OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR LIAM COEN

(On if he wanted to go for the two-point conversion at the end of Monday night's game)

"Honestly, we were prepared for either situation. You have calls ready, you know? At the end of the day, it's not what we did, right? We have to play the cards we were dealt and just go play. You move on. I haven't really spent a ton of time thinking about it since. You go through all different types of situations that could occur. We're ready for a call. The situation played out as it did. We didn't go for it, and I haven't lost a ton of sleep about it. We got to move on; it's just the way it works. Unfortunately, it didn't work in our favor, but you never know. Next time, you learn from it, move on, and see what happens."

(On if his experience facing the San Francisco 49ers gives him an advantage)

"A little bit. I mean, I don't know about an advantage, but at least I've seen them. You kind of know the core DNA and principles of the defense in some ways. You see an influence from Brandon Staley being there a bit in an advisor role. You see some influence from him on the back end and some of their pressures and things like that. I've got a ton of respect for them, playing them for all those years – so much respect for the organization, their defense, and the way they play. I've modeled wanting my offenses to look like they play, in some ways. So, a ton of respect, but yes, maybe there's a bit more familiarity."

(On when WR Ryan Miller first caught his attention)

"Ryan did a lot of good things last spring – Ryan got a ton of reps last spring. Ryan actually ran the best choice route we've had here since Chris [Godwin] this training camp – Ryan had the best one last spring. He had a lot of production last spring, he played a ton, so he has been doing things well for a long time. It was just a matter of getting an opportunity and making a play. I didn't even think about who was in the position when we called that play down in the low red zone to score. I trust him. He had a great block on Rachaad [White's] touchdown on the toss play at the nine-yard line – had a great block. Respect to him for doing it the right way, staying the course, and getting an opportunity and making the most of it."

(On what he likes about Miller's skillset)

"He's got some sudden little quickness, he's a hands catcher, and he's done a great job of studying the details of the system and what we're trying to do. He's watched Cooper Kupp a lot, just trying to watch his mannerisms, the way he kind of runs routes, formations, how he stands in a bunch, how he stands at receiver. He has studied what we've asked these guys to do, so a ton of credit to him."

(On QB Baker Mayfield's performance on the last drive in regulation)

"Big-time drive. We've struggled in some of those situations, right? We haven't always executed maybe all the way down – we've had some plays and then there's been a penalty or an issue or whatever it is. To do it the way he did, in a critical moment, in that environment and weather…To go down there and execute at a super high level, and the guys made plays, we protected our tails off. [I am] really proud of Baker for taking the game…Really, what we talked about was taking care of the ball – he had one early one that they got their hands on that he wanted back. After that, he really didn't put the ball in harm's way at all and was critical to our success."

(On TE Cade Otton's performance over the last three weeks and what's enabled him to flourish)

"He's got a knack for the game – he just knows the game. He has a great feel. So many of those guys would just say that he's a football player. That's Cade and you can't say that about everybody. He just has that ability. Sometimes people look at that as a knock – maybe they're not as fast or as quick or as strong or can jump as high. Being a football player is a darn good thing and that's what he is. He's tough as nails, he's smart as heck, and I'd love for my son to grow up to be Cade Otton. That's the kind of guy that he is."

(On Otton's role when players return from injury)

"He's out there every time. We try to get him a blow, but we're also designing, getting him involved a lot more. It's a great thing for him, for me, for our offense to know that we've got another guy we can rely on to make plays. He's gaining a ton of confidence. I don't know where he stands with his career and where he's been at in normal years – I don't know – but I have to believe he's probably feeling pretty good about where he's at right now and the way he's playing."

(On San Francisco LB Fred Warner's coverage ability)

"He's ridiculous. I mean, he's so athletic. He's got such a great feel for the position. He's been in that system for so long, he knows all the patterns. They pattern match stuff so well. He's got so much range, athleticism, trigger…[I've got] a ton of respect for him. He reminds me of Bobby Wagner but with a different feel, [he is] even longer, a different way. Bobby, obviously in his prime, different story – and Bobby's still playing a lot of good football. But Fred is, yeah...I mean, he's a really smart player. You cannot look things down in the middle of the field. He's going to make you pay."

(On San Francisco DL Nick Bosa's comments about Tampa Bay's offensive line being the best they'll face this year)

"I have been proud of the way these guys have played. It hasn't come up a ton, right? And it was kind of a funky game the other night where, like, we wanted to run it more, but we either drove it and scored or we were, like, three and out. Or we had, like, really quick drives. And then you look at the hold before the half on the [quarterback] draw that knocks us out of field goal range – that's three points. We have an eight-yard run going in the red zone, and Tristan [Wirfs] gets the facemask call, which, you know, hey, it is what it is. But those are opportunities for us to continue to run. Now, we're in known passing situations. I've got to do a better job of maybe getting some runs off in some different windows to help us, but yeah, I've been proud of the way they've been playing."

(On facing Nick Bosa in 2022 when he was the L.A. Rams' offensive coordinator)

"That was the year we had about 15 different offensive line [combinations], and you know, I don't even know some of the guys that were playing, their names. But absolutely, I completely understand what you're saying. [He is a] beast – I mean, he's just a beast. Relentless, you know? Relentless in his effort, relentless in his rush, relentless in his ability to chase screens down, balls down. There's not one of these guys on this field that does not run to the football. They are running to the football every single play. So, if we're going to match that, if we're going to play at that level and higher, we need to play through the echo of the whistle every single snap and toe the line – toe the line between playing at the whistle and through the whistle."

(On learning how to play without certain key players)

"You know, I think I've probably, in some ways, you know, sometimes we give a lot of defenses…You know, give them too much credit in ways. And not taking anything away from Baltimore or Kansas City – like, those are unbelievable defenses and teams. But it's like, hey, man, we've got some good players, too. These guys can still compete and win – they have confidence. I need to maybe have a little bit more confidence in some ways, to be a little bit more explosive with some calls, maybe in some ways. But yeah, it's just funny when you're on the sidelines and 'Shep' (Sterling Shepard) is running up to you yelling at you to throw a ball because he's got a lot of confidence. And you know, in that two-minute drill, we hit him on the corner route on our sideline, and that was after a stoppage of clock, and he runs over and he's like, 'I can toast them.' And I said, 'Alright, let's go,' and I called the play for him in the moment to win. And I said, 'That's where the ball is going to go,' and he did. And he makes another one behind his back, and could have made it a little bit easier if he ran the route better [laughs], but he's, he's infectious, you know, in the way that he's playing. So yeah, it's been good for us."

(On the work that the coaching staff has done with the younger players)

"I'll tell you what, as a staff, I need to say this: as a staff, these guys have really done a nice job over the last couple weeks, and I can't say enough about what these guys have done. Like, you know, we're here late, we're up early, and there's not a lot that they aren't trying to do to help these guys be in the best position possible to have success. And what [wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon] has been able to do, because look, he hasn't been able to just say, 'Alright, let's get these three guys ready, and the rest of the guys figure it out.' It's every single guy that's maybe up, possibly could be up, has to know the game plan. And for that to get done, the [Marquez] Callaway's of the world, those guys, to still know the game plan and be able to do what they're doing speaks volumes to the coach and [Justin] Peelle and Skip [Peete] and the guys up front and even guys like [Jeff] Kastle, 'JVD' (John Van Dam), [Jordan] Somerville, Thad [Lewis] – they've all had a part in all this stuff that we're doing right now. It's been nice to see it come to life. I'm really thankful for those guys."

(On QB Baker Mayfield's health status with the toe injury)

"He just took a bunch more [walk-through] reps today, actually…The ones yesterday didn't really get were with some of the runs, he got some of the passes. He'll be fine. He's moving around a lot better today than he was over the last few days. I've been kind of [saying] quick, little [jabs], 'Hey man, you ain't going to be able to run this week? You feeling a little slow this week? You alright?' Just to see if I can get him going. He's also giving me my share as well, so…That's a weapon that we've been able to utilize, and we need that weapon to stay, able. So, that's a key thing for us, to be able to get him healthy this week."

(On San Francisco Head Coach Kyle Shanahan's system and getting the most out of any running back)

"Oh man, yeah, he's the best. He's best out there doing it in terms of the run game, the play-action, the keepers. The way those guys come off the rock, they just do it all right, you know? I mean, I just have a ton of respect for him. I don't even really know him that well – at all, actually – but have a ton of respect for so much of the things I've seen over the years them do, what I've been taught from the guy that I learned from. So much of it comes from not just Kyle, but Coach Mike Shanahan. And so that falls down – that trickle effect comes through. When you turn on the tape, you can see if somebody's tough. They're really tough. You turn on that tape, you see real toughness, and that's what, you know, I'd like to be able to emulate in some ways."

DEFENSIVE LINE COACH/RUN GAME COORDINATOR KACY RODGERS

(On what's working for a variety of positions to be getting tackles and sacks)
"Well, the good thing is they have a lot of plays and we got a lot of reps. Unfortunately, they got a lot of reps because we had been banged up. Calijah [Kancey] missed five, six games so that increased Logan [Hall]'s reps, C.J. [Brewer]'s reps, Vita [Vea] missed a game, Greg [Gaines]… Through injuries, it created more playing opportunities for those guys and a lot more practice reps because otherwise, those guys would get the majority of the reps when they're in."

(On Head Coach Todd Bowles saying Monday night was one of the best games of NT Vita Vea's career and his chemistry with DL Calijah Kancey)

"With Vita, I would probably have to agree with Coach – he's had good games in the past but that one when you look, especially statistically the way it played out for him. Between him and Calijah, I think it goes back to the day Calijah walked in as a rookie. First of all, first-round pick, but a very humble kid, was just eager to learn so he naturally gravitated to Vita and as Vita gets older and accepts more leadership responsibilities, it just kind of became a natural fit. They're kind of two totally different players, where Vita is big and powerful, the other guy is undersized and quick and explosive so you're the run stopper, you're the pass rusher so it kind of works for them and they kind of understand that."

(On why the outside linebacker position hasn't had as many sacks and pressures)

"Sometimes, when we look at it, there's kind of a lot of things that are happening in the game. We've been getting a bunch of chip blocks so that slows down the edge rushers a little inside. Then some of them, you're just right there still rushing – [it] comes down to rushing coverage [and] working together. You can have a great rush then we give up something or we can have great coverage and get stuck on the line of scrimmage so it's a combination of both but it's not for a lack of effort. I think I've said, 'Sometimes sacks come in bunches. Just keep going, keep going.' And then all of the sudden it'll pop loose."

(On if he cares what positions the sacks are coming from)

"We don't. If I'm not mistaken, [Antoine] Winfield Jr. was one of our leading sackers last year. The nature of our defense is we just want to attack you from all different deals. We're not sitting here [saying], 'Well, we need 10 from this guy, 10 from…' That's kind of never been our game. It's all been – we'll look at the end number because the style of defense we play – inside linebackers, they blitz quite a bit. Lavonte [David] going to always end up [with] around four or five, Winfield gets five or six, then you get Vita [Vea] and then Calijah [Kancey] then outside… We just want to see what that number looks like at the end because of the way we play. We ask the defensive tackle to drop out while we blitz the DB [laughs] so everybody gets involved."

(On CB Josh Hayes' getting his first extended playing time)

"No it's just any young player, you know, the first time. It's a hard first time – the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. That's really throwing you in to the fire – the deep end of the fire so just keep playing, trust your technique work, you're here for a reason and just kind of keep playing. The good thing about this [is] we're getting close to the half way mark and you can see kind of what we were, what we need to improve on. It's kind of crystal clear and the vision for who we are is kind of showing. This is kind of what we are, we have to get good at this, this is what we can do, this is where we are."

(On what he saw from LB Vi Jones and LB J.J. Russell)

"The thing is, Vi has been stepping up, he's one of our really more athletic linebackers on the inside and losing 'Voss' (SirVocea Dennis) early on, we needed to kind of fill that role and he's been coming on there. J.J. stepped up for us, I think last year [he] started the Carolina game for us so he had playing time and right now, we're all hands on deck. It's not like you're playing 80 snaps by yourself. We have a bunch of guys that we kind of need to work into the mix."

(On if San Francisco RB Christian McCaffrey is in his own class)

"He's a different cat, just because the way they're a talented team but they're so interchangeable. You can have Deebo [Samuel Sr.] at back and McCaffrey out at wide out, then switch those two then put him in motion. It's just a headache having him back as another explosive player that can be anywhere, so call-wise you want to try to stay out of a bad matchup so it puts a lot of pressure on the play caller game planning because just because he's in the huddle doesn't mean he's going to line up at the dot back. It's just having to deal with their formations, the way they utilize personnel, their motions, their shifts, you can end up in a bad matchup. That's what he brings to the table. He's a quality, quality player and then the way they utilize him just makes him more dangerous."

(On playing against some of the best tight ends in the league in the most recent games)

"It just makes for some sleepless nights [laughs]. It really is – it's just a tough league. It comes with the [territory], you play all the top dogs and those tight ends we've been seeing are truly, truly elite. That's the same thing – those guys, just because you have two tight ends in the play, it doesn't look like your typical '12' personnel, because we've been playing with teams [that have] the tight end out at '1' and the other three receivers over there. They want the isolation back there so it's just the problem of this league, when you have these tight ends that can do all these jobs and find a way to get open, then you have sometimes, physical matchups. Who are you going to put on him? A linebacker might not be able to keep up with him and a DB might get outmanned so how do you want to match it up? Then you want to top a tight end then leave a wide… It's just a lot of problems they pose."

(On what makes San Francisco TE George Kittle special)

"I think people don't give him enough credit for how tough he is. He does an excellent job in the pass game but I'm saying the stuff you don't really write about – what he's doing in the running game, when he jets across and blows up this outside linebacker or gets up on the second level, he kind of makes their running game go then he slips out on the bootleg game. That's hard because now you're getting downhill, now, 'Oh, by the way you need to cover him on this boot back here.' It's problematic."

(On why San Francisco QB Brock Purdy has been so efficient)

"When you look at it, one, he really executes their system from top to bottom. He's in total control of it, that's the thing. When we saw him as a rookie, he had total grasp of the offense. The difference now, you see him involved, he is wanting and looking to make the play. In the past, he was taking the plays that were there, now he's looking to make the big plays because he's growing in the system more comfortable and he has weapons around him, has a good offensive line, a running game, he has everything. Now he's trying to make the more big plays."

TIGHT END CADE OTTON

(On stepping up in the absence of wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin)

"I think, you know, seeing the way Mike and Chris have operated my whole time here, I just try and step up in their place. Obviously, they're a huge part of our offense and will be whenever they come back, but I think just as a group, we really challenged ourselves, and Coach [Liam] Coen challenged us to, as a collective, raise our game. Personally, I wanted to do that, and also as a group, I think we're working hard to do that."

(On how his body feels after getting so many plays over the past weeks)

"Thanks for checking. I'm good. You know, a little sore as usual – it's just part of the game. But overall, I'm healthy and feeling good. During down times when we're not meeting or watching film or walking through or practicing, I just do whatever I can to get my body feeling good, whether it's rolling out, getting in the tubs, stretching – all that stuff is a part of it. It's a full-time job for sure."

(On the confidence QB Baker Mayfield has in him in red zone situations)

"I think it's gone on over the past two years that he's been here. You just develop a rapport as you get more reps. Like I've talked about before, how great of a communicator Baker is, especially in those situations which require a ton of detail. He's just really great, whether it's in meetings or out on the field, coming to us as pass catchers and talking through what he's seeing and when he thinks we might get the ball. So going into the game in certain situations, I have a pretty good idea of what he's thinking, and that's a big credit to him."

(On facing the San Francisco 49ers' defense)

"They have a lot of great individual players, obviously, but they work great together as a whole. They're not super fancy or multiple in what they do. I think everyone in the league kind of knows their identity, but they play really well together. They make it really hard because, like I said, they know what they're doing, and they're really good at it. So we just have to have a great game plan and win our one-on-ones."

(On the reason for his increased ability as a run blocker this season)

"It's all of it. Coach [Justin] Peelle has been awesome. He's obviously played in the NFL and he gets it – knows the detail it takes to win against some of these defensive ends. What I've come to learn being in the league is that every team wants the edge to be the strength of their defense. When defensive ends have tight ends on them, they're taught to dominate that matchup. So it's definitely a huge task for us, but we're able to do it as long as we want to and have great technique. It's been a learning process for sure, but I feel like I'm getting better every day."

(On how he adjusts now that defenses are focusing in on him more)

"I think it's the same no matter what the defense is, you know? If they're doubling someone or not, to me, it's always about recognizing pre-snap where the space is, and then post-snap, just seeing where the space is. If you complicate things too much in your mind, you're going to be indecisive. It's something I've learned being here the last few years – if you have too much in your mind, if you're thinking through all the coverages while you're running a route, you're not going to play fast. So to me, I try to simplify it as much as I can, to where, like, if I'm seeing space in a certain place, I can reflect and know it as a certain coverage, but at the end of the day, it's about finding space and winning against leverage."

(On the team's current mood during the losing streak)

"I know that we all hate losing, and that's something we talked about in the locker room after, you know, don't get used to this. We know we're capable of playing at a high level. We know we can beat the best teams in the league, and we see ourselves as being up there. We just have to prove it – we have to find ways to win. There's an urgency there, but we're not breaking apart or anything. We're not pointing fingers. We're just going back to work and doing anything we can to find a way to win."

(On if he is aware of his statistical performances)

"I don't [track them] too much, and I know my production has been up the past few weeks. But the biggest thing I go back to is the win-loss column, and I'm definitely not satisfied with where we've been the last three weeks. Like I said, we're going to do anything we can to change that around. If my production goes down and we win, I'll be much happier."

-BUCCANEERS-