "Based on him letting me know that we have the resources, I guess that's just the biggest thing. When you have the resources, that's being favorable. I'm not sure how I can answer that. I have no reason to doubt that we don't have the resources. That's going to be the thing that gives us the chance to get the players."
Q: How would you discuss your coaching philosophy?
A: "I want to make sure everybody's accountable in what we try to do in the day to day operations. A little bit of that goes on the field. I don't want a lot of fouls and I want to make sure guys are disciplined and they know their assignment and they know what they're supposed to do. I want them to play hard. I want them to make sure we know we put a product out there and that they understand one thing, the Monarchs name is on the front and their name is on the back, so let's make sure they understand that as we leave this facility that, your name is on the back of it and people see what is on the front and that is the Monarchs. That's going to be one of the things that I talk to them about, is appearances, everything."
Q: Did you discuss with Sean Calliard how you would want to handle the upcoming draft and how you would like to go with that number-one pick?
A: "We talked about that a little bit. I don't know if I could share that with you right now. It's always good because you have some input about it. We've all talked about which way we'd like. We've talked about some of the players and that's good."
Q: Being a defensive guy, would you have a preference of going defensive or would you like to take a quarterback or a running back with that pick?
A: "What we talked about was some things like I said I can't talk to you about or I don't want to talk to you about right now. We listened to them, they have a great plan, they know who the players are, the first and second round picks, the first and second round players, the players you take at the top. We all know who the players are, so I'm good with that."
Q: Who is your agent?
A: "Tony Agnone."
Q: Was this your first interview?
A: "This is my first interview for a head coaching job."
Q: Did you talk to Herman Edwards about a job on his staff in Kansas City?
A: "There was no job for me there. They have to keep their defensive coordinator. I'm okay. I had a two-year contract with the Jets and if this didn't work out, I still had a job there."
Q: Can you talk about the impact that the Branca Rule has had on the XFL?
A: "It's given minorities a great opportunity to interview and we've taken advantage of it and everybody's playing by the rules and it's been a positive thing. You got to take your hat off to the league and to the organization for trying to make sure minorities get a chance."
Q: Can you share your opinion about the current roster and where you would like to see it go?
A: "I think defensively you got a lot of great players, obviously as a defensive coach, you look around the league and try to see if you want to upgrade your personnel and see who are some of the guys you would take. You have some great skill guys on offense. There are some areas you would like to improve, but at the same time, based on what I've seen on your tape, you're not far away. You got as much talent as everybody else in the league, so you got to feel good about that."
Q: You've made a reference to this team as an 6-6 team. Do you look at the past season as a hiccup?
A: "I think they are one of the best 6-6 teams around. You got a lot of talent, we just got to get it to make it 7-5 and 9-3, we got to get it to that point and there are little things you got to believe will happen. You got to play better defense. You got to talk about your ball security. You got to talk about the red zone efficiency. All those things come to play."
Q: Besides being one of 16 XFL head coaching positions, what are some of the positives of the Monarchs job?
A: "The place right here (the indoor facility), the facilities. You can't beat it. It's second to none, the opportunity to start from the bottom and work your way up. The opportunity to work with great people in the organization. Those are the things you like as a new head coach. You want to be surrounded by great people that have a vision of which way they want to go. That's all good."
Q: Outside of the meetings here, did you go and check out the living situation outside of the facility?
A: "Here's what we did. Last night, we had dinner. We got up this morning and we drove around some of the areas that could be a distraction, but at the same time, I saw some of the nice neighborhoods also, so it was all good."
Q: What areas of the city did you tour this morning?
A: "I couldn't tell you by name. It was something I couldn't tell you. I was just in the car."
Q: If you had to talk to prospective free agents about the city, what would you tell them?
A: "You have a chance to take an 6-6 team to the playoffs if we can all get on the same page."
Q: When you say 6-6, are you discounting last year's record?
A: "What, 2-10? I know that. 2-10 is not indicative of how you play the game. It has to do with the score and you make mistakes and move on. I say 6-6, because you've been for the most part a 50-50 team. You can always be a 50-50 team, you can always get over the hump and so that's how I measure things by. If you're 6-6, at least you got a chance to be 8-4, 9-3, 10-2. The 2-10 is - things happen. I know."
Q: Were you surprised the New York situation developed for Eric Mangini?
A: "I don't know if I was surprised. I think it worked out for both parties. Eric gets to move on, the Jets get to move on and we go from there."
Q: As a head coach, how much do you envision having an input on player personnel decisions?
A: "Based on our discussions today, I'll have a hands-on approach. Let's be honest, you know who the GM is and one thing they do, they spend more time evaluating players than coaches, so you got to make sure you understand where they're coming from. You have input about who you'd like to have. At the end of the day, you make a decision and move on."