Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey
May 19, 2022
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: You know, it's a process. When there's change, there's change. You've got to go through the process. I'm happy to be back here. Obviously, this is going on my 10th year here, so anytime I can put on this red, white and blue, I'm excited.
Q. You've been through four regimes now?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Yeah.
Q. What do you think the reason for you -- them liking you as each new guy comes in?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: You know, all I try and do is treat people right and do my job. To me, I think that's the bottom line. I think you take care of the people in the building, you handle yourself the right way, you try and be as good a servant as you can to the organization, and that's just been my mentality, just trying to help out guys and give. What you give grows; what you keep, you lose. So I try and give as much as I can to everybody around me.
Q. How would you describe the vibe in the building right now, the Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll era?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Well, just the vibe, period, is awesome, and it starts at the top. Dabs is awesome. He brings a lot of energy every single day. The players feel it. The coaches feel it. I think everybody in the building feels it.
We're excited about the opportunity we've got, working with Dabs and the new staff. It's amazing how fast we've come together so quick. I feel like a lot of guys on the staff, we've known of each other, have never worked with each other, but we've gravitated to each other quickly, and it's been a lot of fun.
Q. Everyone talks about in the draft room, offensive coordinator wants this guy, the quarterback coach wants this guy. What about the special teams coordinator and some of the guys that you wanted, and what have you seen so far from some of the rookies?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: You know, I tell you guys this all the time. Yeah, there are certain guys that I like, but my job is to make do with what I have. We're making gumbo every week. I don't have an issue -- I don't have a feeling one way or the other. Do I like certain guys? Absolutely. But whoever shows up, that's who I'm going to coach. Whoever is in the building, they're going to get coached up to the best of our ability and make sure that they're doing the little things the right way all the time.
These young guys are doing a really good job. They're all working hard. They're all trying to figure it out. They're drinking through a fire hose right now. So we're trying to make it -- special teams wise, we're trying to make it as simple as possible to where they can pick the schemes up quick so they can play fast and we can get an honest evaluation on them. So that's what we're doing with those young guys right now.
Q. Does the new head coach want you to do different things?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: No. I mean, it's kind of more of the same. Just being consistent in our approach every day, making sure the players understand what we're trying to do so they can execute and play fast and have success. That's their job.
Q. You've got a new punter in the building; just some early thoughts on Jamie Gillan?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: He's working hard, like I said. He's trying to figure it out, too. He's a young punter. It's not like this guy is like Graham (Gano) where he's been around for years. He's still trying to figure it out. We're working every day with him. He's doing a good job of taking the coaching, and he's very talented.
Q. Is he still that rugby style punter?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: He can do a lot of different things. Obviously, he was a rugby player, but Jamie can do a lot of different things. He's a talented guy.
Q. You try and upgrade the punting, but is a part of you, you don't want to mess with Graham, either, with the holding? How important is that?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Extremely important. The chemistry between those two is really big, your chemistry between your holder and your kicker obviously. Actually the whole battery is extremely important. They've been working at it, had a good session yesterday on the sideline, and then will work again today. It's a work in progress and we'll keep working to try to get back to where we were.
Q. Do you envision Wan'Dale as an option as one of your returners?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Yeah, Wan'Dale is definitely an option. We've got a bunch of options. We've got like six or seven guys that can return kicks and punts, which is good. Creates competition.
I think these guys, they're excited about it. It's fun watching them back there trying to catch that lefty spin in the wind. It's adventurous at times, but it's good for them. It's going to harden them, callus them up a little bit, and we'll be battle tested once we get into the season.
Q. Will KT be back there?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Yeah, again, obviously that's one of the reasons why he's here. KT is a super talented guy. With the ball in his hands, he's dynamic. Again, it'll be fun just to see those guys compete for a spot.
Q. With the roster turnover, do you look at the roster and say, I know I can count on this guy, this guy, this guy? Or do you have to be a blank sheet and say I don't know?
THOMAS McGAUGHEY: Well, it's a fresh start for everybody, and the guys that have done it before you know you can lean on, guys like a Julian Love and some of those guys, but some of these other young guys have got to come on, and it's some of the guys that didn't get a lot of opportunities last year, and now they've got to step up and take advantage of the opportunities they get this year. It's exciting to watch them grow, and we're heading in the right direction.
