Sean Payton reveals the late night text exchange he had with Alvin Kamara after watching him coast through a practice, and explains how he challenged him to raise his standards if he really wanted to make the Hall of Fame “I text Alvin one night, Kamara, and he’s one of my favorite players, right? And it was a Wednesday. He had a tendency, he was so gifted, he could get bored. And then if he got bored, he might drop an easy pass.” “And he had one of those Wednesdays. In season, Wednesday is the first day of practice. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. And it was just a nonchalant day, and yet for someone who was so elite.” “I text him that night and I said, ‘Hey, I want to ask you a question. Can I coach you hard?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, why are you tripping?’ And I said, ‘Well, look, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.’” “And then, you know, it bothered him a little because he had to go to sleep. And then the next day he sees me in pre-practice, and I said, ‘Just let me explain this. Do you see yourself being in the Hall of Fame someday?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’” “And I said, ‘All right. Well, I don’t think your trajectory right now is steep enough to make that goal happen. I think your trajectory is five Pro Bowls, a couple All-Pro teams, phenomenal career, all-time leading rusher, but I think your trajectory, and I think your practices have to be.. And then he starts complaining to me, and I said, ‘I thought you told me I could coach you hard.’ And then, you know, it hit him.”

Mike McDaniel says before his first season as Dolphins head coach, he repeatedly told his wife he could not wait for his first 3-game losing streak, because that’s when people need a head coach “I remember Mike Shanahan, in times that I was just in the tank… Like that 3–6 year… And him just exuding confidence. And being like, Wow. I don’t know why I was so down. He’s so right.” “I’m not sure if it was messaging sometimes, or just how he carried himself. Bottom line was I went into the job, I’d tell my wife, she’d get mad at me, talking about adversity. But I was like…‘I cannot wait for my first three-game losing streak.’” “That’s what I was saying last offseason. Because to me… That’s when people need a head coach. If I want to be a head coach. Right? Cool. Two-game winning streak. Three-game winning streak. High fives.” “But the true test is, can you be a part of helping facilitate, be surrounded with the right people, to dig out of those inevitable adversities? For whatever reason I said three-game losing streak. That was just off of rip. And the first losing streak I had was three games.” “The past is only what you dictate in the present that it is. This offseason has been incredible. There’s a connection to me that’s stronger. That was developed in those three- and five-game losing streaks. Because you’re stripped down. And a lot of times people show you exactly who they are.”

Mike Tomlin says he loves competing against coaches who blame players for being unable to learn “Management. That’s what the hell we’re paid to do.” “We try to bring out the best in the collective. In an effort to do so… We better manage the collective… And the individuals within the collective.” “I love to hear coaches resist the responsibility of coaching… Because they’re easy to beat.” “They talk negatively about a dude… Saying things like ‘He can’t learn.’” “If everybody could learn… We’d need fewer coaches.” “Somebody’s talking about… How poor somebody’s hand usage is. Well, that’s coaching.” “I don’t run away from coaching. I run to coaching. I love it.” “When you’re a coach… Talking about somebody can’t learn… You’re seeking comfort… Because your teaching is struggling.”