Offensive Coordinator Travis Switzer (3.4.26)
Opening Statement:
“As I’m sure most of you guys know, I went to the University of Akron, so Northeast Ohio is no stranger to me. I understand what football means to this area of the country, and I understand what the Browns mean to Cleveland. So that’s something we don’t take lightly and I’m very excited about. Just a couple thank you’s I’d like to send out. First of all, to the Haslams and JW (Johnson) for giving us the opportunity to come here. Coach (Todd) Monken, Andrew Berry, for having the trust in me and the belief in me to bring me here. Coach (John) Harbaugh, who I worked for nine years in Baltimore, giving me really a chance in coaching and having a vision for me. And then last but certainly not least, my family, my beautiful wife, Rebecca. You guys see a little bit of our schedule. It takes a special person to be married to us, a very special and strong person. She is certainly that and a lot more. And our two sons, Louis and Archie, who will probably watch this after they get off school today. So, listen to mommy, do your homework. But yeah, with that I’ll open it up questions.”
Travis, you’ve been around Todd the last three years. How much do you sort of develop like the same, like, wavelength – I mean, you feel like you’ve gone out on the same wavelength with him? And how much does that kind of allow you to maybe push – I don’t say push back, but, you know, kind of a little more give and take when you guys talk about philosophy, play call, those kinds of things?
“Yeah, I mean, Coach Monk and I have been great from day one and our relationship has certainly built from that, you know, getting a little more comfortable with each other. I think how he thinks and the more we can kind of do that, the better the operation is going to be. As far as pushback and all that, that’s not really how he operates. He’s a collaborative guy. He wants to listen, and then we decide together. You know, he believes that with him and I, the whole staff. I mean, that’s just his philosophy. And it’s been like that since I met him.”
Travis, you were the run game coordinator in Baltimore. Now you’re the offensive coordinator. So how much role do you have in the creation of the run game here?
“Yeah, I mean, that kind of refers back to what I just said there. I mean, we’re going to be a collaborative approach. Monk says this all the time, obviously, the guy who’s calling it. You know, you got good players, you have a great staff, you feel like you can call it freely. So that’s our job, you know what I mean? And we’re all going to work together.”
Have you studied the Browns quarterbacks here?
“Yeah, a little bit. Obviously, that’s something we started when we first got here. And I’m excited about the guys we have here. I mean, Monk said this in his opening press conference. You don’t take a job if you’re not excited about the quarterbacks that are in the building and it’s more than one. We’re excited about Dillon (Gabriel), we’re excited about Deshaun (Watson). You know, anytime you have a guy who has had the success that he’s had, he’s got to be part of the equation for when it comes to competing for that job. And then Shedeur (Sanders), what he was able to show last year, you know, he’s still young. He has a lot of growth that he can still achieve, especially year one to year two. He only started with six, seven games last year, so yeah, I think there’s a lot to be excited about in that room.”
Travis, speaking specifically to your role, what did the day-to-day look like for you?
“Yeah, I mean, like I said it was – we had our areas, but it was a very collaborative approach in Baltimore as well. Obviously now as the offensive coordinator, you’ll have a hand in a little bit, other parts of the game as well, more than I did. But yeah, as far as the day-to-day, I mean, we’re all studying our areas, trying to figure out how to attack teams and then coming up with things and tweaking it when we all get together, you know, to figure out the best way to attack somebody, the best way to play.”
Travis, along the lines of quarterbacks and what stands out to you. Obviously, there’s going to be a lot of new additions on the offensive side through the draft and free agency. But as the roster as it stands, the guys you have, what stood out to you as something that excites you, the things that excite you about taking this role and running this offense?
“Yeah, I mean, we have pieces here that we are excited about. I mean, it starts with (Harold) Fannin, (Jerry) Jeudy, Shedeur, and what he was able to show last year to Deshaun, what he’s shown in his past and Dillon and what he was able to show last year as well. The offensive line obviously is something that we’re going to be looking to add to in addition to develop the guys that we have here. (Luke) Wypler, possibly, Joel (Bitonio) – I’m not sure, certainly going to come up as well, but we’re allowing him some time to kind of figure that out. But yeah, there’s a lot of pieces here to get excited about. It kind of goes along what I said about the quarterback. You don’t take a job unless you’re excited about the pieces you have.”
With that said, what are some of like the traits and things that you guys philosophically kind of want in a quarterback and look for?
“Yeah, I mean he’s got to be an elite leader and decision maker. I mean, that’s where it starts. Somebody said this, I remember hearing it years ago. It might have been (Dan) Marino or somebody – as a quarterback, you got to go throw four picks in the first quarter and step into the huddle in the second half, look your guys in the eye and they still believe in going. So that’s one of those things. I don’t know if you can coach that, I don’t know. I think it certainly helps. You can develop that through preparation and then having success and now you have confidence in your own process and all those things. And that does start to develop. But yeah, those are all the things that you look for.”
At the Combine, Todd talked about bringing the offense, you guys ran in Baltimore to Cleveland. He said if you believe in things, you just have to stick with it. What would you say are the most important traits that you say that Todd Monken, this offense will have?
“Yeah, I mean that could be a very broad thing. I mean there’s certain non-negotiables, if you will, which when you start to look at there’s not a ton of them. Take care of the football score touchdowns in the redzone, right? We want our guys to be tough, physical, and play fast. And then the methods and how that comes together is very wide. And of course it’s going to be built around who you have. That’s where it starts. And that’s where I think Coach Monk has succeeded in multiple spots that he’s had. I mean there’s been people who said, ‘I mean, what system does he come from?’ You know, and I think that’s why, because he’s able to old to who he has.”
Just to go back to your time in college and reading about your career and making 36 consecutive starts, like how did your time as a college athlete and your time at Akron form you as a coach now, you think, and just your path getting into the NFL.
“Yeah, I mean, when you’re at that age in life, I think there’s a lot of growth that happens no matter where you are and for me, it was at Akron and I love my time there. I was able to grow into a man there obviously, playing, you know, through football it teaches you a lot of lessons. So, yeah, I couldn’t be more complimentary of my time at Akron, and it was certainly helpful to me as a coach and the person I am now.”
When you look at what you have in the quarterback room, if nobody else shows up on the doorstep, do you guys feel like right now you have what you need to accomplish your offensive goals?
“Yeah, I mean, certainly. I mean, those things that they tend to work themselves out as far as who that’s going to be. That’s why…like I said, the competition and the decision of when that’ll be, we don’t know. But those things, they have a way, players win spots and they have a way of kind of working themselves out. But yeah, we’re excited to do that.”
How is it that we never became an offensive line coach?
“I don’t know. This coaching thing is weird, man. I mean, I think you kind of find a niche and you just try to ride the wave, you know, and just keep coming with the opportunities that come to you. You try to do a great job at the job you have and kind of let everything else take care of itself. So when I first started, I was actually in the weight room, which I thought was an awesome way to start. I was able to probably interact with the players a lot more than would a normal QC role or GA or something like that, because you’re with them every day. And then I was able to learn football because, I mean, I knew nothing at that time and I was able to kind of learn football, provide some value, you know, a year or two down the road. So I would just say it’s not the way it fell for me. I think I’ve always had a pretty big picture approach, you know, and outlook to things, so maybe that’s what it is. But yeah, I don’t know. I guess it’s just kind of the way it fell for me and trying to ride the wave.”
Why did you end up at Akron?
“Yeah, so I only had two offers. I wasn’t a big recruit. And just like anywhere else, I mean, you fall in love with the staff and you fall in love with a place and you go and you visit and it feels right, very similar walking in this building every day, you just kind of know it when you feel it. And yeah, that kind of helps that decision.”
How do you assess your wide receiver room?
“Yeah, I mean, that’s obviously something that we’re looking at right now, too. Anytime you have somebody –very similar to the Deshaun point – you got Jerry Jeudy, who is a very talented player, and that’ll be something that we’re looking to try to tap into. A skill player’s production year-to-year, I mean, there’s just so many variables that go into that, I mean, I think you can overthink things a lot of that is outside of individual player’s control, you know, so we’ll be looking at all those things and we’re very excited about Jeudy and Bond and obviously, like I said, I think we include some tight ends in that as well with Fannin’s skill set so we’re very excited about our pass catchers.”
Talking about your Akron days, did you ever come to any Browns games when you were a player or student?
“I don’t think we ever got to one. It was kind of hard to when you’re playing and you’re worried about it. We did go to a couple Guardians games and they were great.”
Have you had a chance to meet Quinshon (Judkins) yet? And what do you think that you have in him?
“Yeah. So very excited about Judkins. Haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet. I’m excited about that. But he was somebody that well before I came here, you know, being in the AFC North for nine years, I mean, you get some crossover tape where the Browns show up. And as soon as he started bursting onto the scene, I’m like, ‘Man, who’s this guy?’ So very excited about him, (Dylan) Sampson as well. I think we have a lot of really good talent in the running back room.”
Being on the opposing sidelines for so long, what did you see out of this team as a whole? You know, playing them twice in division every year, like, as a whole, that makes you excited to come here?
“Yeah, they’re a very physical outfit that I thought played hard. Obviously, we were on the offensive side of it there so playing against our arch defense now, which I’m happy I can now say. Yeah, I mean, ton of respect for the way that they played the game, you know, and you can see that on tape when it jumps off the tape like that, and the effort finish and the physicality, you know, that’s something you respect and we certainly respected them.”
You mentioned Fannin a couple times already. You guys were so good with your tight ends in Baltimore, why does he get you so excited?
“Yeah, I mean, he’s a matchup type of player that can put the defense in situations that are hard. How do they match? Who do they put on him? You know, because he’s versatile, he’s able to do multiple things to where, like I said, you can really put the defense in a tough position as far as matchups go.”
With the O-line and you mentioned Joel, waiting on that, but looking at how many new starters there could be here this year, like, how do you feel about that process and how you are going to help get them up to speed?
“I mean, well, everybody’s new to us. So, you know, we got here, obviously it’s our first year installing our system. But yeah, it’s going to be a combination of developing the guys we have and adding guys if we can. And at that position, obviously I played it, haven’t really been involved in coaching it a whole lot, but they are the heartbeat and the tone setters of your offense. And a lot of times it turns into them for the entire team as well. You know, them and the defensive line. So it starts with getting guys who play the way that we want to see, you know, and that’s getting after people, running off the ball. Throwing your hand in the pass pro and finish it, and we have some of those guys here, and then we’re going to add more of them as well. So yeah, we’re excited.”
Do you know whether you’ll be up or down on gamedays yet?
“Most likely the booth. Monk and I haven’t talked in depth about that yet. That’s where we were in Baltimore.”
So you were in the booth in Baltimore?
“Yes. Yeah.”
Did you know Todd before you were in Baltimore?
“I didn’t. I mean, I knew who he was, but no, I didn’t. I mean, him and I met three years ago and have really developed a great relationship.”
So what have you learned about him? And obviously he’s stepping into a new role for him and I know he’s thrilled about it. What made you think he’s the right guy for this job?
“Yeah. So the first thing – like if you were to just say Todd Monken, like, what’s the first thing that kind of comes to my mind is passion. And I’ve said this to a lot of people, like, he would have been great anywhere. He is perfect for here and I truly believe that. I mean, the city, the players, the building; they’re going to see his passion and I think that’s going to rub off on people and it’s going to be great.”
Did you learn any new words from Todd in the booth?
“Yeah, I’m going to plead the fifth on that one. But no, I mean, yeah, that goes part of the passion and yeah, there’s plenty of times where we had some laughs up there, certainly.”
Todd will be afforded significant stay in the starting quarterback. Do you feel like you’ll be really able to collaborate with him on that on who you guy’s decide on?
“I think it’s going to be a collaboration of me in addition to our entire staff. That’s just the way he’s always operated with everything. So, yeah, I think that will apply there too.”
You guys had such a unique situation with Lamar and that run game and Derrick Henry, for that matter. What’s the process of trying to adapt your run game to an offense that doesn’t have the best running quarterback?
“Yeah, that’s a great question. And I think it can carry on past the run game as well. So I think that goes back to how your system is built from day one. It needs to be built in a way that is multiple enough that you can stress the defense in a variety of ways and also cater to your players. You know, who you have and I mentioned that earlier. I think that’s something that Monk has been elite at and we were able to do in Baltimore as well. So if the system’s built in the right way from the jump, you’re able to move down this avenue and expand on that. But it goes back to how it’s built in day one. Like I said, multiple enough you can stress the defense, cater it to your players, but then also designed in a great way and tight enough where you can execute at a high level. And you’re still complimentary within the system.”
You mentioned giving Joel some time to obviously figure out what he wants to do. But Todd sort of joked last week that he had a chance to see him in his office and was already sort of trying to talk to him right there about coming back. So have you had a chance to, like, give your pitch to Joel and just how valuable would it be if he decides he still wants to keep playing for you and come back?
“Yeah, I mean, so I have a ton of respect for Joel. Obviously, I’ve never coached him before. I’ve never been on the same team as him, but just from what I’ve heard with guys who have, the way he approaches the game, he’s a pro, and then obviously I’ve seen him on tape, so I’ve already respected that part of it. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet. He’s been up with Hop (George Warhop) and Monk, and I missed him that day. So I’m hoping, I don’t know, maybe we can kind of scatter this out and keep hitting him a little bit here and there, but also respect his space and allow him to make the best decision for him and his family.”
Joel wouldn’t be the first, but I’m sure, but he’s older than you. How do you coach a player that’s older than you?
“I mean, yeah, so I’ve been in the NFL as a coach since I was 24 years old. So that was something that I’ve had to think of for the last…it doesn’t matter – once you prove to them that you can help them, they don’t care where you come from, you know, and the relationship that you build is really what’s most important. Not your age, where you come from, you know, any of those things. Once you can get a relationship going with the guys and they see that you can help them, then you got them, you know, and then that’s what really takes off from there.”
Did you spend a lot of time in Hershey Park growing up in Lancaster?
“Yeah, we went a few times. I remember when they built Storm Runner, you know, that was pretty cool. But yeah, they probably have like 10 more rides since that one. But, yeah we went sometimes.”
From a mobility standpoint. What do you think of Shedeur’s ability to run the offense that you and Monken envision?
“Yeah, he’s certainly mobile enough. I mean, we’ve seen him get out of trouble. We’ve seen him make plays. I mean he’s certainly mobile enough to do everything that we want to do. And then I mean, last year we had Cooper Rush on the roster as well. So, like that’s kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier was about the way the system is built from day one so that you’re able to kind of go down these other avenues when you have to highlight what your guys can do. You know, that’s something that coach says all the time, ‘Hey, what can you do? ‘You know, and something Harbs (John Harbaugh) used to say to the guys too, like, everybody’s here for a reason. Let’s make sure you’re elite at what you’re elite at. You know, we’re going to work on everything else, but let’s be elite at what you’re elite at because that’s what we’re going to use you for in majority of the situations.”
What kind of influences did – you just mentioned, John Harbaugh. What kind of influence has he had on you as a coach and the way you kind of develop?
“Yeah, we need a longer time allotment here for that one. But yeah, he’s got so many things that I’ve taken. The biggest thing I would say, and he used to say this all the time, is like, ‘Be you, but be the best you.’ You know, everybody else is taken, so you got to be who you are. I think that can be – it’s easier said than done sometimes, too. Like, it really is, I mean, that’s a good reminder sometimes, ‘Hey, be you.’ You know, be you, have confidence in who you are and go about coaching.”
How do you strike the balance? You know, we talk a lot about mobility in the quarterback position and obviously Lamar is a good example of that. How do you strike the balance of allowing those instincts, athleticism, mobility – allowing these things to shine, but also understand, like, you also do still want a quarterback at the position. You want them to run the offense, stay in the pocket more times than not.
“Yeah, another great question. I think that part starts with knowing the situation and when we can take a little more risks, you know and when you can’t. But it’s hard, especially with guys who can run around, a lot of times they make it right, you know? So I think you just got to continue to talk to them about, ‘Hey, when are we in superman mode? And when are we in, like, let’s take the profit mode?’ You know what I mean? Because you don’t want to take that away from guys. And we just talked about, ‘Hey, make sure you’re elite at what you’re elite at. That is a lot of those guys superpower. It’s just, how do we channel that or harness it into, you know, something that is good for the team and for the offense.”
Travis, you were at the combine all week. So what did you do there? What was your role?
“Yeah, in the interviews, watching workouts, and the way this combine is structured now, too you have a lot of dead time in the afternoon. So, like, I had the computer set up in the hotel room. You’re able to watch the tape, kind of go through things that way.”
What are your thoughts on Deshaun and where he is right now?
“Yeah. I mean, that’s something that I think we’re all very excited to find out when he gets in the building. But I don’t know the details. I know that he said he feels good, and we’ll just. We’ll just kind of see how that all goes.” But, yeah, obviously, anytime you have a guy who’s had that amount of success and put on tape what he’s put on tape, you’re very excited about it.”
When it comes to your time in the center, specifically, how did that shape the way you view the offense and the offensive line?
“Yeah, I mean, the center is the communicator and all the calls and everything starts with him. So I think that outlook on it helped me to maybe be a little bit more big picture, but at the same time having to be really focused on the four guys that were around me. So I think that’s kind of the extension of much like the quarterback, you know, he is the tip of the spear up there. So, yeah, that’s a huge position.”
How much of a relief is it that you don’t have to game plan for Myles Garrett now?
“You can’t over state how much of a relief that is. Yeah, it’s a pain. I’ll just have to watch him wreck our practice every once in a while.”
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