Obviously, disappointed in the result of that game. We didn't really do anything well enough. You miss two field goals, and you are in a potential 6-6 ball game. We couldn't get much momentum on offense. We couldn't possess the ball, put our defense in some tough spots down the stretch and didn't answer in those spots, either. So all the way around, not good enough.
On why they decided not to take shots to the end zone in situations before the end of the first half
"Yeah, we hadn't really completed much down the field at that point and it was a third-and-12 and a pass rush is ripping and they're 30-something yards from the end zone. Those aren't really high percentage style throws or plays, so that's usually what the reason is. We didn't earn a right to take a shot to the end zone. It's third and 12, so you try to be smart and not put the quarterback in harm's way and kick the field goal."
On why not a shot for a first down instead of shot at the endzone instead
"Yeah, it is what it is, and those are the calls we make."
On if this is an accurate reflection of the coaching staff when you continuously come up short
"I mean, I think it's a reflection of all of us not doing anything well enough at this point. That's players, that's coaches, that's everybody. We haven't found a way to win a game in a while, and I think that reflects on all of us."
On thoughts on what the issue was
"Hard to say. Hard to find a rhythm. I thought we ran the ball okay in spots. Still ended up getting in some long yardage, things that were hard for us to overcome. We couldn't possess the ball. That was the hard part. We couldn't really take control of the offensive rhythm. We missed some throws. I think [Titans QB] Cam's [Ward] doing some good things but he had some tough moments in this game. That's still a really good defense, you know? And we didn't play well enough against them."
On why they were not able to get the Texans offense off the field
"Yeah, you can't give up those plays in those spots. You're playing way behind the sticks. That should be advantage defense and then you got to make those plays and you can't give those up. You can't give up a second-and-23 for a first down. You got them backed up. You got them where you want them. You earned that spot and then to give that up was disappointing. So you get them in spots like that and give up big plays, that's not going to win many football games for you."
On if the team showed him fight today
"Oh, yeah. They fought. Not playing well and not fighting are two different things. We didn't play well enough, but I don't think I would question the way those guys went and played the game. They fought their tails off for the entirety of the game, so you guys can make whatever conjecture you want, but I don't see any effort issues in terms of how they're playing the game. We're not playing it well enough, that's certainly part of it, but they went out and played hard today. I don't have any qualms about how they came out and played."
On what he can you do to get this team back on track
"Yeah, those are the - when you talk, you got to back it up. Didn't do that today. That's a decision a guy makes and he's got to live with that, too. That's on them. They want to talk, then you got to back it up and didn't do a good enough job of that today. That happens and that's a personal thing for some guys."
On what the frustration is like and how to keep that from overwhelming the team
"Like I said before, there's nobody that puts more pressure and eats more frustration than I do on where we're at. I don't need any help with that usually. I put enough of it on myself, so we just got to turn around and keep fighting. There's nobody who comes in to save you. All we got is the guys that are in there and we got to keep trying to find a way to get better and play better football."
On how it went with Titans QB Coach Bo Hardegree calling plays
"Yeah, operationally, it was solid. I think we didn't have any real issues with calls getting in or issues on the play collect or anything like that. But ultimately when you score zero points, that's not good enough."
On if he is concerned at all about just the whole situation of the coaching staff and their status after this game
"No. No. Again, like I said before, I show up and do my job and we do it as hard as we can. It's even on our staff. We work our tails off and we try to do everything we can to put ourselves in a position to win and we haven't. That's just the reality of our jobs in the league. So, no, I don't think about it."
On what keeps him from changing that attitude or what is grounding him as the results continue to mount
"I'm not sure I understand."
On he said he hasn't changed the way he is thinking about job status
"Yeah."
On what is keeping him there despite the losses
"What keeps me there is the guys in the locker room and the coaches and the coaching staff. My job is to try to lead and leading is hard. It's hard right now but that's my job. My job is to try to continue to fight and continue to help wherever I can help and to continue to keep pushing our guys to keep getting better. That's the only thing you can do when you're in a spot like this is just keep coming out, keep swinging. None of it's been good enough. We all know that. That's something that you just got to keep fighting through and you have to find a way to break through at some point.
On if he thinks this is a resilient and relentless football team
"I know what you're doing there, Paul. I know what you're doing, and I'm not going to answer that right now."
On if he thinks that mindset has stuck
"I'm just going to compose myself here before I say something I regret but, yes, I think this team is resilient. I think it is relentless. We haven't played good enough football and I think those are two very distinct, different things. We have to execute at a better level. We have to coach better. That's really all I can say."
On what is it that makes him believe the team is resilient and will continue to fight
"All I know is what I see every day. They show up. They work. We work in practice. I did not anticipate a result like that coming up in a game. The attitude, the energy, the things they do during the week, there's nothing that would point to that there's any kind of lack of those things and we fought our tails off in the game and, again, we're not playing well enough. We're not executing things at a high enough level to win. It's certainly not for lack of intent and lack of effort and lack of focus. We're trying to do all the things we need to do to win a football game. Everything during the week, the guy's work. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. We had one of our best Thursday practices of the week so it's hard to stomach that when you practice the way we practice, and you show up in a game that looks like that."
