 the culture, the play style, all the stuff that comes into being on this team. Hopefully we can kind of get the ball rolling just a little bit quicker and get a little bit more stuff as we go. Obviously availability a big deal for Caleb Farley, but how much further along would you say he is from his rookie year to now being a little more available and coming back? Yeah, I think he's done a great job this off season. I really do, I mean he's working hard, he's in there, he's engaged, he's working his way back, we'll kind of see where that goes. But you start starting to see him kind of mature and figure this thing out, what it takes to be a pro, everything that goes into it. I mean, when you're a rookie you got a lot of stuff coming at you, right? So I think everything's slowing down for him from on the field to off the field. I think he's just got a better grasp of what it really takes at this level and developing into being a complete pro. Would you guys have made the progress they made last year for you guys this year, like what is taking it to the next level, the next step for you guys? Yeah, I mean, obviously it wasn't good enough, you know? So we got to find out what we did well and we've been studying that. We got to find out what we need to improve on, which we've worked hard at all off season as a coaching staff and with these guys and really make our strengths even stronger and make sure we're fixing and changing the things that we struggled with. It's an ongoing battle, it's week by week, as you guys know in this league. But really focus in on the things we can do as a unit to improve and hopefully get us where we need to get to. What are your first impressions of Roger McCreary and I guess maybe at this stage, what are his biggest strengths? Yeah, he's come in and done a really great job. I think the thing that stands out to me about him, he is competitive. And everything he does in the meeting room, he wants to have all the right answers all the time and that's unrealistic as a rookie, but he cares. Like you can tell he loves the game, he loves learning the game, he loves playing the game and those are the guys you want in here and those are the guys you want to coach. I think it's Jackson following up, I think it was Jackson maybe where he thought so and him as well. Yeah, he's done a good job since this game, man. He's done a good job kind of handling everything. We throw a lot at these guys, especially that position. And I think he's been able to take the coaching and learn, not make the same mistakes over and over again. I've been pleased with him. We'll kind of see as this thing goes here throughout the rest of the spring and in the training camp, kind of where he's at. That's Rashad down so far and kind of coming back from his injury. Rashad Weaver. Yeah, he's doing well. He's mixing it back in now here a little bit. It's good to see him back out here doing some things and he's been around the building a ton, you know, and I think it's been good for him kind of being able to have those meetings with Crow, go through things, learning, and you can see a difference in him. Despite being injured, you can see a difference in his development, even with missing all that time. Do you hope to have one person emerge for the crooks and roll on tight ends or is that a piecemeal thing? Yeah, we kind of see where that goes. I mean, as we get into training camp and we start getting into one-on-ones and some of those types of things that we can't do right now, we'll see where it goes. But you're always looking for guys that can cover on third down, whether it's a tight end, whether it's a receiver, whether it's a back. That's a big piece of what we do on third down. You're stepping up into more of a leadership role and then obviously taking a little bit more on out there defensively. Yeah, I think Dave has done a great job. I really do. I think his approach day in and day out, he's taken that position, that role by the horns and he is running with it, right? We got some young guys in that room. Some guys who fill and came in here mid-year last year. And he's really the solidifying force in that room right now. I've been really pleased with him. I think he's trying to become more vocal out there as well. And I'm excited for him. I think he's really excited for the opportunity and it's very deserving with what he's done here, especially last season. I'm excited where he started with this thing. I'm excited to see where it goes as we get into training again. It's been like, I guess, having been back in the same building with Tim Kelly and from a coaching standpoint, what does he maybe bring to? Yeah, it's great. Obviously work with Tim in Houston and then going against him here these past couple of years, anytime you got smart football minds, you can bounce ideas off of whether it's a defensive mind, offensive mind, whatever it might be. They might see something a little bit of a different way, certain things. They've done in the past potentially attack us. All that knowledge, all that insight is always valuable regardless of who is coming from. I expect to see a different bud this year, both in terms of the full year away from the ACL and also a full year in the system. Yeah, we'll see when he gets back here and gets rolling, we'll see what it is. So I'm excited, I'm looking forward to him getting back and I'm excited to kind of see where it goes for him. For such a good force for you last year, consider that start from zero, it sounds like Bud's not here. We know that if they weren't here last time, we saw them. How much did you start with the Black Slater? How much did you build on where you were last year? Yeah, I think it's a fine line. I think you got a build on where you were last year just in terms of confidence and their ability to understand and affect the quarterback working together. I've always said it's a group thing, it's not about one-on-ones, it's a group effort up there in terms of affecting the quarterback. But with everything you gotta start from ground zero, all these guys, they leave us whenever the season over, we don't get back till mid-April and who knows what they're doing, right? So I mean, you always have to start from ground zero with everything we do. But I hope these guys have some comfort level with what we did, have some confidence from what they weren't able to achieve and they come back with that as we get going. What do you think is- The attention that opposing offensive lines are gonna try to deal with Jeffery Simmons. How much does he kinda have to be creative in helping find ways to free him up? Yeah, I mean, that's always the thing we look at when we go into game plans. Looking at their personnel, looking at our personnel, how we think they might handle us. I said it last year, I think adding to Nico Autry was a huge piece for us last season because it kinda limits that. You've got another interior rusher in there, they can't block them, they can't double them all, right? So they're gonna have to pick their poison too, and it's a match-up league. So we're trying to find match-ups, they're trying to find match-ups or guard against some match-up. Deficiency is just the same, so I think it's week by week. But having those pieces, whether it's Harold going inside at times, obviously, to Nico, like I mentioned, having those pieces makes it a little bit more difficult on offense is to be able to game plan somebody out. What's more comfortable are you saying in your role this year? A year ago, questions were being raised and so forth, and I would imagine. Things feel a little differently? Yeah, I mean, just being around the guys, whole off season last year, into the training camp, bouncing room to room, all this stuff that we've kinda talked about in the past. I think the relationships part, you guys have heard me say it before. I think that's probably the number one piece in being a coach, is you gotta have relationships with these guys. They gotta know you care about them, care about what's best for them, and obviously what's best for the team. So I think those have grown throughout the past year, so just in a different space in regard to that right now from where we were last year. But again, man, it's a new year, so we're starting fresh and we still got a lot to prove. What are you working on yourself right now? But what did you make about all the changes in AFC this year? With new receivers coming into the conference, quarterbacks changing? And what does that do to a defensive coordinator during the off season? Yeah, it makes you stay up at night in the off season, right? That ain't supposed to happen in the off season. But no, you're gonna have challenges across the board. I mean, AFC, NFC, everybody's got good players. Everybody gets paid. Again, we're focusing on the things we can do that isn't solely about talent, right? Our focus is working on the effort, the fundamentals, the details, the scheme as a coaching staff, whatever it might be to put our players in a position to succeed where talent is the outlier, right? Cuz everybody's got talent, we're looking for the things that can make the difference for us, regardless of talent.