On Tuesday, former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said in subtle-yet-unmistakable fashion that current Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to take a page from the Andy Reid playbook and do a better job.
On Wednesday, Saints quarterback Drew Brees was slightly more direct.
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Brees said that Goodell has “little to no credibility” with players right now. A member of the NFLPA executive committee, Brees also believes that the decision to involve Tagliabue was aimed at giving the league an escape hatch. Brees suggested that the outcome was “staged,” with the league’s overriding question being, “How do we get out of this mess?”
Brees also threw stones at the two key witnesses who testified that Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma offered a $10,000 bounty on Brett Favre before the 2009 NFC title game: former assistant coach Mike Cerullo and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Brees described them as “two guys who were fired from here because they didn’t fit the mold,” and Brees questioned where they are “mentally.”
It’s not the first time Brees has called out Goodell. Before the season, Brees said that no one trusts Goodell. Brees later said his comments were blown out of proportion. More recently, Brees has called the entire bounty case a sham.