Bentley, Horn air personal differences
Feud reveals schism among Saints players'
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
By Brian Allee-Walsh
Staff writer
SAN ANTONIO -- Two of the Saints' marquee players appear to be in personal conflict as the beleaguered franchise heads into an offseason of uncertainty and rebuilding.
Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley, who'll be an unrestricted free agent in March, and veteran wide receiver Joe Horn exchanged long-distance barbs from Texas and Florida on Tuesday, suggesting the two might be a snapshot of the team's 3-13 collapse this season.
Bentley defended former coach Jim Haslett and deposed quarterback Aaron Brooks, but took exception to Horn's antics and his recent comments about the line being the source of the team's maladies on offense.
"Everything fell on Haz and everything fell on A.B., and I don't think that's fair," Bentley said Tuesday at the team's training facility in downtown San Antonio. "Haz is a good coach, and A.B. is one of the league's most talented quarterbacks. So don't put everything on those two guys.
"I believe it's the people that everyone thinks are the team leaders that are the true cancers of this organization," Bentley continued. "Some of these people, who are always running their mouths in front of the cameras and have some asinine quote, really need to shut up and play football and do their jobs so everybody else can do their jobs effectively. People get bamboozled into thinking that these guys are the leaders of this team and they're not."
Bentley also took exception to Horn's comments about Bentley's contract situation. Bentley, a second-round pick in 2002, is free to negotiate with other teams in March.
"LeCharles is not happy," Horn told The Times-Picayune in early December. "He doesn't feel like he's been treated fairly. He felt like his contract should have been done before the end of the season. He feels like he should be one of the top paid offensive linemen in the league. That didn't happen, so he's pissed off."
Bentley said Horn's comments were untrue and inappropriate.
"I don't want to name names, but this person has clearly named my name in some of his interviews, which is lying on me to further his career and to further his interest," Bentley said. "I guess some people have that Terrell Owens syndrome. When T.O. gets too much attention, he gets a little jealous.
"Nobody ever stops and asks (him), 'What the hell are you doing that's so right? Maybe you should pull out your stat sheet.' "
Horn's response?
"Number one, I thought I was trying to say what he couldn't say. I didn't think I was hurting him," said the former Pro Bowl receiver when reached on his cell phone while driving to New Orleans from Florida. "But if that's the way he wants it, then that's the way it'll be.
"Number two, I'm not trying to further my career; I just signed a six-year $42 million deal. There's not a guy on our football team who would say I'm even close to having the T.O. syndrome, whatever that is.
"Number three, I'm sorry that everybody can't be me. If you're jealous and you're pissed off that you can't be me, that's not my fault. Get your own identity in this league.
"Number four, if you don't want to be in New Orleans, if you don't want to play for the New Orleans Saints, if you don't want to go through the aftermath of Katrina, if you think somewhere else is better, then get the hell on."
NOTES: Saints cornerbacks coach Greg Brown resigned Monday and has taken a job as secondary coach at the University of Colorado. Brown served four seasons on Haslett' staff.
"As soon as Jim got fired yesterday, I walked out of the meeting and made a phone call to Colorado because I knew they had an opening," said Brown, a former Buffaloes assistant from 1991 to '93. "It happened that fast. The experience I had with Jim Haslett has been the best experience I've had with a head coach in the NFL, and I've worked for seven different head coaches in this league. He did a tremendous job keeping the ship together. I know all the players and assistant coaches feel the same way. He's big time with us."
Brown is a native of Denver.
Haslett cleaned out his office Tuesday and plans to return to his home in Destrehan today. "I thought it was the right time to go," Haslett said. "I just got off the phone with Jim Mora, and he said sometimes you can stay in a place too long. He said he stayed two years too long in New Orleans (before resigning at midseason in 1996). My time was just about right on here."
