I wish I could agree. I really do.
But let's look at this objectively. You're on the special teams and you want to play. What do you say? That the coaching is under par and that you are not sure why you are being relegatred to spot duty? I think not. You "buy into the program" and say what you think the coaches want to hear. I never had to do this during my career, but that's because I was a productive researcher, a good teacher (ahem), and my wife is a top-drawer labor attorney. But Jackson is not in my position nor are the rest of the players. I have no doubt that some of them have fully brought into the "new culture' (whatever that is) and are presenting the best face they can on their situation. I also have no doubt that some of the players are unsure about our direction - we are losing - and are afraid to speak up. Whatever else you can say for Collins, he doesn't seem like a guy who wants to hear much dissent from anyone on his team or his staff. It is his way or the highway. To some extent, of course, all coaches are like this, but Collins seems to have a "vision" of control that is more comprehensive then most.
He's not alone on this. I worked for someone like him for years and we butted heads continuously. I was pretty invulnerable (see above) and I enjoyed it. We can only hope that things work out in the end. And they very well might; it isn't as if there aren't plenty of execs out there who work like this and are successful. They're as common as pigs in the woods. But we need to take what the players say, especially to the press, with a grain of salt.
Regardless, anyone who comes on an opposing teams RADIO SHOW and does something that stupid deserves whatever gets said about them. Like Mark Twain once said, "Never get into an argument with someone who buys ink by the barrel" Same principle applies to the airwaves...
