I look for a quarterback who can run and not a running back who can throw. I want a quarterback who can beat you with his arm. We are not a Tim Tebow type of quarterback team. I am not going to run my quarterback 20 times on power runs.
Russell Wilson knows who he is. He’s not a running quarterback, he’s not a throwing quarterback – he’s an athlete back there playing the quarterback position. He knows that, he understands it and his team allows him to be who he is.
That's why I play football... to be the quarterback, to be the guy with the ball in his hands.
A quarterback is always going to be the most valuable player on a football field because he touches the ball every single offensive play.
There's obviously a push to protect the quarterback, but you have to give the defensive players a chance. All of the quarterback has to do is pull the ball, and he's a runner. How's the defender going to know if the ball is pulled or not?
I've never had a quarterback run-driven offense. We don't run designed plays where we snap the ball directly to the quarterback and he's just running it. If the defense is cheating and overcompensating for your running back, then the quarterback needs to keep (it) honest.
Any defensive coordinator is worried about two things: a running quarterback and a deep ball. You know, don't get beat deep and don't let the quarterback run, because a big part of your defense can't account for the quarterback as a runner, so he gets a free run.
I said, 'If the quarterback is a runner, it'll work.' But if your quarterback's not a runner, in my judgment and in the judgment of most of the people, it wouldn't work without the quarterback running the ball.
As a quarterback, you've got a huge responsibility: You're touching the ball every single play. You have such a big impact on deciding the game, just in your decision-making and how you are with the football and your fundamentals.
That's what I love the most about being a quarterback. Everybody looks to you to make a play. They look to you to say something that's going to spark the team. I take full pride in that every single day.
With the quarterback position, because you're touching the ball every single snap, you want to make a play and you just have to guard against that. It's about making the plays that come to you, not necessarily chasing after plays.
When you play quarterback your whole life, you're kind of taught to sit in the pocket. If you want to get out of there quick, you probably shouldn't play quarterback.
When you play quarterback and the offense doesn't play well, a lot of that is because of the quarterback. You're going to receive the criticism.
The team aspect of football and just playing quarterback, having the ball in your hands, having to make the plays, that was definitely something I loved.
The most important relationship a head coach has on his team isn't with the other coaches, the owner or the general manager. It's with the quarterback. He's the one who runs the show on the field; He's the ultimate extension of his coach. If there isn't a high level of mutual trust between them, both coach and quarterback will be doomed.
That's the thing: To be successful in the NFL, you have to start by having a quality coach and a quarterback that can kind of lead the team. If you have the trust of the quarterback, then you can build everywhere else.