Question from Mike Cochran: What past coach or instructor influenced you the most to be so out in the community and such a people person?
Coach Jackson: Marvin Lewis. Marvin's first stint in Cincinnati he created the Marvin Lewis Community Fund. He was seen in the community. He needed to be seen in the community. They needed somebody to look to. I thought he did a great job bridging the gap between the team and the community and the city. I'm not saying I want to be Marvin by no stretch of the imagination; I want to be me. But it was a blueprint for me to see someone embrace a city and have a city embrace him and try to achieve a common goal. I am steadfast in my belief that that's what it's truly all about. Our city against every city we play as well as our team, as well as our organization. I can't ask the city to be a part of what we do when I'm not being a part of what they do, so I'm going to be out and about. I will continue to try to be the face of this franchise among the community with myself and our players and our organization. I think Amy Trask has done a great job too of being out and about and Morris Bradshaw and Jim Otto and just our whole organization has done a great job trying to rebuild the trust and belief that we're all working together as we move forward in this thing called football.
Question from Jean Bigras: What can you do as head coach to keep the younger players confident after they make a costly mistake or a bad play?
Coach Jackson: I truly believe it's on to the next play. We don't worry about what happens on the last play. I teach our players to pull the trigger and there's going to be a consequence and sometimes it's going to be bad and a lot of times it's going to be good, but you can't worry about it. You have to move on to the next play because the next play is right there. And so you have to be able to respond. That's the type of poise I think we're going to teach. There's going to be a play and the play is going to last three to four seconds, which is very fast, and then you have to go back in the huddle, dust that one off, and move on to the next one because the next one is coming. We have to have more good plays than we have bad plays and I think we all understand that and that's the goal.
Question from Nick Jackson: It is widely believed around the league that the Green Bay receiving corps was the best in the NFL, but the Raiders have very young, talented and fast receivers. Where would you rank the Raiders receiving corps in the NFL?
Coach Jackson: I think it's hard to say right now because they're still a young group who are improving, who are starting to find out what it truly means to be a pro and play that position. I love our talent. I love the fact that we're young, athletic, big, small, but very fast. So it's hard to say and put a ranking on them as far as where they are in the league. I know this – that they're eager. They love to work. They love to do everything they can to improve and I think that's where it starts. And at some point I'll let the media make a decision on where they rank as we continue to move forward.
Question from Antwaun Cherry: Do you feel any pressure heading into your first season as a head coach and dealing with the media always putting our coaches on the "hot seat?"
Coach Jackson: No. It is a hot seat. I think there are 31 of these other than this one across the league. Every NFL head coaching seat is hot. I know that. I understand that. I embrace that. I knew that the day I took the job. I knew that day so I don't worry about that. I can't be concerned about what other people say or think. What I'm most concerned about is, are we playing as well as we can play? Are we preparing as well as we can? And are we out there competing the way a Raiders team has to compete?
Question from Sandra Lane: Will you have what it takes to 'sit a player down' if he's not doing his job for whatever reason?
Coach Jackson: I think I've already demonstrated that. This is about winning to me. I think our players understand that. We're never going to be above what's best for the organization or what's best for the team. I think that's all encompassing. As the head coach and the leader the players know they have a performance level that they need to meet, I demand it, they do it. No different for me as a coach. There's a performance level that I have to meet as a coach. That's expected and I have to get that done. I think we all have things we need to do in order to do our jobs, whether it be me as a coach or them as a player. We understand what that is and we're going to make sure we get it done.
Send your questions for Head Coach Hue Jackson to feedback@raiders.com with the subject "Ask Coach Jackson."
