What Frank Reich Said at His Introductory Press Conference

Words from the new Carolina Panthers head coach.

Thoughts on the roster he is inheriting 

"I think the defense has obviously been a real strong suit, been a top-level defense. But we're always looking to get better. Here's what a top five defense gives you an opportunity to do...a top 10 defense is going to give you a chance in every game, but a top five defense is really what can elevate you as a team. That you can not only be in every game, but you can find a way to win every game when you've got a top five defense. We understand we're in a league that is offensively driven in many ways, but kind of the secret sauce is create and build upon the momentum we have - the players, the roster that we have here on defense. Get the right coaches so we have the right scheme that accentuate their gifts. And then offensively, I was really encouraged as I watched kind of the second half of the season and dig into the tape a little bit. There's so much to build on. The offensive line, the running game. We've got receivers that can get vertical down the field. The running backs were strong. [D'Onta] Foreman looked strong at the end of the year. That's going to be really important for us to get the ball vertically down the field."

If he will call the plays on offense

"I'm going to wait to see that we get the offensive staff together. Obviously, I've always enjoyed doing that. Felt like I've had a good bit of success doing that. It feels to me there's a little bit of a trend going away from that. I want to continue to re-examine that and it just depends on how the staff comes together and the coordinator thing. I'm excited about the prospects about some of the guys that are out there that could be our offensive coordinator. So, I'll wait to make the final decision on that."

What he learned about QBs during his time in Indianapolis

"You've got to have stability at quarterback. The good that I've learned in my past experience is we've learned how to adapt to different styles of quarterbacks, but that's not the ideal situation. We - Mr. Tepper, Scott [Fitterer], myself have to commit to what's our blueprint? How are we going to maintain stability at quarterback? Make a plan and then execute that plan."

Identity of the offense

"It's a passing league but you have to run the ball to be a championship team. I mean, there's exceptions to that but when you look at the analytics, the statistics over the years, you've got to be effective running the football and efficient running the football. That's one of the reasons why I'm excited about this roster. I know we can do that. We'll get the pass game right. I know we can run the football and we're going to run the football. That just builds off play-action, off the RPO stuff, all the movement stuff. Offensively, what you're always trying to do is to create conflict in the defender. Put a seed out of doubt in the defender's mind. It starts with running the football. And the second principle is, you have to get the ball vertical down the field. You have to get chunk plays. It's hard to go 14-play drives all the time. "

What went wrong in Indianapolis

"I think what went wrong was in four years it was established that that team, we were running the ball well. Like we're going to do here. And as this year started out, the running game disappeared. And then we didn't get the ball vertically down the field and we ended up having some breakdowns. Now, that's on me as the head coach. I've got to get that right. The responsibility starts with me. When we don't reach our goals, it's under my leadership."

Memories of Sam Mills

"He was the lifeblood of our team. That first year, we knew that we were having a special experience and Sam was at the center of that. When Sam was in the room, you knew it. You felt his presence. You felt his leadership. He had very high standards. I think that's what stands out to me most about my memories of Sam. His standards were just so high personally. His work ethic. How he prepared. How he practiced. How he played. He exemplified Keep Pounding, which to me, ultimately is about a sign of being committed to the process. Even though there's going to be some bumps in the road, if we Keep Pounding and we keep believing, we're going to get it right."

If he or Scott Fitterer will have control of the 53-man roster

"It's a balance of power. Scott will have control of the 53. I'll control who's active and who's not active. But ultimately, that's on paper. In reality, this is 100% collaborative. I can already tell that with Scott. We're going to work side by side. We're going to tirelessly work to where we're going to have the same vision. We'll have disagreements. We'll have different ideas. But ultimately, we'll come together as one and decide who are the best players on this team and how to build this team. I look forward to that. I can already tell with Scott that partnership is going to be a highlight for me and looking forward to getting to work as soon as we possibly can."

Having a mobile QB vs a pocket QB

"We all know the way the game is going. We all know the game is going to more of a movement style quarterback. I embrace it. I love that. We worked with some in Philadelphia. We had Carson Wentz and got a lot of good things with movement and RPOs, play-action, all that stuff. Same things in the years in Indy. We had some drop back, some movement guys. So ultimately, we can adapt to whatever but where the game's going and most of the guys coming out in college have more movement. At some level, even those guys, you got to have a guy that can win from the pocket. If we have one of those guys, we won't drop back 50 times but you've got to drop back 10 times. It's 3rd and 10 and the game is on the line, you probably are playing from the pocket."

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