Vilma Update

Oct/17/06 02:04 PM Filed in: Jonathan Vilma
Alumni blues: Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma, a first-round pick out of Miami in 2004, was sad to see the vicious brawl that marred the Hurricanes' 35-0 win over Florida International and resulted in 31 suspensions, the firing of Miami television analyst Lamar Thomas and, possibly, the eventual firing of Vilma's college coach, Larry Coker.

Vilma said he didn't want to comment because he wasn't there, but admitted it was a "black eye'' for the Hurricanes.

"Yeah, it is, because of the history of the program,'' Vilma said. "They're always going to twist it, no matter what happens; they'll twist it to make Miami look bad, even though what they did was obviously bad. It's just tough, especially being Miami and all the things going wrong right now, they didn't need that. It's bad timing.

"He's the head coach. Obviously he's got to take the lumps for it. I think he's still in control. He was a great coach when I was down there.''

(thejournalnews.com)