49ers OC Greg Roman's dream come true

Feb. 16, 2011
49ERS NEWS49ERSVIDEO

The San Francisco 49ers new offensive coordinator Greg Roman spoke with the media for the first time on Wednesday. Below is a transcript of his press conference.

On what has been taking up his time since he has been hired by the 49ers:Well, I think number one is trying to build the foundation for our offense and our number one goal in laying a strong foundation is having some breadth to it so we can kind of adapt and move within that to the strengths of our players. I dont think we want to assume too much from a personnel standpoint, and so, we have a great staff. Great staff; love working with these guys, lot of interaction going on, a lot of throwing ideas and whatnot back and forth, a lot of scrimmaging as you would say, so, a really good group. And what were doing right now is just laying that foundation for the offense and our goals there again to be able to have a breadth to it so that we can adapt it within the system to whatever players we end up having on the team.On what the strengths of the 49ers offense right now with the players who are on the team:Well, I think theres a lot of really good talent and I think theres a lot of good, young talent that should be, that we look very forward to getting our hands on when things get resolved or whatnot; and developing and applying. One of the things well look at is just guys strengths and weaknesses and you really cant do that until you get to work with them, coach them, teach them, work with them, get their feedback, etcetera. But I think across the board there is a lot of young talent on this offense. I dont know if its any one specific thing though.On how much of the playbook they have down now:We have bits and pieces of just about every facet. To put a percentage on that, I dont know that I could; it will continue to grow. We were joking with offensive assistant Bobby Engram, who is our offensive quality control coach; we kind of threw this hook out into the water for him because hes got his hands full right now drawing all the plays and whatnot. We said, Hey, you get these next three things done and youre almost done. We wanted to see what hed say and he smiled and said, Yeah, the playbooks never really done. You know, you try to create, build, adapt; take the next logical step as we go. So, I dont know that itll ever be done.On how he and head coach Jim Harbaugh divided duties while at Stanford and whether it remain that way now with the 49ers:Well, thats a great question. Jims the head coach and however Jim sees things getting done I will work with that 100 percent, 100 miles-an-hour. To get into specifics on that, I think we work, we have a very good working relationship and I try to think along with him, think around him and bounce ideas off and think ahead and whatnot. I think thats one of my jobs but Im here to serve Jim and serve the 49ers and serve the rest of the assistant coaches. So however that best unfolds, were ready to go.On whether they both will call plays:I think thats, yeah, Id say thats pretty accurate.On who will be up in the booth and who will be down on the field:I will be up.On QB Alex Smiths chances of being back with the 49ers:I think Alex does a lot of things really well and I dont have a crystal ball so I dont know whats going to happen. But I think we all see that hes gotten very strong in certain areas. But well just have to wait and see how it plays out; pretty fluid situation. On whether he has talked with coach Harbaugh about his feelings on Alex Smith:Well were in, we talk about every possibility, every player, where they fit, what they represent and Jim has a great sense of quarterbacks who can learn, having played the position. Yet he has a coachs perspective on the position as well. So, you know, not sure how its going to all work out but a lot of good possibilities that could happen.On whether it is frustrating as a coordinator with potentially not knowing what will happen at the quarterback position in the near future:Well I mean, I wouldnt say frustration, no. I think theres a lot of exciting possibilities. As fluid as these situations are too, I will never get frustrated with them. Well try to analyze it find the best possible solution. Were pretty excited about what might happen and thats the importance of building an offensive system that can fit a lot of different skill sets at that position; a guy that can run, or more of a pocket passer, a veteran, a young guy that you might have to narrow things down for. All those things go into it when you work out the system together and then get ready to kind of take off from there when you really get your hands on the players.On why building the system is not as easy as simply taking what they implemented at Stanford and putting it in with the 49ers:Well, what we did at Stanford was a direct reflection of what our players told us they could and thats kind of how we go - put a big, broad system in and then start to see what your players tell you in practice, what theyre good at. At then it starts to shift one way or another. To just say, Heres the system, heres what were doing, well never do that. A great example of that was former NFL head coach Don Shula when he went to the Colts; they had a system and veteran players and he just, he didnt even change any of the terminology. He just adapted it and didnt do what he wanted to do really but waited until he went to the Dolphins and put his system in. But the best decision is, the players direct where the system goes.On how they can direct the system when they dont know who their quarterback is going to be:We havent even built it yet. When we know that, we got to build it for all those contingencies and then go from there. And you got be able to try all different aspect - all the over here, over there. You need to see how the players handle all those things and then start to narrow it down or else you put yourself in a box.On whether he has gotten the videos of former 49ers head coach Bill Walsh installing the West Coast Offense:We are. I went to Home Depot last night and I got an axe and a pick and Im ready to dig for them. But, no, yes; we are on the trail. Were going to probably get some pizzas one night as an offensive staff and just start rolling through them.On whether they have those tapes physically:They are around; we dont have our hands on them yet though. Were in the process of getting them.On whether formulating practice schedules and what will be practiced will be his or coach Harbaughs responsibility:Jim does that but we all kind of work around and tweak things accordingly. Jims always looking for feedback on things so hell bounce ideas, bounce thoughts. So its constantly moving and its constantly adapting. So hes going to have that mainframe, the framework, and if we need to tweak things well discuss it and tweak.On what kind of disadvantage the potentially NFL lockout would put the 49ers at, given that they cant give players material after March 3:We really havent thought about that; were preparing as if we are going to have an offseason. And if it doesnt we will adapt it, we will get excited about the challenge it presents and well go from there. Week to week during a season as you build a game plan, very often these game plans are so specific and presenting a lot of new things; its a amazing how much you can get done in a short amount of time, I guess is what Im saying. So were really not even looking at that; if it happens it happens, it is what it is.On what they can do to circumvent the potential of losing those offseason minicamps and workouts:Nothing really; I mean, were not going to have any contact with the players in a football sense. Thats my understanding of it at least right now and we really havent up to this point; were too busy dotting Is and crossing Ts. You dont want to give players information thats not fully concrete, so, you know, well just have to take that as it goes. But really, my understanding is were not allowed to have any contact regarding football, so.On whether they will give material to any players, or free agents such as QB Alex Smith, on March 3:I dont believe were allowed to give them any football materials, so, Im pretty sure thats the case.On whether they could even give material to QB David Carr, who is still under contract for next season:That is my understanding, yeah.On whether he sees any similarities between QBs Smith and Carr, given their careers have both seen flashing of abilities but also been hindered in difficult circumstances:Yeah, every careers different. Davids got a lot of unique skills and so does Alex, but I think quarterbacks are very unique and I hate to take one and say that hes like another. Theyre all kind of like; I just look at them as individual. But to compare them, I dont think we would ever do that. I think theyre all very unique though and Davids a talented guy; well see how it all fits together.On what he learned from former 49ers and Carolina Panthers head coach George Seifert during his time as an assistant coach with the Panthers:I learned a tremendous amount from coach Seifert. I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for George as a coach and a person; very, very intelligent coach, very outside-the-box thinker, very hard worker. And I learned a lot. All the Bill Walsh installation tapes, Ive seen them. I watched them back in the 90s several times and I have the old 94 playbook and the 93 playbook. A lot of history with that through George and I was very fortunate to have been exposed to that. But I have a great amount of admiration for George and what he was able to accomplish as a 49er.On how much West Offense was in the Stanford system in 2010:A lot. Our whole system is basically in the nomenclature of the West Coast, so the language is the West Coast language. Is it tweaked here and there? Yes it is, and when you look at all the different branches that have branched out over the years, theyre tweaked everywhere and they take on a different form that fits their players. Like when former 49ers offensive coordinator and NFL head coach, current president of the Cleveland Browns Mike Holmgren went to Green Bay, they became more of an I-formation team then a split-back team that they were here with the 49ers. That was just how they were built from a personnel standpoint and it evolved from there. So, the nomenclature, the language and all that is straight from the West Coast Offense.On whether he sees TE Vernon Davis as a player he can do a lot with, given the success the Stanford tight ends had:Oh we love tight ends that do a lot of things and Vernon has shown hes got a lot of very, multidimensional. So, really looking forward to talking football with Vernon and looking forward to being able to coach him at some point.On whether it will be a run-first West Coast Offense with the 49ers:Honest to God, our offense will be whatever gives us the best chance to win, relative to our personnel and the opponents scheme and their personnel and all those matchups. So, I dont think you, you know, its way too early to pigeonhole and say that. You know, were going to do what gives us the best chance to win.On which defensive position poses the biggest challenge when formulating those schemes in the NFL:You know what, its week to week. I mean, I think you look at a defensive scheme and evaluate A the scheme, B the personnel within the scheme and then you start matching things in your head as far as how your team matches up to theirs and, you know, its every position really. I dont think theres just one. It could be a great cover-corner, it could be a great pass rusher, it could be a great blitzing team, it could be a great coverage team. Its all those things. Its the beauty of what we do. I love it and its a never-ending chess match.On whether they have evaluated the veteran free agents around the league for the quarterback position:I think, yeah, the free agent market has been, you know, thats an on-going evaluation and, as well as, the first thing we needed to do was get together as an offensive staff to start working on building that foundation for the offense. But the free agent evaluation is definitely a part of what weve been doing, yes.On how well he got to know coach Harbaugh in 2001 with the Carolina Panthers when he was an assistant coach and Harbaugh was in his final year playing as an NFL quarterback:You know what, Jim doesnt remember this but one day at practice Jim was warming up and he said, You know what, when Im a head coach someday Im going to hire you. And I said, What? And then I started thinking about it and thinking about his father and Jim was a gym rat; that was the first thing when I first met him. He was always around the facility, always hed been sitting in the special teams coachs office floor as the special teams coach broke down opponent film. I mean, he was a football guy all the way. You dont see guys doing that. That was, Ive never seen that before or since, so. But yes, he was all football; he was a football guy, he loved the game.On whether Harbaugh was open then about wanting to coach:Yes, yes, very much so.On whether it has been decided who will call plays:You know what, thats up to Jim and Jims the head coach and Im sure Ill have my role in it and Jim will always have the ability to, whats it called, have the last word on a play call or whatnot. But we spend a lot of time during the week talking things out ahead of time and trying to sequence things. So, its very important that our offensive staff has got a lot of really good coaches at every position. I love this group, working with them so far and everyone will have a strong impact on what we do.On whether they are a script-based staff:We do script but we can get off the script if need be. We can change the order of the script. Well definitely have some priorities laid out and contingency plans available.On whether the structure at Stanford meant that different people were in charge of play calls for each different down or situation, and whether that happened organically or was it planned out:That was somewhat the framework at Stanford but its all planned, everythings planned out. I think part of having a staff is maximizing the abilities of the staff. We dont want to cut ourselves short and however that comes together and shows and avails itself, thats kind of, we push to maximize everybodys ability. But thats something you work through; you dont just say, This is how you do it. You work together to find whats best for the team, for the 49ers.On how many people had input at Stanford:The entire staff had input but, because I think we had a very talented staff there and they all had input.On how tough it is to work under the uncertainty of the potential NFL lockout:You know what? To be a part of this 49ers organization and what it has meant to the NFL over the years is a dream of mine. When I first started out in coaching, I would lay in bed at night thinking, How are we going to beat the 49ers? Because they were up here and there was a huge standard and mystique, but it all came down to a standard that was set and where 49er football was up here. Im very, very, very, very excited about being a part of 49er football; its a professional dream come true.