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I am guessing that off field behavior does not matter so much to Linehan.
In Miami last season, Ricky Williams played for Linehan after quitting the team the season before and after several drug suspensions. Ricky has been named “the quitter” by some of the dolphin faithful. Would Martz let “a quitter” play for his team, or would “ a quitter” be stuck in his dog house forever?
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Interesting article. To be fair, under the Martz regime we did sign Turley knowing he had temper problems even on the field.
Leonard Little has his share of baggage, and we've stuck by him. Pisa spent four months in prison for two felony assault charges before we ever drafted him. I'm not trying to rag on any of those guys; I'm just saying sometimes you make judgment calls, and having Ricky on the Dolphins proved to be a great benefit at minimal cost last year.
That said, I think it is fair to question what his leadership is going to be like. Some players' coaches just can't control the big egos. Mike Tice lost his job in Minnesota because he couldn't keep the players under control. So when you get a nice guy like Linehan (seriously, has he said anything negative about anyone since he arrived?), you do wonder how he's going to react if the players don't do what they're supposed to. I'm not saying he won't be able to handle it, but the fact is with an untried head coach you just don't know.
I'm not too worried about him signing players from his past, though. Matt Hasselbeck was one of the guys Holmgren liked when they were both with the Packers. Vermeil brought in former Rams Trent Green, Eddie Kennison, and Dexter McLeon when he went to Kansas City. Parcells brought in Drew Bledsoe, Jason Ferguson, and Keyshawn Johnson from his past. Why take a risk that a guy won't be able to succeed in a your system if you already know a player that would fit what you want to do? Especially if you think his abilities are worth more than what his current market value is. For example, Raonall Smith was available at the veteran minimum. That's a low risk move especially if he winds up starting.