WIDE RECEIVERS COACH GREG LEWIS
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Q: How has your job changed after losing Jeremy Maclin?
LEWIS: "My job is the same. It's to coach the guys, and it hasn't changed since day one as a coach. When you're a coaching, you coach your guys regardless of who's in the room or who's not in the room. It's our job to get the most out of our players and to get them the information they need so they can go out and execute all of it."
Q: How is it to coach younger guys that are more moldable than veterans?
LEWIS: "I'm just excited for the opportunity to coach. I love teaching. Everyone in my family is a teacher, so it's just something in me. When you get the opportunity to coach, regardless of who you're teaching. It's just fun to see people grow from day to day, week to week, from year to year, and just to have that opportunity is a blessing for me."
Q: When you got this job, how much time did you spend watching film of these young guys?
LEWIS: "I did my due diligence. I'm not going to divulge how much time I spent on them, but I knew who they were and what they did last year and what they didn't do last year and what could be adjusted. But I wanted to get in here and get with the coaching staff, see what Coach (Andy) Reid, Coach (Matt) Nagy, and Coach (Brad) Childress and the entire offensive staff were thinking and then put my input in there and we can build something from there."
Q: You said everyone in your family is a teacher?
LEWIS: "My mom taught for 30 years. My dad was a substitute teacher for seven years. My sister is an assistant principal in college. My aunt is a teacher, so it's just what we do in my family. My wife's mother was a principal. It's just in us to be teachers, and I've learned a lot that correlates in the classroom teaching actual academics too out on the football field and how to relate to people."
LINEBACKERS COACH GARY GIBBS
Q:What can you tell me about Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops retiring?
GIBBS: "Obviously he knows more about his situation than anybody. I'm happy for him. Sounds like they have a good coach in Coach (Lincoln) Riley. I'm excited for the program moving forward."
Q: How about the job he did?
GIBBS: "I mean look at his record. It's phenomenal. Just unbelievable the number of championships he's won and his consistency in which he won. I mean it's a phenomenal job in today's era."
Q: What have you seen in Justin March-Lillard?
GIBBS: "He got hurt his rookie year during training camp, and then when he came back last year, he was out there, but he wasn't the same player. He was still working through his injury. I kind of feel like he's more like he was moving around his rookie year as far as quickness and breaking on the football and moving around. Obviously his knowledge is a lot better than it was his first year. He just has a knack for being around the football and we'll see what he can do when we get into camp."
RUNNING BACKS COACH ERIC BIENIEMY
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Q:What do you like about Kareem Hunt?
BIENIEMY: "Kareem is a smart kid. His football IQ is very high. He's done a good job of retaining a lot of information, and trust me, we've been throwing the book at him because we want to challenge him and see exactly what will stick and what won't stick. He's done a heck of a job retaining information. On top of that, he's done a great job of working out there. At the end of the day, it's all about learning how to become a consistent professional. I think one thing that he can take out of this whole entire experience other than taking reps is just watching these guys work, and on top of that, seeing how they take care of their bodies, handling things in the training room, the weight room, all the little detailed things to help you become that professional."
Q: How has Spencer Ware been since the departure of Jamaal Charles?
BIENIEMY: "The leadership has been outstanding. Obviously, these guys have been together for a number of years. They know what is expected. They understand that it isn't about one individual, it's about the group. So, whoever's out on that field, they must represent and do a great job because why? Every time we're out there, the expectations are high, the stakes are high. We want to make sure no matter who is in there, they know what they're doing. These guys coach each other up. (Anthony Sherman) Sherm, (Spencer Ware) Spence, Charcandrick (West) hold the other guys accountable, as well as each other."
Q: How has Anthony Sherman been a leader for these guys as the most veteran player in the locker room?
BIENIEMY: "Sherm has always been Sherm. Sherm has been wearing that hat since he's been here. Nothing has changed, so Sherm's leadership is still the same. He'll talk in the meeting rooms and provide leadership out here not just as a person that speaks to be vocal, but also showing them exactly what they're supposed to be doing. Showing exactly what it takes to be a professional by working hard, not taking anything for granted and teaching these guys what second effort means. That's all important. When you have a group of guys like that with Sherm, Charcandrick and Spencer, these guys, they understand the importance of what it takes to be a professional. The room becomes infectious and it becomes contagious."
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH BRAD CHILDRESS
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Q:You've coached a lot of years in this league. What do you see in Matt Nagy that makes him a good offensive coordinator?
CHILDRESS:"Shoot, up-and-coming smart guy. He's played the quarterback position, so he gets it. He knows how to teach. He's got a great demeanor about him. He's got a creative mind. I think he's got everything going for him. He's a future head coach in this league."
Q:You're just in OTAs, but what do you see in this 2017 team?
CHILDRESS:"Well I think it's a little early to tell. People always ask me, 'Do you like to go away to training camp, because a lot of teams are doing it at their places now?' I always like to take a group away. Common problems lead to common solutions. You find out a lot of things about your team when you're struggling through those dog days at Missouri Western. I'd probably withhold judgement until we get there."
Q:You've been working with the quarterbacks some. What have you seen in Alex Smith so far this year? Is there anything that he's improved on or doing differently so far?
CHILDRESS:"I think he always picks one or two things every year in the offseason. He did some things with arm flexibility. I know he does that dynamic workout in Hawaii. You're never going to have to worry about him in the offseason. Like you said, he started back faster than he ever has before. It's kind of like the old adage, 'Every year you come back, try to come back a pound lighter.' He does that."
Q:You coached (Chiefs Wide Receivers Coach) Greg Lewis for a little while in Philadelphia. What did you see in him as a player and what do you think translates well into coaching?
CHILDRESS:"Well, first of all, when he showed up from the University of Illinois he was like a piece of gristle. He was a little small guy. I think I watched (Chiefs Secondary/Cornerbacks Coach) Al Harris and another guy take him in a vice and throw him all the way over by the building as a gunner. But he ended up being one hell of a gunner, he was hard to block. He knew every position across the board in very little time. He was the only wide receiver that caught a touchdown pass for us in the Super Bowl. Sharp guy."
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q:With Patrick Mahomes , is there stuff that you know he worked on before he got here based on what his college tape showed and what he was able to do when he first got here to you guys?
NAGY:"Yeah, a lot of those guys did because they're coming from these college offenses, a lot of them the first thing they do is they focus on going under center and taking drops. So when we saw him at the Combine and talked to him afterwards, that was the number one thing he was working on – between that and trying to call plays. You kind of know that going into it. He wasn't the only one, it was all the quarterbacks there because most of them are in the shotgun. Getting him out here, we can kind of tweak him as to how we want it."
Q:What's impressed you the most with Patrick Mahomes so far?
NAGY:"His calm demeanor. He's been put under the gun and Coach (Andy) Reid gets on him now. How does he handle that fire when Coach gets on him? Does he handle the adversity the right way or does he go in the tank? So far he's been awesome."
Q:What is the biggest thing you want him to work on right now?
NAGY:"Right now trying to get that game to slow down for him. For me, it's as basic as just getting out of the huddle and knowing where everybody's at on our side of the ball and not being able to focus on where the defense is at."
Q:How does the loss of Jeremy Maclin impact the offense and the other receivers?
NAGY:"Yeah, for Jeremy, we really appreciate the last two years that we had with him. He's been nothing but great and we wish him the best in the future. He trained these younger wide receivers how to be pros and how to play the game and we're looking forward to seeing those guys grow."
DEFENSIVE LINE COACH BRITT REID
Q:Chris Jones showed he could be an impact player last year. What expectations do you have for him coming into this season or what does he need to do to take that next step this year?
REID:"I wouldn't necessarily point out one thing specifically. I would say that as a whole he's got to be a more complete player moving forward. He showed some flashes of pass rush ability and we know he can do that. He's got to do better against the run and then he's got to be more consistent. There's not one specific thing that I would point out. He's doing a great job, he's working hard. One thing about him, he's got a great attitude, he's positive every day and he's willing to work. That's really the biggest thing, he's willing to work. He's not afraid to put in the effort and time."
Q:What have been your initial impressions from Tanoh Kpassagnon?
REID:"Really good athlete. I think he's got some versatility, he can do multiple things and we just have to kind of see how he develops. He's coming along. He's really smart. He's extremely, extremely coachable. He picks up things real fast."
SECONDARY/CORNERBACKS COACH AL HARRIS
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Q:What have you seen so far from the secondary through the first few weeks of OTAs?
HARRIS:"I think we're growing. We've got an extremely close room regardless of who's in there, but I think we're growing as a unit. Usually the secondary takes a little more time as far as once camps start to get everybody on the same page, but I think the guys are doing an extremely good job of taking coaching points from the room and bringing them out here to the field."
Q:What have you seen from Daniel Sorensen and Ron Parker?
HARRIS:"You know what, two of my favorite guys. Been here with them since they got here, just to see them grow – both of those guys. Like Dan Sorensen, he was a guy that when he first got here, we had to make him talk in the room and now he's loose and having fun. Parker, we switched him from corner to safety and he's a guy that whatever you ask him to do, he's going to get it done."
Q:A guy who had a quietly good season last year was Eric Murray. What have you seen from him so far since he's been back?
HARRIS:"Night and day from last year. We moved him from a college corner, now he's a safety. He's doing a great job. He's going to be a really, really good player."
