Quotes about Cal Lee

About Cal Lee, Ron Lee, and Rich Miano, GM said that those three are:
"legends on these islands. They know the talent and they know the families. And people trust them. I think we can go back to getting the top guys from here." (HA)

Asked about his role in recruiting, Cal said:
"I'm not a savior. I don't know if I'm a good recruiter or a bad one. I talk to people straight up, and tell them who I am. I try to find out about the recruits — what kind of person they are, what kind of family they have. You want to know all of that before you get them on your team." (HA)

HA Note: "But make no mistake, Lee, who has been UH's linebackers coach the past five years after a historic run as Saint Louis School's head coach, has the immediate responsibility of jump-starting a recruiting effort that had been idled for more than a month. There are only three more recruiting weekends before Feb. 6, the first day recruits may sign binding national letters of intent. During June Jones' tenure at UH, Lee had a restricted role in recruiting. He was assigned to only a handful of schools. But after accepting the head coaching job, Greg McMackin promised to make Cal Lee, Ron Lee and Rich Miano the point men in local recruiting."

About the importance of recruiting, Cal said:
"I think the most important part of recruiting is your players. The coach can only do so much. Your players do the recruiting. Whenever a (recruit) visits a school, you tell him to meet the position coach, the head coach, look at the facilities, all of that, blah, blah, blah. When all of that is said and done, you'd better talk to the players who are going to that school. How does he like it? How does he feel? That's how you get the answers. Not through the coach. Some kids don't know how to talk (openly) to a coach, but they can talk to a player easily." (HA)

About how he will be defensive coordinator but GM is expected to call most of the defensive plays, Cal said:
"The bottom line is everybody is working well together so we can put out a product that our fans can be proud of and help us win games. That's the bottom line. Titles? They don't mean much. We're looking for results." (HA)

HA Note: "Friends describe Lee as a football junkie. When he worked as a manager at a Waikiki showroom, he often would spend his downtime drawing up plays. His defenses at Saint Louis were aggressive, relying on physical play and blitzes — a philosophy that matches McMackin's approach."

About football stretegy, Cal said:
"It's assignment and alignment. If anything comes your way, you have to be able to make a play." (HA)

About wanting to improve from last year, Cal said:
"The challenge is for us to get better. There's always room for improvement. We're never going to be satisfied." (HA)

About the pressure to match last year's success, Cal said:
"You get pressure all of the time, no matter what job you're in. As a sportswriter, you get pressure. As a coach, I have pressure. A secretary has pressure. Anybody who's working has pressure. If you do the job you think you're capable of doing, and you work hard at it, you have a chance to succeed. And that's all you want to do, no matter what field you're in. I try to work hard at what I'm doing and give myself a chance to succeed. The end result is the product that you put out." (HA)