The Chicago Bears officially announced the signing of free-agent defensive tackle Amobi Okoye on Monday, just days after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Before Okoye was released, Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano indicated that the sixth-year pro wasn't recovering from a knee scope in June fast enough to earn a roster spot.
Okoye feels he came back *too soon* from that surgery, making him unavailable to practice or play for much of the preseason. Okoye heard and did not appreciate Schiano's comments.
"It's too bad to hear the unfortunate things he's saying about my knee," Okoye said, according to Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's kind of unfair of him to say what he said to the media, painting a bad picture like my knee was always bad.
"It really makes me question the character of he himself, because, while I was there, he was trying to mold us to be kind of like him. It made me question all the things he was teaching me, as far as TBA, Trust, Belief and Accountability. His way of doing things," Okoye said. "It's like, 'Wow, what type of guy is this?' That really hurt."
Okoye isn't the first player to leave One Buc Place and express disappointment in how Schiano handled things. Kellen Winslow took issue with Schiano's approach shortly after he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks.
Schiano probably shouldn't have suggested publicly that a player should rush to come back from surgery to make the club, but he is attempting to implement a much-needed culture change on the Buccaneers.
If it means taking some heat from disgruntled former players to do so, Schiano is likely fine with that. Until he puts some wins on his resume, however, Winslow and Okoye won't be the last former Bucs to criticize him for his methods.
Follow Brian McIntyre on Twitter _@brianmcintyre_.
