New York Jets Santonio Holmes gives thumbs up before the addition of coach Sanjay Lal – NFL News
New York Jets’ wide receiver Santonio Holmes has revealed that before getting the job new wide receiving coach Sanjay Lal met with him at the home of none other than head coach Rex Ryan.
Holmes told the story while talking to the New York Daily Times on Saturday, August 25, 2012. He said:
“Sanjay was the right guy to bring in at the time,” Holmes said. “When we met at Coach Ryan’s house, we saw eye-to-eye with everything that we talked about. He’s a tough-nosed guy, very mechanical, loves to work on technique and doesn’t take any B.S. from
the receivers.”
The story goes like this, coach Ryan and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano wanted to have Lal in the coaching staff, but before hiring him they wanted to make sure that their prime wide receiver would gel in with the new coach.
It seems logical because Jets have Holmes locked in on a long-term contract and it is highly unlikely that they will part ways with the veteran any time soon.
So it was a wise decision to first make the two adjust with each other. And it did not take much longer before both realised that they needed the support of each other.
Lal is the first coach of Indian descent in the history of the National Football League (NFL). After working with the Oakland Raiders, Lal was looking for opportunity in the coaching role. Talking about the meeting with Holmes, Lal said:
“I laid it out. I wasn’t trying to get a job. Because if you lie to someone to get a job, it’s going to be a nightmare once you get the job. I wasn’t going to do that.”
On the other hand, receiver Holmes was looking for a change after going through the worst finish to a season since his rookie season.
The situation came to a boiling point when Holmes was controversially benched in the final game of the 2011 season.
Holmes, a former Super Bowl MVP, wants to send a strong message this season. Despite getting a bit burned out with the work load put up by Lal in the organised team activities (OTAs), Holmes now seems to have settled with the work plan given by Lal.
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