Bucs' Dashon Goldson Hires TackIing Coach After Racking Up $455,000 in Fines

At some point, an NFL player needs to adjust his playing style before he loses an insane amount of money due to fines.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson racked up $455,000 over four different fines last season. He had two fines top $100,000, with one being the result of a one-game suspension.

Losing money week after week isn't very fun, so he decided to take action to help him keep his paychecks. According to Shutdown Corner's Anwar S. Richardson, Goldson will work with Train 'Em Up Academy owner Bobby Hosea—who will serve as a hitting coach—this offseason.

"I said this can’t be cool because every time I hit somebody I’m getting a fine," Goldson said. "At that point, I realized I have to figure something out."

Sure, Goldson doesn't have to worry too much about fines after signing a five-year, $41.25 million contract in 2013. However, the fines keep getting steeper as he continues to commit more infractions.

With penalties and fines looming in the back of his head on the field, his mindset can certainly be affected on the field. Goldson appeared to be frustrated when talking about his playing style leading to fines:

"

This is what got me my deal. This is what got me my name. This is how you make a name for yourself in this league. You set yourself apart by standing out. What I was doing was making a hit. Just playing hard and playing football the way it’s supposed to be played. I’m hearing fans and coaches coming up to me after the game and say, 'I love the way you play, don’t change the way you play.' This is after I’m being fined.

They’re not being fair because it’s not their money they’re losing, but at the same time, they understand that it comes with the territory, what the safety position is all about, how you play the game. Now they’re trying to take that away from me. It’s the way I make my money. The way I feed my family. Just the player that I am.

Guys are going to have to respect me if they come across that middle, regardless. I will have to deal with the rest of that stuff afterwards. At the same time, you got to be smart about it. I’m going to continue to be a hard hitter. I don’t know if that can ever be taken away from you. They can fine me all they want and put me out there to look bad, but as long as I’m playing football in the NFL, I’m going to give a team what I have, which is trying to win a game every week.

"

Goldson has made his money by dishing out huge hits, but that style has also ended up costing him some cash. Hosea has a plan to help the Buccaneers safety avoid illegal hits:

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When we get together, we’re going to break it down. We’re going to do film study on tackling, and we’re going to look at all these flags, and we’re going to break it down. Dashon was the best tackler you’ve ever seen in high school … something happened in the last couple of years when he started dropping his hat. I haven’t seen all of them [illegal hits]. I saw a couple.

"

The tackling guru has found a way to address the problem, which is the first step. Now he will have to find a way to pinpoint what Goldson can do differently in order to make clean tackles.

Kudos to Goldson for taking the initiative to play it safe on the field. His playing style makes him a great player, but it can also end up hurting his team—and the opponent.

Working with a tackling coach will keep him from drawing personal fouls, which will help him keep money in his bank account.