Gregg Williams: Tape Proves Saints Coach Should Be Banned from NFL for Life

The NFL is a violent game. We all know that, and to believe anything else would be naive.

But when it gets so explicitly brutish that a coach is offering his players cash to injure opponents, something is wrong, and something needs to change.

Audio tapes have been released that offer disturbing insight into the tactics of Gregg Williams, the former New Orleans defensive coordinator who has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

Though the NFL was already in the midst of an investigation of the Saints—who were allegedly running a bounty program that offered players cash if they knocked targeted opposing players off the field or out of the game—Williams offered cash to the player who hit 49ers quarterback Alex Smith in the head during the 2011 NFL playoffs.

Audio released by a documentary filmmaker who was present during Williams' pregame pep talk also reveals the coach instructing players to target both Frank Gore and Kyle Williams' heads, Michael Crabtree's ACL and Vernon Davis' ankles, according to USA Today's Robert Klemko.

Sean Pamphilon, the filmmaker, told Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver:

"

At one point Williams says, "We hit [expletive] Smith right there"—then he points under his chin [and continues]—"remember me." Then he rubs his thumb against his index and middle fingers—the cash sign—and says, "I got the first one. I got the first one. Go get it. Go lay that [expletive] out."

"

Silver writes that earlier in the 12-minute speech, Williams articulated one of his signature phrases to his players: “Kill the head, the body will die.”

You can listen to the audio here. (Be wary of the language.)

Williams has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL, but that is not enough. This is someone who was already under investigation by the league and still did not stray from this savage rhetoric. He was encouraging his players to play to injure—even using the words "kill" and "die"—and offering them cash for their most brutal hits.

On what planet is that OK?

Eliminating Williams from the league won't solve the problem completely. His disciples have already been conditioned to play with the mentality he ingrained in them, and even with Williams gone, they might continue to play to injure. In fact, there are probably other coaches in the league who use the same language, the same rhetoric, to pump up their players.

Without cash rewards, however, they may be less motivated to go for the head or the ACL.

Imagine being Tom Brady or Peyton Manning playing against a Williams-led defense. Imagine being the offensive line, knowing that their quarterback's career literally might depend on their blocking ability.

Someone like Williams must be made into the example. Roger Goodell and the NFL have no choice but to make it explicitly clear that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in the NFL ever again.