After a 15-minute session at the podium on Thursday, Head Coach Anthony Lynn then headed for another hour-plus on radio row.
Yet he wasn't done quite yet.
Lynn saved the best for last, sitting down to field several questions from fans that led to some revealing answers.
Q: We didn't see much of 4th round pick Rayshawn Jenkins last season outside of special teams. Could we expect to see him play an expanded role? – Patrick Angarola
Lynn: Yeah. In his second year he's more comfortable in his role. He's a heck of an athlete. He absolutely will have the opportunity to compete for a starting position this year.
Q: Coach - How do you plan to deploy Jason Verrett, Casey Hayward and Trevor Williams since they are all really good cornerbacks. – Jake McCarthy
Lynn: You can't have enough good cornerbacks in this league. There are a lot of ways we can use Jason. We can use him in the slot and use him inside. He gives us a lot of flexibility to do different things. We may play more man coverage.
Q: Is there a player you are very proud of from last year? – Shawn Webb
Lynn: You have guys who show up and do their job every single day. The first that comes to mind is Adrian Phillips. He's a guy who can play multiple positions and help his teammates. That's some stuff that you don't see outside the building, but he's a heck of a teammate and hard worker.
Q: How do you see the ratio of carries between Austin Ekeler and Melvin Gordon playing out next season? – Sawyer Koetters
Lynn: That depends. Melvin Gordon can carry the load, and when he's healthy, we're very comfortable putting the ball in his hands. When he is out for the game, we're very comfortable putting the ball in Austin's hands. So that is all going to depend on Melvin's health and how he's feeling. But I believe Melvin can be an elite back in this league when he is right. Austin can run every down too though because of his strength. He's not a really big guy, but he's not a small guy either. He's put together really well, can run between the tackles and run outside on the perimeter. I think Austin can be an every down back.
Q: Mr. Lynn, if you go back through your first year coaching what is one thing you might have done differently? – Darren Tassone
Lynn: I think when you're doing something you've never done before, you learn a lot about yourself. That's especially true when you're faced with adversity we were right off the bat. I stayed the course, didn't abandon ship and we just did what we did, better. So as far as what we'd want to do differently, obviously we don't want to start 0-4. I think sometimes you have to go through growing pains in order to get better.
Q: When watching film of a draft prospect, what are the specific things you personally are looking for in certain positions and what can you dismiss easily? – Matt Laurie
Lynn: I'm looking for guys who can make plays. Guys that play hard and compete. These are all core values that we have on our team. Guys are unselfish. First and foremost, if I'm looking at you, you have talent. It's those core intangibles that can make a big difference in a guy's career.
Q: How do you balance draft prep and free agency prep? – Ann Marquis
Lynn: Our primary responsibility as coaches is free agency, but we'll get into the draft process as the weeks go by. We have a personnel department that handles both. We have a lot of confidence in our personnel department, and they pick up most of the slack.
