The Exchanges

Q Are there any other people that you brought to speak from sort of different sports that sort of had, uh, a different message that resonated with you or the team and just stands out in your mind?

A Oh, yeah, we had a lot of them. Yeah, we had a lot of them, and, and it was great because, you know, just the guys, you know, they hear a lot of football stories, but it's good to hear all the ones, uh, one of the ones I thought was particularly entertaining, a couple of them, one was, uh, Paul Asiante. They won, like, 14 national championships in a row. They won, like, a hundred and sixty-some games in a row, matches in a row. I mean, and at the Patriots, we were favored in almost every game, you know, Not every game, but most every game for quite a while, and so, you know, I brought Coach Asiante, and I said, you know, here's a guy that's won, like, 13 straight national championships. They won 100 and sixty-some matches in a row. I mean, he talked about being favored now, like, they're favored, and, and, and, like, let's listen to what that's really like, and he was great. He talked about, it, it doesn't matter whether you are or aren't, or how many you have or haven't won, every day is an opportunity, and You make the most out of each day, and you just get better each day, and you don't worry about what you've done in the past. You just, you look at today's opportunity and make the most out of it. It was great. So one of our coach, one of our players sticks his hand up and says, hey coach, I have a question. What's squash? I thought it was a vegetable. Jimmy Johnson, you kno…

AI assessment note: “one was, uh, Paul Asiante. They won, like, 14 national championships in a row.”

Q You tell your players to focus on the, the drawer to help them focus on what matters. What is the drawer, and how does it help?

A Drawer is a, um, was a saying that, that we use to, uh, especially at the end of the year, like as you get into the holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and then the playoffs, um, you know, the end of the season's in sight, and wherever you are, you know, you've put in, you know, all the work back into the spring, training camp, you know, 10, 12, 14 regular season games, whatever it is, and now you're really coming, you know, coming down the home stretch, and, and the drawer was just a way of saying, um, unless it's a, a family or personal thing that's really important, Um, put it in a drawer dealing with it after the season. You know, you, do you need to go to sign these cards at the mall? Do you need to, um, you know, go look for a new electronic, whatever it is. Can you put those things aside and just finish the season, spend that time on preparation for our opponents, spend that time on, um, you know, rest, recovery, training, so that you're your absolute best when we really need you here in these last few stretch weeks. And, um, And as you know, you know, Shane, when you get to a certain point, every, it's a one game season. You know, if you lose, you're done. And if you win, you get to play another week. So when you get into that scenario, put it off until next week. And if you're in it next week, put it off until the week after that. Um, but this is what we've …

AI assessment note: “put it in a drawer dealing with it after the season”

Q Do you believe you can motivate people, and if so, how?

A Oh, I think you can definitely motivate them, and, and it depends on the person. I think there are different types of motivation. Um, you know, we could, Uh, there were times where I think you could really, you know, motivate a player by just, you know, flat out challenging them, um, based on something that, you know, somebody else said, or intimated, or something that might have happened in the past. Uh, I think you can, you know, motivate people by, um, uh, you know, especially, you know, sometimes maybe a more selfish type of player, you could motivate by, you know, making him see, um, Uh, what the reward is for himself as opposed to the team. Um, an example I like to use, Shane, is if you have a receiver and you want the receiver to come in and block on a running play and come in and block a safety, which is a hard job. Um, you know, some receivers don't really want to do that. They're really not too excited about that. They want to catch passes. Um, but if you say, well, look, if you come in and block this guy, um, and we need you to block him as a team, we need you to block him. If you come in and block this guy, um, Um, then the next time we come in, and you'll do the same thing, but fake it, and we'll be able to throw you a pass when the defense comes up to solve the play. Well, the player's not coming in to block him because you asked him to block him, and we really ne…

AI assessment note: “Oh, I think you can definitely motivate them, and, and it depends on the person.”

Q I think you had a 24 hour rule, sort of, after win or losses, you have 24 hours to think about it, and then you're, you move on. Is that?

A That's right. Yeah, you play the game, you go back, you analyze it, you, what did we do well? What did we do poorly? What do we need to do better? What adjustments should we have made? What coaching errors did we make? And so forth, and, and then you, you factor all that into You know, how does that affect this next week? Sometimes there's a lot of carryover. Sometimes the play team you play the following week is completely different. And some of those lessons may not really become applicable for a week or two weeks or three weeks until you see a, you know, a similar type of opponent, um, say like a scrambling quarterback, you know, maybe you play two or three weeks where those quarterbacks aren't too mobile. And when you get up against another scrambling quarterback, you go back and look at a, how, you know, how, how do we need to, to handle this better? Uh, against this type of an opponent, so, um, but

AI assessment note: “That's right. Yeah, you play the game, you go back, you analyze it”

Q What does it mean to work hard? There was a term in your book that stuck out to me called eyewash.

A Working hard, sometimes people can come in and, and put in their time and check the box. You know, a player can come in, Put on his gear, go out, run around, break a sweat, take a shower, and say, well, I, you know, I practiced today. I, well, but if you don't really accomplish anything, then that really is not, not working hard. It's actually, we refer to it as a day off. Um, no days off actually means, you know, you come to work and you go to work. You don't come to work, check the box, kill the time, and then leave. Uh, you need to be productive while you're there. So, um, you know, that is really just a way of saying, yes, we're going to put in the work, but we need to accomplish The things that we set out to accomplish for that, for that day, and then build on those tomorrow.

AI assessment note: “if you don't really accomplish anything, then that really is not, not working hard”

Q I've heard you say we're building a team, not collecting talent. What's the difference?

A The difference is it's so it fits together. So that, that, that the team is functionally as efficient as it can be. Um, not just a bunch of guys wearing the same, same uniform, uh, with different numbers, but, um, a group of people who function well together, you know, as a team. And when you think about football, um, Shane, football is a, is a team of teams, right? You, you have the offense, you have the defense, you have a hands team, you have a punt return team. You have a nickel defense, you have a dime defense, you have a goal line offense, and so forth. You have all these teams, and they all come together to form one championship team. And so, you know, the idea is, whichever team you're on, um, you need to be the very best team that you can be in that situation. If it's a hands team, if it's a punt return team, whatever it is, like, that is critical to our success. And you have your responsibilities on that team. I have my responsibilities on some different teams, but ultimately we all come together. And, and those shared responsibilities and those shared teams, um, so that we can operate together functionally as a team are, are really what we're trying to accomplish. So it's not just getting a bunch of guys who, you know, can do, have good skills, um, and can run fast and jump high or whatever. I mean, that helps, of course, but, They have to be able to operate as a tea…

AI assessment note: “The difference is it's so it fits together.”

Q On the way out of the building, you had a sign that read, ignore the noise, manage expectations, speak for yourself, and don't believe the fuel or hype. Can you walk me through those?

A Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Um, well, speak for yourself is, is, you know, pretty obvious. Um, you know, if you have any comments to make, just make them, you know, personally, you know, don't say things like, well, Shane's looking really good this year. I mean, he should probably have 15 sacks the way he's, he's rushing the passer, you know, and start making expectations and predictions for other people, things like that. Ignore the noise. I mean, There's so much, um, airtime that's filled, uh, whether it's, uh, on the radio, on the internet, on TV, of people talking about football, all right, and players and matchups and everything. And again, with all due respect, and look, I've been part of that too, so I understand, but, um, you know, with all due respect, the people that talk about it haven't been in our building. They haven't watched us practice. They haven't watched us prepare for the game. They don't know what our matchups are. They don't know what, you know, they don't know what our game plan is. Um, so, with all due respect, what they say as it relates to us, it doesn't matter. If other fans want to listen to them, I mean, that's great, but, you know, when they say, well, you know, Shane Parrish has got to shut down Belichick, or they're going to lose, that's, you know, it's just hot air. So, ignore the noise. It's just, ignore what other people who aren't, really …

AI assessment note: “speak for yourself is, is, you know, pretty obvious.”

Q You sent one player home from the Super Bowl for having somebody in his hotel room. Was that a hard decision, or was that a, how did you make that? Was that team first, and you violated the rules, you're, you're out, or?

A You know, I made it very clear before we went down there that, you know, it was a business trip, and yeah, we had a great year, and, and we were all celebrating the, the Super Bowl, and, and, uh, and what we had accomplished to get there, uh, but here are the rules, and, and, You don't have to break the rules. Go to the other person's room if you want to be with them, but our floors are secure, and, and at the Super Bowl in particular, there's a good reason for that, um, you know, with Super Bowl tickets and, and guys with valuables and stuff like that. If it's not one of our players on the floor, I don't know whether that person is a friend of our players or an intruder. There's really no way to know, and no matter, you know, I mean, unless I knew the person for some reason, But you know what I mean? You just don't know who that person is, so our policy was players only on the floor, period. That's it. And so, um, you know, it was unfortunate because I wasn't trying to say, hey, you can't have guests, or you can't, you know, be with your friends, or your, your companions, or anything. That wasn't it. It's just, don't do it on that floor. Do it somewhere else. I don't care. And And again, I was trying to protect the players by not having people on our floor that we didn't know, uh, that could roam in and out of rooms or could, you know, and, and if you don't, if you don't remov…

AI assessment note: “our policy was players only on the floor, period. That's it.”

Q Are there any stories in your mind that stand out about discipline or consistency involving players you've coached?

A Well, I mean, I told the story of Edelman, you know, catching balls before the Super Bowl, tennis balls, and stuff like that. I mean, those kind of things that, um, you know, that players do, they have a routine, and, you know, if a guy's played eight, nine, 10, whatever years, um, if they skip a day in their routine, I mean, is it going to be the end? Probably not, but they're just so disciplined and so consistent to just continue to do it Uh, and maybe even do just a little tiny bit more, um, to, to make sure that they're prepared for the game, uh, especially the big games, that, um, that's, that's just who they are. So, I mean, I, I really, I really respect that, but, you know, it's, it's a little bit like the shopping cart, you know, um, when nobody's looking, are you going to take a shopping cart back and put it in the, you know, where it belongs or just leave it there in the middle of the parking lot? And it's the same thing with a really disciplined, uh, player and teammate. Um, is, is he going to be disciplined to, you know, go in and get treatment after practice? Um, you know, even though it's two days before Christmas or, you know, whatever it is, where is he just disciplined to not let something get in the way of, of his productive routine? And that's, um, you know, the, the, The guys that do that, um, I would say have, for the most part, have had very long and produ…

AI assessment note: “I told the story of Edelman, you know, catching balls before the Super Bowl”

Q As a leader, how did you know when to be hard on players and when to sort of back off? And I'm thinking, you know, when a player makes a critical mistake in a game and they know they've made a mistake, what's your role in that moment?

A Well, again, I think it depends on the stake, you know, if it's, um, sometimes, you know, something that kind of unexpectedly happens, and maybe the player made a bad decision, or maybe he did something that, you know, he's caught that pass a hundred times, and he's dropped it once, and this is the one time, um, you know, some of those are a little easier to handle. Um, I'd say the ones where, you know, you've told the player 10 times, this is what you need to do when this happens, um, And then they don't do it, I'd say the reaction's a little bit different in that situation. You know, how many times do you have to be told, and you know what, maybe, maybe, you know, you just don't want to do it, we'll put somebody else in there to do it, because I can see that, you know, you're not, you know, you just don't care enough to follow your assignment. So, um, you know, it kind of depends on those. I, I think one of the biggest things in football is correcting mistakes, and we all make a lot of them. Um, but when, during the game, when time is of the essence, and you don't have much time, um, you need to figure out what went wrong pretty quickly and fix it. So, uh, let's say defensively we came off the field, and we'd given up a twenty-yard run, um, and maybe a fifteen-yard pass, and another third down conversion. And you say, ok, alright, like, what are the issues on these plays? Wel…

AI assessment note: “I'd say the ones where, you know, you've told the player 10 times”

Q Did you treat everybody the same? I remember one story, and maybe it's just, uh, sort of the press doing the press thing, but where you sent, uh, Darrell Rivas home from practice because he was, like, two minutes late or something?

A Oh, we had a few of those. Yeah, we had a few of those, and honestly, those are tough ones, you know, Shane, because when you send a player home, it, it hurts the team. It, it doesn't just hurt the player, it hurts the team because, you know, you need the timing and, and the communication and the teamwork out there, but, I try to treat them all the same, but I, I do think Jimmy Johnson, I believe that, and, and Coach Parcells, uh, you know, same thing. Yeah, that did the same thing. There were, um, certain players got a little more grace than others based on, um, you know, what they had done for us, and, and they, I would say, kind of earned that, so, um, I tried not to do that, but there were times when, you know, when I did, but I tried to treat everybody, um, The same, even though they're not all the same, uh, but you certainly want everybody to feel that, you know, we're all team members, and it's not, um, you know, we don't have a, an elite society here. We have different ranks, and certain players can do some things, and other players couldn't, so I try to make it as consistent as possible, but at the same time, uh, I think you have to be flexible in, in a professional football environment for some latitude, and, and maybe for some, it's called exceptions to your rules.

AI assessment note: “certain players got a little more grace than others based on”

Q Is there an example of a player who just had outrageous talent but didn't work hard at all that sort of ended their career a lot earlier, or they never made it? You know, they got to the, the big league and then they, they sort of just faded away.

A Um, yeah, sure. I mean, there are lots of them. Um, unfortunately, uh, you know, I referred to one of them in the book that, you know, talked about coming in and being a running back and, you know, being a combination of, uh, you know, two great running backs that were in the Hall of Fame, and, you know, I think he had barely a hundred yards in his entire career. So it's, uh, uh, you know, talent's one thing, but the application of turning that talent into being a productive football player and a great teammate, uh, is, is, It's hard to do. It's not that easy, and, and talent gets you through high school. It might get you through, um, college, but once you get to the NFL level, uh, that talent, uh, that field levels out, and there are only a few players that have such elite talent that they, they don't have to work very hard and can stay better than a lot of their competitors. Um, for the other 95%, um, If they don't stay on it, they're either going to get replaced, or in a lot of cases, players that don't trade hard will get injured, and their careers will get cut short that way because they don't, you know, commit to a good training regimen.

AI assessment note: “I referred to one of them in the book that, you know, talked about”

Q You said in your book, the price of success is paid in preparation. But you also said it was a way of working. What did you mean by that?

A Well, I think the big thing about preparation and success is, is the price has to be paid in advance. You have to put in the work before you get any results. So there's no way to, to honestly know how good your preparation is or isn't. Um, that's why I always try to emphasize, keep preparing, keep working. Um, you don't know what the other guy's doing. He might be You know, working just as hard as you are, and, and that preparation, you know, it can't be after the fact, or like, oh, I wish I would have studied more. It's too late at that point. You have to do it on the front end, so, um, getting in condition, um, you know, studying, preparing on your film, and your opponents, and all that, like, those things are, are all have to be done on the front end, and, you know, a lot of times, uh, there's, I would say, a little bit of a tendency to just sort of let up on the preparation. Well, I've watched some film. Well, I've done some extra sprints. Well, I've done this. I've done that. Well, is it, but is that enough? You know, is it really enough? And, and if you do more, will it make a difference? Um, not to the point of diminishing returns, but to the point of, you know, comprehensive preparation. So, um, that, that's really what we try to, try to, um, uh, emphasize on that.

AI assessment note: “the price has to be paid in advance. You have to put in the work”

Q You mentioned the last dance in your book. What, what was your reaction to watching that?

A I mean, I thought it was awesome, and, you know, Jordan's one of the greatest competitors in any sport ever, and, um, you know, just, just, you know, his competitive spirit is, you know, up there with the guys that he played with, like Lawrence Taylor at North Carolina. Those guys, they still compete all the time on the golf course, so Um, I, I thought it was, you know, a great insight into it. You know, Brady's a tremendous competitor. Julian Edelman, Bruschi. What are you talking about? Bruschi came back from stroke and, and continue to play. You know, some of those guys, Rodney Harrison, it's just, it's, it's at an elite level, which it should be in the National Football League, but it's just at an elite level.

AI assessment note: “I thought it was awesome, and, you know, Jordan's one of the greatest competitors”