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It could be fine . . .
But it probably needs to be handled with care.
Talking about relationships between some Jets coaches which could be looked at as a potential power keg.
Hey, I’m not to trying stir things up, but just looking at things with my eyes wide open.
Look, I’m not a shrink, and I don’t play one on television, but when you saw how Gregg Williams and Joe Vitt both jump on reporters when asked about their relationship on Thursday, that wasn’t a great look.
I know some people considering me a rabble-rouser at times because of some of the questions I ask, but before I continue I want to make it clear I didn’t ask either Williams or Vitt about working together. Weren’t my questions.
And I don’t consider myself a rabble-rouser. I just don’t fear asking tough, pointed questions. To me, that isn’t being a rabble-rouser, but just doing my job as a journalist.
With that being said, I don’t think either of the gentlemen who asked Williams and Vitt about working together were rabble-rousers either.
It needed to be asked. This is the first time since we talked to either of them since they were hired by the Jets. And if you want to know why they both needed to be asked at least one question about working together, go read the stuff Vitt said about Williams in his testimony during Bounty-gate when he called him things like a “narcissist and liar.”
And the transcripts of Vitt’s testimony didn’t come out in their entirety in 2012 when Bountygate happened, but just a few months ago when long-time Saints beat-writer Larry Holder published the full testimony for the first time.
There are two ways of looking at how they both jumped on reporters for asking the question. Either everything is fine and it’s a non-story and they’re tired of talking about it, or things are not fine, and it’s still an issue. I have heard people come down on both sides of this debate.
But here is something else to consider about the Williams-Vitt relationship that can’t be ignored.
When I interviewed Holder on SiriusXM NFL Radio, he said, “I can just tell you the set-up when they were in New Orleans, Joe Vitt was basically the guy who kept on eye on what Gregg Williams did and reported back to Sean Payton.”
Don’t kill the messenger. I’m just quoting Holder who has been covering the Saints since 2006.
That is quite an allegation by Holder.
And if that is true, if you were Williams (or other Jets defensive assistants) how would you feel about that this working dynamic?
I’m not going to sit here and say that Vitt is going to keep an eye on Williams and the other Jets’ defensive assistants and tell his son-in-law what he’s seeing.
I would be shocked if he did that.
But if you buy into what Holder said, you might think it’s remotely possible.
And let’s not forget Gregg’s son Blake on on the Jets’ staff, and ESPN reported that Gase didn’t want to hire him and had to have his arm twisted.
So the bottom line is the Jets’ head coach, GM and owner need to keep an eye on the dynamic between some of these coaches and make sure it stays on the rails.
Hey, it could be fine.
The Jets certainly hope so.
But to act like this isn’t a potential problem is a case of burying your head in the sand.
June 16, 2019
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