New Orleans Saints Special Teams Coordinator Greg McMahon
Post-Practice Media Availability
Friday, December 20, 2013

Is it hard to part with a guy like Garrett Hartley?

"No question. That's the difficult part. He's got tremendous history here and he'll be somebody in our history forever. There's no question about that."

How has the relationship between the new kicker and the long snapper progressed in such a short time together?

"Real well. I think Shayne (Graham) has done a nice job, and Luke (McCown) and Justin (Drescher have worked well with him). So look, in our league it happens a lot. You see it around our league. These guys are professionals. Shayne has played – I think this is year 14 for him, so he's been around. I don't think that's an issue at all."

What did the coaching staff like about Shayne Graham when you brought him in for a workout in November and signed him this week?

"I think if you look at his career and look at his numbers, he's just very consistent. We liked, really, the career that he's had. He had a nice workout for us and it just felt like he was a guy that was available that we could get that we think could perform at a very high level."

Did you talk at all with Garrett after the move was made?

"Absolutely. Look, I love Garrett Hartley. As we talk around here, we'll walk together forever, and that doesn't just come and go. He's a good man. He's a great man and a heck of a football player, so yes I'll continue to talk to him."

Even when Hartley had his mini-slump in the middle of the season, the kicks still looked strong but were just a hair off. Was there something technical that was starting to go wrong for him?

"If you just look around the league, very few guys are like John Kasay where they stay on that team forever. Look around our league and look at some of the guys that have been on a team and then they go through a tough time and all of the sudden they resurface. It happens. No different than a golfer, you've got to kind of push through it. Heck, we're at this run right now (where) we just thought it was the best thing, coach (Payton) through it was the best thing for our team."

Do you think he is good enough to get a shot somewhere else?

"Absolutely. He knows it, and absolutely."

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