Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator for the who was suspended for the 2011 season after being considered the mastermind behind the New Orleans Saints' "bountygate" scandal, was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and hired by the Tennessee Titans as a senior defensive assistant.
Gregg Williams vows to ‘start anew’
During a press conference introducing him to the Nashville media, the Titans’ new defensive assistant coach Gregg Williams vows to put “Bountygate” behind him and “start anew.”
Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE
For more on the Titans, visit Music City Miracles
On Wednesday afternoon, he gave a press conference in Nashville, reading a statement and answering some questions from the press, not only addressing his suspension, but his new role with the Titans.
Williams told the press that he is excited to get started with the team and that he arrived in Nashville around midnight on Wednesday. He said that he was confident that he would get another shot in the NFL if he did things right during his suspension, and he also mentioned that during his time off, he spent time in Thailand working in orphanages.
Williams called his return to the NFL a “great rebirth” and apologized for his past mistakes. He went on to thank Goodell as well as Bud Adams, Ruston Webster, Jerry Gray and Mike Munchak. He said that his main goal in Tennesse is to work side by side with Gray, the team’s defensive coordinator, to make the Titans’ defense better. However, Munchak did say that when it comes to game days, Gray would be calling the shots.
Williams stated during the press conference that his defensive philosophy won’t change and that he wants the defense to be aggressive, while bending as long as it doesn’t break. He said that he will have to change his terminology and he will remain aggressive on the sidelines and on the practice field.
This isn't the fist time that Williams will have been working for the Titans. He was the defensive coordinator for the Titans before he went to Buffalo as the Bills' head coach in 2001. From there he went to Redskins, then to the Jaguars and finally the Saints, where he was the defensive coordinator until his suspension following the 2011 season.
Williams said that he believes he can put the “bountygate” scandal behind him and rebuild his résumé from this day forward. The Titans finished the 2012 season with the No. 27-ranked defense. They were No. 26 against the pass and No. 24 against the run.
See More:
