Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbinsent a clear message to his team when he released Chad Johnson on Sunday night. That message wasn't well received by some Dolphins players.
"I hate that we didn't stand behind him," linebacker Karlos Dansby told the "Sid Rosenberg Show" on WMEN-AM on Monday morning. "I know the guys in the locker room would. But the organization felt a totally different way about the situation, and they probably had more information than we know. And they had to do what they had to do."
Dansby is one of the Dolphins' emotional leaders, so his words carry a lot of weight. We suspect Philbin will have to pull Dansby aside for a one-on-one talk about airing grievances in private rather than on the radio.
"It's going to be an even bigger distraction right now, I think, because of the simple fact we let him go," Dansby said. "I think if we were going to be with the guy, if he was going to be our guy, we have to stand behind him -- even though the situation came about. He didn't get that third strike."
Dansby noted a few times that Johnson was the "perfect" teammate and everyone "loved" having him in the locker room. But it was Johnson's actions outside the locker room that did him in.
UPDATE: NFL Network caught footage of Philbin speaking with Dansby in a private conversation at practice. The Dolphins coach gave an indication of what he said when asked by the press about Dansby's comments.
"You have a boss, I have a boss," Philbin said. "I don't always agree with what the boss says every single time. I'm of the opinion that you should keep things in house in that regard."
Dansby clearly got the message.
"That's any organization; any organization is not going to stand for that," he said. "NFL period won't stand for it. The shield is what we are protecting at all times, so we just got to man up and be accountable for our actions."
This is going to be some episode of HBO's "Hard Knocks."
