Greg Schiano would have loved if his Thursday news conference dealt solely with his team's upcoming matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
Instead, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach spent a good portion of his availability discussing Josh Freeman and the drama surrounding the quarterback following the team's ugly 18-17 loss to the New York Jetslast Sunday.
Schiano said Freeman overslept last week, causing him to miss the team photo session. He said the issue was addressed internally, though he also acknowledged the quarterback has been late for other functions.
"I do trust Josh," Schiano said. "Josh and I share a lot of things together."
Schiano also discussed the players-only meeting last week.
"I was aware there was going to be a players-only meeting before the game, which I'm always fine with," Schiano said. "I trust the players and the leadership, and if the team wants to talk among themselves, I think it's healthy. I was not aware of any question on captain's vote, because there isn't any."
Freeman was not voted a team captain, leading to a report that players had questioned the validity of the vote. Schiano said Wednesday any theory that the voting was rigged against Freeman is "100 percent inaccurate."
"When you have mishaps, you have things where guys don't do what they're supposed to do when they're supposed to do it, does it concern me? Sure it does," he said. "But the same guy has done a lot of things that he is supposed to do, when he's supposed to do them in clutch situations dating back as late as Sunday, he took the team down and put us in field-goal range to win the game."
Schiano is saying the right things, but you get the feeling this is headed in a certain direction. Mike Glennon waits in the wings, representing a fresh start for a coach who might need one.
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