As we mentioned the other day, Muhammad Wilkerson and Darron Lee were both disciplined by Todd Bowles. Bowles stayed consistent in that he doesn’t give many details on “family matters”. Here is what he had to say on the subject.
On why he emphasizes accountability…
We all have a job to do and we all have work to do. You treat everybody like grown men, which they are, and there are consequences and repercussions for everything that we do here. We have rules that we go by, and you treat them like men. You put in a hard day’s work, and we take no wooden nickels. I don’t believe in beating around the bush. I don’t want anybody to beat around the bush with me. We have our fun but we get our work in. When you don’t work, some excuses are necessary and some things you get away with that are very understandable, and some things aren’t. That’s just how I am. It works for some people. It doesn’t work for other people.
On if it is frustrating to have to discipline players and hold them accountable…
It’s part of the game, no different than raising your kids – they’re going to do something, and you’re going to be pissed off, but they are still your kids. You love them up the next day and keep it moving.
On how confident he is that Darron Lee and Muhammad Wilkerson will not have to be disciplined again moving forward…
Time will tell. You earn trust. They’ve earned a lot of trust. You make a mistake, and you lose a little trust, and you just have to earn it back. So going forward, we’ll go from there.
On what Wilkerson has done to earn trust…
Like I said, these are coaching decisions and team rules we go by. I’m not going to sit here and discuss my players in the media.
On if he still considers Wilkerson to be a team leader…
Yes he is.
On if he thinks it is OK for leaders to repeatedly show up late to meetings…
I’m not OK with a lot of things, but I’m not going to sit here and give you a 10-page article on it.
On Wilkerson violating team rules and what that says to younger players on the team…
The biggest thing is we are family here, and sometimes families do different things. At the end of the day, you love them up, and you may be pissed off for a minute, and you get over it and move on. We treat every incident differently, and we go from there.