Todd Wash, “football guy,” preparing for a new role with the same mindset

Wash got a little choked up during his first press conference, as he thought back to his roots in small-town North Dakota, knowing he beat long odds to get to this point by being a football guy — who played until his body gave up on him, leaving coaching as his path that would take him from small-town North Dakota to the NFL.

“I’m passionate about the game; it’s done a lot for my family,” he said, needing a pause to collect himself. “And it’s because I’ve had great players. It’s just, the game’s everything to me. I know nothing else. So, that’s basically who I am. I expect certain things, getting off the emotional side here. I expect certain things, and we’re going to play that way, one way or another. And I think the players know how I feel about the game. We have a lot of guys in our locker room that feel the exact same way on both sides of the ball and special teams. It’s a great game. And you’ve got to take advantage of the time that you’re in it.

“I expect us to play fundamentally sound. I’m not a guy that believes you fix stuff with a call. You fix it with fundamentals, and you fix it with effort, cause there, there’s going to be screw-ups. If I’m not mistaken, I think all other 31 teams in the league get paid. So, there’s going to be some things that don’t go right, but I think you can fix it with effort and physicality. And that’s what I expect to see. They noticed it the first day of practice when we were out there. We are going to play with a certain brand of football. And, it’s, it’s just what I believe in, and that’s what our assistants believe in, that’s what our players tell me they believe in, and we’re going to see if they do.”

But no matter what, they’re going to hear it. Especially if they’re trying to hunt geese with a rake.