Grossman’s Stinging Words Aimed at Chargers’ Bosses
Charger Coach Dan Henning has suggested that Sports Illustrated cover “big mouth” Burt Grossman might have to play backup to Lee Williams this season at defensive end.
Burt Grossman says Dan Henning doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“Dan Henning has never been to a defensive meeting,” Grossman said. “He’s never seen defensive film. He can’t spell defense, and you’re gonna believe him?
“He doesn’t know who is playing. He sits in that offensive meeting room all day yelling in that New York accent. I sat with him for a TV thing (production meeting) before a game with Joe Namath and he couldn’t name our starting 11 on defense.”
The Chargers came together Saturday for a three-day minicamp at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium to better prepare themselves for a July 16th opening of training camp.
Grossman, however, was already in midseason form.
“Anything Grossman has to say isn’t going to bother me,” said Henning. “He gets on me for the way I dress. Look at him; what does he think he is, some sort of oil painting?”
The team’s resident funny man, however, sounded as if he had taken off-season lessons from Don Rickles. In his opening barrage, Grossman chided Henning, berated former defensive line coach Gunther Cunningham, fired his agent, said he’s been given more than a $100,000 advance for a book on his life, took a playful jab at Williams and veteran guard Mark May and implied the Chargers were too cheap to go after Plan B free agents Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig.
“I don’t want to say the Chargers don’t want to win, but you look at some teams like San Francisco and they’re paying backup quarterback (Steve Young) $2 million a year,” Grossman said. “Well, you have to say that team obviously wants to win. They’re dishing out $6 million a year just on quarterbacks (Young and Joe Montana). That’s our whole payroll just about.
“You got teams like Dallas, who want to win, spending more money every year. If there’s somebody out there available, someone seems to always come up with the money, and it’s always somebody like Al Davis. You don’t think we needed Ronnie Lott?
“I mean if you want to be a great art collector you don’t do all your shopping at the flea market. You get players like (Leslie) O’Neal and then you just put up with all his weird stuff.”
While known best for his sharp-tongued comments, Grossman has been one of the team’s most productive performers the past two seasons. In his last 23 games, he has posted 18 sacks. He was the team’s top tackler among defensive linemen last year.
Grossman, however, has not been happy. He revealed that he almost came to blows with his defensive line coach in Week 15 after his critical remarks about the team appeared in the Times.
“Everybody knew I was going to snap one day,” Grossman said, “and when I did, luckily Cunningham was the punk I knew he was and he didn’t do anything about it.”
Grossman and Cunningham became embroiled in a shouting match during a meeting with the defensive linemen. As it progressed, it interrupted a nearby meeting of linebackers and a crowd grew. Although Grossman challenged Cunningham to step outside and fight, he was not fined or disciplined.
“I told him, ‘I’ll give you cab fare and directions to my house and whup your butt on my front lawn,’ ” said Grossman. “If I were him, I’d have taken the cab fare and just not shown up.”
Williams witnessed the confrontation between Grossman and Cunningham and said, “They both had fire in their eyes. If I was a betting man, and they had gone at it, I would have bet the house on Burt.”
Said O’Neal, “I’d have taken Cunningham.”
Grossman was second in the league in sacks at the halfway mark last season with eight but became sullen down the stretch and had two sacks in the final seven games. He attributed his lackluster play, in part, to Cunningham’s constant haranguing.
“It got to the point where none of us were paying attention to Cunningham,” Grossman said. “There wasn’t any coaching or teaching going on. It didn’t matter if we won or lost, but how many sacks we got for him.”
The Chargers did not renew Cunningham’s contract at the end of the season. Although his defensive linemen were perennially at the top or among the league leaders in sacks, Cunningham came under fire within the organization for his failure to handle their eccentricities.
Cunningham has gone on to find happiness, he said, with the Raiders as linebackers/defensive backs coach.
“I have no comment whatsoever to what Burt has to say,” Cunningham said. “He has all the answers; let’s just see what answers he has on the football field.”
Grossman said, “They can ride me on the bench, make me a grad assistant or have me bring doughnuts to the coaches everyday. I’m already ahead of the game now that they got that silly guy (Cunningham) out of here.
“It got so bad with that guy last year that I went to Hawaii on our bye weekend just to get away. A one-day advance ticket cost me $2,200, but that’s how bad it was. I was better my senior year of college than I am right now. Cunningham had just enough time to ruin me and make me into the backup I am today.”
Grossman, of course, isn’t a backup yet. He started his first 31 games in the NFL at defensive end before missing last season’s finale with fractured ribs.
But the Chargers have three quality defensive ends in Williams, Grossman and O’Neal. Since Grossman’s arrival three years ago, they have played Williams at defensive tackle so all three can stay on the field at the same time. But Williams has been unhappy, and Henning said Williams will be given the chance this season to beat out Grossman at defensive end.
“Henning has about as much control over this team as I do,” Grossman said. “That was just for Lee’s benefit. He’s gonna stay at defensive tackle. It’s fixed from the start. Put it this way: Do you see our starting D-line lining up without one of us in there?
“They say I might have to be a pass-rushing specialist. Let me ask you this, what’s Lee’s strongest point? He wants to play D-end on pass-rushing downs, so where do I, the pass-rushing specialist, go on passing downs? I’m even more of an odd-man out there.
“If I’m going to be on the bench, they might as well trade me. But I don’t think I’m going to be on the bench. I never have been. You think I’m going to start sitting on the bench on this team? I’ve been on better teams in college and haven’t been on the bench.”
Grossman said if he has to compete against Williams, it won’t be a fair contest.
“I don’t want to do it, but Lee’s an old man,” he said. “He’ll fall apart soon. His Geritol and Ben-Gay will run out and I’ll be starting.
“I got off to a bad start today, though, and Lee took the early lead on me. I got beat on all four pass rushes. (Guard) Mark May came out of retirement. The guy’s so old. . . . The last team he played for was Bedrock with Fred Flintstone.”
Henning said Grossman has gotten himself worked into a tizzy over nothing. He said he’ll be a backup exactly like Ronnie Harmon’s a backup, and Harmon’s “the first guy in there in certain situations.
“We would expect Burt to definitely start on all third downs, most seconds and a good number of first downs,” Henning said. “Burt has to understand that he’s not a 300-pounder. If Burt goes full-time every down in this league his career is going to be cut short.”
It still depends, however, on where Williams plays, O’Neal said with a grin. “If Lee plays defensive end like he wants to, that leaves Burt on the bench where he’s supposed to be,” O’Neal said. “I’m sure Burt will cry, though, and so they’ll have to find a place for him.”
The return of Joe Phillips and the recent selection of defensive tackle George Thornton in Round 2 may give the Chargers the bulk they need inside to free Williams’ return to defensive end. Grossman, however, is not impressed with Thornton’s arrival.
“Who is this George Thornton?” he said. “When Russell Maryland goes on the first pick and Eric Swann, a bouncer in a bar, goes in the first round, and you don’t even get picked until the second round, well then, what’s to worry about?”
Beathard, however, is known for having an eye for talent, and Beathard has proclaimed Thornton a quality find.
“Sure, Bobby knows personnel,” said Grossman. “He drafted (Chris) Goetz, (Jeff) Novak and that guy from Ohio State (Joe Staysniak) last year and they’re all gone. . . . And now I’m going to be a backup. Right.”
Grossman’s insults, while intended to be funny, most always flirt with the truth. He has a comment for everybody, and so it would seem, that’s why he’s been approached to have a book written about him.
“It was either me or (the Giants’) Jeff Hostetler,” Grossman said. “Hostetler won the Super Bowl, but he’s still a boring, no-personality West Virginia geek. Nobody wants to read about that.”
Grossman said writer Bill Kushner has completed two chapters and he said he expects the book to be released at midseason.
“I got over a hundred grand and after you make that up in sales you get something like $3 a book,” he said. “I figure the same crowd that bought (Brian) Bosworth’s book will buy this one. Really I don’t care if anyone buys it. They can burn the book for all I care, because I’ve got the money in the bank.”
Grossman said he was also scheduled to play the role of a “stud” in a sequel to Lyle Alzado’s movie, “The Destroyer,” but Alzado’s recent illness has probably put a halt to that project.
“I was also talking to Fox TV about a movie of the week and they wanted me to play a young Frankenstein,” he said. “That was the first indication I was going to fire (agent Mike) Merkow, when he sent me that script.”
Grossman has had almost as many agents as he has had sacks, but he said no one will think less of him because of that.
“Agents have bad images, so I’ll never get crucified for getting rid of an agent,” he said. “All you got to do is see Merkow on the street, and you know what I’m saying.”
Merkow said word of his firing is news to him. He said, “That’s just Burt being Burt.”
Grossman has been courted by Main Event’s chief, Dan Duva, son of Lou Duva, the trainer for boxer Evander Holyfield. Main Events flew Grossman and linebacker Junior Seau to Atlantic City for Holyfield’s fight with George Foreman.
“This is the busy time of year for me,” Grossman said. “You’ll notice I get most of my attention during training camp and before the season begins, because after that we usually lose.”