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On timing and reason of choosing Mike McCoy as coach:
"When getting ready to take a GM job, you always have to have a plan of people you want to bring. Over the last couple of years, just in case an opportunity came about, I wanted to have a list of coaches that I'd be interested in. I started researching. It's a lot like scouting players, trying to get as much information as I can on coaches. I just started scouting coaches, and Mike was a guy that kept coming up — what he did in Carolina and then especially what he did in Denver with three different styles of quarterbacks there. I had a lot of contacts in Carolina from when I worked there, so I could do some research there. Mike was a guy who kind of caught my eye early on, so I followed his career. Then, when we got the chance to sit down and interview with him, he blew us away with everything, so it worked out."
On whether Ryan Mathews can be the bellcow running back:
"He is really talented, a really good back. He's got size, and he runs well, but he's had some injuries, too. I think he can be a bellcow back, but he needs to prove that on the field by staying healthy. I think he's going to have a chance to do that. All the talent is there. Would we like a complement back? There's no doubt about it. I'm a big believer in two backs. These guys took a lot of punishment during the year. To have two backs back there — actually, you'd like three, but you'd like to have two backs who you can lean on so Ryan doesn't have to take the bulk of the carries, week in and week out. Who that complement is and his style — it doesn't really bother me what kind of style it is. As long as he can come in and play. We'd like a complement with him, but I think Ryan can do it as the one back."
On the Colts this time last year:
"I can refer back to Ryan working as a first-time GM work with a first-time head coach with Chuck. I've relied on that actually and just with where the roster was. A lot had to be turned over in a short period of time. To watch those guys do it and do it so well has been a huge help for me already. On what he learned: The big thing is watching that process of two first-time guys take on an organization that had to do a lot of turnover. I watched them intently, tried to learn as much as I could. I watched Ryan aggressively turn the bottom half of that roster over. Weekly, as you guys know, Mondays and Tuesdays are when we have transactions coming in and coming out. I don't know if it's a similar process, but it's helped me watch those two guys work because we're in a very similar situation here."
On what stood out watching Ryan Grigson:
He's very aggressive but still smart with it. He makes great football decisions. He listens to the people around him. He has just a great eye for talent. He's a natural at it.
On the road to being GM-ready:
"Well, you're looking at 15-plus years of working with Bill Polian, who in my mind is the best in the business — but I'm biased obviously — and then one year with Ryan, who ended up being executive of the year. Without that whole learning process, there's no way I'm here without those two guys and the whole organization. Everything I've learned has been from the Colts, really."
On his style:
"I don't know if I even have a style. I don't really concern myself too much with that. You come into work every day, trying to find the best players we can. Part of building chemistry with the team and the team process is getting to know the coaches well, getting to know the scouts, the front office. That's all part of team building for me. It's just trying to get to know everybody really well. That's what we're going through right now. I like to communicate with people. That's probably what my style is if I can even answer that."
On what he hopes McCoy and Ken Whisenhunt can get out of Philip:
"We need to get from the whole offense, the group as a whole, we need to get improvement from it. I think having Mike with a quarterback background, not only playing in the league but coaching quarterbacks, it's going to help, and calling plays is going to help. Ken Whisenhunt's background is great. It's a great fit for us. That's going to help. We need a whole group together — the offensive line, tight ends, backs, receivers — to get that whole group together, but obviouly, those two guys are going to be a huge help for our offense. No doubt about it."
On the coaching and front-office movement in the AFC West:
"I'm just worried about us right now. We've got a long way to go. We've got a lot of improvements to make. I'm not really focused too much on the rest of the division. We have a lot of decisions to make moving forward, so I haven't really been too focused on what everybody else is doing yet."
On whether Bruce Arians was ever on the table to be his head coach: "
"Sure. I worked with Bruce for three years in Indy before he left to go to Cleveland and then the year last year with him where (I worked) every day with Bruce. Excellent football coach. I knew he's get a job at somepoint, but for us, the best fit right now was McCoy. Bruce is going to be a really good head coach in this league. There's no doubt about it."