MEXICO CITY GOLDEN EAGLES [GM WAYNE]

[Talon]

MEXICO CITY GOLDEN EAGLES
AGUILAS DEL ORO DE MEXICO CITY

Team Information
City: Mexico City, Mexico
Conference: Western
Division:  Southwest
Team Owner: Javier Reyes
Team Secretary: Isabela Marisol

Official Colors:



Team History:
Season 18 Expansion Team.

Season 18:

Playoff Appearances:
n/a

RETIRED NUMBERS
None

[Talon]

THE PRESS GATHERS TO MEET THE FIRST GM OF THE GOLDEN EAGLES... GM WAYNE

[GM Wayne]

"Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon. It is a privilege and an honor to be here but before I speak on anything I need to thank the Cleveland Mustangs for the last five years. My time there holds a special place in my heart and while I know there are some who are probably hurt by my departure, I hope they know that it only happened because I felt it was in the teams best interest for me to move on. I am proud of what we accomplished together and deep in my heart I will always be a Cleveland Mustangs fan. Whoever steps into my shoes there and carries on that task, know that you will have an incredible coaching staff and roster, and an amazing secretary who is a force of nature herself.

But now my attention turns to the Golden Eagles, and I assure you I will learn how to say this properly because the teams name doesn't quite have the same flare and flavor in english. I want all of Mexico to embrace this team and its culture and while I am certainly a gringo, there is such a rich and vibrant culture here that it would be criminal of me if I did not find a way to honor that. Hopefully Mr. Reyes will help guide me in that regard.

I want to thank him for this opportunity. I won't discuss what other phone calls I may have had, but if I was going to leave Cleveland this is the only job that really appealed to me. So to say that I was excited to hear from him, and for him to make me such a generous offer, would be the understatement of the century.

But let me stop rambling and open things up to you all."

"GM Wayne, some are saying you took this job solely to continue your rivalry with GM Eli. Is there any truth to that?"

"That is not the reason I took this job, but it is a perk. Here is my guarantee. With time and patience, we will be the premiere High Impact Football League team in Mexico. This will not be a team that caters primarily to the wine and cheese tourist crowd. What it will be is one that people from all over this country can be proud of. We will be the team of the every day working man."

"With the #1 overall pick in the draft this year can we expect the Golden Eagles to select their Quarterback of the future?"

"It's a bit premature to be answering that question. There is a lot of ground work that needs to be laid first. We'll need to hire our first head coach and then allow whoever that is to hire their staff. We'll need to go through the scouting and combine process and evaluate the talent and then determine what we would like to do. But I will say it is not out of the question that we trade back in the draft to acquire more capital and it is not out of the question that we stick with what we have and make a pick.

Time will tell."

"Do you think it is a betrayal of the people of this country to have hired you and not someone who can better understand the heritage and history of the Mexican people like GM Pancho?"

"Well first I don't want to speak to who Mr. Reyes spoke to or did not speak to. For all I know he may have reached out to Pancho to see if this team was a good fit for him. I also don't know if this is a job that appealed to GM Pancho or not. He is coming off an incredibly successful run in Alabama and may not have wanted to start completely from scratch.

Either way, I think the last thing that Mr. Reyes would do is betray his people or his country. I think his desire will always be to do what is best for this team, and to represent it in the most professional manner possible."

"How hard will it be for you to adjust to being a part of the Western conference?"

"I don't think conference wise it really matters. What we will be focusing on is adjusting to the new division. Tucson and Las Vegas have been the premiere talents in the Southwest for a number of years now. My focus will be on upending the status quo as competition between division rivals is generally the bellwether for the playoffs. If you win the majority of your games in division you are likely playoff bound.

Any other questions?"

[Talon]

Hola Senor Wayne,

My name is Isabela Marisol, your assistant and press secretary for the team.   Senor Reyes has asked me to welcome you to the team and make sure you have all of the information that you need. 

As soon as the league closes out Season 17 and the off-season begins, then we will be allowed to begin pursuing a head coach.

I will make sure you receive the expansion draft information as soon as the league finalizes the plans, but I believe you will be pleased with the result.

Also, Senor Reyes has added $12MM in off-season bonus money to our budget along with your salary to insure we can scout and build or club as needed.

Again, welcome to Mexico City.

[GM Wayne]

"Isabela, lovely to meet you. Thank you for keeping me apprised of the needed information and if you see Mr. Reyes please thank you for the additional contribution to our funds.

For your record keeping purposes I believe I have 8 million in off season bonus and 10 million in international funds set aside in my patreon account as well."

[Talon]

 

Yes, that is correct!  I'll make sure that is added to your tracker when we start the off-season.

[GM Wayne]

"Very good. Unless I am missing something, I believe we are in a holding pattern until the league progresses officially to the off season phase. If that is correct, you can officially lock in the Golden Eagles for the very first time."

[Talon]

Hola,

Here is our team off-season primer.  It shows our current roster (including expired players and coaches but without their contract values) our current draft picks for the next 3 seasons, and our budget.

[Talon]

GM Wayne, thanks for having me on day one.  It means a lot to get moved up to your top line.  What would you like to know?

[GM Wayne]

"Glad to have you here. I appreciated the offense that I caught glimpses of this season and that's a big reason why we were so willing to move you up to day one. So, I imagine you've had a little time to look over our roster. In particular, I'd like for you to give me a quick assessment of our offensive line and if you think the players we have here currently fit your system.

[Talon]

 

In an effort not to blow smoke up your ass, I'll tell you this. Your trio of young tackles is exciting but all three have to step up and prove they can defend the pass.  Baird looks like the left tackle right now and Holloway/Stovall battle for the RT position but its going to be a growing process without any veteran leadership. Upside for days, but the Right Now is the question.

Center could definitely be better, I like a center who can hold the line in the pass protection game, but its not a deal breaker by any means.  I think the line is well built considering this team is going into year one.  Youth, talent, and guard play that should be all-star caliber.

[GM Wayne]

"And looking at the offensive unit collectively, does the talent on this roster right now feel like a good fit for your system?"

[Talon]

 

I don't know much about Race, and as the teams defacto franchise QB I hate to rave on him and not know him yet, but I love the make up of the team. Lockett is a guy I know well, I tried to recruit him to UNC, same with Brice at WR, both were on my radar so I think they will be great players for a long time and Watkins is a prize signing, the offense looks like something I would build.

[GM Wayne]

"Last question, in the process of building out your coaching staff what areas would you prioritize to counterbalance any weaknesses you may have?"

[Talon]

 

Hmm, well the biggest focus would be on the defensive side, but honestly, having never been a head coach I can't say exactly how I'd do that.

[GM Wayne]

"Thank you for your time, Coach Lugo. I have some further interviews to conduct but will be in touch if we wish to progress forward."

[Talon]

 

Appreciate your time.  Hope to chat again soon.

[Talon]

GM Wayne, I'm excited about this opportunity to interview for the head coach position.

[GM Wayne]

"Coach. Pleasure to meet you. I figure we jump right into things. We've got some big personalities on this team already. Should you be the head coach here in Mexico City, how would you go about managing those personalities?"

[Talon]

 

I've got a big personality myself, always have.  I remember how some of those soft head coaches out there tried to kiss my ass because I was the star player and I took advantage of that.   

What I needed back then was a guy who was going to treat the 4th string QB the same way he treated the 1st string.   You lay out the ground rules, you give the expectations, and then you hold people accountable for their actions, their behavior, and their effort on the field.

[GM Wayne]

Some of our scouts had concerns about your ability to relate to veteran players. Is that a fair assessment and if so how would you overcome an obstacle like that to find success at the pro level?

[Talon]

 

Relate is a tough sell, I mean I obviously have proven I can help college kids grown and find their potential, but I'd say more than not being good with grown ass men, its that I haven't been put into that situation.   As a former player, I know how to treat players, and I think that will prove to be more than enough.

[GM Wayne]

"Great. Now, I assume you've had a chance to study our roster a bit in preparation for this interview. I don't need to know how you feel about every individual player or anything like that, but I do need to know if the guys we've acquired to this point fit what you're looking for or would we be trying to fit some round pegs in square holes?"

[Talon]

 

You've got a nice mix of talent.  The tackles are all young and moldable with high upside.  You've got a kid in Brice that I see a lot of myself in,   The defensive interior needs some help looking at DT and LB, but there is a ton to work with.  I think there is a lot you can do with the roster you've got.

[GM Wayne]

"Last question for you then, and if you have anything you want to ask of me you can fire away but how confident are you in your ability to build your coaching staff especially in a competitive environment. Assume that budget is not an issue."

[Talon]

 

If the budget isn't a constraint, I think I can make it happen.  I'm not a guy who brings his best friends along for the ride, so I'd want to go find the guys who do what need to be done in our system.  That means working to find the right guys and not just whoever I know from my last job.

[GM Wayne]

"Good shit. If you've got any questions for me, ask away. Otherwise, I've committed to one more interview and I do my best to keep my word. But I am very impressed with what you bring to the table and how you carry yourself."

[Talon]

 

Na, no questions here.  Appreciate the opportunity.  I'd be looking for $14MM per year, as NDSU just offered me $13MM to stay with them because of this interview.  Just food for thought.

[Talon]

GM Wayne, thanks for having me. I've got to say, I did not expect to be looking for a new job when the off-season started.

[GM Wayne]

"Glad to have the opportunity to chat with you. I'll admit I assumed when we rescheduled your interview to day 3 that we probably wouldn't even get this opportunity as I thought you'd get an offer on the first or second day of the coaching interview process.

Talk to me about what you learned this past season in the struggles your Killer Whales team faced."

[Talon]

 

One thing I have reflected on was that throughout the season even when we were failing to achieve the standard we had set for ourselves, I was too committed to allowing my OC to handle the bulk of the offensive duties despite being confident in my own abilities to step in and help or take over.   I wanted Coach Spud to right the ship but I think I should have committed early in the year to seeing the writing on the wall and made the changes needed.  I am a loyal person, and I think it hindered me this year.  I also think I will be better for it moving forward.

[GM Wayne]

"I'm glad to hear you learned from that and are adjusting going forward. For what it's worth, I would be expecting you to be the primary offensive play caller if you were to take the job here.

How much autonomy do you want regarding your coaching staff? Obviously the way it works these days is that I give you a budget and you go out and get guys, but are you open to suggestions with your coordinators?"

[Talon]

 

I am open to hearing what you have in mind and if I believe we can work together to win, I'll be all for it if the money gets them to sign.

I believe this year the GMs will be expected to (or at least allowed to) suggest the coodinators they prefer across the league.

[GM Wayne]

"Understood. I'll lay out my vision for this team before making any kind of contract offer. Before we get to that stage, though...

Let's talk about what player attributes you prioritize. At the end of the day I coach and you GM but if you can tell me what you look for first and foremost to fit in your offense and on your team in general, that would help me GM for you.

[Talon]

 

A QB with high IQ is my only real strong preference. I can work with a lot of skill types.  I prefer a strong work ethic and motor over a single set of traits.  I pride myself on that flexibility.

[GM Wayne]

"I feel like we've got a guy in Charley who fits that description pretty well, and I like that he played in a similar system to yours for Team USA.

Here's my vision for the team at this point. I don't know if we're a playoff contender this season or not but the goal will always be to get to, and win, the Impact Bowl. If I could go back and change the way I did things in Cleveland it would be to have kept our draft capital rather than use it on rentals to try and get us over the hump and that is how I intend to conduct business here in Mexico City.

In day to day operations I'm going to tend to stay out of the way of you and your staff, and let you guys coach but what I don't like to see happening is us changing who we are on a week to week basis. I don't want to be bouncing between aggressive or balanced styles of play. We're going to have to put a lot of focus on building chemistry between all of these guys this year and I don't think that can happen if players don't know what to expect from one day to the next.

In the end there's only one things that really matters and it can be summed up in three words from a football guy I used to know.

Just win, baby.

And I'd love to have you come be our Head Coach to lead us to those wins. So I what I have for you is a 4 year contract worth 14 million per season."

[Talon]

I'd be honored to be the first head coach of the Mexico City Golden Eagles.  Lets go be great!