 Mike you've been here since the weekend a lot going on for you with the competition committee What came out of all that that you were pleased with that you'll take to the owners meetings at the end of March? Well still have another day. I think or at least some conversations that we'll go into potentially tomorrow Really just want to try to get some clarifications Just so that our fans and everybody understands we're trying to make the officiating as consistent as possible right now There's there's a range and and we feel like that there should be a tighter target area between groups of officials right a group or official 1 to 17 those Crews should be a little tighter than what they're what their pattern is and how everybody sees it and hopefully sees it the same So we're trying to try to do that trying to clean up what replay assist looks like But there's so much more as it's player safety and welfare and trying to take these helmet impacts and contacts and try to To get them down and always try to to get them down and continue to figure out and read and decide what's What's realistic and what's what's best for the game? What's best for the players? The technology of football the future of football international program You know, so there's a lot just more than than what goes on on the three hours on Sunday How much do those conversations having them now during the off-season get your brain churning for things? Maybe you might want to tweak within your own system. Well, I think you're always looking to do things within the rules But also to try to gain and whatever advantage that you possibly could whether that's Formationally, there's you know, a lot of conversation about the Push on the quarterback sneak and you know where our tolerances is for that play and what we think that that may you know look like or Just how we want to try to tackle the quarterback, I think that you know I think Mike Tomlin put it fast. We're always telling them what they can't do We need to tell them what they can do and try to give great examples of that so that we can reasonably teach it because It's hard to be in a position where you say well, I don't know when a player asked well coach What should I be able to do or what can I do here? I don't ever want to be in a position where I say I don't know Coach use is the second time around the block for you on the competition committee So is there something in the second lap around that maybe you didn't think about in year one? Or is it a year-to-year base is big based on things that happen to you situationally in games I think it's just You know, I never want to Be a part of a group or add input if it just applies to the Tennessee Titans I don't want that. I want to try to have an open mind and think about what's best for 32 clubs What's best for every player and every fan and not just say well we had this happen to us So we should you know they talking about the tablets our tablets went down on the sideline in Washington and How the rule was written in the game manual was that Unless both the coaches box and the and the field tablets were out then Washington would still be able to use theirs Didn't think much of it at the time just said hey, we'll adjust we'll figure it out We'll make it work like this is what it is But you look at it and you know that came up and we said well That probably makes a little bit more sense just to say They don't one side doesn't have field tablets for a quarter Well, then we should at least take the other ones until those are back up and running So, you know, that was a case where something applied to us. I didn't even think about it until the game ops crew I said, oh, yeah, I guess that they did go out in Washington But it was like well, we're just keep it moving and just things like that I was watching the Super Bowl and I had one question that I had to ask you and that is You have talked about and you've corrected me multiple times Especially in the preseason when I talk about points of emphasis. You said there should not be points of emphasis We should call the rulebook When the play happened late in the game on the hold and there was controversy From the start with television raising the point that oh, you shouldn't call that at this point in the game You should let them play. It's hard to see it in that way more or less is what the comment was In your mind based on your feeling about we should call the rulebook I don't think it should matter what the down and distance. So you think it was absolutely the right call I just am telling you that whether I agree or disagree with the call I'm telling you that there's only one way to Officiate and that's to make sure that it is what the rules are and if it's on the one-yard line or at midfield Or if it's first and ten or third and one or fourth and one or there's two minutes left in the game or there's 13 minutes left in the first quarter I just feel like that that's the only way to get those men and women to do their job and feel confident in officiating and and taking out The the interpretation well, do they want me to know this is what they want you to do and if you see the mechanisms you see the restriction and You feel strongly about it then then throw the flag like that that's the only way that you can Ultimately get to where we've started this conversation Was that to narrow the gap between the ones that are called and the ones that want or that aren't or the ones that were Called and we didn't want call like that's what there's two different types of you know The grading scale is the calls that were missed or the ones that were no calls that we want called Or the ones that were called then we would rather let go so Two things can be true. It's disappointing that that play had such an impact And yet it was a foul and it had to be called that those both can be true that it's an Unfortunate time to create a penalty where a jerseys tugged their quarterbacks looking at that vicinity Not that that's part of the role, but you know, I mean there's certainly a lot of things that go into it So that I don't think you can officiate Based on other circumstances You mentioned player safety and there's been talk about expanding use of the Guardian caps After one year a full season of using them throughout training camp using them throughout the course of the season What did you think of them? What was the response from your players? Do you think that was an effective tool? I do I think the numbers would tell us that it was The the number of concussions that we had in training camp. I don't want to say zero, but I think it was pretty darn close And and there was no pushback. I think initially They may be questioned it but but in the long run When I said hey, just put them back on for practice like this is what we're gonna do No, no player questioned it. No player You know, I think that that's important that we're looking out for their best interest You know, sometimes you you relax in practice and it's it's You know something that happens and you catch a hit from the side where you really weren't expecting it and That can protect that and that's a significant amount of impact when you talk about reducing it 15 to 20 percent If both players have a guardian cap on I mean, I think the biggest Restriction was just the equipment room and their ability to have to take them off and put them back on So I want to thank Joey His staff For working hard to get those off for the games and for us to travel, you know, and then putting them back on I think that'll be easier in the new model. It sounds like that's something that's gonna change and help the process This week is one of the better parts for you being able to sit down in front of these young men It kind of peek behind the curtain see who they are Well, it's the first opportunity sometimes. Maybe we've had some exposure with them at senior bowl But but it's it's 18 minutes or 15 minutes in an informal setting For them to earn another opportunity in my mind To really peak my interest for me to follow up and you know, haven't been able to watch every single player So this is an opportunity to give me reason to go watch Whatever player that maybe man, I really enjoyed that visit and could see him being on the football team Let's see what type of player he is and and start to build the profile. So that that's critical We got that started last night. We'll have those again tonight tomorrow morning But that way, you know, we're off to a good start. You're doing that with a new partner. Yeah, in rank in rank Arthur How has that relationship built over the last five weeks six weeks? I think it's built been built great We haven't had a whole lot of you know, we worked through some some things with some contracts But I think as we start to to blend our staffs and to try to get those Two staffs to kind of understand and work together Excited about that that started and been going on here at the combine. We'll work through free agency Continue to work and look at the roster and how we want to Shape this thing. I know when that it it'll look vastly different In training camp or in September than it does today Understand that But it's it's been good. It's been really good just to You know a couple new faces with him and Chad and so that's been really good to kind of hear their perspective and Start to work some new faces within your coaching staff as well And some people kind of changed around with some different roles and responsibilities How do you take this week to kind of understand what it is that they're looking for in players in terms of people who will be in Their individual rooms and kind of their styles and preferences. Yeah, I want their Their preferences to be our preferences and I and I you know appreciate their own opinions As does ran But there has to be a structure where you're starting and about the type of player that we're looking for and Who they are as a person what their play style is what their ability is Their their willingness to their capacity to learn not only that but their willingness to learn how hard they work at it And so we've we've started that we've done that and had conversations about that back at St. Thomas Sports Park Had got to sit down with You know probably four position coaches last night for a for an hour and 50 minutes in an informal setting We went through a lot of front seven players that we were able to get downstairs In an informal setting and it was really cool to be a part of that to watch them work and You know bringing guys through my Bobby was meeting with the D. Lyman Just because big T was meeting with somebody else and crow was meeting with an inside linebacker because Bobby was meeting with an inside linebacker and I Really really was impressed by by what they were able to do last night That was their only opportunity the way that the combine set up That was their only opportunity for those front seven players to meet informally with coaches And I don't know if that was an oversight or just a scheduling But every other position group has two opportunities with their position coaches to meet on an informal basis You know it's Hey, I want to meet with Amy after she meets with the chargers or Mike after he meets with the Bengals And and the D line the linebackers and the edge players they only had the the one night last night so We were we were humping and jumping and and those guys did a fantastic job In a small sample size like that How much of put the tape to the side how much of it in in figuring out Does a guy love ball how much of that is a part of the process? I love football Yeah, I mean you can tell me that and I'm sure that I would believe you but I can view that I I can view if a guy's out there Strain and fighting if he's into it if he's supporting his teammates if he's jumping up and down if he You know, what what are the you know, we all love the games, you know We all love holding the baby, but do we love being pregnant and that's That's the process that you have to go in and study and find out Who to believe at some of these schools because they all tell you different things How much Is determined already about your 30 visits to ascension st. Thomas sports park Before you even start the interview process here There there's probably been some but but not all you know, I mean, I think One thing that we have been able to do is isolate or identify Excuse me some of those players that we may want to bring back on on as early as tuesday And and get that started The year they shut it down with kovat. We actually had a couple players already in and then they they did away with visits So that's been good. We all kind of come together and say, hey, who do you think and you know If everybody's on everybody's list is the same person's on everybody's list and we should probably bring them in Some of those players would be draftable, but non-combined invites that we may want to look at You know trying to find the next, you know, mayor of murphy's borough That that had draftable grade that wasn't a combine invite That should bring in to get some information on Along with all the things that you're doing here You also have a roster of guys back in nashville that you're dealing with and there's a lot of things going on We saw some roster moves earlier this month There's more to come with free agency looming. How do you balance thinking about both worlds the upcoming draft and these perspective players But also the guys that you already have. Well, nothing's more important than the players on your team. There's nothing more important So you have to have a vision for the ones that that you feel like you have going forward Try to communicate with them ask them to communicate with you as far as an individual development plan What they saw and how they felt like their their mental and physical performance was Through the course of the season What they liked about it what they want to continue to do well and what they would like to try to maybe focus on and change You're in the march Now it all starts The legal tampering period is 12 days away Free agency is two weeks away I mean it's on how much of your time do you spend meeting with various people For the next 12 days to 14 days figuring out what free agency strategy looks like And then rolling it forward to how that will affect What you're able to do towards the draft. Well, we've done that we've done that extensively That's part of what we've done with myself and ran and his staff and You know, the coach has evaluated players and I watched them and we all watched them together and You know try to build a profile on the player and kind of feel like You know if this is somebody that based on you know fit and value This is somebody we'd like to add to the football team not not every player over out there is going to fit your team from a lot of different reasons You know free agency can be tricky, you know, you have to know who you're bringing on to the football team and You know, if somebody hasn't been with them Or you know them fairly well That's that's a risky proposition just to to jump into something like that Finally you making tim kelly available here at the nfl combine your new offensive coordinator The decision to do that your thought process Well, I mean people have a lot of questions about where we may head and You know tim didn't speak to the media this year. Um, so I felt like You know, it just wasn't his his place. I didn't think we needed to go down that road and So therefore I felt like I wanted to make him available to speak on on the offensive's behalf on his behalf on the offensive staff's behalf and I know excited for that to happen here and Justin out and added to your staff as the running back coach coming over from denver Um, a really well thought of guy who got his start in High school special ed teacher spring westfield. Yeah, I mean corby meekins really good program down there in spring, texas You'd love it. I mean to elevate 40 40 000 football fans on friday night The real I would love it. You would but that's your retirement job down there Probably so Um, kdisd, we kept sure that would be great kdis. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so this guy has had An amazing rise. He's really well thought of why bring him in why running backs and what do you hope he adds? Well, that was where the role was that's where the opportunity was I had made a decision about tony and what I wanted to try to see there um Had met with charles and wanted to try to find a way to add him and met with justin Was was upfront on what the role would be but also maybe what the vision would be Just trying to add a bunch of really good coaches and people Did that defensively as well at some spots. So You know, I want people to know that it was well thought out. It was well planned It wasn't just something that I you know threw together Tried to you know, and it's hard. It's hard to get every person that you want an interview and You know, it's it's hard to go from college or pro team to pro team and sometimes that movement Uh, isn't as supported throughout the league because you can block a coach Or they just they have an opportunity at the place that they've been for a few years The mix on that offensive staff really interesting. I mean a totally different I mean, I'm sure they everybody looks at football slightly differently But that group it would feel like with tim kelly leading it with justin with charles With jason taking over the offensive line tony Moving to tight ends and then keeping rob more where he was. I mean, it's a it's an impressive group and Well, it's only as impressive It's only as impressive as Is what they can can teach and reasonably get the players to understand and execute that that's the most important thing and I think and and obviously I did it for a reason and so hopefully that that comes true And that they are able to add their ideas together Tim's able to coordinate it and everybody's able to have their Their ideas and thoughts and vision heard and then ultimately going a direction in which everybody Is on the same page good stuff as always you got about it. We appreciate you