Darnold: 'I always believed in myself' ahead of SB
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold sits down with Jason Garrett ahead of Super Bowl LX to reflect on his childhood upbringing and the lessons he learned on and off the field throughout his career.
Video Transcript
Sam Darnold, thanks for doing this, man.
Of course, man.
Hey, you know, right down that runway, San Jose Airport, at the end of that, Levi's Stadium.
Yeah.
Three thirty on Sunday, local time, they're kicking it off.
Mm-hmm.
Two teams playing, you're the quarterback of one of them.
How does that feel?
Feels amazing.
you know, I think the reason it feels amazing, too, is obviously you dream of this as a kid, right?
You dream of playing in the Super Bowl.
but playing for this team, I think, like, playing with those guys in the locker room, the kind of bond that we've all created throughout this, this long season, you know, the coaching staff that we have, just the work that they've put in throughout the entire season, and the organization as a whole, like top to bottom, just being able to come to work, it, it never really feels like work- Yeah ... every single day I get into the building.
So I think that's, you know, that's the reason it's so special to me is because, you know, I get to play for a great organization with, with, you know, my favorite teammates.
Yeah.
You know, I've been to one of your practices, and there just seems like there's this feel, tremendous attention to detail, hardworking guys, but guys loving playing football- Mm-hmm ... and loving being around each other.
How do you develop that chemistry?
Yeah, I think it starts, it starts all the way back when we got here in April.
you know, when we get-- when we first got together in OTAs, you know, we started creating a bond.
You know, there were a lot of guys that were here, early on, obviously, that have been together for a couple years before that.
and I just, I came in, and I wasn't ever trying to force myself into the group or anything like that, but I was just myself, and I think that, that goes for a lot of people, in the building, is a lot of people are very genuine.
a lot of great people, a lot of great personalities- Yeah ... as well in that locker room.
so I think we all just, you know, we're all from different backgrounds, we're all different people, but we mesh together so well, and I think that's the beauty of, of this team, and I feel like I could kind of feel that, you know, early on, especially during OTAs and, and throughout training camp.
Yeah.
Let's go back.
You mentioned background.
You have a great background.
You know, I love the story about your dad, college football player and a plumber.
Yeah.
Your mom was a volleyball player, and then she was a teacher for all those years, and your sister is a great volleyball player.
Mm-hmm.
What was it like growing up in that household?
yeah, again, it's, it's something that I didn't realize when I was younger growing up, how great I had it, you know?
And, to just to, to have such a great family, to have such a great upbringing, you know, people that I was around every single day that loved, that cared for me.
but it was also you know, nothing was ever given.
You know, it was, I had to work super hard for, for anything, and, you know, my parents made sure that, you know, it was always that way with me and my sister.
that, you know, we were always, you know, we always just had to work super hard for anything that we wanted, and, you know, my parents made sure of that, and, and I feel like me and my sister both learned a ton from them.
I learned a ton from my older sister as well, just about work ethic and what it took to, to succeed, and, you know, I have them to thank for, for a lot of my success.
Yeah.
Your grandfather, your, your mom's dad- Yeah ... was the Marlboro Man.
Amazing story.
Yeah.
He was an Olympian, as a volleyball player, a USC basketball player.
He passed away when you were two- ... but, you know, how about some of the stories that came down from him that impacted you?
Yeah, I mean, he's such a legend in our family, right?
He's becoming a legend, you know- ... even outside of our family now.
but yeah, he was just a, you know, from what I've heard and the stories that, you know, have gone around our family for years, you know, he's, he's just an all-time person.
you know, he, he had a ton of accolades, you know, Marlboro Man, he was the captain of the firefighting squad in LA, you know, he was an Olympian, played volleyball in the '64 Olympics in Tokyo, and he even played basketball as well at USC.
and, you know, he's-- but I think more than all that, he was just a great person, you know, a great father, a great grandfather to me and all my cousins, and so I think that's, that's why he was a legend in our family.
now everybody's hearing about all the accolades- Sure ... and everything that he did, and, got a great name as well- Yeah.
... Dick Hammer.
but he's, yeah, he's a legend in our family because of the person that he was.
Yeah.
You know, I'm, I'm intrigued by your, your background, basketball player as well as football.
Your sophomore year, you, you play tight end and receiver and linebacker.
You're not even the quarterback for your high school team.
Talk about that.
Yeah, that was, that was a special experience, and we, you know, there was, there was this kid, shout out, Sean Donnelly.
you know, he was a very talented quarterback, and, you know, we knew that, you know, he was a j- junior.
We had a senior starter in Travis Wilson, who went to Utah and did great things, as a quarterback there at Utah.
but we knew Sean, as a senior, would step up and, and be the starter.
And my sophomore year, my coach, wanted to figure out a way to get me on the field, and he knew that I had, he, he knew that I had some experience at linebacker, a little bit of, experience playing some tight end in seventh grade as well.
but yeah, I just wanted to get on the field, and he wanted to get me on the field, and, I just love this game, and I think that kind of goes to show, you know, if you love this game, you- you'll do anything to be on that field.
Yeah.
And so that's what I did.
I played linebacker, I played tight end, receiver, got to play quarterback a little bit towards the end of the year when Sean got hurt, and, you know, made the most of it, had some fun doing that, and then started at quarterback- Yeah ... for the rest of my career.
Yeah, a- and the quarterback thing, it went well for you.
you go to USC, you were kind of like a, like a phenom- Yeah ... at, at USC, once you got a chance to play.
And, you know, there were teams all around NFL cities saying, "Suck for Sam."
They wanted to lose, so they have a chance to draft you as a quarterback.
You were a young guy, twenty years old.
How'd you handle all that?
Yeah, I think, you know, with, with- you know, with that, there can be a little bit of pressure, especially as a young player.
You know, I can look at that and feel, "Oh, man, there's a little bit of pressure there," but I think having great friends, you know, throughout college and even throughout high school, I just really stayed close to them in those times.
Yeah.
You know, there are- there were a lot of stories of, of, you know, potentially going to a NFL city, and, and trying to change a culture, and trying to change an entire franchise around, and I feel like a lot of people, can say, "Oh, there, there would be a lot of pressure that comes with that."
but for me, it's always just been about playing good football, and you know, it's gonna sound clich, but just going out there and executing- Yeah ... and, and playing good football, and that's what I always knew it would come down to.
obviously, I didn't do enough of that early in my career, but I learned a ton, from those times in New York, and, you know, I feel like that, that truly has molded me, into the player I am now.
Okay, third pick of the draft with the Jets, and like you said, you're gonna come in and change the fortunes of this franchise that hasn't won in, in forever, a- and New York is noisy.
Mm-hmm.
New York is loud.
Being a rookie quarterback is noisy.
It's hard.
Things are happening fast for you.
what was the biggest takeaway from that experience with the Jets?
Yeah, I- I think just understanding that, you know, there's so much noise, and there's so much that is out of your control.
and I think just handling, handling everything that you can that, that is in your control.
You know, playing good football, going through my reads, going through my progressions, and doing everything that I can every single day to, to put our team and myself in a position to succeed, when you get to game day, and I think, you know, really, really understanding that was huge for me, you know?
And even as a young player, I feel like I always kind of had that mindset.
And again, like I always say, I, I had great teammates and great coaches, you know, to be able to lean on if I did ever feel pressure.
But to be honest, Jason, I never really felt that pressure.
you know, I always felt like I could just go out there and play the game that I love, and again, like I said, things didn't necessarily go my way early on in my career.
but I, I really felt like I was free, and I was able to, you know, just play my game a- and do what I could to, to play at a high level, and, you know, I have great coaches, great teammates, to thank for that.
Yeah, when you go to the Jets, you come out in the draft, and- ...
I was coaching in Dallas at the time, and we weren't in the quarterback business.
We had Dak Prescott, but I always loved watching the quarterbacks and doing the evaluations, and this is the Sam Darnold draft report with my notes on it, and, and there are a couple things in orange that aren't good: too many interceptions, took too many chances, that sort of thing, but the large majority of it, incredibly positive.
I thought you were an amazing player.
"Nervous system, ability to improvise, instincts, great when the play breaks down, athletic ability, keeps his eyes down the field, makes all the throws, can throw from different platforms, mobile, tough, great intangibles, great instincts, quiet leader," so many good things about it.
"Great workout in the rain, has a basketball background, sees things, clutch performer, quick reactive arm."
But down here, I have it circled, I think is the most important thing: "Not affected by failure.
Interceptions, bad games, keeps coming."
Mm-hmm.
And I think about your experience with the Jets early on in your career, and then Carolina, and now we're here, down the runway, Levi's Stadium, kicking it off at three thirty on Sunday.
I wonder where that resiliency came from.
Yeah, I think for me, it's ... And I've, I've gotten some time to think about it, you know, doing all the media this week, and, and people asking questions about my past and, and resiliency and, and where that comes from, and I really have thought about it quite a bit, and I think the answer I always come back to is, is my upbringing.
You know, my family, my mom and my dad, you know, having, having the, the jobs that they had, my, my dad working his butt off, you know, from three AM to, to one PM, finding, finding the energy somehow to, to always, when I was done after school, to, to play catch with me, you know, to, to play catch with a baseball or a football, in the front yard or the backyard.
And my mom, after a long day of dealing with seventh and eighth graders- ... like, finding, finding the energy to, to always put food on the table for us.
Like, you know, it, it wasn't-- They never talked about it.
They never said, "Oh, this is, this is how you be resilient.
This is..." They just- they always led by example.
Yeah.
And I feel like that's, that's always my, been my leadership style, just naturally.
Never really thought about it.
but yeah, I think it, it definitely stems from them, and then obviously my sister, you know, leading by example for me, like all the tough classes that she was in, all the honors program stuff she was in, the AP classes that she was in.
I was never an AP student.
I was never in those kind of classes, but she, she also led by example for me, and I just think that that was the way we did it as Darnolds in that household.
And, I have them to thank for how resilient I've been throughout my career and in life in general.
You know, a- after the Jets, you go to Carolina.
You're there for a couple years.
There were some good moments, and then the same kind of a thing.
Was there any takeaway from those first five years in the NFL that you say, "Huh, that's really where I grew the most?"
yeah, I think, I think one of the biggest things that I think of football-wise is, you know, feeling like I needed to make a play, and I always-- I felt like early in my career, especially c- coming from college, where you can make a play.
You know, you had it there in your notes, but like, "athletic, mobile, I can do all these things outside the pocket."
I felt like in college, I was going one to my second progression to get outside and make a play.
Yeah.
Whereas in the NFL, it's not that easy.
You know, you have some of these guys that are six four, six five.
They run four four fortys, you know, chasing me down at the line of scrimmage, and quite frankly, I'm not fast enough to get away from them anymore.
Yeah.
And, you know, for me, it was- I think when I tried to make a play, I think just that mindset of, like, trying to make a play just got me in a little bit of trouble early in my career.
Yeah.
And I think being able to, to learn from that and say, "Okay, first and second down, I either check the ball down or throw it away."
You know, live to, live to see another down, and allow our defense to go out there and, and do what they do, you know?
it's a team sport for a reason.
You know, I, I always felt like I needed to, to score forty points because if we didn't, then, you know, I wasn't doing my job.
Yeah.
and sometimes I felt like I forced it- Yeah ... you know, my, my first few years in my career.
And, yeah, I think just understanding that, you know, even on third down.
Like, third down, if I get outside the pocket and, and there's, you know, no one open, it's okay to throw it away or run, run forward, and third and seven, I get five yards on the ground and slide and not take a big hit.
Yeah.
Like, fourth and two, now it's time for, you know, the head ball coach- Yeah ... to maybe make a decision.
Sure.
And so I think just having that situational awareness- Right ... always, always helped me out, you know, I think later in my career, learning from those experiences- Yeah ... early, early on.
Were there ever moments where you said, "Ugh, I don't know if I can do this?"
Did you ever, like, doubt yourself or start to lose faith in who you were as a player?
I think, I think everyone would, would love to say no, and, you know, I have a ton of confidence in myself.
Yeah.
I've always believed in myself.
but there was always doubt- Yeah ... you know, that kind of crept in.
I think, you know, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't.
but again, like, I had a great, great support system, whether it was my friends, my family, or my teammates- Yeah ... and my coaches to, to be able to lift me up, you know, when, when things weren't necessarily going my way.
So, yeah, there was always that, that little, you know, little doubt that kind of creeped in, but, you know, that was, that was qui- quickly, you know, pushed to the side with, with all the belief that other people around me had.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I was out here in 2023 for training camp, and- ... you came here as a backup to Brock Purdy, and, and I can just remember watching you in practice, ball leaping out of your hand, moving around, but more than anything else, you had a smile on your face.
It looked like a big load was lifted off of your back.
It looked like you were having fun playing football again.
What was the year in San Francisco like for you?
I learned a ton, you know, and I think really during OTAs and training camp, just y- 'cause again, like I, I didn't spend much time with Kyle during the season.
he's a little busy game planning.
Yeah.
But that time that, you know, as quarterbacks, we got to spend with Kyle during OTAs and training camp was so valuable for me as a player, just to hear the way that he talked about defenses and how our scheme and our, how these- how these different route combinations were, you know, good against certain coverages or, you know, on the front side of a certain concept or a certain play.
You know, we're looking, okay, verse cover three, this might be good you know, a great concept to, to have, and then on the back side, this is where cover two, you might be a little quicker to get off the front side and get back here.
Sure.
So I think just understanding little nuances like that in every single play that we had, was huge for me.
Yeah.
'Cause I had never really, you know, thought about it like that.
And, you know, I think just having Kyle in there and, obviously learning a ton from Brock.
You know, Brock didn't, you know, he didn't necessarily say that that much, but, you know, I learned a ton from the habits that he had- Yeah ... on and off the field.
So, yeah, I learned a ton when I was in San Francisco, and, you know, I have, a lot of people there as well that, that helped me grow as a, as a person and a player.
That's awesome.
You know, one of my lasting images of the next year when you're the quarterback of the Vikings is, you guys went on a great run, and you had a big win, and you come into the locker room, and, and your teammates literally lift you up.
Yeah.
You know, and they're throwing water all over you.
Yeah.
And Kevin O'Connell, the coach, is standing there watching the whole thing happen.
You know, w- when you think about where you were early, early years, struggling a little bit, back to that moment- Right ... pretty amazing, right?
It was amazing.
Yeah.
I think, first of all, I wasn't expecting it.
You know, I get inside the locker room like, "Oh, I'm gonna celebrate with my teammates.
This is a great win, great team win."
I also remember, like, one of the last plays, Cam Akers, who's also on our team right now, we ran a little, you know, roll pass to the right, and I actually under threw the, the ball, under threw the pass, and he made a great, like, diving, kind of came back and caught it, and, you know, again, like, who knows what happens if, you know, Cam doesn't make that play?
Yeah.
So I think that's, that's very, you know, symbolic of kind of what our team was.
Like, we were a team, and I wouldn't have been able to have the success that I had that year in Minnesota without the guys around me and the coaching staff around me.
but that was special, to be able to get inside that locker room and, and just, you know, be able to celebrate with the guys like that was, was something I'll never forget.
Yeah.
You know, the struggles early, but then you turn it around, but then at the end of that season, you guys lose a couple tough games, and they make a decision at quarterback.
And, you know, it's one thing to say, "Okay, Sam, the record in New York isn't great.
Carolina, okay, we're moving on," but hard to win fourteen games in the National Football League, and then the business of the NFL comes in, and now you're in Seattle.
Right.
What was that transition like for you?
Yeah, I think, you know, obviously, like you mentioned, it's a business.
and I understand the business, you know.
I understand, you know, their, their thought of moving on and, you know, all those things.
So I, I-- and again, like, I'm not I've never been in the position to make those decisions.
those people are in positions to make decisions like that for a reason, and, you know, I just, I understand my job.
My job is to go out there and execute and, and, one play after the other, and, you know, if, if the decision they made was to move on, I was- I always said, "Okay, great!"
Like, you know, I, I wanted to always be in a place where I felt wanted, and I, I really felt that, you know, when, when I came to Seattle, met with Coach McDonald, John Schneider, and, a lot of the guys that were here even before OTAs when I signed, you know, rehabbing and whatnot.
just, just being able to meet some of the guys, I always felt like I was wanted in Seattle, and, I'm so grateful that I got the opportunity to come here.
Why is JSN so good?
shoot, man, there's, there's a lot of reasons why Jax is- he's a special player.
I think it starts with his football knowledge, his football IQ.
you know, his, his feeling that he has for certain coverages.
you know, he's never gonna- he's never gonna fly in there and, and, you know, run the route exactly how it's drawn on a piece of paper.
you know, he always has his little spin on routes, which, again, can sometimes drive coaches a little crazy.
Yeah.
but as a quarterback, he's so friendly.
You know, he's, he's always- he has great body language with the way that he runs routes.
I always understand when he's gonna come out of a route, and I can play with anticipation with a guy like that.
and again, I think, I think another thing that makes him special is he's a lot harder to tackle than I think people realize.
He has a low center of gravity- Yeah ... and he's tough to bring down.
So, you know, JSN, he's always a great player, but I think it really starts, you know, up top for him, just with his football IQ.
Yeah.
What have you learned from Cooper Kupp?
Coop's, Coop's amazing.
He's, you know, he's, he's really been a vital part of the reason why we've had the season we've had.
you know, coming in here, you know, during the spring and really, I feel like not only players, but coaches, learned a ton from Coop.
And just the way that, you know, he talks about football, he talks about the run game.
Like, as a ball coach, man, you would be I mean, you gotta- at some point, you gotta ask Coop about the run game- Yeah ... 'cause he will go on a tangent for you about it.
And, you know, he's a special player with a really, really high football IQ.
but I, I think you can kind of get the theme.
Like, I feel like there's a lot of great players on our team, that are very athletic, and they do all the right things on the football field, but it's because we're all very smart players, and we understand what the coaches are trying to get done.
Yeah.
but we also understand, like, what, what beats our concept.
And, and as a defensive player, like, what schemes beat this coverage that we're in?
And I think all of, all of, you know, the guys on the field really understand, you know, our weakness- Yeah ... and certain concepts or protections and coverages.
And, so I just think that football IQ is, is something that makes not only Coop, but a lot of the guys on our team very special.
Yeah.
You talked earlier about learning that you don't have to do it all yourself.
When you have a defense like yours- Right ... that gets reinforced, doesn't it?
It does, for sure.
You know, our defense is special.
They, they just make plays, man.
It's, it really is fun to watch them when I'm on the sideline.
And, again, like you said, like, I never feel like I have to force anything out there.
if, if, you know, it's third and five plus, and I feel like nothing's there, and I get out of the pocket, and again, nothing's there, I, I feel so comfortable just being able to throw the ball away or maybe getting forward, getting as many yards as possible.
But, as long as the series ends with a kick, Now, don't get me wrong, like, I'm not satisfied.
Sure.
You know, I'm not satisfied with punting the ball or kicking field goals.
but, but during the course of a game, you know, I understand that protecting the football is the most important thing.
And with a defense like ours, I think that, that holds even more value.
What's the balance between letting it rip and being a great decision-maker?
There's a fine line.
You know, there, there is a fine line between that and But I think you have to find a way to play free.
you know, I listened to a, I listened to a podcast, you know, this off-season, with Steve Kerr, the coach for the Golden State Warriors.
Played, played years on the Chicago Bulls when they were winning their championships, and, he had a, he had a phrase and, you know, it, it, it was F I, and I think people at home can kind of figure that out.
It's kind of the same thing as let it rip.
Yeah.
And, you know, it's, it's just playing, playing free, I think is always important for me 'cause I, especially early on in my career as a young player, I always felt like, you know, a little bit of like, "Oh, don't, don't mess it up," kind of, kind of feeling.
And I feel like when you have that mindset of, of let it rip, it kind of takes that, that feeling and, and that, that, that weight off your shoulders.
Yeah.
And, you know, I That's kind of where that comes from.
But at the same, at the same token, you know, you gotta protect the football at, at all costs.
especially when these games get more and more important, and it gets later in the down, y- you gotta find a way to protect the football.
but if someone's open, I'm gonna let it rip.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay, let's go back to the scouting report.
The back page- ... "Calm, cool leader.
Poised in clutch moments.
Exactly what you want in a quarterback, has the mental makeup to handle success and adversity really well.
When the game is on the line, he wants the ball in his hands."
That's when you were in college.
You've gotten this team to this place.
Tell me how you handle big moments like this.
I think it comes down to training.
It comes down to all the time that we've spent practicing those, those situations.
You know, whether it's a, you know, end-of-game, four-minute situation, you know, like we were in last, you know, last week in the NFC Championship, or whether it's the last drive of the game.
You know, it's a minute and thirty left, no timeouts, and you're on your own 25-yard line, and you gotta take the, take the, you know, your offense down the field, and you gotta score a touchdown.
Like, we've practiced all those scenarios so many times.
I've, I've had so many of those scenarios, that in-game experience in my career, and I think it's just relying on training.
You know, being able to play free, have that let-it-rip mentality, but- but really just, you know, it just comes down to training in, in my opinion.
You know, you, you, you fall back to the, you know, to the level of your training, and I feel like it's just, you know, second nature to just be able to let it rip in those scenarios and, and rely on that training.
Yeah.
I once asked Troy Aikman, I said, "In the three Super Bowls that you won, do you always get to a place in the game where you were treating it just like another game?"
And he said, "Yes."
Yeah.
How do you get to that place?
Yeah, I think, I think it's understanding kind of what your emotions, what you might feel in the course of the game.
I think leading up to the game, being out there, and just the spectacle of, of everything and feeling those emotions in the beginning are, are great.
You know, I don't think you wanna shy away from that as a player or you don't wanna think, "Oh, why am I feeling this way?"
You know, I think the first few snaps might feel a little bit of nerves, which is great.
I think as a player, you gotta lean into that.
But I think once those first couple snaps, those first few snaps kinda go, you start to get in the rhythm of the game and, and you feel like you're just in the flow.
You, you wanna get to that, you know, flow state- Yeah ... which I feel like I'll get, I'll get to after the first couple snaps, and after that, we'll just be rolling.
Yeah, Phil Sims had one of the great performances ever for a quarterback in the Super Bowl, and I once heard him say he never thought about the result- ... he just focused on one play at a time and executing.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think that's very important.
and I think, you know, as a quarterback, you know, with a lot of the quarterbacks in the league and former quarterbacks that have played, you always get to that mindset, again, 'cause you're- there is a lot to think about every play, right?
It's like we have two plays called most of the time- Sure ... at the line of scrimmage.
You're thinking about what coverages get you to the second play.
Sure.
So you- if you're thinking about anything other than- Right ... the play at, at hand, you know, you're doing your team and yourself a disservice.
So, I've always, I've always said that, and I feel like with how much it takes to, to focus on one play at a time, you know, you have no choice but to, but to have that mindset.
Yeah.
You're an inspiration, man.
Thanks, Jason.
Go get 'em.
Appreciate it.
