Ex-Falcons star makes troubling claim about Greg Schiano-coached Bucs

Coach Greg Schiano on the sidelines in the first half as Temple played Rutgers in the season opener at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, NJ on September 4, 2021. Photo Credit: Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Greg Schiano has drawn criticism over the years for some of his controversial coaching tactics, and a troubling new allegation has now surfaced about him.

Schiano, currently the head coach at Rutgers, held the same position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 and 2013. Former star pass-rusher John Abraham was playing for the Atlanta Falcons at the time. During a recent appearance on “The Water Boyz Show” podcast, Abraham claimed that former Bucs offensive lineman Donald Penn warned Abraham in 2012 that Buccaneers players were instructed to intentionally injure their opponents on the Atlanta side.

Abraham said the conversation took place during the final game of the 2012 season, when the playoff-bound and NFC-best Falcons faced the 6-9 Buccaneers.

“[Penn] was like, ‘Hey man, be careful out here. The coaches told us to hurt you all,’” Abraham said, as transcribed by JoeBucsFan.com. “I was like, ‘Stop playing.’ He’s like, ‘Nah, they told us to hurt y’all. So we’re going to be going extra. After the whistle, we’re going to be doing everything to try to mess with y’all.’”

JoeBucsFan.com reached out to Penn, who vehemently denied the claim. Penn said he is friends with Abraham but denied that the conversation about Bucs players injuring the Falcons ever took place. The three-time Pro Bowler said Tampa Bay’s offensive line took pride in being extremely physical that year, but they never would have deliberately tried to hurt an opponent.

Abraham had 133.5 sacks during his career, which ranks 13th all time in the NFL. He also made the Pro Bowl five times and is viewed by many as a Hall of Fame candidate, so the allegation was significant coming from him.

It would have been incredibly bold of the Bucs’ coaching staff to instruct players to injure opponents the same year Sean Payton was suspended the entire season over the New Orleans Saints’ infamous bounty scandal. Schiano has infuriated opposing coaches with one particular strategy late in games, but that does not mean he ever told a player to deliberately hurt someone.