Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey
October 8, 2020
Q: How do you reintegrate Jabrill Peppers when it’s time for him to come back and sort of balance that with Golden Tate? Obviously, when he comes back, he might not be 100 percent.
A: It’s a feel thing and it’s more on Jabrill and how he feels. You just never know with these things. Whenever he’s ready to go, he’ll hop in and, I promise you, he’ll let me know.
Q: Does he get right back in there and he’s the permanent guy or you going to do it by situations?
A: Just like we’ve always done it, by situation. Like the last two years, Golden and Jabrill have been our punt returners. It’s just a feel thing. If he feels fresh and he can go back there, he’s good. If not, he’ll come off and Golden will go back there. Get a fresh pair of legs back there, fresh mind to make a good decision. Those two guys will handle it.
Q: We talked a lot a couple weeks ago about Dallas’ crazy onside kick. Will you show that to your guys this week?
A: I think they have seen it 100 times. Between ESPN, NFL Network and tape, we’ve seen it, we’ve talked about it. It’s something we do every week, going through the situations throughout the league. We’re always trying to be on top of that stuff and don’t get caught off guard.
Q: Can you guys have crazy onside kicks like that? Maybe not that special one or is it pretty much standard onside kicks if that makes sense?
A: We have different stuff. Everybody has options, we can go crazy, we can get as plain as you want. Graham Gano is a pretty good kicker. We have some stuff up our sleeve.
Q: What do you think of Cam Brown working at gunner? What did you think of Madre Harper’s play on that kickoff?
A: Thank God Madre was out there, right? That could have got ugly for us. Cam is a young guy that’s working his tail off and Madre is doing the same thing. They’re both working hard, they’re both trying to figure it out as they go along. Teams are new to the process with it. Their two talented guys, they have good length, they have good speed. It’s definitely two guys you want to build a core around. We’re excited to have them. We’re just going to keep working them, keep coaching them. Keep coaching them hard and hopefully they will end up being guys that make some plays for us.
Q: I know you guys had your unit on high alert with Johnny Hekker last week. Now you get John (Bones) Fassel, who kind of set that whole thing up in L.A. for years. What do you see from what he’s done in Dallas? Is there any carryover from what you guys practiced for last week to this week?
A: A lot of carryover. A lot of the same stuff, a lot of the same schemes. Bones does a heck of a job. He has for the last eight or nine years he’s been a coordinator. He’s very aggressive in his approach to the game. He keeps you on your toes. He tries to put people on their heels and that’s what he does because of all the stuff that they do. You just have to be disciplined, you have to be prepared. You have to be sound in how you play them. He does a heck of a job.
