Sometimes, even f--king soldiers have to roll.
And that’s what tight end Kellen Winslow says he had to do in Tampa, once he got a taste of new coach Greg Schiano’s ways.
In the latest edition of Michael Robinson’s Real Rob Report (via JoeBucsFan.com by way of CBSSports.com), Winslow explains why he’s no longer a member of the Buccaneers.
“Real sh-t? Real sh-t?” Winslow said. “Greg Schiano came over there [and said], ‘Toes on the line! Toes on the line!’ Blowing the whistle. You can’t laugh. You can’t joke around. So I decided not to go to OTAs.”
The Bucs version was/is that they decided that Winslow shouldn’t come to OTAs. Either way, it looks like the decision was made, regardless of who made it, based on interactions during Phase 2 of the offseason program. And it’s likely that Winslow’s reluctance to embrace the new coaching staff was a factor in the decision, regardless of who made it.
“They got my man [Raheem Morris] up out of there,” Winslow said. “I was loyal to him. I’d take a bullet for that dude. So I had to roll, man.”
Winslow said Morris wasn’t a “company coach,” but a player’s coach. “They fired the wrong dude up there,” Winslow said.
Winslow didn’t say who should have been fired instead of Morris. Regardless, whether the Bucs thereafter fired Winslow or Winslow fired the Bucs, Winslow’s words likely won’t make anyone in the Tampa organization regret the decision to trade him to Seattle for two bags of Funyuns and a bottle of Yoo-hoo.