Muhsin Muhammad Talks the Hire of Dave Canales
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00:00 Yeah, it's been a while.
00:01 It's been a while.
00:03 Did you pick up any kind of Pete Carroll vibes from Dave down there?
00:08 Or any other times you might have met him?
00:10 I tell you, I don't know Pete that well, Carroll.
00:15 But if Dave is a reflection of Pete, then I think we're in for
00:22 quite a good ride.
00:25 It was my first time meeting Dave, first time hearing him speak publicly.
00:29 Very charismatic.
00:31 I think he has all the right elements when you talk about player development.
00:37 And when you talk about Russell Wilson, Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield.
00:44 And he described his approach.
00:47 I think you get the most out of people.
00:50 How he described getting every single drop of talent out of the talent that
00:55 you had to give.
00:57 When someone knows that you care about their success.
01:02 Dave came across as very authentic.
01:06 I can see where his interaction with people and players.
01:10 You get a sense that he's passionate about what he does.
01:14 He's passionate about the people who he's around.
01:17 I watched how he described his relationship with his wife.
01:21 He got emotional.
01:22 It's okay.
01:23 And I think you have to have that freedom to say, you know what?
01:26 It's okay to be who I am, be authentic.
01:30 And that allows for people to really buy into it.
01:33 And so he's got to win this locker room.
01:36 He's got to win these players.
01:40 And I think he has the personality, at least from what it appears,
01:44 what I've seen so far, to be successful at that.
01:48 And he's proven that.
01:49 I think he's had a track record of doing that.
01:52 Now, that's Pete Carroll.
01:55 And I haven't played for Pete Carroll.
01:58 Then I think we've got a guy who can get it done.
02:03 You mentioned winning the locker room.
02:05 Do you think that among some of the older guys there might be some element of,
02:10 like, now what, after they've cycled through so many head coaches?
02:14 Do you think that is a process that's -- you said it's important.
02:19 Do you think it could be tough given all the turnover that you've seen?
02:23 I'll say this, that, you know, who wouldn't be skeptical, right?
02:29 You know, I think this city, this organization,
02:34 the players who have been here for a long time,
02:36 old guys like Shaq Thompson, who's an old guy now, right?
02:39 It's not fair for me to say that, but Shaq, who's an old guy now, right?
02:43 And so I think the natural -- I think the natural reaction is to be a skeptic.
02:51 And you're wrong if you're not, right?
02:55 I think these players have seen turnover.
02:59 The city has seen turnover.
03:01 I think there's an element of let's wait and see.
03:05 And until you achieve success, everyone's going to criticize it
03:09 and everybody is going to second-guess it.
03:13 But the way you win, I think, is what Dave said.
03:15 You go out and you win every single day.
03:17 You come with that energy every day.
03:19 You've got to love being there every day, and that's what it's all about.
03:23 I love being here every day, and that's where it starts.
03:26 When you talked about -- when Dan said something about making this a place
03:30 where people were afraid to come, making their logo feared, that kind of thing.
03:34 Not you.
03:35 How did you see that transform from '01 to '03?
03:41 Gosh, you know, it's interesting.
03:43 When Foxy came in, we had meetings with him, one-on-ones.
03:50 He sat down with every single player.
03:53 And one of the things I remember from that meeting with Foxy, he said,
03:57 "You've got blue-chip players and then you've got blue-chip play."
04:04 And the ability to -- Dave announced this point -- maximize everyone's potential
04:11 will allow you to take a blue-chip player and get blue-chip play out of them.
04:18 And so I think that that run that we went on, it wasn't so much about an overhaul.
04:26 We need to scrap the whole thing, and everything is wrong.
04:30 There were tweaks.
04:32 And after 1-15, you go 7-9 and almost make the playoffs.
04:36 I mean, we're on that run and we're watching the board
04:41 and trying to see who was going to win.
04:43 You know, it's all these kind of scenarios, right?
04:45 But Super Bowl the next year.
04:51 So the biggest changes were -- they came from within.
04:56 We had the components of success,
04:59 but we weren't playing at the level we need to play.
05:02 I think that's going to be the job here is how do you identify those key contributors
05:09 and get them to play better than they played before?
05:12 And then how do you add a couple of new key pieces to what you have,
05:20 either through the draft, free agency, and then bring it all together, right?
05:25 And then obviously you've got to have a little bit of luck with injuries.
05:29 Attrition is always a part of the league, but you've got to have some luck with that.
05:33 And then obviously a couple of balls bounce your way to right and right.
05:37 Moose, I think everyone here would agree that ever since you played it,
05:43 you were truly a dog, as Dave Canales might say on the field.
05:47 Thank you.
05:50 So, you know, as a wide receiver, you were an incredible blocker, for instance.
05:54 But what did you think, you know, as you watched this team lose lack?
05:58 And how do you find a dog, or can you make dogs?
06:02 I mean, or do you have to get all new dogs?
06:06 I don't know when you--it's an interesting analogy, right?
06:12 But when a dog passes a dog--and I'm talking about the animal now,
06:18 not the people who we refer to as dogs--but when the dog passes the dog
06:22 and they're walking with their owner on the leash, right,
06:25 they kind of know. They can smell the fear.
06:28 They can see it in their eyes.
06:31 They have an idea that I can intimidate this other dog
06:35 or I can take over this other dog, and they might pull the leash
06:39 and one might run back the other way, right?
06:42 And I guess the easy way to say it is dogs recognize dogs, right?
06:47 Talent recognizes talent.
06:50 And there's an old adage that game recognizes game, I guess is how they say it.
06:57 But I guess how I would describe it is you can never play the game
07:06 and understand and develop an eye for talent because you've been around it so much.
07:12 And then there is the instinctual, like I know when I see somebody play
07:18 and I'm around that player and I'm around that person,
07:22 that we share the same characteristics.
07:24 We share a similar DNA. Dan has that DNA, right?
07:28 And I think he'll do a good job of identifying that DNA, the characteristics of it.
07:33 Now, are players perfect at 18, 19, 20, 21 years of age? No, right?
07:39 But there are certain elements, there are certain characteristics there
07:42 that you know I can take that and I can develop it.
07:45 And I guess you can take someone who has that and develop them into even more
07:49 of what you want them to be if they don't have it on day one.
07:54 But there is a distinction between am I faking it to make it
07:59 or am I the real deal and I'm ready to go, right?
08:02 I think there's a difference there.
08:04 How is Steve Smish on a leash compared to you?
08:08 Well, I never imagined myself being the voice of reason on the field during the game.
08:15 But Steve quickly showed me that somebody had to be level-headed,
08:21 otherwise this thing could really blow up out here.
08:24 And I enjoyed that passion.
08:26 I've always said this, that if there was any teammate of mine
08:30 that I got caught in the middle of some neighborhood that I had no business being in,
08:35 I would want Steve Smith with me.
08:37 I don't want him with me when I'm fighting anywhere else.
08:40 And when I'm on the field, I want Steve Smith fighting with me.
08:42 And so I think the challenge was harnessing it all the time
08:48 and pointing it in the right direction.
08:51 But every now and then you just got to let it go and let him just be who he is.
08:55 And that's what brought out the beauty and the best out of who Steve was,
09:00 was just allowing him to be who he was.
09:02 Just to follow up on what Scott said, what Dan was saying up there,
09:07 we need more dogs on this team.
09:10 I'm curious, as a former player, and you've stepped back
09:13 and you've had a pulse on this organization,
09:16 as you've looked over at it over the last six to eight years,
09:19 did it kind of resonate with you?
09:21 It's like, yeah, we do.
09:23 I agree.
09:24 Yeah, I agree.
09:26 Jackie Miles, who was our equipment manager and has since retired,
09:32 he came to me and he said, "Moose, you know,
09:34 "I'd love to have you out here on Sundays being the equipment manager--
09:37 "excuse me, being the uniform inspector, right?
09:39 "What are you doing on Sundays?"
09:41 I said, "Well, if you're going to get me off the couch, so be it.
09:43 "I'll do it," right?
09:45 So for better or worse, and good and bad,
09:50 I've been on the sideline for almost every single game.
09:54 And I agree with Dan.
09:58 We need more dogs, more guys who are very passionate
10:06 and refuse to lose kind of attitude.
10:11 I guess simply put, we need to strike the fear in our opponent.
10:15 And I think we can have more of that.
10:18 I think I agree with Dan.
10:20 I think we can have more players that absolutely strike the fear in their opponent.
10:24 I don't want to go into Bank of America Stadium
10:26 and play against Steve Smith this weekend.
10:28 I don't.
10:29 If I'm a DB, right, and I don't want to do that, right?
10:34 And so we've got to have more of that, and I agree with him.
10:38 You played under Jerry Richardson.
10:40 You've observed David Tepper.
10:46 Was Jerry a guy that sort of stood back and let his people do his work
10:49 and has Tepper been the same way?
10:53 As far as I check, they're two totally different guys.
10:57 And as far as I remember, neither one helped me win on Sunday.
11:03 I don't care what owner, coaches helped me win on Sunday.
11:08 They prepared me for the game.
11:10 I think when people are trying to compare one versus the other,
11:19 they're two different people.
11:21 I mean, they're going to be different, right?
11:23 And so, yeah, I think they are two different people.
11:27 I mean, in terms of one being heavier hand on what's going on versus the other?
11:32 You know, it's interesting.
11:33 I'm not in this building.
11:37 I don't know what happens on the day-to-day operations in this building
11:41 and how Tepper manages his team.
11:46 I will say that when you care, you pay attention.
11:56 And there wasn't anything that went on in this building
11:59 that Mr. Richardson wasn't aware of, right?
12:01 He paid close attention.
12:03 And he might have denied interviews.
12:05 He might have been very --
12:08 [Laughter]
12:10 He might have denied interviews, right?
12:13 But he was very aware.
12:16 And a lot of things are based on personal preference
12:19 or how you manage your style, blah, blah, blah.
12:23 And I can guarantee you that nothing happened at 800 South Mid Street
12:29 that Jerry Richardson didn't know about.
12:32 All right, well, thank you, brother.
12:33 Yep.