"Tell me a little bit about how well you're coached?", shouts a mysterious voice from somebody in the front row.
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel had crept into Ollie Gordon's press conference ahead of his own appearance at the podium, the room eventually catching wind as laughter broke out among reporters.
A smile, too, broke out on the face of Gordon, who replied with praise for his play-caller.
It could well have been a different story and dynamic after Gordon was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line with 1.44 in Miami's 16-13 victory against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Their blushes were spared when Washington wasted their ensuing opportunity to snatch victory, before Miami made them pay when Jack Jones intercepted Marcus Mariota on the first play of overtime to set up Riley Patterson's game-winning field goal.
"I thought the play was going to work and it didn't," McDaniel later said. "I didn't want to give them the ball back with good field position and a good chance to tie the game."
Few teams had been showered with criticism or scrutiny quite like Miami this season as a once-destructive offense fizzled out and as results eluded them, among the casualties being the dismissed general manager Chris Grier.
Victory saw Miami keep their slim playoff hopes just about alive as they recorded their third win in four games while following up on last Sunday's upset result against the Buffalo Bills.
"We've had a collective of a locker room and coaching staff that have been focused on getting the game right," said McDaniel. "And we know there's a lot of people that weren't forecasting our success, and you'd be lying if you didn't use that as motivation for sure.
"But I think the biggest thing is, in the National Football League, over my entire career, I know one thing. You're able to improve without results, and you stay together as a team, that the strength that you gain from the hardships can be tough for other teams to deal with at the end of the season.
"So we knew that if we stayed together, we felt like our football would get right. We lost four games by one score I think, and you take those L's, you don't quit, and there's positive stuff on the end of the horizon for you generally."
A grinning Bradley Chubb paid tribute to his Spanish hosts as he greeted reporters with a loud 'Hola cómo estás?', while McDaniel similarly expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to play in Madrid.
"It's overwhelmed with culture, it's big and just clean, and you want to talk about some good bread, anywhere I go there's awesome bread. To be here for the inaugural game was a privilege.
"I think it's a privilege to play here. It feels as though people are very interested in it. It's an honour.
"My whole life, I've been a football coach. I've been fortunate enough to work in National Football League for 20 years. I'd like to see that business succeed. I'm not sure if I'm good or know how to do anything else.
"I think expanding the game is something that I feel very fortunate to be a part of. It's very good that I'm in National Football League."
Both he and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa added that they would be open to playing in Barcelona next time, the latter quizzed on whether he knew Lionel Messi.
"I think everyone knows him," said Tua.
That it would be Jack Jones to deliver a decisive play with the game on the line might prove a fitting beacon of resilience amid Miami's turbulent season. McDaniel spoke of Jones' adversity, the former New England Patriots corner having previously worked through legal troubles involving weapons charges, and celebrated his journey.
"That one's pretty special because he's had some adversity and had an opportunity here," said McDaniel. "We talked about it when he came in. He came and hugged me and thanked me, I thanked him because you can't change the past, but you can recognise an opportunity
"It was his to take on, but the recourse of failure was probably the end of his career. He knew that. I think guys galvanize around him.
"I saw him at that last interception. We talk about it as a team a ton, but we're not searching for perfection. We're not searching for purpose. We're searching for conviction.
"He's really doing a great job taking advantage of the opportunity. Walking into the locker room, I think he really appreciated the team chanting or doing a Jack Jones song, considering it was fresh in his mind how far he had come.
"It's a big deal. I think our team has done a great job working through adversity."
