Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett didn't hold back when explaining his issues with Albert Haynesworth in an interview with 101 ESPN radio in St. Louis.
According to Profootballtalk.com, Haslett qualified his statements by saying he likes Haynesworth, and he believes the defensive lineman can still thrive if returned to a 4-3 scheme. But he also described Haynesworth as a lazy player who either has trouble listening to -- or plain ignores -- his coaches.
“He can do almost anything he wants. He doesn’t want to do anything. To me that’s the issue,” Haslett said. “He’s one of those guys you walk in a meeting and you tell him, ‘Put down the phone.’ The next day you have to tell him to put down the phone. The next day, you tell him to put down the phone.
“You tell him, ‘Don’t read the newspaper in meetings.’ The next day you have to tell him the same thing. It doesn’t stick; it’s an every-day thing.”
Haynesworth set an NFL record in 2009 with $41 million guaranteed as part of a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Redskins. But Haynesworth fell out of favor with new coach Mike Shanahan in 2010 and repeatedly clashed over workout routines and playing time. The Redskins suspended Haynesworth for the final four games of the season for "conduct detrimental to the team."
Haynesworth exasperated Redskins coaches by essentially refusing to be part of the team's 3-4 defense last season.
“He just didn’t want to play in this scheme. He didn’t want to play in the 3-4,” Haslett said in the interview. “He didn’t want to do the things we wanted. Then we said, ‘OK, if you’re not going to do it, let’s not do it. Let’s play nickel, play the 3-technique.’
“Then, it got to the point where he said, ‘I don’t want to play first- and second-down nickel. I just want to play third-down nickel.’ Oh my God, you’re relegating yourself to 10-15 snaps a game. Then after that he didn’t want to do the blitzes, he just wanted to rush.”
Haynesworth's image as a poor team player is just the start of his problems. At one point last year, the 29-year-old was juggling as many four court-related matters, including lawsuits from a bank, an exotic dancer, a man injured in an automobile accident and complaints from his ex-wife that he wasn't paying her health insurance or their children's bills.
Last week, a Virginia judge dismissed a misdemeanor assault charge against Haynesworth after the player reached an agreement with the man who said he was the victim of a road-rage attack.
And last month, Haynesworth pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of sexual abuse for an incident in which he allegedly groped a waitress at a Washington hotel bar in February. That case goes to trial in July.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
