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Gregg Williams opens up about Bountygate
By Nate Latsch
http://www.scout.com/nfl/rams/story/1565495-gregg-williams-opens-up-about-bountygate
ST. LOUS — Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams spent an hour on KMOX radio with host Mike Claiborne on Saturday night and talked about a variety of topics, including one he hasn’t discussed much.
Williams, who is entering his second season in charge of the Rams’ defense, spoke about his excitement for the upcoming campaign, his coaching philosophies, being a competition addict, the sandwich theory of constructive criticism — be positive, be constructive and end with a positive — among other topics.
He also gave his thoughts on the Bountygate scandal with the New Orleans Saints that rocked the NFL and caused him to be suspended from the league for the 2012 season after he was initially hired to serve as the Rams’ defensive coordinator under Jeff Fisher.
Here are some of the highlights:
On the upcoming season…
“We’ve had a great spring and I can’t wait to get started with these guys because they really came light years last year from the bye date on.”
On getting into coaching…
“I love what I do. I really kind of came to grips oh 12-14 years ago that I think the reason I was placed on Earth is to be a mentor to young men, especially difficult young men. I’ve had a way to kind of get through to some of those difficult young men and turn them into my own sons with some tough love, but it’s been a fun ride.”
On his coaching philosophies…
“I learned this from Buddy Ryan, and took it a long, long way, I put the game in the players’ hands and a lot of coaches, with their egos, are not going to let the players make specific calls in the game. And I can’t understand that. Players play the game. Coaches guess the game. Coaches are standing over there hoping that they can act like they are more important than what they are. What I learned from Buddy a long time ago is I that watched him take defenses and defensive play-callers and turn them into quarterbacks. James Laurinaitis is that person here. Rodney McLeod is that person here.”
On Bountygate…
“That was a difficult year in a lot of ways because there was a lot of information that was misinformation that got out and I’m the only person in the whole deal that never said anything. I never said a word. Everybody got out there and pushed their information one way or the other and I didn’t. One of the things was it was on my watch, but there was nothing that hasn’t been done in the last 50 years in the sport and there was nothing done to try to hurt somebody.
There was never done with anybody trying to injure somebody. I’ve said this before, I take a look at all these high school programs, little league programs, college programs and you see the decals on the side of the helmet and you wonder, you get those decals because you shake hands and kiss after the game or you get those decals because you rushed for 100 and you threw 17 touchdown passes and you knocked the stuffing out of somebody?
I remember over at Excelsior Springs when I’m 16 years old I had a big hit in a ballgame and all of a sudden I got a movie certificate and it wasn’t because I helped the guy up, it’s because I knocked the guy down. It’s just one of those things that we’re always trying to find little bitty advantages in sport and it was unfairly and uncharacteristically portrayed the wrong way, but I did grow a lot from there and I found out a lot about myself, I found out a lot about my friends, I found out a lot about my enemies, too.
I said this about a week into that process, I’m going to be stronger, better, wiser and tougher when we go through these things. As I take a look at the game, I’m very happy when I see the things in the National Football League that’s passed down all the way through college, passed down into high school, passed down into little league, NFL Play 60, the game needs to be safer but it’s not a non-contact game and we’re not going to be able to take everything away from it.”
By Nate Latsch
http://www.scout.com/nfl/rams/story/1565495-gregg-williams-opens-up-about-bountygate
ST. LOUS — Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams spent an hour on KMOX radio with host Mike Claiborne on Saturday night and talked about a variety of topics, including one he hasn’t discussed much.
Williams, who is entering his second season in charge of the Rams’ defense, spoke about his excitement for the upcoming campaign, his coaching philosophies, being a competition addict, the sandwich theory of constructive criticism — be positive, be constructive and end with a positive — among other topics.
He also gave his thoughts on the Bountygate scandal with the New Orleans Saints that rocked the NFL and caused him to be suspended from the league for the 2012 season after he was initially hired to serve as the Rams’ defensive coordinator under Jeff Fisher.
Here are some of the highlights:
On the upcoming season…
“We’ve had a great spring and I can’t wait to get started with these guys because they really came light years last year from the bye date on.”
On getting into coaching…
“I love what I do. I really kind of came to grips oh 12-14 years ago that I think the reason I was placed on Earth is to be a mentor to young men, especially difficult young men. I’ve had a way to kind of get through to some of those difficult young men and turn them into my own sons with some tough love, but it’s been a fun ride.”
On his coaching philosophies…
“I learned this from Buddy Ryan, and took it a long, long way, I put the game in the players’ hands and a lot of coaches, with their egos, are not going to let the players make specific calls in the game. And I can’t understand that. Players play the game. Coaches guess the game. Coaches are standing over there hoping that they can act like they are more important than what they are. What I learned from Buddy a long time ago is I that watched him take defenses and defensive play-callers and turn them into quarterbacks. James Laurinaitis is that person here. Rodney McLeod is that person here.”
On Bountygate…
“That was a difficult year in a lot of ways because there was a lot of information that was misinformation that got out and I’m the only person in the whole deal that never said anything. I never said a word. Everybody got out there and pushed their information one way or the other and I didn’t. One of the things was it was on my watch, but there was nothing that hasn’t been done in the last 50 years in the sport and there was nothing done to try to hurt somebody.
There was never done with anybody trying to injure somebody. I’ve said this before, I take a look at all these high school programs, little league programs, college programs and you see the decals on the side of the helmet and you wonder, you get those decals because you shake hands and kiss after the game or you get those decals because you rushed for 100 and you threw 17 touchdown passes and you knocked the stuffing out of somebody?
I remember over at Excelsior Springs when I’m 16 years old I had a big hit in a ballgame and all of a sudden I got a movie certificate and it wasn’t because I helped the guy up, it’s because I knocked the guy down. It’s just one of those things that we’re always trying to find little bitty advantages in sport and it was unfairly and uncharacteristically portrayed the wrong way, but I did grow a lot from there and I found out a lot about myself, I found out a lot about my friends, I found out a lot about my enemies, too.
I said this about a week into that process, I’m going to be stronger, better, wiser and tougher when we go through these things. As I take a look at the game, I’m very happy when I see the things in the National Football League that’s passed down all the way through college, passed down into high school, passed down into little league, NFL Play 60, the game needs to be safer but it’s not a non-contact game and we’re not going to be able to take everything away from it.”
