Gregg Williams already has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for his role in the Saints' "bounty" program, but that hasn't stopped even more damning reports against the former New Orleans defensive coordinator from trickling out.
Williams allegedly threw down $15,000 on the table during a team meeting before a 2006 "Monday Night Football" game, telling his Washington Redskins players that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson wasn't going to finish that game.
"Gregg came in and dropped $15,000 on the (table) and said, 'Brad Johnson doesn't finish this game. This is Wednesday and the money will go up later in the week. It could double or triple by the end of the week,' " an anonymous player told WJFK-FM this week. "A couple of guys kinda got excited. (Defensive line coach) Greg Blache said, 'If you get fined, it will be taken care of.' "
Another Redskins player, who also asked to remain anonymous, backed up the claims against Williams, though he couldn't recall specific details about the meeting.
"I can't say for sure it was $15,000, but I definitely remember that happening before that Minnesota game," he said. "And I can't say for sure that those were (Williams') exact words about Brad Johnson, but that was certainly the message.
"I had never heard anything like that before from a coach, but I wasn't shocked because that was (Williams') character, so in your face. His language was always X-rated and our meetings were usually pretty nuts."
According to the player, that wasn't the first time Williams told his team to target a specific player.
"The same thing happened before our playoff game the year before against Seattle," he said. "Gregg wanted us to get (Seahawks MVP running back) Shaun Alexander. Now it happened that (linebacker LaVar Arrington) knocked Shaun out of the game, but he was just playing hard. Unless it's a free shot at the quarterback, you have a really hard time trying to hurt a guy when you're making a play on the ball."
The reports of a Saints-esque bounty system existing in Washington while Williams was the Redskins' defensive coordinator quickly came out after the league first announced its findings. Williams was a Redskins assistant coach from 2004 through 2007, and two unnamed players told The Washington Post that Blache ended the program when he took over for Williams in 2008.
