Former nine-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tim Brown says he doesn't understand why he is getting so much attention for his controversial comments about his former head coach and current Cowboys offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Bill Callahan.
Brown said he was simply defending former teammate Barret Robbins when he suggested Saturday on Sirius XM NFL Radio that Callahan sabotaged the 2003 Super Bowl by changing the offensive gameplan a few days before. The Raiders lost that game 48-21 to the Buccaneers.
According to Brown, on the Friday before the game, Callahan switched the gameplan from a run-heavy attack to one that would ask quarterback Rich Gannon to throw 60 times.
Tuesday on the Ben and Skin Show on 103.3 [KESN-FM] in Dallas, Brown didn't change his story, instead, attempting to convince those listening that his comments were nothing new.
After all, Brown, a Woodrow Wilson High School graduate, was critical of Callahan during an interview on the same radio show in February.
"I'm just stating the facts of what happened the Friday before the Super Bowl," Brown said Tuesday. "There were many other issues with Callahan that I don't want to go into because I think that would disparage the man, and that's not my point here. This all came up because someone made a disparaging remark about Barret, and I just couldn't let them get away with the comment without explaining what happened with Barret Robbins."
Robbins, a former TCU lineman, disappeared a day before the Super Bowl and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Robbins did not play in the game.
"I'm not saying one had anything to do with the other," Brown said Saturday. "All I'm saying is those are the facts of what happened Super Bowl week. So our ire wasn't towards Barret Robbins, it was towards Bill Callahan. Because we feel as if he wouldn't have did what he did, then Barret wouldn't have done what he did."
Former Raiders Gannon, Zack Crockett and Bill Romanowski have come to Callahan's defense, disagreeing with Brown's comments.
Despite questioning Callahan's intentions before the Super Bowl, throughout Tuesday's interview, Brown showed support for his former coach's ability to draw up offensive plays. Although Jason Garrett called the Cowboys' plays last season, there's a realistic chance that Callahan will be the team's offensive play-caller next season.
"I've said this time and time again, there's no doubt in my mind that Bill Callahan is probably the smartest offensive coach that I've ever been around," Brown said. "I mean this guy can draw up plays in the dirt and make them work. I've seen that. Dealing with players is something totally different and I think that is what his issue was."
