Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of the Official Jets Podcast, powered
Speaker 1: by Amazon Web Services Ethan Greenberg Eric Allen. Today we're
Speaker 1: joined by Matt Mayoko, the forty Niners insider for NBC
Speaker 1: Sports Bay Area. We're talking about Michael la flour is
Speaker 1: in focus. But because of all the connections that the
Speaker 1: Jets and forty Niners have, we kind of touched on
Speaker 1: a number of people, including head coach Robert Salah. Well,
Speaker 1: you gotta jump around if you're talking to somebody has
Speaker 1: covered the forty Niners for more than a quarter century.
Speaker 1: Phenomenal guests gave us a tremendous information. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: we talked about all Brick at length last week with
Speaker 1: the Orlando leadbetter the Atlantic Journal Constitution. Now Matt was
Speaker 1: able to tell us about the truck of Mike la Fleur,
Speaker 1: and he's been tied with Kyle Shanahan throughout his NFL career.
Speaker 1: Actually started out as an intern with Cleveland Browns when
Speaker 1: Shanahan was there. Of course, Shanahan becomes the offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: with Atlanta and la Fleur follows him there. Interestingly enough,
Speaker 1: m la Fleur worked on the same staff there in
Speaker 1: Atlanta with his brother Matt Lafleur, who is now, of course,
Speaker 1: the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, and then
Speaker 1: he's been with Shanahan ever since with the San Francisco
Speaker 1: forty Niners, um so Robert Salo when he got this job, boom,
Speaker 1: he brings La Fleur with him and brings the Shanahan
Speaker 1: offense to New York. And La Flora is very young
Speaker 1: and he's never called plays before, but Matt Mayoko had
Speaker 1: great insight. He was inside the quarterbacks room at the
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl when the forty Honers coached the Senior Bowl
Speaker 1: in two thousand nineteen, and he has some great insight
Speaker 1: about what La Flora is like, what coach Salo is like,
Speaker 1: and a couple other members on the Jets staff as well.
Speaker 1: I don't want to give too much away, but it
Speaker 1: was I would say it's a positive review overall. And
Speaker 1: I think, and you tell me if you disagree with this,
Speaker 1: but it feels like Mayoko is confident in La Fleur
Speaker 1: being the offensive coordinator for the Jets, not only because
Speaker 1: of La Flour and what he brings to the table,
Speaker 1: but because of the staff that's around La Fleur as well.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and that speaks to why is Robert Sala here?
Speaker 1: Because he is the CEO, and he surrounded himself with
Speaker 1: very good men and a lot of those guys came
Speaker 1: directly from San Francisco, but a lot of ties um
Speaker 1: to Sala in that coaching staff. But again, these guys, um,
Speaker 1: I think, are known for their work ethic and they're
Speaker 1: known for bringing a culture with them and that's going
Speaker 1: to be instituted throughout the Jets building and on the field.
Speaker 1: And Michael Floor, while he might be young in years,
Speaker 1: he knows this offense inside and out. He's got a presence.
Speaker 1: And we know Robert Sale's got a presence, that is
Speaker 1: for sure. And coach Salad did say that nobody knows
Speaker 1: this Kyle Shanahan offense better than Michael Flour And with that,
Speaker 1: let's actually hear from Matt Mayoko. When you heard that
Speaker 1: Robert Sala had accepted the Jets job, were you surprised
Speaker 1: at all that Michael la Fleur was tabbed to be
Speaker 1: his offensive coordinator? Not one bit, now, not at all.
Speaker 1: I kind of figured that that was the way it
Speaker 1: would go. It was to me it was a lot
Speaker 1: more of just where would Robert Sala end up? I mean,
Speaker 1: I think everybody here felt like he was going to
Speaker 1: be a head coach. It was just a matter of where.
Speaker 1: And the one team that I always kind of looked
Speaker 1: at was the Detroit Lions because of just the connections
Speaker 1: there to the Detroit area for Robert, and also Michael
Speaker 1: Fleur now Matt la Fleur was Robert Sala and still
Speaker 1: is one of Robert Sala's best friends. I think they're
Speaker 1: best men in each other's weddings, and they've known each
Speaker 1: other for a very long time, and so Roberts had
Speaker 1: that connection with the la Fleur family for quite some time.
Speaker 1: And you knew that the forty Niners systems, both offensively
Speaker 1: and defensively, they're very sound, and you knew that wherever
Speaker 1: Salad would go, he would want to bring that kind
Speaker 1: of Kyle Shanahan kind of offensive system with him. And
Speaker 1: so Mike la Fleur was very much the person that
Speaker 1: you knew that he would be the guy that would
Speaker 1: be tabbed as the guy who would have autonomy to
Speaker 1: to install his offensive system. So in terms of the floor,
Speaker 1: I feel like at least a lot of Jets fans
Speaker 1: don't know a ton about him, mostly because he's so
Speaker 1: young and he's been under Kyle Shanahan for a long time.
Speaker 1: So what can you tell us about Mike la flour Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, he's an energetic guy. He's he's a good guy.
Speaker 1: He connects well with players. I've seen him at the
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl in in nineteen he ran the quarterback meetings
Speaker 1: with the Senior Bowl quarterbacks and that class it was
Speaker 1: Gardner Minshew will Greer was there, Jared Stidham, and Tyree
Speaker 1: Jackson or the quarterbacks. So the four of the irons
Speaker 1: were nice enough. Uh, Kyle, she was nice enough to
Speaker 1: allow me to kind of have access in the meetings
Speaker 1: and watching, and so I did see just how he connects,
Speaker 1: how he stands out a board, commands the room. Very
Speaker 1: knowledgeable guy. Uh, from a football family. His brother, as
Speaker 1: I mentioned, is Matt Lafleur, the head coach of the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers. So I think it's been tremendous experience
Speaker 1: for him to have a little bit of coaching experience
Speaker 1: and then come into that Kyle Shanahan system and learn
Speaker 1: from from one of the best. And what Kyle, you know,
Speaker 1: is considered one of the best play callers in the game.
Speaker 1: And so Kyle never gave up the play calling aspect
Speaker 1: of it. But what he did was he delegated to
Speaker 1: Mike Lafleur and Mike McDaniel, who is now the forty
Speaker 1: Niners offensive coordinator. They did not have a offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: title with the team for four seasons, but it was
Speaker 1: Mike la Fleur and it was Mike McDaniel who would
Speaker 1: put together the game plan and then present the game
Speaker 1: plan for any given week to Kyle. They would go
Speaker 1: through it. Of course, Kyle Sanahan would have veto power
Speaker 1: and he would could add and subtract and do whatever.
Speaker 1: But the plays being called on game days were basically
Speaker 1: the collective effort of Mike McDaniel and Mike la Fleur.
Speaker 1: And I don't know if you even know this, but
Speaker 1: two years ago, whenever Matt Lafleur became the head coach
Speaker 1: of the Backers, he wanted Mike Lafleur, his own brother,
Speaker 1: on his coaching staff, and Kyle said no because at
Speaker 1: that point, you know, teams were allowed to block coaches
Speaker 1: from coordinator positions. Now you can't block a non coordinator
Speaker 1: from becoming a coordinator. So he couldn't block Mike Lafleur
Speaker 1: this time. And part of it was. He felt like
Speaker 1: it was just gonna be Kyle Shanahan felt like he
Speaker 1: was just gonna be a lateral move, you know, from
Speaker 1: from basically a non play calling position to another non
Speaker 1: play calling position, so he wouldn't have been able to
Speaker 1: block Saw. Because Mike Lafleur, that's gonna be his offense.
Speaker 1: He's gonna design it, and knowing Mike, it's going to
Speaker 1: be a very collaborative effort with all the coaches on staff,
Speaker 1: including Greg Knapp. I know pretty well. He's the passing
Speaker 1: game specialist there, of course, so it'll be a collaborative
Speaker 1: effort um that that Mike la Fleur will be involved
Speaker 1: with every step of the way, and it'll be his
Speaker 1: first time calling plays, certainly at this level, so it'll
Speaker 1: be interesting to see how he adapts to that. Listen, Matt,
Speaker 1: if anyone wants to know anything about the San Francisco
Speaker 1: forty Niners, they come to you because you've been covering
Speaker 1: the forty Niners for more than a quarter century. Now,
Speaker 1: with that being said, I don't look that old, do
Speaker 1: I know? You look great? You look great, I would say, Matt, though,
Speaker 1: how would you describe the Mike Shanahan Kyle Shanahan system,
Speaker 1: because I'm starting to call it this just just the
Speaker 1: Shanahan system that Mike la Fleur is gonna bring here
Speaker 1: to New Jersey and put his own imprints on it.
Speaker 1: But how would you describe how they go about trying
Speaker 1: to attack an opponent's defense. Yeah, that that's a great question,
Speaker 1: and it's it's multi pronged. I think that you know,
Speaker 1: so much of it is, you know, the the outside
Speaker 1: zone running system, and we saw it with with Mike
Speaker 1: Shanahan and with Alex Gibbs, the offensive line coach back
Speaker 1: in the day, where they could just it seemingly just
Speaker 1: plug in running backs and that if you're on the team,
Speaker 1: you're going to get a thousand yards. And it was
Speaker 1: one after the other after the other. Um. But so
Speaker 1: much of it is knowing the defense they're playing against,
Speaker 1: and knowing the rules of the defense they're playing against,
Speaker 1: and kind of stressing them to test their rules. Well.
Speaker 1: One of the things that Kyle does is he doesn't
Speaker 1: want any standalone plays in a game plan. In other words,
Speaker 1: they're just not gonna pick plays out of thin air
Speaker 1: and put them in a game plan and run them
Speaker 1: in games. There has to be a reason for them.
Speaker 1: So even if a play fails, you know, let's say
Speaker 1: a play gets you know, running play gets thrown for
Speaker 1: a four yard loss, they don't consider it a negative
Speaker 1: play necessarily because that plays in there for a reason,
Speaker 1: and it's it could be to set up another play
Speaker 1: down the road. Uh, and so it it's it really
Speaker 1: tests the defense by showing different formations, motions and and
Speaker 1: even in the running game, you know, there are plays
Speaker 1: or actually in the running game or passing game, there
Speaker 1: are plays that start off you know, the first split
Speaker 1: second of a play looks like maybe a play that
Speaker 1: was run in the first quarter, but it's completely different.
Speaker 1: And if they can catch defenses cheating or anticipating, uh,
Speaker 1: that's what they're trying to do. And then the down
Speaker 1: the other side of that is to create some indecision
Speaker 1: with the defense. You know, the team's defensive teams that
Speaker 1: are able to diagnose a play from formation and the
Speaker 1: way a play starts out is one thing. But what
Speaker 1: they do is they test the defense by showing them
Speaker 1: the same looks on occasion or the same principles on occasion,
Speaker 1: but then give having switch ups that really exposed the defense,
Speaker 1: so that that's probably the main thing that that that
Speaker 1: offense will will try to do and try to exploit
Speaker 1: against the defense they're playing. What kind of players or
Speaker 1: what type of players do you think fit this offense best.
Speaker 1: I know it's hard to project what exactly Mike Laflour
Speaker 1: will do and how will throw in his own wrinkles.
Speaker 1: But in the Shanahan system and what you've seen, how
Speaker 1: would you describe the perfect players that fit in this system? Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, first off, I'd say smart and in good character,
Speaker 1: football character and off the field character. Um. I think
Speaker 1: that you know, for each I think athleticism is a
Speaker 1: big thing, and that goes for the offensive line as well.
Speaker 1: Athleticism is a big thing. For running backs, it's you know,
Speaker 1: kind of guys who fit that zone blocking scheme of
Speaker 1: one cut and get up the field kind of no
Speaker 1: nonsense running, uh, not a lot of dancing. Um. I
Speaker 1: think for for wide receivers, it's it's versatile guys. You know,
Speaker 1: guys who can run the jet sweep and and um,
Speaker 1: you know, can get open quickly against man coverage. And
Speaker 1: I mean, I think those are some of the principles
Speaker 1: some of the things that they'll be looking for as
Speaker 1: they build that thing out. Um, you know guys that
Speaker 1: that are willing to be coached and uh, you know
Speaker 1: fit what they're looking for from that standpoint of athleticism
Speaker 1: is a big thing. And you know John Benton, the
Speaker 1: offensive line coach, will you know, he'll be hammering the
Speaker 1: same things. You know, they'll be working on the same
Speaker 1: drills from the first day of O T a s
Speaker 1: if there are O T s this year, all the
Speaker 1: way through the end of the season. You know, every
Speaker 1: practice they just try to you know, solidify the you know,
Speaker 1: the the skills the techniques that they that has been
Speaker 1: so successful and really time tested through the years. And
Speaker 1: like you said, dating all the way back to my
Speaker 1: Channahan system with Denver and Washington and basically everywhere Kyle
Speaker 1: has been they've kind of had the same elements of
Speaker 1: being able to run the ball, use play action off
Speaker 1: of it. And he's had, you know, quarterbacks who had
Speaker 1: really good seasons, whether he's with Houston, UH, Cleveland, Washington,
Speaker 1: Atlanta and now the forty Niners. So perfect segue right
Speaker 1: there by the veteran covering the forty Niners. Why is
Speaker 1: this a quarterback friendly system? Think about Jimmy Garoppolo two
Speaker 1: thousand nineteen, starting sixteen games for the first time in
Speaker 1: his career. They went thirteen games, advanced the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: at a time point lead. Unfortunately, weren't able to close
Speaker 1: the deal there. And you go back to two thousand
Speaker 1: sixteen in Atlanta and Matt Ryan was never better than
Speaker 1: that two thousand sixteen campaign. A lot of similarities, unfortunately,
Speaker 1: because Atlanta had that second half lead and they were
Speaker 1: unable to put the Patriots away. But quarterbacks have excelled
Speaker 1: in this system time and time again. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: it's because they are coached up so well to know
Speaker 1: what to expect. You know, so much of being a
Speaker 1: quarterback in the NFL is anticipation and you know, even
Speaker 1: knowing maybe not knowing where to go with the ball
Speaker 1: pre snap, but certainly knowing where not to go with
Speaker 1: the ball pre snap based on the kind of defense
Speaker 1: that that they're seeing in the in the play call.
Speaker 1: So what Kyle is able to do, or what Mike
Speaker 1: Lafleur will will try to accomplish as well, is to
Speaker 1: create situations where there are guys running wide open and
Speaker 1: it's if if they get that the defensive call their
Speaker 1: right defense against this play call this is going to happen,
Speaker 1: and they really do a good job of coaching up
Speaker 1: their their quarterbacks to for to anticipate that. You know,
Speaker 1: if this safety is here, this play over here is
Speaker 1: gonna be wide open, and so it's being able to
Speaker 1: use the elements of the running game, uh, setting things up.
Speaker 1: And I mean a lot of times. You know, we
Speaker 1: see George Kittle all the time. It's kind of funny,
Speaker 1: you know, you sit up there and you're you're watching
Speaker 1: the free hours play and you kind of smirk and
Speaker 1: you go, it might be a good idea for that
Speaker 1: defense to to cover George Kittle. He's a pretty But
Speaker 1: if we see it time and time again, we're just
Speaker 1: you know, whether the motions, the routes they're they're running,
Speaker 1: how one route might be a clearing route to set
Speaker 1: something up underneath for another guy. You will see guys,
Speaker 1: I would I would venture to guess you will see
Speaker 1: guys from the first game of the season, several times
Speaker 1: a game just running wide open and you'll see defensive
Speaker 1: backs turning, turning around and looking at each other and
Speaker 1: throwing their hands up, going I thought you were supposed
Speaker 1: to be there. I thought you were so and that's
Speaker 1: what they do. They really test the rules and really
Speaker 1: stress defenses in that way. You mentioned Greg Nap, you
Speaker 1: mentioned John Benton too, assistant coaches now with the Jets,
Speaker 1: and that forty Niners Jets connection that is starting to establish.
Speaker 1: I know we're talking about Michael for but what can
Speaker 1: you tell us quickly about Nap and Benton. Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: John is going to be you know, I think they
Speaker 1: do all kinds of blocking schemes, but he's very much
Speaker 1: into the techniques of that zone, that outside zone. It's
Speaker 1: kind of the bread and butter, and he will be
Speaker 1: looking for you know, they put a lot on the
Speaker 1: plates of their offensive lineman the center of the guards
Speaker 1: to get out there, and they're very well schooled, and
Speaker 1: so you know, I would think that, uh, you're gonna
Speaker 1: see you know, dramatic bumping production from the running game.
Speaker 1: You know. Great Nap, I know, Uh, he's he's worked
Speaker 1: with Peyton Manning, he's been or the league a long time,
Speaker 1: very good quarterbacks coach. Uh and and he's he's just
Speaker 1: a good guy as well relates to players. So it's
Speaker 1: a really I really like that coaching staff. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's it's a bunch of guys. We haven't even talked
Speaker 1: about the defensive side yet, but you know there are
Speaker 1: there's some a good connection, a good combination, I said,
Speaker 1: should say, of guys who've who've been around. Greg Nap
Speaker 1: has been around for a while. You michaela Flour who
Speaker 1: can really lean on on Greg because Greg has been
Speaker 1: in that chair a lot in the past. You have
Speaker 1: Taylor Embree, you have Miles Austin. Uh so you have
Speaker 1: this really good connection of of guys who have experience
Speaker 1: and young guys and and fresh ideas. So, uh yeah,
Speaker 1: I think Greg Nap is one of these guys that,
Speaker 1: um I kind of liken him to, you know, a
Speaker 1: backup quarterback or or a veteran quarterback who is there
Speaker 1: to really assist the young quarterback and and kind of
Speaker 1: provide his knowledge to make the young quarterback better. I
Speaker 1: kind of see Greg in the same way because he's
Speaker 1: been through it all and he's seen a lot of
Speaker 1: different things in the NFL, so many different directions we
Speaker 1: can go with you, Matt. So I'm gonna throw two
Speaker 1: questions at you, and they're not connected. Uh. Since you've
Speaker 1: covered the forty niners for so long, what do you
Speaker 1: think about Jeff Albrick being named the defensive coordinator here
Speaker 1: a long time forty nine are linebacker of course, drafted
Speaker 1: in two thousand out of Hawaii, and I believe he
Speaker 1: played there ten seasons. And then let's get to Robert Sala,
Speaker 1: the head coach of the New York Jets. Do you
Speaker 1: think that experience in San Francisco will really help him
Speaker 1: coming to New York a team that won two games
Speaker 1: last year, considering what the forty Niners did their first
Speaker 1: three seasons and totally remaking that roster, putting their systems
Speaker 1: in place, and then ultimately getting to a championship game
Speaker 1: in that third year. Yeah, I think so much of
Speaker 1: what Robert Sala will do is just and I'm sure
Speaker 1: it's been said already a lot and it almost becomes cliche,
Speaker 1: but talked about the culture inside the building, Well, it's
Speaker 1: going to take a while to get the culture the
Speaker 1: way he wants it. I mean, I think that you know,
Speaker 1: anytime you see a coach or new regime come in,
Speaker 1: it takes them a while to kind of figure out
Speaker 1: both on the field, you know, schematically, and also just
Speaker 1: kind of in the locker room, which guys fit and
Speaker 1: which guys don't, and so that that takes a while
Speaker 1: to to kind of sort out. It's not something that
Speaker 1: just takes place overnight. But the thing I think that
Speaker 1: can take place overnight is the culture within the coaching staff.
Speaker 1: And I mean looking at at the staff that he's
Speaker 1: put together, I mean that's a that's a really solid
Speaker 1: staff and I would expect nothing less from from Robert
Speaker 1: Sala And you know, he made his Hey, you know,
Speaker 1: he got the opportunity. He got in the door with
Speaker 1: the Jets, and I think every team that had an
Speaker 1: opening except for the Houston Texans, I think they were
Speaker 1: the only team that did not interview him for a job.
Speaker 1: What got him in the door was the performance of
Speaker 1: the forty diners defense, in other words, what he did
Speaker 1: as a defensive coordinator. But that's not why I think
Speaker 1: he's going to be a good coach, and I don't
Speaker 1: think that's why he got the Jets job. I think
Speaker 1: he got the Jets job and he became a really
Speaker 1: good head coaching candidate because of his interpersonal skills and
Speaker 1: his vision for how he expects things to fit together,
Speaker 1: and so much of that is just how creating the
Speaker 1: right environment to in a winning environment. And from his standpoint,
Speaker 1: it doesn't mean, Hey, I'm gonna be the head coach,
Speaker 1: but I'm also going to be the defensive coordinator. He
Speaker 1: sees it as I'm I'm the head coach of the team,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna oversee everything. But I'm not gonna be
Speaker 1: coming you know, I'm not gonna be a micro manager
Speaker 1: for uh Jeff Albrick. And Jeff Albrick one of the
Speaker 1: smartest players I've ever covered. And you know, I remember
Speaker 1: when he was decided to retire a few years back.
Speaker 1: I mean he had already, you know, the last several
Speaker 1: years of his career. I mean he was compiling like
Speaker 1: binders of information of what he would do as a
Speaker 1: coach and as a coordinator. You know, he had everything
Speaker 1: mapped out, you know that that he would do. So
Speaker 1: he's been preparing for this for a long time, even
Speaker 1: going back to his playing days. And so I see
Speaker 1: Robert Sala as somebody who will pop in the the
Speaker 1: offensive meeting room. He'll he'll be in the defensive meeting room.
Speaker 1: He'll be there to share ideas and offer suggestions or
Speaker 1: be there to answer questions. I'm sure Jeff will lean
Speaker 1: on him a lot, But I think it's it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a really fascinating experience watching them performed, because I
Speaker 1: think that, like I said, it's not so much the
Speaker 1: XS and those that was impressive about Robert Sala. It
Speaker 1: was just how he managed people and how in my mind,
Speaker 1: he really is a CEO type and somebody that people
Speaker 1: are gonna want to coach for and players are gonna
Speaker 1: want to play for. That was a fantastic breakdown. I
Speaker 1: feel like we've asked you about every single Jets assistant
Speaker 1: coach at this point, including the head coach and the
Speaker 1: offensive coordinates. We haven't talked Mike Rudenberg. We haven't. There's
Speaker 1: a couple that might hit the cutting room floor, which
Speaker 1: is okay because my last question to you, Matt is
Speaker 1: with free agency approaching, the forty Niners have a lot
Speaker 1: of players with expiring contracts. Who do you think makes
Speaker 1: the most sense for the Jets if they decided to
Speaker 1: go in that direction. Yeah, I think there are quite
Speaker 1: a few. I would put number one at that lit
Speaker 1: on that list would be Kawan Williams. Nickelback really good
Speaker 1: at what he does and they call him the Shark
Speaker 1: here because he's a little guy but man, he plays
Speaker 1: with some ferocity and they can do a lot of
Speaker 1: different things with him. Robert Sala has a lot of
Speaker 1: trust in him because that is not an easy position,
Speaker 1: that might be the most difficult position on the defensive side,
Speaker 1: playing you know, the slot uh receiver, that nickelback position,
Speaker 1: and he's a local guy there. I would think that
Speaker 1: the well, the Fortners definitely want him back, but I
Speaker 1: think the Jets that would be very high on their
Speaker 1: list and somebody that's he's not going to break the bank. Uh.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be interesting to see what the Jets would
Speaker 1: do if they would want Richard Sherman. He's not coming
Speaker 1: back to the forty nine ers and he's kind of
Speaker 1: in that spot though where he has some health issues.
Speaker 1: There might be a time, uh in the very near
Speaker 1: future where he can transition to safety. Whether the Jets
Speaker 1: would want to do that, I don't know. But you're
Speaker 1: talking about a really good locker room guy, someone who's
Speaker 1: incredibly smart, knows the defense better than anybody, so he
Speaker 1: could really be an asset as far as helping the
Speaker 1: locker room kind of getting grained into that style. So
Speaker 1: those are two names that definitely come to mind. For
Speaker 1: guys that I would think the Jets would certainly go
Speaker 1: after Kawan Williams. It would shock me if they did it,
Speaker 1: and then Richard Sherman would be a possibility as well.
Speaker 1: Final final question here, Um, because you've been so good.
Speaker 1: You were in that room watching Shanahan work with the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks and Mike Lafleur. What I've heard about him so
Speaker 1: far early on in his Jets tenure is he really
Speaker 1: commands a room. Green's before talked about his age, but
Speaker 1: I don't think people view him as a guy in
Speaker 1: his young thirties, just as somebody who really knows the
Speaker 1: offense in and out, and much like sala is going
Speaker 1: to be working with the players to make them better. Yeah. No,
Speaker 1: I think he's got he's got the it factor. You know,
Speaker 1: he's Yeah, he does have a command, he's very smart,
Speaker 1: he's he's you know, he speaks well, he's uh, you know,
Speaker 1: he's decisive. And you know, when I'm sitting in a room,
Speaker 1: you know they're they're talking to foreign language, right, I
Speaker 1: mean I really have no idea what they're talking about.
Speaker 1: But even not knowing, you know, the terminology, the playbook. Um,
Speaker 1: the way he's able to explain things and relate things
Speaker 1: and engage people. Um no, as I've just been really
Speaker 1: impressed with him. And I mean there's a reason, you know,
Speaker 1: conn and put a lot on their plates, you know,
Speaker 1: put a lot of Mike la Fleur's play. And after
Speaker 1: year one, I think his I think he came to
Speaker 1: the forty Nags with maybe the title Passing Games Specialist
Speaker 1: and then after a year, uh, Kyle decided to give
Speaker 1: him a title change to Passing Game Coordinator. So you
Speaker 1: know it was you know, ceremonial in some ways, but also, hey,
Speaker 1: I think of you as a coordinator. You're not the
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator, but I think of you as a coordinator.
Speaker 1: And I can tell you one thing. I mean, Kyle
Speaker 1: Shanahan is tough. You know, he's he's tough on his players,
Speaker 1: He's tough on his coaches. He expects you know, I
Speaker 1: don't know about perfection, but he expects a very high
Speaker 1: level of, uh, of just being competent and and knowing
Speaker 1: your stuff. And so for Michael Fleur to to withstand,
Speaker 1: you know, many years working with Kyle Shanahan probably tells
Speaker 1: you everything you need to know. And just how important
Speaker 1: was for Kyle Wile while he had that opportunity to
Speaker 1: lock him in and make sure he didn't go anywhere.
Speaker 1: He made that a priority. Is that Michael Flour is
Speaker 1: going nowhere and tell you know that time comes where
Speaker 1: I have to let him go and let him spread
Speaker 1: his wings. And now that time is here with the
Speaker 1: New York Jacks, great stuff from Mayoko, and we touched
Speaker 1: on free agency. At the end of that interview he
Speaker 1: mentioned Kawan Williams and Richard Sherman. Well, just really quick
Speaker 1: on free agency. We're recording. It's March one, so the
Speaker 1: legal tampering period. Well, first of all, it's crazy that
Speaker 1: it's March first. The madness is here, Eathan, the madness
Speaker 1: is here. We're approaching the one year anniversary of the
Speaker 1: day in which we were told that we were not
Speaker 1: going to come back to the office for the foreseeable future.
Speaker 1: That was March thirteenth of last year. I remember getting
Speaker 1: the email was Friday thirteen. You're good with that. So
Speaker 1: for people at home to give some more insight on
Speaker 1: who you are. After we did the bioblast on Michael
Speaker 1: Flour and find found out more information on him. Ethan
Speaker 1: is the kind of guy who will park his car
Speaker 1: at one jets drive and visually can remember every license
Speaker 1: plate on the business side. That's very impressive. I don't
Speaker 1: know about every single license plate, but there there are
Speaker 1: some license plates up here. I've been called occasionally as
Speaker 1: the rain Man of the license plate. Well, let's give
Speaker 1: some context, because I think the one day I was
Speaker 1: filling something out like I don't know my license plate number, Yeah,
Speaker 1: and you randomly jumped to my office and you just
Speaker 1: you just threw it out there, and I was stunned. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: my favorite story is one of our former co workers
Speaker 1: was staying out of a hotel and he wanted to
Speaker 1: valet his car and he was at the concierge desk
Speaker 1: and needed his license plate. So instead of remembering it
Speaker 1: or going out to his car, he texted me and said, hey,
Speaker 1: that's my license plate number, and I gave him his
Speaker 1: plate number, and then you know, his car went into
Speaker 1: valet system. But can I just tell you that's wild.
Speaker 1: And I always have my iPhone out when I'm near
Speaker 1: my daughter. Here, I'm gonna bring this salt together. We're
Speaker 1: gonna connect things because she's always doing fun things she's
Speaker 1: at that age. And the other day I was she
Speaker 1: was running around the house talking, look kind of getting
Speaker 1: some words out now. But she just took me around
Speaker 1: the entire house and she knew, instinctively knew that I
Speaker 1: was looking for my glasses and she turned around she
Speaker 1: picked up the glasses off the floor, which I didn't
Speaker 1: know where the glasses were. Here here you go. Seriously, yes,
Speaker 1: So the point here is that you're that guy with
Speaker 1: something's but like people need it and they need a
Speaker 1: visual like you can come up with things sometimes and
Speaker 1: I'm like, wow, where did that come from? Thank you?
Speaker 1: So with that being said, we're approaching the one year
Speaker 1: COVID anniversary at one Jets Drive, which is not an
Speaker 1: anniverse street to be celebrated because hopefully things are coming
Speaker 1: back to normal. We're on the upswing, or at least
Speaker 1: I hope. So dude, we gotta get Yeah, it's just
Speaker 1: too Yeah, I will say, I do like the no
Speaker 1: commute to and from work, but I'm ready. I'm ready
Speaker 1: to be back in the saddle at the bed MGM studio.
Speaker 1: With that being said, Free Agency is St. Patrick's Day
Speaker 1: March seventeenth, but two days before that it opens the
Speaker 1: legal tampering period and the region. Why I'm bringing this
Speaker 1: up is because next week we're gonna break down free
Speaker 1: agency a little more. We're gonna hear from Robert Sale
Speaker 1: and Joe Douglas later this week, so we'll have more
Speaker 1: of an update to provide in terms of the happenings
Speaker 1: that one Jet strive and maybe what types of players
Speaker 1: the Jets are gonna be looking for in free agency.
Speaker 1: But it's coming right around the corner. We've talked about
Speaker 1: how important this offseason is for the Jets with the
Speaker 1: financial flexibility, with the draft capital, and the first stage,
Speaker 1: the first big stage of the off season is about
Speaker 1: to be underway in the blink of an eye. It's
Speaker 1: almost cliche to call it a critical offseason because we
Speaker 1: say that every year, right, so it's critical for everybody.
Speaker 1: There's only one team who's crowned champions. But for the Jets,
Speaker 1: this really feels like the start of a new era
Speaker 1: because you do have Joe Douglas in place, who had
Speaker 1: his first draft and first free agency period last year,
Speaker 1: so this will be a second, but this is his
Speaker 1: first with Robert Sala and a new offensive coordinator michaela Flour,
Speaker 1: new defensive coordinator Jeff all Brick. Of course, um Sala
Speaker 1: retained special teams coordinator Brandt Boyer, and I thought it
Speaker 1: was really cool. And since we've been talking about the
Speaker 1: Jets coaching staff, how about Leon Washington coming back? Uh
Speaker 1: former Pro Bowl player for the Green and White. A
Speaker 1: couple of years ago he told Randy Lang that he
Speaker 1: wanted to get involved in coaching. Who would have thought
Speaker 1: a couple of years later after seeing him at Jets House. Now,
Speaker 1: Leon Washington is going to be making home at our
Speaker 1: place once again. I used to love Leon and when
Speaker 1: when I was growing up, and I love Leon watching
Speaker 1: him as a player as a kick returner, I think
Speaker 1: it was him that I don't I don't know why
Speaker 1: I have this. I mean, it's stuck in my mind.
Speaker 1: There was a kickoff and Mike west Off was a
Speaker 1: special teams coordinator at the time, and it was like
Speaker 1: a little dribbler on the sideline and Leon stuck one
Speaker 1: ft out of bounds, picked up the ball and sure
Speaker 1: enough there was a flag on the play and the
Speaker 1: Jets got the ball on their own forty You know what, Um,
Speaker 1: it's funny. Andrew Agro, who works in corporate sponsorships with
Speaker 1: the Jets, he always brings up that play because then, yeah,
Speaker 1: that just gives you a little bit of light on
Speaker 1: Leon who he was as a player. I mean, how
Speaker 1: many guys in the National Football League knew they could
Speaker 1: take advantage of that rule like Leon did? And he
Speaker 1: was the ALTI MIT team players. So when we talk
Speaker 1: about building a culture here, he's the perfect tip because
Speaker 1: Leon did a little bit of everything. He could run it,
Speaker 1: he could catch it, he was a very good special
Speaker 1: teams player. Any role he was asked to do, he
Speaker 1: thrived in. And he was a well like dude in
Speaker 1: the locker room. I also think Ethan, you grew up
Speaker 1: in New York, he was a fan favorite for you
Speaker 1: and I think a lot of other people. So intelligent head,
Speaker 1: he guy, and I think he's gonna help the culture out. Um.
Speaker 1: So uh very much looking forward to now what the
Speaker 1: Jets do in free agency preceding the draft, because we'll
Speaker 1: dive into it a lot deeper next week, UM, as
Speaker 1: we preview free agency and then we look ahead to
Speaker 1: the draft. You're continuing to do that with the athletics team,
Speaker 1: Brewler with the podcasts and some editorial as well. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it is a critical offseason. Um. But the Jets have
Speaker 1: a lot of flexibility. Um, but let's remember and we'll
Speaker 1: get into it more next week. Again, it's all about
Speaker 1: draft and developing, and I think the Jets have a
Speaker 1: staff that is going to help these players. A young
Speaker 1: roster really developed, and La Fleur is one of those guys.
Speaker 1: Very well said, and I won't I won't say anything
Speaker 1: more about free agency because I will fight my tongue
Speaker 1: for next week's episode. And that's how we closed out
Speaker 1: this episode of the Official Jet Podcast powered by Amazon
Speaker 1: Web Services. Next week, we're talking free agency.