Transcript of general manager Mike Tannenbaum's news conference with the New York Jets media Monday afternoon:
I want to start by thanking everybody for covering us this season. It was a disappointing season for all of us. I know it was hard on everybody in this room as well. I just want to start by thanking everybody for their continued coverage of the team. With that we're leaving the 2007 season behind us and starting our preparation for the 2008 season.
On what he is doing now that the season is over …
It all starts with evaluating our roster. We had great conversations last week with the coaching staff. We got their input and feedback from all the players. That's what we're doing with the personnel department, and we're putting our plan together. We'll finalize that in the next couple of weeks.
On if there are some moves he wishes he made last off-season …
That's a great question. I sat up a lot during the season thinking about what I could have done better. Every season is its own unique entity. Going from 2006 to 2007, there were a lot of things I could have done better and I'll try to work on that and move forward into 2008.
On Eric Mangini …
Eric did a really good job this year in developing the younger players on our team. I thought they got better. I think practices are really competitive. There's a lot of energy and teaching and development. That foundation will allow us to have success in the future.
On switching QBs from Chad Pennington to Kellen Clemens …
I thought Kellen had earned the right to play based on what he'd done at practice. If you look at the last couple of years, our young guys in the first two rounds, specifically with D'Brickashaw [Ferguson], Nick [Mangold], Kellen, Darrelle [Revis], David Harris, I think all young players in the league are going to have inconsistencies. When you play quarterback, I think that's magnified both positively and negatively. Kellen was similar in that he did some things well and some things he has to do better. That is just part and parcel of being a young player in the league.
On if he expects Pennington to return to the Jets …
One of the hallmarks of the program that Eric and I want to be known for is the best players will play. And I think actions speak louder than words, and over the last few years, I think that's really been true. Like Eric said last week, the best players will play. At the quarterback position, I expect Chad to be back and the best players will play, and again that's not limited to the quarterback position.
On if his intention is to bring Pennington back, let him compete with Clemens …
Yes.
On if he has spoken to Pennington about returning …
I did have a conversation with Chad. It was a quick one, one of those end-of-the-season conversations, and I'll leave parts of that conversation private, but the gist of it was very similar.
On Pennington's desire to start …
I have that understanding. I don't know if he said that to me directly, but that's positive from his standpoint. You want competitive guys and guys that want to be the best, and that brings out the best in everybody, so I look at that as a positive. At the end of the day Eric will decide who plays and who doesn't play, but it will be based on who gives us the best chance.
On if he will explore adding a QB …
We'll look at any opportunity to improve this team. One of the things we're committed to and I'm proud of is that we have a track record on this now that it starts in March with free agency. If you look at what we did, guys like Abram Elam and Will Montgomery played meaningful snaps for us. Guys like Chris Davis and Clint Oldenburg [played]. From their standpoint, that says a lot about the coaching staff that they're willing to embrace those players, coach and develop them during the season. We'll start in March, but March is the start of the process. We'll work throughout the year with trades and other teams' practice squads to improve the team.
On his conversation with Pennington …
He talked more about going to see the bullriding at Madison Square Garden. He had his flannel shirt on and he was in bullriding mode. He was wearing his flannel shirt and it wasn't a long conversation. He was really fired up about the bulls.
He's under contract. I expect him to be back. I expect him to compete with Kellen, and certainly if opportunities come along we'll look at them and try to get Chad's reaction. You can certainly ask him. You should ask him about the bulls as well, though.
On if Pennington's contract could be restructured …
We won't discuss that publicly except to say that given our cap situation, we're comfortably under the cap right now. I don't see the economics driving any decision right now with him being here or not being here. But again, I won't go any further than that.
On if there is any possibility Pennington won't be a Jet next season …
I'm sure there is a possibility. If we could get a second-round pick for [senior director of public relations] Bruce [Speight], we would probably consider that too [laughs]. But I think Bruce will be back.
On listening to trade offers …
We'll listen to anything, but I expect Chad to be back. That is the long and short of it. We have an obligation to listen to anything, like we have with John Abraham or Thomas Jones. We have made significant trades and we have made trades on draft day. I would characterize them as fairly significant with moving up or back in the first or second round. Eric and I have shown the willingness to look into those opportunities. I think Chad will be back.
On Clemens' progress …
Like a lot of young players, there are going to be some ups and downs. There are reasons to be encouraged — some of the two-minute drives he led. You look at the Miami game. Obviously they didn't have the year they had hoped but they are still a good defense, and he went down there and played well. The two-minute drive against Washington, I thought he did a nice job with. Playing at Baltimore, some of the plays he made in the fourth quarter in their home opener against a good defense. There are some things he's going to do even better. Kellen's a great worker, and I expect him to work hard in the off-season. Over the next few months of our off-season program, the OTAs, minicamp and training camp, we'll see where he is.
On the possibility of Clemens and Pennington competing for the starting job …
It's about the best players playing. You look at what Jacksonville did this year, and obviously, they deserve a lot of credit. I think they made that [QB] decision within seven days of opening day. [Head coach] Jack Del Rio and [vice president of player personnel] James Harris do a great job. They had a lot of depth at that position with Quinn Gray and David Garrard and they made the decision that David gave them the best chance. I'm sure that was not a knock on Byron Leftwich, but they made that decision. It's more a part of our philosophy that the best players should play. It's what's best for the 2008 New York Jets.
On if he expects to be active in the free agent market …
We're comfortably under the cap, so if and when opportunities present themselves, we'll look into those opportunities. That also includes trying to keep our own good players. That is something that Eric, Woody [Johnson] and I believe in. That is a big part of what we like to do: keep as many of our own young, ascending players as we can.
On LB Victor Hobson …
Victor's been here for five years. He's played in a couple of different systems. He's done a good job for us. The lines of communication will be open with him and his representatives. I've talked to them recently, and we'll see what happens with Vic.
On WR Laveranues Coles …
I've seen Laveranues evolve into an incredible person from a standpoint of almost a Curtis Martin-type of persona within the building in dealing with his teammates, his coaches and the support staff. He's a good football player and he's really a great person. I hope Laveranues is here for a long time. I've learned a lot personally from Laveranues. He's a special person in terms of what he's done as a human being and as a football player in what he's worked himself into from what he was at Florida State. I hope he's here for a while.
On whether he would consider a new deal for Coles …
Generally speaking we don't comment about contracts and where we are from a negotiation standpoint. Our goal is for Laveranues to be here for a long time. He's done a lot of great things for our program. I think to have a successful NFL team, you need people who can help you on the field, which his production speaks for itself, but in addition to that what he's done off the field.
On how he feels about giving players new deals when they have more than one year remaining on their contracts …
We just deal with that on a case-by-case basis and every situation is unique. We're just going to take it person-by-person.
On the Pete Kendall situation …
I'm so glad you brought up Pete Kendall because I checked with the Magna Carta in the state of New York and today is the last day on the statute of limitations. Any Pete Kendall questions, we have to have all out today. When we get to New Jersey, you can bring it back up again, but while we're in the state of New York, today is the last day [jokes].
What I would say is with Pete's situation, I have a lot of respect for Pete personally. I've told him that more than once. I've personally learned from that experience and tried not to let small things become big things and try to be more proactive than reactive. With that said, I don't know if we had done anything differently if that situation would have worked itself out any differently than it did. Maybe it could have, but maybe it wouldn't have. Obviously, it's unfortunate how public it became. I don't think that's good for him or the team. It's very similar to how a lot of the things happened in the 2007 season. It's something I want to learn from and grow from and make sure that, although it was a disappointing experience, it's something we at least learn from what had happened.
On the offensive line …
Generally, with the offensive line, the line play wasn't as consistent as it needed to be. Sometimes they played at a winning level, and sometimes it didn't. That starts with me. We'll do a better job of trying to make the offensive line play more consistently in 2008.
On what he learned from the Kendall situation …
In Pete's situation, I don't know if we had done anything differently if that would have changed the outcome given the dynamics we were working within. I pride myself on being a good listener, but maybe I need to be a better listener. I'm not so sure if we had done anything differently if that would have changed the outcome of it.
On why he feels the outcome wouldn't have changed …
Pete's a stubborn guy from the Boston area. I know a lot of people that are stubborn from the Boston area. I grew up in the same area.
On whether he overrated the team's talent entering the season …
I think about that quite a bit. From where I sit I really think it comes back to something that Coach [Bill] Parcells taught me 11 years ago when he talked about building the team: It's about your musts and your needs. From where we sit, it's about attacking that seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Attack your needs, attack your musts. Did we have the right musts? Did we evaluate our team correctly? Maybe it's a little bit of everything. It's hard to say it was one specific component of the off-season plan, but it needs to be better for the 2008 season.
On Jonathan Vilma's recovery from knee surgery …
He's a really smart player, he's really intelligent, and that gives our coaches the flexibility to use him in a lot of different areas. He's also a very hard worker. He had a significant injury, one that put him on injured reserve. I know John real well. He's a hard worker and smart. I expect him to be back. Where and how he is used is going to be up to the coaches.
On if Brian Schottenheimer will interview with the Ravens for their head coaching position …
I will let Baltimore handle that on their end.
On whether the Jets granted permission for the Ravens to talk with him …
Yeah, I can confirm that.
On whether any other coaches have been requested to speak with other teams …
No.
On if there is a timetable to replace special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff…
We're working on that now. That's something that we'll pay close attention to until we feel like the staff's in place.
On why David Harris was able to excel in the 3-4 while it seemed Vilma struggled …
Really two thoughts. One is 64 quarterbacks started this year in the NFL. You look at the playoff games over the weekend and I think it's an infomercial for how to build a successful NFL team. There were so many undrafted free agents that played meaningful snaps in all those games over the weekend. You look at the Giants game, David Diehl started and he got cramps, so Guy Whimper goes in there. Grey Reugamer starts at center, and Derrick Ward gets hurt at running back. Jeremy Shockey's on injured reserve and they've done a great job with the depth of that position. Having guys like Harris, Jon, Eric Barton and Brad Kassell is good because you need depth to have sustainable success over a 16-game season.
Relative to David, [linebackers] Coach [Jim] Herrmann was defensive coordinator at Michigan. David has a lot of the attributes that Eric and I believe in. He's smart — you could see that he was preparing to play even before he went out there. When he got out there, he hit the ground running. He plays real physical and he's an excellent tackler, not only in the line-of-scrimmage play but also in space. He did a really nice job with that and was productive in rushing the passer as well. He's a complete player. But again, to have sustainable success, you need depth and a lot of good players to win over a 16-game season.
On the NFL playoffs …
What leapt out to me was the depth that you need at positions. Good players come from all different areas — Division II players, quarterbacks that are undrafted or seventh-round picks. To be a good, successful team in this league you have to be open to acquiring those types of players, and you need to balance your cap that way so you can withstand injuries at those positions and still do well.
On drafting based on need compared to the best-player-available approach …
I would say up until a few years ago it was always a little bit more take the best player available. Over time in the salary cap era, people do draft a little bit more for need. That's a little bit of an oversimplification, but by the time we get to April, we'll have a better idea of where we are. Our track record shows we've gone up and down [with trades] so I wouldn't rule anything out.
On the team's biggest needs …
We haven't formalized them yet. It's really still a work in progress from the standpoint that we're trying to assess our team. That's where it starts and we're not quite done with that yet. Some are apparent like they are to you, and some have to deal with depth and when contracts can be expiring. That's always part of my job, to be a little bit more forward-thinking and see who is going to expire after the 2008 season and try to allocate resources accordingly.
On Mangini's contract …
That's something we wouldn't talk about publicly.
On if giving Mangini a contract extension could help lure players and coaches …
Really what factors into it is being a good organization. Especially when it comes to coaching our players, we're committed to doing it the right way with developing our own people and trying to coach our players to become better. I think the coaches here have a chance to be hands-on. They're given a lot of time and resources. I think people are attracted to organizations.
On giving players contract extensions …
We'll take a little bit of a wait-and-see approach. We'll get through the process of identifying our needs and our musts, see where we are with the cap. Philosophically, be it Jerricho Cotchery or those type of guys, we'd like to extend as many of our young players as we can. Some of them you're prohibited by league rule as well. I would add under the new CBA, you can't extend rookies for two years. Sometimes there are other limiting factors as well.
On Bill Parcells returning to the AFC East with Miami …
It's different. Our conversations are a little bit different now. Personally it hasn't changed, but professionally it certainly has. It does change our dynamic. I wish him well, not too well, but I do wish him well [smiles]. He's in the division now, so he's a competitor.
On the 3-4 nose tackle position …
We're going to look at the whole season what we did well defensively and what we can do better. I do like the depth there. Dewayne [Robertson] did a lot of good things this year, but so did Sione [Pouha] and C.J. [Mosley]. I thought those two younger guys in particular were improved players over the course of the season. Watching other teams, you need a lot of depth on the defensive line. All of those guys will play during the course of the season. Depth is important. We saw that at the quarterback position, but on the defensive line, every team has depth. Dallas is a great example. If you looked at the caliber of players there all year, they did a great job of acquiring depth at that position. Over a 60-minute game, those guys have a tendency to wear down, so you need a lot of players across the board there.
On if he was upset going from the third pick of the draft to the sixth pick with the Jets' win over Kansas City …
Not from a salary cap standpoint [laughs].
On defensive coordinator Bob Sutton …
There are two aspects of the defense that in particular I thought went well this year. After the bye week in particular, I thought we played at a really high level. I thought he did a good job developing [new players]. At one point we had up to five new starters with Abe [Abram Elam], Darrelle [Revis] and Hank [Poteat] in the backfield, and David Harris and Kenyon [Coleman] playing in the front seven. Integrating new players into the system I thought was real positive. Something Eric's doing right now is evaluating his whole staff. That is a work in progress in terms of Eric going through his evaluation process.
On if he will look to add more players that fit the 3-4 scheme well …
We want to keep acquiring players that can be productive for us, but I think versatility's important as well. David Harris is a good football player, 3-4 or 4-3. If you look at all facets of linebacker play, I thought he excelled in all of them: Rushed the passer — five sacks — tackled in space and tackled in-line. I think versatility is important. Over the last few years you saw Coach Sutton and Eric have them play a lot of different fronts, so I think versatility is very important. Kenyon [Coleman] played well especially against the run, which is something we were looking to do. We got improved play from that position from him.
On if Year 3 is a key year for Mangini and him …
Every year in the league is an important year. We're hoping to learn from what we've done the first two years and have a better product and better team in 2008, but in the NFL, every year is an important year.
On if he has a favorite team left in the NFL playoffs …
It's just a great way for me to keep learning and watching and see what the successful teams are doing. I don't have any favorites left. It's just a good opportunity for our entire organization to watch what's successful during the 2007 season so we can learn and do better ourselves.
