COACH DOUG MARRONE COMMENTS ON DANNY CROSSMAN
Have you kept a relationship with Danny Crossman through the years after playing and coaching together previously?
"The relationships that you build as players are obviously very important and special. You go through a lot of adversity in this game, so we remained close. My second job was at the Coast Guard Academy, which was Danny's first. Really we have come from the bottom up through this industry. We have stayed close and we have come to this point where we can work together again. He brings great enthusiasm to the room and he brings experience. He has been to playoff games, he has been to championship games and he has competed at the highest level which is the Super Bowl."
What attributes and qualities will Crossman bring to the position?
"The thing I am excited about for what Danny will bring to our special teams is a system that plays to our players' strengths-something that we have obviously talked about. For our players, we are going to be able to evaluate what their strengths are and be able to put them in the best position possible for us to win."
Can you talk about the importance of special teams? "Many games are won and lost with special teams. It was important to our players and the organization to hire someone with experience. You want to make sure that you have someone that has experience and that can evaluate the full roster so that we know that we are getting the most out of our special teams units. It is obviously one third of the game and it is a very important part of it. That person has to deal with everyone on the team. It is different than your unit groups as far as offensive line, defensive backs or any other position—he is truly dealing with everyone."
