Welcome to “The Horse’s Mouth” with Tom McManus, live from Lynch’s Irish Pub. Sponsored by All Dry Services of SE Jacksonville, The Horse’s Mouth is a unique talk show where Tom’s guests sidle up to his bar to discuss the intersection of sports, business, and life. On today’s show, Tom talks with Retired NFL Head Coach, Mike Mularkey.
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Transcription
From Studio Three at Buzz TV, it’s The Horse’s Mouth with Tom McManus.
All right, time once again for The Horse’s Mouth here at Lynch’s Irish Pub in Jacksonville Beach, brought to you by our good friends at All Dry Services of Southeast Jacksonville.
Mike Mularkey is here — head coach of multiple teams in the National Football League. He’s also been an offensive coordinator, he’s a Gator grad, he’s a good friend of mine, and he’s here at the bar to talk about my favorite subject of all time — the game of football.
So let’s get into it with Coach Mularkey.
Hey Coach, you’re looking great! How’s life treating you?
Mike: Good! I know you’re traveling around, you’re retired, you’re playing golf, you’re working out, you’re having the time of your life.
Tom: You deserve it!
Mike: Probably the best thing is I’m having time with my grandkids. I’ve got five of them, and all of them are in sports. So yeah, seven days a week I’m at a sporting event.
Tom: The grind of coaching — I mean, it’s the grind. You guys grind and grind. You have to have special people in your life because that’s the job. I remember at BC, Coughlin’s light would be on at like midnight. I’d be coming home like, “What is he doing?” He’s working! But you’ve got to do that grind to win, and you spend a lot of time away from your family. So when you retire, you’ve got a lot of making up to do.
Mike: That’s kind of what I’m doing. But those hours are demanding. I’m not sure how good they are for your health, but they are real. They’re long days.
Tom: What’s it like, not just for you but coaches in general, when you come home after a tough loss? And if there are multiple losses — everyone feels the tension in the locker room. Then you come home… nobody’s like, “Oh, Dad’s here!” The wife’s like, “I better not say too much.” What’s it like when you come home when times are tough?
Mike: It’s interesting. My sons are probably the best example. They’d always say, “Hey Dad, it’s just a game, right? Just remember, it’s just a game.” Because they could see how frustrated I’d get. Fans are frustrated — and obviously I understand that — but for coaches who put in a lot of time and effort to build a plan and then not win, it’s hard. It’s really hard on your family.
My first head coaching job was in Buffalo. We started 0-4, and you really don’t want to be 0-4 in Buffalo. I went to the team that Monday after the fourth loss and said, “Look, I don’t have a folder that says ‘0-4’ on it. What do you do? This is what I know. This is what we know. I believe in it, our coaching staff believes in it.”
And we went on to win nine of the next eleven games — should’ve beaten Pittsburgh to go to the playoffs at the end. But you’ve got to go through those tough times, and if your family isn’t there for support, it’s hard.
Tom: Definitely major.
Mike: Yeah, I’m a better coach because of my relationship at home. No question about it.
Tom: That’s great — and now you’re making up for it!
Mike: Yeah, now I’m making up for it.
Tom: What do they call you, by the way?
Mike: Gampi.
Tom: Gampi — that’s a new one, I haven’t heard that.
Mike: Well, there’s a “Grandy” and “Grampy” in my life, so they couldn’t call me that. They took out the R, so I’m Gampi.
Tom: Very nice! And your wife?
Mike: She’s Sugar.
Tom: Sugar — nice!
Mike: Yeah, and they love her.
Tom: That’s really nice… until they get to be 18 and start bringing their buddies home from college — might have to change that!
Mike: (laughs) Yeah, they love her, absolutely.
Tom: All right, take us inside. You’ve been an offensive coordinator going against defensive coordinators — such a chess match between you two. You have your plays, your set plays… there’s “stealing of signs,” I’m told. What do you think of that whole thing? Is there a code you’re not supposed to break?
Mike: I don’t know. Whatever they’re talking about, reading tendencies is normal. We did it as players, we do it as coaches. You can’t really “steal” signs. I don’t even know what the heck they were talking about. And then Shanahan’s like, “No, he’s giving them a compliment.” They ask, “Do you do it?” He’s like, “No, not us — we’re fair and honest.”
Any advantage you can get — because games are such a fine line — any advantage you can find that’s within the rules isn’t stealing. Maybe you notice they put up a certain number for a personnel grouping, and somebody says, “Hey, they’re putting up ‘2’ every time they run.” That’s just noticing patterns — doing your homework.
Tom: Right.
Mike: Yeah, that’s doing your homework. I was never into hand signals or anything like that — why give them information?
When I was my first year in coaching in Tampa, Sam Wyche would already have the personnel for the next play ready. I said, “Sam, do you understand — the defensive coordinator only needs to know down, distance, and personnel? He could call a game from a coffee shop if he knows that!” I told him to stop giving them the personnel signal. Make them look at who’s coming in and out.
So I never used any hand signals — ever.
Tom: Just in case somebody was watching.
Mike: Exactly.
When I wasn’t starting, I’d stand next to the defensive coordinator, John Pease — the great late John Pease — and I’d be the decoy for the hand signals. I’d be messing around doing all kinds of crazy stuff while he gave the real sign, or sometimes he’d switch and I’d give the real one. They were always worried someone was stealing our signals.
Now look at colleges — these sidelines have three or four guys doing acrobatics, trying to fake out who’s giving the live signal. It’s crazy!
Tom: (laughs) Yeah, it’s interesting. How do you feel about our Jags? 3–1.
Mike: They’re finding ways to win. One of the big reasons is turnovers — the turnover balance. To have three games in a row where they’ve won that battle is huge. If you ever break down turnover stats, the winning percentages are clear. They’re giving themselves a chance to win.
Tom: They’re learning how to win.
Mike: Exactly.
Tom: I’ve never been a coach, but from a coaching perspective, it feels like they’ve learned to win but haven’t learned to put teams away. Like they let Houston hang around, let San Fran back in — that really bothered me. We’re up 26–14, and you let them go down on a 9-play, 92-yard drive.
Mike: A couple mistakes on third down. That’s part of the learning process.
Tom: Okay, so that’s expected?
Mike: Yeah. I’m sure that’s being preached in there — and the players know it. But sometimes you can overthink it and start believing “we can’t do it.” You have to do it a couple times before it becomes who you are.
Tom: Right.
Mike: You’ve got to put your foot on their throat — and I’m sure they know that.
Tom: Yep. All right, Coach, you were out at training camp like I was. Our offensive line couldn’t block a soul in camp — interior guys were fine, but the tackles? They couldn’t block our defensive ends. And now, all of a sudden, they’re one of the best lines in the league! Trevor’s barely getting hit.
Mike: Think about what the line’s doing — I was just thinking about this driving down here. A lot of these teams, including the Jags, are almost using the old West Coast philosophy: get the ball out quick.
I was with Coach Walsh my rookie year in the NFL, and I’ll never forget him saying, “You don’t have to make the yards in the air. Get it to your players and let them make the yards.”
If you watch Trevor, he’s throwing these “speed screens” to the receivers — quick throws. Not much thinking, no deep reads. Even if you get four or five yards, you’d take that every time in the run game. It’s like a glorified run play. Keeps the ball out of the quarterback’s hands, lets the O-line hold up, and keeps the rhythm going.
Tom: Yeah, and when they take shots down the field, they’re blocking it up.
Mike: Exactly — getting guys to chip, running screens, mixing it up. Did you see that screen to Etienne? Four linemen had pancake blocks on that play! And a Do-ga nearly took his guy’s head off with that block. I was like, “Yes!” We haven’t seen that in forever here.
Tom: (laughs) That was great to see.
Mike: You don’t need a big crease — just a little one. Etienne’s running like crazy right now.
Tom: As we wrap up, how do you like Liam Cohen’s offense?
Mike: I like it. I think it’s user-friendly for these guys and for Trevor. Even in his fifth year, he still needs that.
Tom: He looks phenomenal.
Mike: That out pattern to Brian Thomas Jr. on the sideline — you can’t stop that if it’s thrown right. He puts it in the right spot every time. Then you’ll see another throw and think, “What was that?” But the really good ones — they make that throw every time.
Tom: You shouldn’t start with that throw! (laughs)
Mike: No, but if he runs the right route and you release at the right time, you can’t stop it.
Tom: All right, Monday Night Football — at home against the Chiefs. Big game. Last time they were here, they kicked our butt. We’ve got to avenge that. How do you feel about the Jags Monday night?
Mike: I think it’ll be a close game. The Chiefs have an advantage — they’ve played in a lot of big games: Super Bowls, playoffs, Monday nights. That’s not something the Jags have done much of yet, so that’s a small edge. They just can’t let the magnitude of it get to them. It’s just a game — play like you did against San Fran.
Tom: Yeah. I texted Boselli earlier today — told him to put Lloyd as a spy on Mahomes. He’s their leading rusher! Don’t let him think — just go get him.
Mike: (laughs) You may see it!
Tom: Great to have you, Coach. Feel at home at the bar?
Mike: Absolutely. We had a great time in Ireland — still recovering a bit!
Tom: (laughs) You did good.
All right, that’ll do it for us. We love talking football on this show — we do it every week. It’s great to have Coach Mike Mularkey here on The Horse’s Mouth.
Till next time — y’all stay safe, y’all be cool, and let’s go Jags. Let’s get a victory Monday night. We’ll see you next time, right here on The Horse’s Mouth.
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