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John Schneider: "I Have A Ton Of Gratitude" · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Flair away.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, just a ton of gratitude, obviously, very thankful, a
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: ton of gratitude to uh, you know, Jody Burke, Chuck,
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  Speaker 2: Uh appreciate Bird's time effort in this whole thing.
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  Speaker 3: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously, everybody on the third floor, you know, everybody in
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  Speaker 2: our building, second floor, you know, everybody we love in
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  Speaker 2: the cafeteria. You know, all the Scouts sports science football operations. Uh,
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  Speaker 2: you know all the current players and all the great
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  Speaker 2: former players that have been through here that you know,
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  Speaker 2: we totally appreciate and uh yeah, and just you know,
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  Speaker 2: to be able to move forward with coach Mike here
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  Speaker 2: and yeah, go in some championships.
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  Speaker 4: Jobs are real grind every way, right, everyone decision, every assisition.
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  Speaker 4: Did you think you'd do this job this long?
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  Speaker 3: And we'll keep you going.
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  Speaker 2: I appreciate you saying that, Yeah I think No, I
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  Speaker 2: did not, you know when we moved out.
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  Speaker 1: Here with Tracy and I.
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  Speaker 2: That's one of the things we're especially thankful for is
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  Speaker 2: to be able to be in this community, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: to be able to give back and be out in
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  Speaker 2: the world as you well know, and and.
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  Speaker 3: Do as much as we possibly can.
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  Speaker 2: But you got to be in you know, I'm a
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  Speaker 2: big NFL history buffing to be able to be in
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  Speaker 2: one place for you know, as long as we have
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  Speaker 2: been in this role, and you know the things that
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  Speaker 2: go on behind closed doors. It it's fun to talk
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  Speaker 2: about the players and acquisition and all that, but it's
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  Speaker 2: about you know, Dave and you know Strict and Sammy
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  Speaker 2: and Moe and e K and everybody in this building.
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  Speaker 2: It's like this awesome foundational It's quite awesome. It's one
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  Speaker 2: of the reasons I wanted to come back here when
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  Speaker 2: Tim Ruskll got the job, because I had worked here
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  Speaker 2: before with to hong Gren and Ted and uh. I
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  Speaker 2: just loved everybody here and I just knew what a
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  Speaker 2: gentleman was.
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  Speaker 5: What is the key to building such a unique culture
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  Speaker 5: that you you've been able to do?
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  Speaker 3: The honesty and tabrity, I mean, what are some of
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  Speaker 3: those things?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, just you know, treating people the way you want
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  Speaker 2: to be treated. Uh, you know, egoists, putting your egos aside.
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  Speaker 2: You know, when Pete and I got together, we made
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  Speaker 2: a conscious effort.
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  Speaker 1: We had both been fired before.
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  Speaker 2: So it's like, hey, not that one of us cares,
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  Speaker 2: who's gonna get the credit?
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  Speaker 1: We want to go and win world championships.
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  Speaker 2: Together and and create an atmosphere that that uh, you know,
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  Speaker 2: the players wanted to play here, coach who wanted to
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  Speaker 2: coach here, and then everybody was just you know, extremely
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  Speaker 2: fired up to come to work every day. And uh
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  Speaker 2: so you know, in the process of of recruiting coach
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  Speaker 2: coach Mike, you know, that's.
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  Speaker 1: Really it was.
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  Speaker 2: It was I don't want to say it was an
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  Speaker 2: easy sell, but it was. It was a it was
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  Speaker 2: a great sell for us because.
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  Speaker 3: We had done it and uh and had that.
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  Speaker 2: Reputation and so it's it's it's just it's extremely important
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  Speaker 2: to being as honest as he can and you know,
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  Speaker 2: and and every negotiation without hurting people's feelings and trades
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  Speaker 2: and releasing people and all that kind of stuff. So yeah,
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  Speaker 2: just you know, honesty, be an ethical integrity, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: for me, it's just like relying on my faith and
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  Speaker 2: and uh, putting our heads down and working together with
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  Speaker 2: everybody and making strong, tough decisions every day time.
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  Speaker 4: The timing, at least, I'm sorry, the timing of this
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  Speaker 4: is the fact you're the new quarterbacks starting over on offense.
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  Speaker 4: What does it tell you that Jody had worked believes
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  Speaker 4: in you were at the visions without having.
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  Speaker 5: Seen it actual coming.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I I've felt that the whole time that we've been
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  Speaker 2: working with Jody for Jody, and I haven't you know,
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  Speaker 2: a new quarterback not new that it doesn't that did
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  Speaker 2: not enter in. Uh, you know, I had some things
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  Speaker 2: going on with my contract after the after the draft,
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  Speaker 2: and we started to awking when we were able to
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  Speaker 2: to uh come to in an awesome agreement. And so
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  Speaker 2: I don't think it has to do with uh, you know.
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  Speaker 1: Players or you know anything like that. What does speak
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  Speaker 1: to either direction on the ownership to use or family?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I just did you know she has full confidence
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  Speaker 2: and and uh what Mike I are doing and like
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  Speaker 2: I said, everybody in the in the building and she
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  Speaker 2: was out here their day and was impressed with the
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  Speaker 2: crispness of everything that was going on and the enthusiasm
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  Speaker 2: and and uh.
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  Speaker 3: Just everything that that we have gone.
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  Speaker 1: So I think it's just.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't I mean, I have the best way
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  Speaker 2: to answer it is that I know that that she
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  Speaker 2: has very strong faith in what we're doing.
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  Speaker 4: Do you believe she'll be your own through.
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  Speaker 1: Your term of contract?
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  Speaker 3: I have no idea and that's not my place.
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  Speaker 2: What what what made this the right timing to get
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  Speaker 2: this time for you? Well, like I said, I you know,
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  Speaker 2: I had I had a trigger in my contract after
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: after the uh, after the draft, and at that point
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  Speaker 2: we uh we started talking and we just kept it going.
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  Speaker 2: And look, you know, you know, to to to you know,
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  Speaker 2: to drafted here sixteen times and I mean this is
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  Speaker 2: where that's where Tracy and I want to be and
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  Speaker 2: and uh, we just we just kept working together and
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  Speaker 2: then we were we thank god it worked out.
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  Speaker 5: How important was it for you to get this done
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  Speaker 5: right now with with coach McDonald having.
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  Speaker 2: His contract in twenty twenty nine and the two of
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  Speaker 2: you being able to.
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  Speaker 1: Be in lockstep now for the entire pegase counting.
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  Speaker 2: How much that Uh yeah, that that that's that's an
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  Speaker 2: important factor.
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  Speaker 1: It is, But it's not. It was not like, hey,
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  Speaker 1: we got to get this.
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  Speaker 2: Done because of that and that that situation you know,
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  Speaker 2: we went through, We went through a coaching change with
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  Speaker 2: a legendary coach and you know we're able to land
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  Speaker 2: you know, coach Mike and sign them up to a
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  Speaker 2: six year contract. That didn't really have a bearing on
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  Speaker 2: like the decision for them to reach out and want
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  Speaker 2: to extend.
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  Speaker 4: Speaking of that coaching change, what made Mike the right guy?
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  Speaker 4: Can talk touch on it a little a little while
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  Speaker 4: ago about your passion for this role, but what made
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  Speaker 4: the Mic the right guy to continue that relationship that
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  Speaker 4: you had with the previously.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, uh, to Pete's credit, you know, you
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  Speaker 2: know when we when we started interviewing together, he was
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  Speaker 2: just very open about you know, like, well, both of
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  Speaker 2: us are very open about like I said, no ego
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  Speaker 2: and clear communication and uh just wanted to push the
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  Speaker 2: boundaries every single day and and you know the world
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  Speaker 2: of competitiveness and what that looks like in professional sports.
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  Speaker 2: And uh yeah, So with with in regards to to
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  Speaker 2: to Mike in the interview process, it became very clear,
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  Speaker 2: uh in a in a in a two hour meeting
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  Speaker 2: that felt like twenty minutes, what a clear, concise, intelligent
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  Speaker 2: communicator he was. And uh you know his you could
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  Speaker 2: tell us competitive nature, you could tell his toughness, and uh,
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  Speaker 2: you know, with Mike, it was all about, Okay, how
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  Speaker 2: do we how do we help him grow now?
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  Speaker 1: And how do we help him with his staff?
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  Speaker 3: And you know we have everybody, like I said, everybody
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  Speaker 3: in the building here.
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  Speaker 2: From you know, Dave Chuck to you know.
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  Speaker 1: E K Moe everybody.
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  Speaker 2: You know, everybody in our department has a lot of
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  Speaker 2: experience around the league, a lot of connections, and uh,
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  Speaker 2: just all the backgrounds on, all the background work and
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  Speaker 2: trying to help him out put a staff together, and
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  Speaker 2: that takes a minute. You know, man, we went to
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  Speaker 2: an offensive staff change. You know, we were we were
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  Speaker 2: second to last team to hire, uh and the head coach,
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  Speaker 2: and so you know, you're you're you're definitely behind the
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  Speaker 2: football schedule at that point in the off season. The
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  Speaker 2: start of your off season was pretty eventful with the
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  Speaker 2: coordinator change, the two big.
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  Speaker 4: It seems like it's been pretty harmonious. I'm sure there's
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  Speaker 4: all these stuff you got to deal with, but it
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  Speaker 4: seems like it's been pretty drama free. How nice is
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  Speaker 4: it to live in that world?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we pretty much air our dirty walking runner, you know,
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  Speaker 3: we do.
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  Speaker 2: I think we do a really good job of keeping
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  Speaker 2: things in the house, and we think we talk a
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  Speaker 2: lot of a lot about it, and and.
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  Speaker 1: Well we're prideful of it.
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  Speaker 2: But uh, yeah, I would say the drama portion, Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it feels smooth, right, now to your point, it doesn't
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  Speaker 2: you know, it doesn't you know, And some of the
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  Speaker 2: national media is here today was asking me about it,
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  Speaker 2: and I just said, yeah, it does.
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  Speaker 1: It does feel a little less drama free right now.
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  Speaker 2: And there is a newness and that I think that
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  Speaker 2: goes along with it too, Like there's a there's a
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  Speaker 2: freshness to you know, different faces and a whole new
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  Speaker 2: offensive staff.
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  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 5: So, how do you feel kind of starting with the
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  Speaker 5: trade of Russell three years ago, there's been an awful
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  Speaker 5: lot of change with Russell and Pete and kind of
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  Speaker 5: how do you feel about kind of coming out of
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  Speaker 5: that whole three year period and sort of the base
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  Speaker 5: where you are now kind of going.
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  Speaker 4: To the forward with all.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's a great question, Bob.
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  Speaker 2: I've thought a lot about it, and and you know,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I write a lot, you know, and uh
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  Speaker 2: like journal a lot, and uh that's just that just
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  Speaker 2: keeping your integrity and keeping things above board and and
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  Speaker 2: knowing like what's guiding you obviously your faith, but like
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  Speaker 2: just what's best for the team, what's best for the team,
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  Speaker 2: what's best for the team, like what's best for the organization.
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  Speaker 2: And then once you've decided that how are you going
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  Speaker 2: to communicate and express those those thoughts and make you know,
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  Speaker 2: make those decisions and handle yourself with with with grace.
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  Speaker 2: And that's that's really uh, that's really like what I
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  Speaker 2: look back on with that, you know, has everything gone smoothly?
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  Speaker 1: No can be corrected, you know, as we as we move.
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  Speaker 3: Forward, just time heal all wounds.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know I spent Tracy, I spent an hour
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  Speaker 2: with Marshaw on the other night hanging out, right, so
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  Speaker 2: you know he didn't.
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  Speaker 3: Talk to me for a while, you know, so uh yeah,
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  Speaker 3: I just yep.
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  Speaker 2: Just's trying to be as above board and and you know,
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  Speaker 2: honest and clear as you possibly can, especially not just
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  Speaker 2: this industry, but just in life. You know, I talked
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  Speaker 2: to my boys about this a lot. Right, you started
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: heading on that that lane of like trying to be
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: s people or like steer people in a certain way,
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  Speaker 2: it's just gonna bite you in the tail because you
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  Speaker 2: can't always keep up and you just got to be yourself.
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  Speaker 1: And we take.
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  Speaker 2: A lot of prior, like our whole staff, a whole
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  Speaker 2: football operator, like everybody, and we come to work every
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  Speaker 2: day busting our tails and we're gonna we're gonna be ourselves,
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  Speaker 2: but we're the best best version of that.
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  Speaker 4: If anyone took John January twenty.
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  Speaker 3: Ten or twenty wears, yeah, yeah, no, I yeah, I wouldn't.
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  Speaker 2: I'd see some of those pictures and him kind of like,
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  Speaker 2: you know, like who is that dude.
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  Speaker 3: Mike McCarthy's a really good friend of mine. And you know, I.
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  Speaker 2: Was interviewing with the Chicago Bears earlier this year, and
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  Speaker 2: we were talking the night before that. I was like,
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  Speaker 2: could you imagine like the two of us sitting with
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: our high school friends and like you're sitting there telling
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: your high school buddies you're a head coach, an all
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: time winning coach, green bit packer history and the head
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: coach of Dallas Cowwar was and in Chicago Bears like
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: and oh, you know, I feel similar. You know, it's
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  Speaker 2: a similar like gratitude there where it's like, you know,
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: being with the same team. Like I said, I'm an
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: NFL historian. I've had been blessed to have amazing mentors
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  Speaker 2: and and uh so to possibly be here for for
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: for two decades is you know, be unbelievable, as.
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: Question, with all that you have going on, the player personnel, contracts, signings,
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: coaches signings. What's the part of your job do you
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  Speaker 4: enjoy the most.
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  Speaker 2: Uh, just kind of like walking through the building, giving people,
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  Speaker 2: crowd That's kind of like my leadership style a little bit,
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  Speaker 2: you know, just just having fun and messing with people.
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  Speaker 2: But uh, you know, just the just evaluating, just being
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  Speaker 2: in there, studying by yourself, challenging yourself to to keep
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  Speaker 2: building your your your library, your players, and and you know,
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  Speaker 2: being able to sit with all the scouts and listen
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  Speaker 2: to them talk about players and all the hard work
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: and all the studying and everything that goes into your
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: college draft or just you know daily like you know,
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  Speaker 2: this morning we worked out for guys and I was
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: a pretty feel about him and just that that that
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  Speaker 2: part of it, I think at the heart of it,
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  Speaker 2: and that's that's how I started.
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  Speaker 1: I was an evaluator. And thank you everybody. Thank you all.