Decoding the Coach Speak: Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon after Free Agency

Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon were back in front of the media on Wednesday to speak about free agency and the draft.

They didn’t shed a ton of light on most subjects, but luckily my decoder is as accurate as ever.

Here is what the Cardinals’ general manager and head coach said, along with what they actually meant.

Ossenfort on the possibility of trading down from No. 4: “It’ll be a big neon side that says open. I don’t like it blinking, that messes with my eyes, but we’re always going to be listening. We’ll always have the conversation. … If it’s attractive to building our team, it’s something we’ll certainly consider.”

Ossenfort decoder: You want a headline? Here you go. I’ll give you the ‘neon sign’ visual and everything. But really, this is not news. We know Marv is in our back pocket and we are negotiating from a position of strength. Vikings, come correct if you want the fourth pick.

Ossenfort on Desmond Ridder: “He’s got some experience, and there’s no substitute for experience, especially at the quarterback position.”

Ossenfort decoder: There is a substitute for experience. It’s called talent. But Clayton Tune didn’t show enough of it last year. So even if Rid is mid, it’s an upgrade that we needed.

Gannon on starting projections: “You guys are going to ask me 132 times. We will know who is playing where the Friday before we play Week 1. When you guys ask me, where is this guy playing? Who is the starter? What are we doing, blah, blah, blah? I don’t know, guys. You’ll see Week 1.”

Gannon decoder: While I don’t make the rules, all coaches are sworn to a level of confidentiality that would make the secret service blush. My career is over if our first opponent knows whether Paris Johnson will start on the left or right side of the offensive line before September. Only that lucky bastard Bruce Arians found a loophole to speak the truth. The rest of us must guard these humdrum decisions like our life depended on it.

Ossenfort on Marvin Harrison skipping Pro Day: “It was his decision and what he thinks is best for him. We respect that.”

Ossenfort decoder: We talking about Pro Day? Pro Day? We ain’t even talking about the game. We’re talking about Pro Day. Turn on the tape, man. The kid was born to do this!

Ossenfort on receiving draft input from Kyler Murray: “I haven’t gone over Kyler’s mock draft yet. I’m sure we’ll get to that at some point.”

Ossenfort decoder: Oh, I’m serious. Have you seen K1’s suggestions? Tristan Wirfs, CeeDee Lamb, Creed Humphrey, Paris Johnson. I’m glad he didn’t have enough sway in those early days because I might not have this job.

Ossenfort on the difference between Year 1 and Year 2: “Last year, it felt like we were on a treadmill at about 45 degrees set at 10 miles per hour. We were going and it felt like we could never catch up. … The difference is this year, there is still a huge amount of work to do, but the timeline of that work is where it’s supposed to be.”

Ossenfort decoder: Remember how I nailed the draft last year? You ain’t seen nothing yet.