There was an overwhelmingly negative reaction to the speech Gregg Williams gave to his Saints defense before their playoff game with the 49ers, but the general manager of the targeted team says it didn’t change his reaction of the former Saints defensive coordinator.
Trent Baalke worked with Williams in 2004 when Williams was the defensive coordinator of the Redskins and Baalke was part of the team’s scouting staff. Baalke said that he reached out to Williams after the tape was released earlier this month and told Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee that his opinion of Williams didn’t change as a result of anything Williams said to the Saints.
“I worked with Gregg,” Baalke said. “And Gregg’s a friend, always been a friend. It was only fitting that you reach out and speak with him, and I felt very good about the conversation.”
If enough other former colleagues of Baalke’s feel the same way -- Jeff Fisher has already indicated he’d work with Williams again -- there might be a chance at a return to the NFL for Williams if he is able to satisfy the league’s requirements for reinstatement.