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| Jeff Grimes (Photo: Adam Fondren, Deseret News) |
BYU Football held an introductory press conference for new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes on Saturday, December 15. After his opening remarks, Grimes fielded several questions from media members.
Some of the highlights were:
- Finding the right guys as assistant coaches is more important than quickly filling the position coach spots.
- The qualities that Grimes thinks are most important in a quarterback.
- Why he used to hate BYU.
- He refused to mention the University of Utah by name.
- His thoughts and ideas about recruiting at BYU.
- What other people told him about the state of BYU football.
- What they did at LSU to have so few turnovers this season.
- When he feels pressure.
Have you made any decisions on staff? (Pat Kinahan, 1280TheZone)
Grimes: No, and we're really not under any definite timeframe on that. Obviously, Kalani and I have been talking about it a lot, but we're going to take our time and get the right guys here.
What made the timing right for this situation? (Darnell Dickson, The Daily Herald)
Grimes: Well, number one, it was right for my family. The right timing for them. My daughter's a senior. When we moved to Louisiana, it was her seventh state in 13 years. She had the ability to go to the same high school all four years. That was really cool. The fact that she will be graduating this year kind of helps.
I think the timing was right for me to do this. And I really think the knowledge that I've gained the past few years being in a position to design a lot of the game plan both with Matt [Canada] this year, with Steve Ensminger the year before, Cam Cameron before that. I think the knowledge I gained there really added to the knowledge base I had prior. And so, I think that is another part of the timing.
And then, I think the timing is right for BYU to have a guy like me in this position.
Describe what you look for in a quarterback when you get to the point when you have your system established? (Kareem Copeland, Associated Press)
Grimes: Yeah, that's a great question. Number one, I think you want your quarterback to be a winner and you want him to be a leader. He doesn't have to be the leader of the team, but it works a whole lot better when he is. And so, I want a guy there that is competitive, that is tough, and is the kind of guy that steps into the huddle and commands respect. So number one are the intangibles that you are looking for.
Secondly, I think you need a guy that's intelligent. Regardless of what style of offense you are running, at some point he's got to make a quick decision on where to go with the ball. And I don't want a guy that's standing back there patting it because he can't make the decision about whether the flat is open or not.
I'd like to have a guy that's athletic. I think that certainly adds to your offense, but that should never take away from his ability to throw the football. He's a quarterback because he can throw first. And if he has the ability to run the football that makes him even better. But I would never turn down a great quarterback who is a great thrower, who is a winner, but may not be the best athlete. And often I've found over the years, that if a guy isn't a great athlete they don't necessarily expect him to run, and if you do it two or three times a game, he can run for seven yards and stumble and fall down and you move on to 2nd and 3.
Did you get a chance to watch film and assess the talent level? (David James, Channel 2 and 1280TheZone)
Grimes: I really haven't. I've been so wrapped up in our season and recruiting for LSU. To be honest with you, I haven't. But I know the type of talent that BYU is typically going to attract, and feel very confident we are going to have enough to get the job done.
When BYU faced LSU, what are your recollections of BYU's offense? (Jay Drew, The Salt Lake Tribune)
Grimes: I see zero. I have absolutely no knowledge of what goes on on the other side of the ball during a game. I get that question all the time--my kids, or somebody that's a fan, or somebody. "Hey, how about that play when so and so did this?" I got no idea. I can't answer that question. I'm typically busy making adjustments with my guys. And, the only series I ever see is the first series of the game if the other team wins the toss and takes the ball.
Have you kept any kind of eye on BYU over the years, to see how the program's going? (Greg Wrubell, BYU Sports Network)
Grimes: Yeah, I have. Just because I know so many people in and around the program. Friends that are here, friends that live here, former players, all of that. So I've watched from afar, and it's always been a place that, that I love.
I should go back; I shouldn't say always. When I was a player, I hated BYU. I played at UTEP in the old WAC, and BYU was the only team we could never beat. And, so I hated them because they were so good.
But, since my time coaching here, I've loved BYU and just had such positive memories. And so, I've, from afar, shared joy in the victories, and disappointment in the losses. But, any more specifically than that, you know, we're so busy during the season with our responsibilities, hadn't had a chance to see a whole lot.
What is your previous association with Kalani Sitake? What was that first contact like? (Hans Olsen, 1280TheZone)
Grimes: Kalani and I knew each other when I was here and he was at that other school. Always had a great respect for him. Talked to some of the other guys that were on the staff about him over the years, and just an unbelievable amount of respect for him as a person and as a coach. And so, that was something that made this intriguing for me even beyond the fact that it was a place that I really liked to be.
I did not reach out. I'm not going to say there haven't been times in my career that I've promoted myself for certain jobs, but this was not one. I didn't have to. There were a number of people that reached out to him on my behalf. And I'm old school, in that, I believe you should do things a certain way. And so, when someone asks me if it would be okay to talk with Coach Sitake, I said, "Yeah, but he needs to talk with Coach O[rgeron] first." And, I'm sure that was something he was planning on doing anyway.
So once he had done that, we were both going different directions in recruiting, and it took a little bit longer than either one of us wanted, I think, to hook up. But it was a great conversation, and we talked for a long time, and I think immediately, immediately clicked. Hopefully, I don't embarrass him by saying this, when we hung up after a lengthy conversation he looked at how long we'd been talking and he said, "Wow, I think the last time I talked to somebody on the phone this long I was in ninth grade." So it was a great conversation, and I think he and I both felt right away that this was something that could work.
Maybe Kalani needs to answer this. This year the NCAA allows a 10th coach. Have you lobbied for that to be on your side of the ball? (Dick Harmon, Deseret News)
Grimes: A good coach is always recruiting for the opportunity to make his side of the ball better. And you're right in your first assumption; that's a question for Coach Sitake.
Your previous experience here, does that give you a better understanding of the challenges that are unique to BYU (i.e. Honor Code, missions)? (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)
Grimes: It certainly gives me more knowledge of the situation. I don't know that I like to call them challenges, though. I think it gives me more knowledge of the situation and gives me an opportunity to come in with my eyes wide open. Every place that you coach has certain inherent conditions that you might consider assets or liabilities. I believe in accentuating the positives and recruiting to that.
And if I'm recruiting for BYU, am I going to recruit a different type of profile that I might if I'm recruiting at LSU? In some cases, yeah, I certainly will. Is that a challenge? No. It's a matter of finding the right guy for this place at this time. And I think the fact that I have been here before allows me to come in with a knowledge of that and it allows me to come in with an understanding of what our assets are right away.
During 2005, what's your perspective on how Robert Anae developed as a play caller? (Greg Wrubell)
Grimes: (Pause)
Do you have any recollection how that season went with him doing it for the first time? (Wrubell)
Grimes: Yeah, I certainly do. I guess what I am thinking about is the evolution of him, and us as a staff, recognizing how to build a system that year around the skill sets that we had, rather than him as a play caller. I don't, honestly, don't know that I saw any difference in how he called plays. He may have called different types of plays as the season went on, but I think that was more of a reflection of us as a staff recognizing that here are our strengths. Let's work around those strengths a little bit more.
And if you remember that year, we kind of shifted gears a little bit, particularly after the San Diego State game, and moved towards one that, I think, fit a little bit more of what we had at the time. And was a little bit more of that, and a little bit less of what it had looked like at Texas Tech, for him.
But, I didn't feel like he ever had any trouble calling plays. And I didn't feel like there was a difference in how he went about doing that. I think there was a difference in the type of plays that we called because there was an epiphany for us in recognizing how we were going to win games on offense.
Will you have responsibility as offensive line coach, or will you have a specific offensive line coach?
Grimes: I'm not sure yet. We're still working through all those things, and I think there are a lot of different ways this thing could go.
Do you have a feel of how you might fill out the staff?
Grimes: We've been talking about a lot of possibilities. Only time will tell which direction we choose to go.
Have you met with the players here yet, if so, what message did you have for them? (Jeff Call, Deseret News)
Grimes: No, I haven't met with them.
I saw a few and met a few yesterday when I walked in. It was really cool. There was just really a neat vibe when I met those guys. They were very excited to meet me. And I saw, I saw a light in their eye about football, and "Hey, what are we going to do," and "I'm so glad to be here and meet you?" And I felt the same way. My message to them was I can't wait to get here and get to work.
There were five or six guys in Kalani's office yesterday, and we were talking. They said, "Well, when are you going to be here?" And I said, "I'm just going to be here until tomorrow. Then I'll be back after the bowl game." And they said, "Man, I really want to get to work." [I said,] "Let's go outside and get a little walk through in right now." They were game. No, I'm looking forward to that.
As I said, in my introduction, it's about the players. It's not about the coaches, and just, I loved the players that I had when I was here, and the fact that here, this many years later, I still have relationships with a lot of those guys that means a lot to me. And, I really relish the opportunity to coach the kind of guys we have at BYU.
When this job opened up, did you reach out to Bronco Mendenhall or Gary Crowton to get some feedback on this job? (Mitch Harper, ESPN960)
Grimes: I talked to more people about this job, probably, than all of the people combined that I have spoken with about all of my previous jobs. And, I would choose not to mention any specific names, but the message from everyone that I talked to is that the program is moving in the right direction, Kalani is an awesome dude and a great coach, and there's enough talent there to win. All they need is somebody to provide a little hope, and vision, and structure, and you ought to take the job.
This may be too early to tell, but are you going to be in the booth or on the field? What are your perspectives on where a coordinator should be during game day? (Greg Wrubell)
Grimes: Yeah, that's a great question, and I don't have the answer yet.
So, in my 25 years of coaching, I've spent one half in the press box, and it was actually at LSU when I was coaching at Auburn. And, Gus Malzhan was the coordinator at the time, and Gus was dying for me to go up into the press box. And I've never believed that the offensive line coach should be up in the press box, regardless of the situation. And he just kept begging me, kept begging me, "I need your help, I need more information." And so, I don't know if he convinced me into it. I don't know why I agreed to it, but I did--for a half. And as I'm sitting up in the press box, I'm watching my offensive line halfway pay attention to what's going on, and halfway watch the game out on the field. In the meantime, we're getting our teeth kicked in by LSU. And I came down at halftime, and I looked at Gus, and I said, "I'm coming down, and I'm never doing that again.
That was a different situation at a different time. I'll do whatever's best for the team, and I think I could do either. I think, I think the relationship that I have and what I will bring to the table, which is certainly not everything, but it's some of what we'll, what we'll, do as an offensive staff is something that works well on the sideline. However, I think it's ultimately a great situation for the coordinator to sit up top and see everything from a birds eye view, so I think it will depend on some of the personalities that we'll have on the staff, and that means both what can get done on the sideline, and what can get done in the box.
With all the coaches you've worked with what has been the biggest lessons you've learned that you will take with you into this job? (Jake Hatch, 1280TheZone)
Grimes: Well, I think, as I said when I first started talking about the offense, the offense's that do well, and you can look across the country, there are a lot of different ways to score points. The ones that do well are the ones who do things a certain way. They execute. The way they take the field says something about who they are, the way they break the huddle and get to the line of scrimmage. The fact that you don't have silly pre-snap penalties because a guy doesn't know how to line up, or they false start. You don't turn the football over. You play hard, and you play physical, and you establish your will in the fourth quarter, and win those close games because you've done things right up to that point.
This year at LSU we had eight giveaways on the whole season. Four of those were in one game. I think we either led the nation, or tied for the fewest in the country, or whatever. And we didn't do anything magical. We just preached it every single day, and held the players accountable. And helped them realize that when you're carrying that football in your hand you're carrying that entire program in your hand. And so, those things are the things that allow an offense to be successful and the good offensive coordinators I've been around have demanded that from their staff and from their players. And we'll do that.
What are your memories of recruiting to a unique place like BYU compared to some of your other stops? (Mitch Harper)
Grimes: Easier. Your net is smaller because you're recruiting a smaller percentage of the population. Enjoyable because of the type of kids and families that you're dealing with. I enjoyed it a great deal.
I mean, recruiting is an extension of coaching. You're just beginning to build a relationship with the guys you are going to coach a year, or nowadays, two or three years prior to that. And so the reason I enjoy recruiting here is the reason that I enjoy coaching here.
And I'll be honest with you, recruiting for eight of the past nine years in the SEC will be an asset. It will help me because I have learned how to recruit in the most competitive of environments.
With the offensive tradition at BYU it creates high expectations. Do you embrace the pressure and scrutiny that comes with being offensive coordinator? (Jeremiah Jensen, KSL)
Grimes: I don't like to call it pressure, because I ... You know when I feel pressure? I feel pressure when I'm watching my daughter play volleyball. I feel pressure when I'm watching my son play his sixth grade football game, or my ninth grade son Garrison play lacrosse, or even my little one Jada play basketball. That, I get nervous watching them play.
In regards to my position, people ask me all the time, "Hey, were you nervous in the game today?" I'm too busy to be nervous. And we're going to be too busy building a great offense to worry about pressure or influences from the outside.
And I realize that there are a lot of people that have a lot at stake here, and that I recognize. The responsibility to Cougar Nation, to the BYU family, to the administration and the other coaches here. I recognize that responsibility and will do everything in my power to live up to the responsibility of the job, but no one will put any more pressure on me or the offensive staff than we'll put on ourselves.
Additional Press Conference Coverage
Jeff Grimes states his four goals
Jeff Grimes talks about his offensive philosophy and play calling experience
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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