Full transcript edited to Goff Comments below. Here are check points through the interview specific to Goff and my thoughts:
First Jourdan very strategically avoids trade topic at ~6:20mark
[url=[https://youtu.be/VEpcnfuWxk8?t=384](https://youtu.be/VEpcnfuWxk8?t=384)]
McVay is clearly uncomfortable and fidgeting. He has prepared notes about all the positive things he wants to say about Goff. This is both damage control and being classy to acknowledge all that him and Goff have been through in a positive way. Awesome response McVay!
Gary goes back to it ~13:30 mark:
https://youtu.be/VEpcnfuWxk8?t=811
Tough question calling out his statements about hoping Jared is stuck with him a long time.
McVay takes a deep breath and says “whoof”. McVay says he has learned not to make blanket statements. Appreciates Goff and wishes him the best.
Gary continues brings up Jared mentioning he wasn’t wanted. McVay says they’ve talked at ~15:15 mark. Says he wishes he was better for Goff in some instances. (meaning sometimes his fault and sometimes not).
Most interesting piece of the whole conversation is when McVay says they had “healthy open and honest conversations and those details I’d prefer to keep between us”. One very specific conversation we’ve all read about. Dying to know what was said. I’m thinking more and more that Goff stood up to McVay or called him out on something.
Different reporter asks how much was the personel changing around goff at the ~29 mark.
https://youtu.be/VEpcnfuWxk8?t=1766
McVay defending Goff. Puts it back on himself. Team sport. QB not the complete reason for success or failure.
It takes coaches and players being connected and on the same page. We’ve seen that a phrasing a lot from Goff and McVay.
https://youtu.be/VEpcnfuWxk8?t=222239 minutes
Lindsay asks again about Gary’s comments. What could McVay had done better? McVay mentions real-time communications. We can only guess if he means that he wasn’t giving Goff the Feedback on his displeasure as the season went on OR his in game communication that was too flustered and confusing? Play calling?
Very interesting interview. I feel like McVay is looking more like the guy we saw 2 years ago. More humble. More insightful. More rested. You could tell this season was stressing him out. He feels good right night now after a taking some time in Cabo.
Transcript
On when his assessment of former QB Jared Goff changed)
“I think that’s a really tough thing to answer. What I think is important to make sure that I mention is the amount of good things and really great leadership that he provided since I got here as a head coach. There’s been a Super Bowl appearance, there’s been a Conference Championship win, there’s been two division titles, there’s been three playoff wins that he was an intricate part of, there’s been three playoff appearances. So, what I’d rather focus on are the things that I think he did a great job of to establish himself in this league. The way he handled himself consistently day in and day out and all I can do is just be appreciative of that. That’s kind of what I would say on Jared (Goff).”
(On what changed with McVay and the organization regarding QB Jared Goff)
“I think what I would say that I’ve learned over the last handful of years is things change by the day. And you probably want to be careful making blanket statements when you can’t predict the future. Again, all I can go back to is appreciation for the times that we did have and wishing him nothing but the best moving forward.”
(On if he has had any conversations with Goff since the end of the season)
“I have, yeah. I think Jared and I had a lot of conversations. We had one that I want to keep that between myself and Jared, but I don’t want to get into the specifics of those types of things. But when you look back on the four that we did have together, there’s a lot of times you can smile on. And I would say there’s a lot of things that, you know, when I self-reflect, I certainly wish I was better for him in some instances. And those are things that think you have to acknowledge, move forward and make sure that, that you learn from every mistake that you make. And certainly, I’m not going to run away from the things that I could have been better for him as a leader and as a coach. There was a lot of really good things that occurred from 2017 and on that I think we can eventually really have a much better appreciation for. We have had good conversations that were healthy. And I think we were able to both communicate open and honestly with one another, but those details were to keep between us.”
On elaborating on the changes that occurred around Goff)
“I think the unfair narrative has been that some of our decrease in production is exclusively on the quarterback, that’s not true at all. I think certainly, I have a big hand in that. I have to be able to look myself in the mirror and acknowledge and be able to evolve, improve and take ownership in that. I do know that the head coach and the quarterback are the ones that always, sometimes you get too much credit or too much blame, but I’m not going to run away from the blame that’s deserved on my end. What I do think is important is that the narrative becomes, all right, this is the outlet for why the offense wasn’t what it was, that’s unfair to Jared and I think it’s disrespectful to what he’s done over the last four years. There’s a lot of things. Football’s the ultimate team sport. That quarterback position is vital to your success, but it’s not exclusively the reason for, or the reason not. There’s an element that absolutely, it’s about the ten around him. It’s about what kind of things are we doing to put our players in the most favorable spots? And when you go back and you watch, and there’s a lot of layers to every single snap, every single play, it’s not exclusive to the quarterback and there’s a lot of times when I’m looking at saying, ‘Man, I’ve got to do a better job, or we do collectively as a staff,’ and then there’s somewhere we’re saying, ‘We’ve got to execute. Whether it’s from upfront, tight ends, receivers, running backs or the quarterback.’ That’s what makes football such a unique game, but I do think that’s what goes back to it being the ultimate team game because it takes all 11 to be able to operate at an efficient level. It takes coaches and players being connected and being on the same page."
(On elaborating what he could have done better for Goff)
“I think it’s just the consistent and ongoing communication. You pride yourself in those types of things and I think I could have been much better about those real-time communications. I’m not going to make any excuses about it, but there’s a lot of things, even some of the decision-making in games, you know. Are you consistently putting him in the right positions to be successful? As a coach, as a leader, your job is to try to make situations and people that you’re around better and there were certainly some moments that I know I could have done better really for our team and Jared in particular.”