Much in the way that tales of dysfunction slowly leaked from the Red Sox's clubhouse after their late-season collapse, we continue to learn more about just how fractured the Jets' locker room became during a disappointing 8-8 season.
Rookie quarterback Greg McElroy painted a toxic picture of Gang Green during a Wednesday interview with an Alabama radio station. McElroy -- who spent his first NFL season on injured reserve following thumb surgery -- said the New York locker room was "definitely not a fun place to be."
"It's the first time I've ever been around extremely selfish individuals," McElroy told WZNN-FM. "I think that's maybe the nature of the NFL. But there were people within our locker room that didn't care whether we won or lost as long as they got their ... they really had a good game individually. And that's the disappointing thing."
McElroy didn't name names, but wide receiver Santonio Holmes is the Jet most under fire. Holmes was benched late in Sunday's season-ending loss to the Dolphins, leading one respected Jets veteran to say he didn't see how the receiver could return in 2012. Another unnamed Jet called Holmes a "cancer."
"It's going to take a lot to kind of come together next year," McElroy said. "I think the fact that we struggled at times this year really led to a really corrupt mindset within the locker room. But I think we're going to regroup and I know that we'll be a better team because of the trials and tribulations this year."
When asked about McElroy's comments Wednesday, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum repeated the same phrase he usedTuesday to describe Holmes' behavior.
"Some of the things that happened this year can’t happen again," Tannenbaum told WFAN, according to the New York Daily News. "We’re going to fix a lot of these problems."
The argument can be made that McElroy, a seventh-round draft pick out of Alabama who didn't see the field for the Jets, should keep his thoughts to himself, even if just for the sake of job security. But for a team and coach that built its reputation on talk, perhaps this was all inevitable.