Jo-Lonn Dunbar played linebacker for the Saints from 2009 to 2011, the years when Gregg Williams was running a system of bounties in New Orleans. But Dunbar won’t join in with those who are criticizing the Saints’ former defensive coordinator.
“Gregg’s a great guy,” Dunbar told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “A really good person on the field, off the field.”
Dunbar was careful to say, however, that he didn’t participate in any of the bounty-related activities that got Williams suspended.
“I was a young cat,” Dunbar said. “I had nothing to do with that.”
That’s a strange explanation: There have been no suggestions that Williams involved only the older players in the bounties. It’s still unknown which players will face league discipline for the bounty scandal.
Dunbar is now with the Rams, the team that hired Williams before he was indefinitely suspended. Dunbar is disappointed he won’t play for Williams but glad he’ll play for Williams’ son, Blake Williams, who was a Saints assistant the last three years and is now the Rams’ linebackers coach.
“My connection with Blake Williams is one of the things that got me up here,” Dunbar said. “Blake’s a good guy.”
And that’s what Dunbar says about Blake’s dad, too.