Former Saints and current Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams met with the NFL on Monday to discuss his role in the “pay-for-performance” violations, aka Bounty-Gate, during his tenure with the Saints.
Sources indicated that Williams met with general counsel Jeff Pash and NFL security officials Joe Hummel and Jeff Miller, but details related to Monday’s meetings were unavailable.
Over the weekend, additional sources reported that there were similar systems in place in Buffalo and Washington during Williams’ tenure with the Bills and Redskins.
Goodell has contacted NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, and the league plans to continue working with the union on this matter.
While the role of players will also be looked at, the coach leading and orchestrating the program is the most liable, and his punishment will need to be appropriate to the violations. Comparisons have been made to the Patriots Spy-Gate scandal, but the safety issues associated with the bounty program (higher payments made for hits that knocked key opposing players out of games) is a much bigger violation. Goodell has consistently said that he is coming down on the side of player safety in violations for hits, and this is an opportunity to show the importance of player safety with regard to the behavior of a coach.
The league is expected to hand down punishment within the next couple weeks. Williams is looking at a lengthy suspension – and potentially a lifetime ban. HC Sean Payton, who knew about the program, is expected to be suspended too. And on top of that, the Saints will be slapped with a hefty fine and likely be stripped of draft picks.
The NFL will also investigate accusations about the bounty system in Washington, although it is too soon in the process to know what the outcome will be. Former Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs indicated last week that he was unaware of the system when Williams was his defensive coordinator.
