Pass Game Coordinator/ Wide Receivers Coach Chad O’Shea (12.5.25)
How do you summarize what’s been going on with Jerry Jeudy this season and what you guys can do, or what he’s trying to do to get himself right?
“Yeah. Jerry has approached this year no different than he approached last year, and it’s been really outstanding in the way he’s approached it. And he’s done a great job of working hard, putting the team first. And there’s times that it doesn’t go his way – and that’s true of all players I would say. Like, there’s going to be some adversity along the way. I think Jerry’s done a good job of really trying to stay focused on his job, and as we say, ‘Our job is to get open and catch the ball, regardless of the game, the opponents, regardless of the situation.’ And that’s what we’ve encouraged Jerry to do. Certainly, Jerry has high expectations, and he should – he’s a very good player. So, we’ve just put the focus back on doing our job – that’s getting open, catching the ball, doing what’s best for the team, competing in the run game. And Jerry’s worked hard to try to do that.”
I mean, you say regardless of the situation. That said, you look through his career, he’s just dealt with so many different quarterbacks for a variety of reasons. Can that weigh on a wide receiver after a while? That, ‘Look, I’m constantly having to adjust to somebody else throwing the football’?
“I mean, the more a receiver works with a certain quarterback, the better, right? So Jerry, throughout his career, certainly has had a lot of different quarterbacks. You know, Jerry he’s a very intelligent football player, so it doesn’t take him long to work well with quarterbacks – it’s just the time on task is what’s most important. And I appreciate the way Jerry’s gone about his business, as far as knowing the circumstances that you are dealing with a different quarterback and you have several times in your career. But I always say, ‘Jerry, let’s put the focus’ – which he has – ‘back on doing your job, putting the blinders on and just concentrating on that’, and knowing that the quarterback does have a huge factor in our success – that’s true. But what’s most important is that we put all the focus on us and just doing our job, regardless of who’s throwing the ball. And Jerry’s got a very unique perspective based on his past experience working with different quarterbacks and now working with a few this year, which should be an advantage to Jerry because he’s done that, and that’s unique.”
So, is it the same conversation when there’s the sideline argument that he and Shedeur (Sanders) had? Is that part of it, or is there something, maybe a new element when it is so visible like that?
“Yeah, I think it’s always – it’s a work in progress, and we are very fortunate to have competitive football players, and we’re all trying to do what’s best for the team, and the competitive nature of all these guys is something that I respect greatly. And it’s a work in progress to try to get on the same page. You know, the quarterback needs us to be detailed and at the right spot, and we need the quarterbacks to throw the ball on time and accurately. And everybody’s got to do their job so each other can go out and do theirs, and certainly that’s true of all positions – it’s just not unique to the receiver and quarterback relationship and working together in the development of those two players. That’s true of all positions. You know, we stand by each other, they stand by each other in the huddle, and they need each other to do their job exactly the way we want it done to be successful. So, it’s really no different, it’s just – we’ve had some moving parts, and we’re doing the best job we can of just focusing on us and trying to do the best we can for the team.”
When you see a sideline confrontation like that, is that just so common in football and most of the time it’s probably not captured by the cameras?
“Yeah, throughout my career I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of great players who have been highly competitive. And you see that happen often, where players have an exchange that maybe doesn’t get caught on the camera or maybe doesn’t get seen because it happens behind closed doors. But it’s certainly something that, kind of – it happens. And its competitive guys and certainly, I appreciate their competitiveness, and we’re all just trying to do what’s best – and that’s to help the team win, and winand that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
Coach, you’ve been a play-caller, you’ve been around a lot of play-callers. What have you learned about Tommy (Rees) in this last month since he’s taken over that play-calling?
“Tommy Rees has been outstanding. I mean, I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of good coaches, but Tommy is just very impressive as an offensive coordinator. He’s very intelligent, he works very well with the staff, he’s a great communicator. And the thing he does best is he’s a tremendous leader. Tommy has done just a great job of providing leadership to our offense when it always hasn’t been good. I think that the greatest trait of a leader is how you can lead when times are tough, and he’s just done an outstanding job being in front of the guys on a daily basis of providing leadership. And I know I’ve really enjoyed working with him, and he’s just done a really good job with our offense.”
We’ve seen Malachi (Corley) have an impact on those jet sweeps. Do you think there’s more to his game as a receiver?
“I think that’s something that we’re really working hard on with Malachi. You know, he’s really done a great job with the ball-in-hand plays, and I think we’re interested in seeing what else he can do. And I think that there is more, and I say that because Malachi comes in here every day and he works so hard and he’s got a great skill set. He’s got great play-strength, and he’s got good athleticism, and he brings a really good competitive style – he brings energy to our team. So, we’re looking forward to pushing the needle to see how much we can do with him, whether it’s maybe an increased route tree or just more than ball-in-hand plays. He’s done a great job in our run game of blocking, obviously. He’s got great strength and a great play style. But I do think that Malachi can do some increased things for us, and he’ll increase his value if he can.”
How about Ced (Cedric Tillman)? It seems like Ced is another one that he’s getting a slow integration back into things after the hamstring or what’s going on with Ced?
“Yeah, Ced did a really good job in his rehab of getting back to the field, number one. But I do think with any player, when you come off of an injury, there still is that acclimation period, to compound that now working with a different quarterback. So, you’re coming off an injury, you’re working hard to get back, you get back to the field. And Ced is doing everything he can. I think that one of the things that gets unseen with Ced is, maybe not the targets in the pass game, but he does such a good job for us in the run game – that gets unnoticed sometimes. It doesn’t get unnoticed by us as coaches and the players in the room because they see it every day and they see it on film – maybe the camera doesn’t catch that part of it, but he certainly does a very good job in the run game and providing us some things that maybe just are beyond the catches. So, Ced’s going to continue to work hard, but I really appreciate how he got back, and I think our medical staff here does a great job of getting the guys back to playing. And there was an example of Ced, that they got him back on the field. Now, he just needs to continue to acclimate and, just like were all doing, just continue to try to get better.”
About Isaiah Bond. How has his development been throughout the season? What are you seeing in him?
“Yeah, Isaiah Bond, similar to other rookies we’ve had, it’s continued to arrow up. You know, he’s really worked hard. I think with all rookies, it’s like that first lap around the track – it’s a transition for him. It’s been all positive. He’s continued to improve every day. He’s certainly improved greatly on just learning the NFL game. I think it’s just so challenging for these guys when they come from college to pros, especially at the receiver position for us, with they’re now moving around to different alignments, and they’re on maybe a slightly different route tree, and the timing is definitely different and now you’re working with different quarterbacks. So, with all that being said, those things are challenging, but Isaiah has done well of really just trying to embrace the playbook and learning how to understand defenses and to do his job, and understand that, ‘Hey, there’s more to this than just running a route on air. I need to understand the defenses, and I need to understand how to go about this.’”
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