WEBVTT - The Dave Pasch Podcast - Jason Licht 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:06.800 Hey everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Dave 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:11.280 Pash Podcast. I'm your host Arizona Cardinals an ESPN announcer 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:14.760 Dave Pash. My guest this week is Jason Light, who 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:17.840 is the general manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:21.400 a former executive with the Arizona Cardinals. We cover a 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:25.320 lot of subjects. Most importantly for a lot of nfhealth fans, 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:29.639 Tom Brady. We talk about his return, whether Jason was 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:32.840 concerned at all about when Tom wasn't there during camp, 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.839 when he first thought Brady was coming back after his 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:40.199 January retirement. The first time I got an inkling that 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:44.959 this might not be forever retirement was from text sent 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.479 to me during the Super Bowl, and you could just 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.440 feel that the fire was still there. And that was 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:53.480 when I told my wife, I said, I don't think 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:58.200 this is over. Also Gronk's future, Jason's time with the Cardinals, 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.800 what he learned from Steve Kim, and much more. We 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.640 are presented by BETMGM, the official sports betting partner of 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.360 the Arizona Cardinals, and by Hila River Hotels and Casinos. 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:11.399 Get ready for a football season like never before With 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:14.840 bet MGM, an official partner of the Arizona Cardinals. Sign 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:17.600 up today using code cards one thousand and get your 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.640 first bet risk free up to one thousand dollars. Visit 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:23.920 BETMGM dot comfer terms and conditions twenty one and over 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:28.000 Arizona only. Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem call one eight 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:32.040 hundred Next step. Now. When you first hear our interview, 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:35.199 you might wonder why I'm talking about a steak dinner 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:39.880 with Jason. Well, here's the inside story. Jason texted Wolf 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.920 and I during a telecast in the preseason a year 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:45.280 ago after the Buccaneers had won the Super Bowl, and 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:47.680 Jason said, Hey, if you can work into the telecast, 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:50.880 I'm still friends with Steve Kim, I'll buy you a 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.800 steak dinner. Now. I get a lot of requests from 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.560 people texting or in person, sometimes players saying, Hey, it's 0:01:57.600 --> 0:01:59.760 my mother's birthday, can you give her a shout out? 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.280 You discern, okay, what's going to serve the viewer and 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:04.960 what's not. So normally you say sorry, we can't really 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:06.760 do that, But in this case, you know, it's a 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:09.840 preseason game, the Buccaneers had won the Super Bowl. We 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:12.120 can tie this into the Cardinals, and we'll also get 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:13.840 a stake dinner out of it. We made it happen. 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:15.800 So we tell our producer, Hey, when we come back 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:18.359 from break, give us a shot of Michael Bidwill and 0:02:18.400 --> 0:02:20.600 Steve Kinne. So we come out of break and again, 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:22.200 this is about a minute after we got the text 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:25.080 from Jason. We come out of break and I say, 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:29.440 Michael Bidwell, Cardinals owner, Steve Kine, the general manager. Steve 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:31.799 has had so much success as a GM, and he's 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:33.920 also had some people under him that have gone on 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:36.280 to have success, like Jason Light who's now the GM 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:38.880 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Congrats to Jason and the 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:41.960 Bucks on winning the Super Bowl. And by the way, 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.360 Jason and Steve are still close friends today. And within 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.320 about five seconds, I get a text from Jason saint 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:50.880 darn it because he knew he had just lost out 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.560 on a steake dinner. But the statute of limitations has passed. 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:56.440 We're a year after that. So I guilted Jason into 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.400 coming on the podcast instead of the steak dinner. So 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:07.200 here he is Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason l Well. Jason, 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:09.520 while I would have loved to have had this conversation 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.320 with the over a steak dinner. I'm good with this man. 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:14.680 Just catching up with you is great. How you been, brother, 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:18.440 I've been good. How about you? I'm good, man, Camp's been. 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:22.679 You can rehatch it over a steak dinner. Sounds good. Yeah. No, 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:25.519 at some point like our paths are going to cross again. 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:27.480 I don't know if I'll have maybe a college football 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:31.000 game in Tampa, but maybe when you're here over Christmas 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:35.800 or something, we'll hook up. Sounds good. You know, of 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:37.800 all the guys, you're one of my favorites of the 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:39.600 guys that have come through here, and I'm so happy 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.040 for your success. And I'm curious, Jason, as you look back, 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:43.680 I mean, you've been you've been the GM now in 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:47.120 Tampa since twenty fourteen, But as you think back to 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:49.560 your time in Arizona, and I know you were here 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:52.680 for two stints, but in particular the second time that 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.080 you were here, what are some of your biggest takeaways 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:58.680 from working with Steve Kime and working here with the 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:02.720 Cardinals that helped you prepare to run the team in Tampa. 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.400 There's a lot, I would say, I reflect on this 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:12.480 a lot, and we I talked this, you know, talked 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:15.480 to a lot of my people about this that asked 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:20.320 the question. And I was, you know, fortunate enough to 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:26.400 be with some really good organizations the Patriots twice, the 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:30.400 Eagles and being two of the teams and had a 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:32.679 lot of success. Those teams had a lot of success. 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:35.400 So I was able to see how those good teams 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:38.080 were built and you know, how they were managed and 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:40.799 coached and all those things, and worked with some great people, 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.520 Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, I mean, just to name a couple, 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:46.919 but I would say that what prepared me the most 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:53.799 for this position was working for Steve and seeing how 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:58.400 he was afforded. I was afforded the luxury just based 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:02.159 on our relationship and he's still one of my closest friends. 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:07.839 Of getting a front row seat to all of the 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:10.360 things that go on behind the scenes and how things 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:14.560 are handled, and that's what that's what gms aren't ready for. 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:19.840 In most cases. You we we spend our career either 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:23.839 on the road or in the office evaluating players. And 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:27.000 in my case and in terms of you know, going 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.599 to getting the GM job based on my coming up 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:33.359 through the scouting routes and you know, you you evaluate players. 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:35.200 You're right before it. So you have the meetings, you 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:38.520 stand on the table for certain players and um, you know, 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:40.920 you say stay away from certain players. But and that's 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:42.400 I don't want to say that's the easy part. That 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:46.320 certainly isn't easy, but that's what I was trained to do. 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:51.599 I wasn't trained to deal with the injuries and the 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:56.839 relationships and the you know, some off field things that 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:01.040 come up with every team and with Steve and him 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:04.039 allowing me to be there in the room with him 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:06.520 when these things were discussed on how we're going to 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:10.440 handle them with pr things like that with Mark Dalton, 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:12.000 who I think is one of the best in the league. 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:15.800 You know, I don't think I would have been I 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:20.200 don't think it would have been a very smooth situation 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:22.920 for me. And now it wasn't smooth the first here 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.360 for me either, But I don't know if I would 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.080 have gotten through these times, those times, those rough times 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:31.320 without that experience with Steve. Well. One of the things 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:33.400 that I think Steve is really good at that maybe 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:35.839 fans don't see, and I think you're the same way, 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:41.000 is look player evaluation, putting together a roster winning games. 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:44.680 Obviously that's what matters most, and that's what the fans see. 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:49.880 But building relationships goes a long way to getting deals done, 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:54.040 to finding out information that maybe other Scouts or gems 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:57.360 may not be able to get from certain people. How 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:01.200 do you think your ability to deal with people helps 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.640 you be a good GM. I think it's of the 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:12.280 utmost importance. I've always liked people in general, liked having relationships, 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:17.360 building relationships, keeping relationships. And Steve is one of the 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:21.400 best I've ever been around. And he's just got a knack. 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:26.480 Everybody feels like they've been a close friend or compident 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:29.840 of Steve their entire life, even if they he meets 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:34.000 them for the first time. And I've taken a lot 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:36.320 that's rubbed off on me a little bit my times 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:41.320 with him. He he would always say, you know, it's 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:43.960 it's not always the excess and O's, it's the Jimmy's 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:49.320 and Joe's and and He's right. You You you want talent, 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:51.520 you want to bring in the best talent you can, 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:56.880 but you also want people that um are able to 0:07:56.920 --> 0:08:01.360 communicate and able to get along with everybody. And you know, 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:04.920 one team one causes Ba's was BEA's one of his 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:08.880 expressions that he used all the time, and Steve is 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:13.000 just a phenomenal people person, and I felt like, you know, 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:17.040 we were naturally attracted to each other's friends because we 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:19.120 both have that quality, I think, And that's not patting 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:21.640 myself on the back. I just think we both like 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:26.600 generally like people and getting through rough waters. It's all 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.440 about relationships. This is a relationship business, just like any 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:32.080 other business. And Jason, I'm not asking you to pat 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:34.280 yourself on the back with this question, but I am curious. 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:37.679 Is there somebody that you look back on your time 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:41.160 here in Arizona and you mentioned, you know, the metaphor 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.120 of standing on the table for a guy. Is there 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:47.280 somebody that's having success now with the Cardinals that you 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:50.640 were really bullish about at the time and had to 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:55.120 stand on the table for, so to speak. Well, that's 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:58.640 always that's always a tough question to answer for this 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:05.120 reason that we all have our ideas and suggestions and 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:08.199 and players that we that we like and we want 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:09.720 to stand on the table or we stand on the 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:13.800 table four But at the end of the day, it's 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:16.280 it's the GM that pulls that card off the board, 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:21.559 and you know, it's it's it's it's a team. It's teamwork, 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:24.040 and it's a it's a we all work together to 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:26.120 to to make the decision and build the board the 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:29.120 right way, but it's always the GM that to make 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:32.240 the final call. And in that in that case back then, 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:37.800 Steve obviously, So to take credit for someone it's it's 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:40.800 a little bit uh, it gets a it's a little 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:44.559 bit muddy, um because you know I could have stood 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:47.600 on the table. You know, Steve was He and I 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:49.840 saw eye to eye on most players, and I mean 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:54.160 really liked Tyr and Matthew and Um. I sat in 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:56.280 Steve's office and we watched a ton of tape on 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:59.559 Tyrn and and and he at the time i'd been 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.560 in their earth at LSU, and we watched it together 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:04.120 and he was like, you know, you're right, you know, 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:07.160 just heaving player. He would have come up with that, 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:10.720 that would he would have come to that buy on 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:14.160 his own, I'm sure at some point. So you know, 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:16.320 it's hard to say that, you know, I stood on 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.439 the table. This is I'm the reason that these particular 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:21.840 players are there, if you know what I'm saying. Sure, sure, 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:25.880 well enough on your past job here with Arizona, let's 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:29.360 talk about your current position, Jason and your team, the 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:32.959 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Obviously, the big story the last few 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:35.360 days has been Tom Brady's absince Tom was back at 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:38.439 practice today. Let me take a wild guess. He looked 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:42.680 like Tom Brady? Am I right? Yeah? All was good 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:46.719 again today the Waters were home. In a situation like 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:50.040 that where a player the caliber of Tom Brady that 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:53.640 you've had a relationship with for two decades is missing 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:55.920 time for personal reasons, I have to think and tell 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:58.520 me if I'm wrong that it's a matter of trust, 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:01.840 Like you know, Tom's going to bring it week one, 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:08.800 regardless of time missed. Well, there's no question he's I 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:14.360 have never been around a player that prepares as conscientiously, 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:20.120 diligently and does it the right way then Tom Brady. 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:23.400 And you know he was gone for whatever it was 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:27.080 eleven days. I know he was preparing in those eleven 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:32.200 days as well, So it a total trust with him. 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.839 And you know, it's obviously it's great to have him 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:39.160 back in the building. The vibe picks up even more 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:43.000 when he's gone. But the foundation that he's set already 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.719 then you know in the last two years that we've 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:48.840 been with that he's been with us, it carries over 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.679 whenever he's done. That was one of the things that 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:55.360 we talked about before we signed him and for agency 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:59.600 in twenty twenty was however long he plays, two, three, four, 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:04.800 whatever breaths, his presence is going to be sold for 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.760 a long time just because of the standard that he sets. 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.319 You want a Super Bowl as part of the Patriots 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:13.320 with Tom Brady in two thousand and two, and then 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.319 you're also there back with the Patriots two thousand and 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.960 nine to two eleven. Has Tom changed much at all 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.760 being around him now compared to his early years in 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:28.400 the NFL? Or is he at the core the same guy? 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:30.920 I think you've gotten better looked in and I think 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:36.760 that he's actually a stronger arm. But it's amazing. I mean, 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:40.480 look what he's done. The story obviously, in terms of 0:12:40.480 --> 0:12:42.440 the greatest stories in the history of the NFL, it's 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:44.120 at the top of the list. And then you know, 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.960 after the playoff loss to the Rams, Tom decides to 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:50.520 retire for the time being. How much were you and 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:55.560 Tom in conversation during his retirement and talking about the 0:12:55.600 --> 0:13:02.200 possibility of coming back we first time, well we we 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:04.440 had sent text back and forth because we do have 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:08.520 a good relationship. He did the same thing with Beau, 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:13.120 kept in touch. The first time I got an inkling 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:19.920 that this might not be forever retirement was some text 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:23.800 sent to me during the Super Bowl and you could 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:27.520 just feel that he was the fire was still there, 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:29.679 that he wishes that he was playing in that game, 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:32.800 and you know, he always feels like he could beat 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:37.079 any team, so you know, I could just feel the fire. 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.840 And that was when I pulled Blair my wife. I said, 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:44.880 I don't think this is over. So really it was 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:47.440 a matter of weeks then, because that that loss was 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.400 what towards the end of January. So a couple of 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:54.719 weeks passes and not surprising based on his competitive nature's 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:57.800 he's ready to come back to you guys. I'm also 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:02.000 curious about Todd Bowles, who everybody here in Arizona knows 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:04.120 from his time here, and you were here during some 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:06.800 of the those years when Todd was a defensive coordinator. 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:08.800 How long did it take you, guys to make that 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:14.600 decision once BA stepped down to go with Todd, Well, 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:18.240 it was it was very quickly. We do have the 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:21.280 luxury here of having a lot of very very good coaches, 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:26.760 Um byron Um, Harold Goodwin, who you know, uh, Keith 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.600 Armstrong and you know Glisz kind of goes on on 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:33.440 Larry Foot. We've we've got some excellent coaches here. But 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.440 we just felt Todd and b A felt Todd with 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:40.160 his experience as being a head coach in New York 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.240 and go the way he wanted it and necessarily felt 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:47.160 that was all should have fallen on Todd. Um. We felt, 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:49.960 you know, his his the way he commands a room, 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.000 the way he's such a great keep up in terms 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:56.840 of relationships with players and getting the most out of him. 0:14:56.960 --> 0:15:01.320 It didn't take long at all. It's Ba's involvement. I 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.760 know his title as senior advisor to you the GM. 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:08.400 How much are you and BA conversing daily weekly about 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:11.800 the team and how heavily involved is BA with you guys. 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:17.640 BA and I talk along with my directors and scouts constantly. 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:21.000 He's been a part of those conversations talking about how 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:24.000 this roster is shaping up this year, who we feel 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:26.360 like gives us the best chance to win m I 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:31.200 sit with BA during our games. He's I know, he's 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:34.760 he talks with Todd a lot and the other coaches 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:38.920 he's been Uh, you know, he still has a lot 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:41.680 of passion for the game, but he is loving life 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.840 right now. He's loving his role. He looks great. He's 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:47.520 got a ton of energy, and I know he's very excited. 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:49.680 As if when I talk to him about this team 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:53.200 and you know the potential that we have, you would 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:56.400 think that he was still coaching. He's just not actually 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:59.840 coaching the players. How did your time as a bartender 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:05.080 prepare you to work with BA? It comes in handy. 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:09.800 I will say, Man, you are pretty funny on Twitter 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:14.720 because there's all these tweets and pictures of UNBA with 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:16.280 a beer in your hand or I think I saw 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:18.600 one with you guys on a beach with Rick Christophel 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:21.800 one of the assistant coaches, with may tie or something 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.960 like that. Yeah, that was I think that was the 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:27.560 week after we won the Super Bowl, so we were 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:31.600 back at work. It's great, man, No people got to 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:33.480 follow you on Twitter. And then I think I saw 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:35.800 one with the ac DC shirt. That might have been 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.240 another with the Metallica shirt. So you're you're a huge 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:40.400 heavy metal guy. Are you still like a big heavy 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.640 metal guy? Well, I'm kind of stuck in my genre. 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:47.960 I'm born in seventy one, and all through high school 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:51.040 and college I was a big Tallica AC DC fan. 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:55.320 And during that twenty twenty season, I'm a I'm a 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:58.600 little stitious, not superstitious, but a little stitious. And I 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:02.840 had had a lucky shirt and through the playoffs and 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:05.840 it was Metallica shirt. And then after the game, I 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:09.680 had a couple of pictures with Gronk and with Brady 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:13.520 and BA and Metallica actually reached out to me through 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:15.560 their general manager. Maybe he and I can do a 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:20.840 trade um someday. But they gave they gave me some 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:23.840 VIP tickets that happened to be on our bye weekend 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:27.560 through their concert in Fort Lauderdale. So I went, and 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:29.520 I mean it was it was unbelieved. It was like 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:32.160 it was one of the best moments. I can imagine 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.680 us the best concert I've ever been to. So yeah, 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.720 I would say I'm a pretty pretty pretty big fan. 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:43.359 And you talked about being stitious not superstitious. Is that 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:45.600 part of it again? This goes back to your Twitter feed. 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:48.520 You used to jump into your pool in a full 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:51.080 suit when you guys win. Are you still doing that 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:53.040 or is that just one year that you were doing that. 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:55.760 It was one year now, one year that I was 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:59.280 actually posting it. Um still do it from time to 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:03.040 time with my kids. They love it. That year, particularly year, 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:05.440 we had just we had been we had won a 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:08.760 lot of games, and we had talked about when I 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:13.359 got the job that you know, after we win, I'll 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:17.400 come home, we'll have a pool party and with the family. 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:20.160 And it just wasn't happy. I was coming home and 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:23.840 we weren't having parties at all. Nobody wanted to talk 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:25.720 to dad because I was in such a bad mood. 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:28.840 And then we won that first game versus the Saints, 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:31.240 So I came home and jump jumped into the pool 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:33.520 at my kids and I kind of took off that 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:35.680 year as a little tradition that we do, but I 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:38.840 backed off on that recently. But now I'm going to 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:42.000 save it for the big wins. Well, like any executive, 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:46.040 I'm sure you live and die with success and failure. 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:50.080 I'm curious Jason was this offseason after winning a super 0:18:50.119 --> 0:18:52.880 Bowl the previous year and then losing in the playoffs 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:54.920 and not getting the opportunity to get back, which is 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.320 very hard to do. In the NFL, but not getting 0:18:57.400 --> 0:18:59.720 that opportunity to come back. Was this in some ways, 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:02.520 along with obviously everything else he was going out in 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:06.159 the organization. Was this a harder offseason for you because 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:10.359 you had you had tasted that championship success the year before. 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:13.680 I would say the last two off seasons were very 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:17.800 difficult for me. Like it's, you know, one of the 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:20.960 first place I worked with the Dolphins an intern when 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:23.240 Don Shul's head coach, and then Jimmy Johnson came in 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:26.760 the next year, and Jimmy had promoted me to a 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:30.840 full time position. But so I kept in touch with 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.240 Jimmy over the years, and so after we won the 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:35.679 Super Bowl, he texted me, I mean almost immediately and 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:38.600 he said, now now the hard part starts, And he 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:42.120 was right, it's you know, the expectations are one thing, 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:47.399 but it's just managing everybody's egos. And we have a 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:50.960 great locker room, so that part wasn't real difficult, but 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:55.159 just keeping the team together. Then also, you know, you 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:58.120 get that taste of winning and being the best team 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:00.600 in the NFL at the time after winning the Super Bowl, 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:03.119 and you want to do everything you can to make 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:05.840 sure you have an opportunity to do that again. So 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:09.120 life becomes a little bit more stressful during those off 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:13.639 seasons than they do in years past. And you mentioned 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:15.760 earlier you had an inkling during the Super Bowl that 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:18.520 maybe Tom was thinking about coming back. Do you still 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:22.240 have a feeling that Gronk will return or do you 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:26.240 feel like this is it, He's really done? You know, 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:29.960 I just he's he puts himself out there a lot 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:31.960 on social media. Looks like he's having a hell of 0:20:31.960 --> 0:20:36.919 a time. So I don't I'm not crossing my fingers 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:39.560 on this one. Um, We'll have to see what happens 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:42.919 in terms of some of you know, the players that 0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:45.000 are on the rush right now, You've had some injuries 0:20:45.000 --> 0:20:46.960 in camp with the offensive lineup. How big of a 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:52.320 concern is that group right now for you? Well, internally, 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:55.920 it's it's not the concern that seems to be Externally. 0:20:56.119 --> 0:20:58.719 We have a lot of we have a lot of 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:01.240 faith in some of these young players that we've drafted 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:03.920 and drafted high in the last couple of years, Robert 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:07.679 Hainsey and Kadecki, and we took him for a reason 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:10.520 and to be in this position if we needed them. 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:13.280 So we also have a couple of young guys that 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:15.840 we've had with us for a while, UM, that have 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:18.720 gotten better and better. We have excellent coaches here that 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:22.960 have developed these offensive linemen. Um, so we feel good 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:26.679 about where we're at. And um it's not as you know, 0:21:26.720 --> 0:21:29.800 as you you you might read the story here or 0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:32.440 there that thinks that we're ready to hit the panic button, 0:21:32.480 --> 0:21:34.600 but we're not. So we feel very good about the 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:37.480 group that we have. How about the weapons around tom 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:42.440 how do you feel about those guys? Well, Mike Evans 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:47.400 is an unbelievable player. Chris Godwin has been awesome for us, 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:51.199 and he's looking good out here in his rehab. And 0:21:51.240 --> 0:21:56.200 then Julio has been everything and more than what we 0:21:56.200 --> 0:22:01.680 were expecting. These these aw fully help right now making 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:05.160 plays every day that he's out there practicing. Um, I'm 0:22:05.200 --> 0:22:09.120 really excited to the regular season to start have those 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:11.320 three and then Russell Gage and then some players that 0:22:11.359 --> 0:22:15.840 we've already had on our roster, so Cam Braid, m 0:22:16.000 --> 0:22:18.520 Leonard Pournette, there's a couple of rookies that were really 0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:22.919 really high on right now. So really, the regular season 0:22:22.920 --> 0:22:26.840 can't come here fast enough for me. Sure, I think 0:22:26.880 --> 0:22:29.320 Mike Evans was your first pick when you were the 0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:33.919 GM in Tampa. I'm if I'm correct there, where does 0:22:33.960 --> 0:22:37.560 he in terms of the best players that you've scouted 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:40.720 over all your years doing this, where does he rank? 0:22:40.760 --> 0:22:43.840 He was phenomenal in college. You know, it was a 0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:46.040 big part of the reason Johnny Manziel won the Heisman 0:22:46.119 --> 0:22:48.280