Media Day: Coordinator Transcripts

Boston College Football
2016 Media Day | August 11, 2016
Coordinator Transcripts

Boston College's two new coordinators - offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler and defensive coordinator Jim Reid - spoke with media at the Eagles' annual Media Day.

Offensive Coordinator Scot Loeffler

On his initial reaction to last year's quarterback situation at BC:
"Well it was tough. I've been in situations like that whenever you lose a starter, and then the next thing you know you're playing a bunch of young guys. That's not an easy situation. Playing quarterback doesn't happen overnight. It takes a lot of development. To some guys it takes a year. Some guys it takes four years. Other guys, it takes two. There's no magic formula to how long it takes. That was very hard, and I felt for Coach (Steve) Addazio and our players whenever they were going through that."

His current perspective on the Eagles' quarterbacks:
"I think we got a few guys right now, which is good. It's new for them. We got some new stuff that we're doing for them. It's a learning experience. Like Steve (Addazio) said, there's been some real ups, some high moments for all of them, and there's been their low moments also. What we want to do in this next week-and-a-half is we want to eliminate some previous mistakes, build upon some positives and keep going and eventually get to the point where we're ready to name a starter."

On the current status of the quarterbacks:
"I think that goes with age. Obviously the longer you play this game, the more experience you have. So obviously by age, there's some learning curve. But right now, we're walking into a situation right now where, like I said, there's some new things that we're doing, so it's new for all of them. But again … experience is everything. There's some guys that are 22 years old, that have been around the game a little bit longer, as opposed to Anthony Brown who just turned 18 and should have been at the prom in January, but he was here. So obviously age is a huge factor, especially in college. With the offensive line and quarterback, age is everything."

On BC alumni coming back to speak to the Eagles, most recently Dan Koppen:
"Every single person that Coach Addazio brings in front of our team sends a great message, and Dan (Koppen) was incredible. He talked about his experiences at Boston College, what a Boston College football player is supposed to act like, what we're supposed to be like. And then obviously he shared his experiences about Tom (Brady), and we all know what Tom is; he's a rock star. He's the best, best to ever play the game."

On the Eagles' reaction to Koppen:
"The messages and the experiences that Dan had, our players really respect that. He was in that room 10 or 12 years ago, and football players, college football players go through the same challenges, and I thought he did a great job sending his message to our group."

On Patrick Towles' arrival at BC:
"He was already coming here prior (to my arrival). Coach Addazio recruited him; he was already coming here before I got here. I thought that Coach Addazio did a great job recruiting Patrick. Patrick was being sought after by a lot of other Division I programs, and I thought they did a great job of recruiting him. We're glad that he's here, and just like Coach Addazio said, I think we've got a few guys that are competing. It's always good whenever you've got a few guys that you think can make a difference on Saturday. So we'll see where the rest of training camp goes. Like I said, there's been highs, there's been lows, and we'll just keep plugging along in this camp, and when we're ready to name one, we'll name one."

On the importance of the tight end in Loeffler's schemes:
"Absolutely. Our philosophy, Coach Addazio's philosophy will always play with tight ends here. It's been a pleasure to work with that group. They're all doing a great job; they're learning the offense, and they're going to help us win on Saturday's, there's no question."

On the Eagles' passing game:
"There's a lot of components to throwing the ball efficiently. You've got to have great protection. You've got to have great rhythm, great timing, great spacing. You've got to have the quarterback completely on the same page. You've got to have the wide receivers painting pictures, so when you're down to your third and fourth quarterback at the time, and you're playing with a freshmen offensive line, that's a difficult challenge. So throwing the football, it takes all 11 guys to do it. Whenever you're down your quarterback and your offensive line is young, it's difficult to be efficient in that area."

On if the defense's success last year is a motivation to the offense this year:
"Absolutely. With any player, with any unit, with any person that is a father, runs his family; sometimes you have to go through hell to get to where you want to be. And of course whenever you go through those situations, they're extremely motivating. Every great player that I've ever been around – every great offensive unit, great team – sometimes you have to go through some hard times to get to where you want to be. And it's extremely motivating. Nothing is ever perfect. If this game was perfect, we would all win 10 and 11 games and win national championships, but it's hard, it's difficult. I think it's extremely motivating for our group. We got a bunch of really good guys that are accountable, and it's not an offense/defense thing at all here. It's a team deal. I think Coach Addazio has done a wonderful job with that, and Coach Reid has done a wonderful job, our staff, and our team. It's just like Coach Reid said. It's really a pleasure to come to work every day because there's no division; there's no hidden agendas, and that's exactly what you want. It gives yourself a chance. When you have those hidden agendas, the finger pointing and all that, you have no shot. And that's not the case here whatsoever. And again, I think Coach has done…I've been around a lot of really, really, really good coaches, some of the best, and I think he's done an unbelievable job. We'll just keep plugging along, get better, stay together. Nothing's easy. There'll be some good times, some bad, and you just got to keep fighting and grinding and get to where you want to be."

Defensive Coordinator Jim Reid

On his ability to match head coach Steve Addazio's "fire":
"Let me tell you what, I wouldn't even try. Coach Addazio leads this program. He is a focused individual. The players know what to expect. They have great respect for his word. They have great respect for everything that he asks them to do, and they do it. Boston College, special place. I felt it back in 1994, and I feel it every day here. It's the definition of student-athlete and community service. Thirteen bowls in the last 16 years, so there's some football excellence there, as well. And there's no doubt who leads this program: Steve Addazio. He does a great job. But what you hear him say to players is the same motivation and same message in the staff room as well. Every morning at 7 a.m., we meet, and regardless of how anybody goes into that meeting, they come out fired up and ready to coach. He's a special guy."

On his awareness of the Eagles' defense before coming to BC and his impression of the group:
"We were a number two defense in the ACC last year against some really tough, good competition. Coach Donny Brown and I have been really good friends for a long time and I know the type of guy that he is. I'll tell you he's done a great job wherever he's been. I watched that defense before; it was a great pressure defense, and I think you'll see…Let me explain something here. When Coach Addazio came here, he had a blueprint. And his blueprint for the program was to run the football, throw play-action pass, get the ball down the field, and develop a well-disciplined, exciting offense. On the defensive side, what his plan was was to develop a pressure defense; that's what he likes. And that's what we'll continue to be. There may be some changes and different schemes, but we get our direction from him. That's the way that it went from the very first day he came in here. I want you to know something. He spends a lot of time in that defensive room, so we follow his direction."

On his linebackers group:
"Let me tell you something. That was a special crowd there (at Iowa, his last school). No matter what you do, if you're going to improve, not just improve, but continue to grow and continue to grow after college you have to have a great set of basic fundamentals and technique. Just so that you know, Jeff Ireland, who was the general manager of the Miami Dolphins when I was there, was watching our practice today. I think I can say that. And when I walked over, I say hello to him, and he watched my individual period, and he said, 'You know, some things never change. Those are the same things you did in Miami.' Because it's technique and fundamentals, and before you can run all over the field, and run the type of pressure defenses that we would like to run, you have to have good, basic fundamentals. It allows you to play fast, gives you great confidence, and that's what we're working on. That's what we worked on in the spring. When that happens, really good players become really good performers, and that's what you're after. We have Connor Strachan, Ty Schwab, and I promised myself I wouldn't talk about any names because you always leave guys out, but Matt Milano, the guys I work with, Mike Strizak, you know every day those are the basic upperclassmen. And I'll tell you what, they just fly around the field, and they love the game. And when you love the game, and you take pride in the basic fundamentals of the game, it just allows you to make big plays. Every day, I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to be around these guys. I shouldn't say that. It's a pleasure to be around these men, and that's exactly what they are. They're going to continue to try and develop their skill set to become the best players they possibly can be. It's fun to be around them."

On returning to Boston College after coaching here in 1994:
"Honestly we should be talking about our team and our players, but you know I like you. It just goes back to when I was here before with Dan Henning, but more importantly I was here with Stephen (Boyd), and Eddie (Sanabria), and Chris Sullivan, and Nick (Gianacakos), and Michael Reed, Darryl Porter, and Mike Mamula. The amazing this is, you're here one year with those characters, and within about 48 hours of coming back here they all call. And honestly it was a little bit of an emotional experience. That's not the way it is a lot of places. Coaches come, they go. But I'll tell you what; I loved the Jesuit education here. The Jesuit education here is about community. It's about teaching. It's about high character. It's about everything that we are supposed to teach. It's about integrity in everything that you do. I loved it when I came and coached those guys; I absolutely loved it. Every day, sprinting to work. You didn't want to go to sleep because you wanted to find out how you could make your guys better. Otherwise, I would still be at Iowa. But I knew what it was like here. That type of environment with Coach Addazio, who epitomizes those types of qualities, I just had to do it."

Boston College Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Anthony Brown

Matt Milano

Ty Schwab

Connor Strachan

Mike Strizak

Patrick Towles

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