Gregg Williams has some negative history dating back several years with his team’s newest arrival, but he doesn’t seem to think it will be an issue.
After the New York Jets signed veteran running back Frank Gore to a one-year deal on Tuesday, Williams, the team’s defensive coordinator, spoke extremely positively about the addition.
“I absolutely love that we signed him!” he said of Gore, per Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated. “His leadership will be huge for us. I have tremendous respect for him as a player and competitor. He’s one of the best I’ve had to game plan against!”
Williams was hired by the Jets in 2019, but his link to Gore dates back to the notorious “Bountygate” scandal that Williams was involved in during his time with the New Orleans Saints. Gore, then a member of the San Francisco 49ers, was one of the players that Williams targeted, calling for his Saints players to intentionally injure him and saying that they should “kill Frank Gore’s head.”
While Williams’ comments are nearly a decade old by now, his Bountygate ties were recently in the news again, and he may have to answer for them when he sees his team’s new running back face-to-face for the first time.
