APOn Monday, former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams shared with WQAM radio (via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel) the details a conversation with Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.? Williams, who ultimately chose the Ravens over the Lions, interpreted Linehan?s words from the 2010 season as evidence that the Lions were interested in signing Williams once he became a free agent.
?For me, last year when we played the Lions, Scott Linehan, who was the offensive coordinator [in Miami] with coach [Nick] Saban, he came up to me after the game, and he said that if you need a home, we?d love to have you on our team,? Williams said.
The only problem?? That kind of comment constitutes tampering, under the plain terms of the NFL?s Anti-Tampering Policy.
The policy states that any private communication with a player who is under contract with another team that includes the expression of an ?interest in obtaining his services? equals tampering, even if the comment doesn?t result in contractual problems or other issues between the player and his current team.
Lions coach Jim Schwartz seems to think that, even if Linehan said what Williams said Linehan said, it?s not tampering.
?I talked to Scott about it, and the conversation that Scott had ? I?m very confident that there was nothing more to it than just well-wishing after a game,? Schwartz said, via the Detroit Free Press.? ?There?s coaches after every single game that see players that they coached before and wish them well and things like that. I think it can end there.
?It?s pretty ridiculous that somebody would even consider that ? I know it?s just a reporter, but somebody would even consider that anything more than just well-wishing.? I don?t know how many times I?ve had players that I?ve played in the past come up and ask how the family is and say, ?Great, hey, good luck in the future, hope our paths cross again sometime.?? Something like that.? It?s just life in the NFL.?
Schwartz, widely regarded as being very smart, was smart enough to tiptoe around the specific content of the communication, relying instead on the generic argument that it all falls under the category of ?well-wishing.?? Frankly, it?s possible that this kind of ?well-wishing? happens all the time, just like the various other types of tampering that occur rampantly throughout the league.
Though Schwartz stopped short of saying that Linehan didn?t say what Williams said Linehan said, Linehan was more clear on that point, issuing a statement in which he denied Williams? contention.
?I have great regard for Ricky as a person and a player, but my recollection of our exchange is not what was reported,? Linehan said.? ?Like most coaches do after games, I briefly talked to one of my former players and wished him well.? It was no different than what goes on after every NFL game between coaches and their former players.?
Again, maybe what goes on after every NFL game between coaches and former players constitutes tampering.? What makes this specific instance significant is that, like the comments from Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham regarding his interest in signing his former players under contract with the Chiefs, hard evidence of one of the NFL?s worst-kept dirty little secrets has come to light.
That said, we don?t fault the Lions for being sufficiently nervous to issue written statements denying a claim from a guy who has no reason to lie about what was said to him.? They got lucky with the league office regarding the Chiefs situation.? If they get caught with their hand in the cookie jar a second time, they may not be so fortunate.
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