Playoffs
Hall of Fame
How Junior Galette's relationship with the Saints soured and ultimately led to his release
When New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton told Junior Galette on Friday the embattled linebacker would be released less than a week before training camp, the move shocked many around the NFL.
It was an abrupt ending for the 27-year-old defensive captain, who signed a four-year, $41.5 million extension with the team last September.
Galette's demise, however, began almost a year ago.
Multiple team sources said the Saints grew weary of Galette's behavior soon after rewarding him with the new deal and spent virtually the entire offseason trying to sever ties. Saints officials went over various scenarios in the past six months to rid themselves of Galette, from seeking possible trade partners to his outright release, which would result in a massive salary cap hit.
Galette's change in attitude after the new contract coupled with his arrest in January on a domestic violence charge in Kenner ultimately sealed his fate with the organization, sources said. Team officials were on board with jettisoning Galette even before a video surfaced in June that showed a man identified as Galette by a league source striking a woman with a belt.
Shortly after Galette's arrest, a team source predicted he would not be in a Saints uniform by the fall. Then after the video surfaced, the Saints submitted the clip of the altercation to the NFL per league protocol. The league, which has been increasingly vigilant in enforcing its new off-field conduct policy, recently summoned Galette to its New York offices to investigate his participation in the video. A first-time offender for domestic violence, regardless if he's found guilty by the court system, could face a league suspension of at least six games without pay.
But the clock essentially ticked toward the 11th hour on Saints officials, forcing them to make a decision on Galette's future with the team. With training camp looming and the league's investigation into Galette's off-field conduct ongoing, the team ultimately decided this week to take the $5.45 million cap hit in 2015 and swallow another $12.1 million in 2016 and release Galette before players reported for camp in West Virginia on Wednesday.
In the end, the Saints wanted Galette gone badly enough they essentially paid to get rid of him.
"(It was) the worst call they've ever made," Galette told NOLA.com | The Times Picayune Friday afternoon. "It was a terrible call to kick me when I'm down."
LACK OF LEADERSHIP
The Saints knew they could have some growing pains after parting ways with veteran defenders Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins, Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith and Jabari Greer last offseason. They didn't know quite how much.
Galette was voted a captain by teammates at the beginning of last season. According to a source, Saints coaches were unsure about how such a move would go, but preferred not to step into the players' affairs.
Saints coaches and players quickly found out that Galette didn't exactly embrace his new role the way some older veterans thought he should.
"He thought being captain was more so about status on the team instead of being a leader on and off the field," one source said.
According to sources, Galette's attitude changed after he received the new contract in September.
A former Saints teammate told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune of Galette: "He stayed focused long enough to get paid, then the real Junior came out. Sad."
The cracks began to show as the team, which entered the season as a Super Bowl contender, started losing. A source said some coaches and players wondered privately why Galette, who'd never been lauded for his leadership skills, had been chosen as a captain in the first place.
He was a sharp contrast from Jenkins, a previous defensive captain and longtime safety who commanded respect and ran the defense prior to his departure to the Eagles. Or linebacker Curtis Lofton, the other team captain in 2014, who led by example and preferred to keep issues in-house as much as Galette seemed to want to talk about them publicly.
Jenkins, an impassioned player who was capable of making rousing pregame speeches, ran the secondary and essentially made sure everyone on the defense knew their roles. With him gone, it was a struggle as other veteran defenders tried to fill the void.
But that was just one part of it.
MORE MONEY, MORE PROBLEMS
By all accounts, Galette has never wavered on his commitment to football. He played through injuries, including a broken toe last season, and nobody questioned his on-field effort. While Galette struggled in run support last season, he was one of the few bright spots on a defense that finished 31st, second to last, in the league overall. Galette finished with a team-high 10 sacks.
Off the field was a different story.
Sources said the new contract rankled some teammates and some Saints coaches, and shortly after Galette signed the new deal he exhibited behavior that led to those same players questioning if he warranted such a show of faith. Team officials, who initially thought they secured a good deal for a talented pass rusher, soon after began to privately have buyer's remorse, multiple team sources said.
Sources said Galette's new contract was particularly a simmering point of tension between him and Cameron Jordan, a young Pro Bowler who had not yet received a new contract after a 12.5-sack season in 2013. Ultimately Jordan would get a five-year, $60 million contract after the season.
Then there were those in the locker room in support of All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham. Graham went to arbitration to fight for his contract last offseason, when Payton testified against him. Graham eventually got the contract, but the damage was done. While Graham seemingly fought for every dollar, a source on the team said some players felt Galette had been given a contract he did not have to work for.
On a losing team, every issue was magnified. Multiple sources said the atmosphere in the locker room was often sour. Galette and defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick, who is no longer with the team, got into a fistfight before one of the Saints' preseason games.
There was a trickle-down effect.
Sources also said Deaderick got into another fight with a defensive lineman around the time of the Saints' loss to the 49ers in November.
The fights were more than simple pushing and shoving matches, the sources said. They were all-out brawls the likes of which some in the locker room had never seen.
Team chemistry was non-existent.
Galette wasn't solely responsible for the team's internal issues or disappointing 7-9 record last season, but he also was not part of the solution.
THE BEST OF TIMES
Galette's fall from grace in 2015 seems even stranger when compared to his first few years on the team.
When Galette showed up as an undrafted rookie out of Division II Stillman in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2010, he was a mile-a-minute talker who was happy just to be in the same room as Drew Brees. He used to chatter about playing as Brees in the Madden video games, and still smiled years later when recalling the moment Vilma brought him up to assistant coach Joe Vitt's office to tell him he'd made the roster of the defending Super Bowl champion.
"He stayed focused long enough to get paid, then the real Junior came out. Sad." -- former Saints teammate.
But still, it was a show of faith for the Saints to take Galette on, as he'd run into trouble after only one season at Temple. After personality clashes with coaches and an incident in which his cousin, who was living with him, was arrested for stealing laptops, Galette transferred to Stillman.
Galette proved himself as a rookie in 2010 at Saints training camp and rewarded the team by becoming a solid backup behind Smith then eventually a full-time starter. He had 9.5 sacks combined in his first three seasons before producing a career-best 12 sacks in 2013.
Galette appeared to have matured beyond his past transgressions, and giving him a new contract at some point seemed like a no-brainer for team officials. The Saints' timing, however, raised eyebrows. Galette still had two years left on his original deal and the organization previously had been reluctant to offer early contract extensions to its players, including stars such as Graham and Brees.
But Galette's teammates seemingly were in full support of his new windfall soon after word surfaced.
Back in September with the 2014 season still full of promise, there didn't seem to be a raised eyebrow from players in the locker room when Galette entered, giddy with excitement after signing his contract extension. It was the culmination of a lifetime of hard work for Galette, who grew up in an impoverished area of Haiti.
Brees put basketballs in Galette's locker as a lighthearted prank. The team played his favorite artist, Rihanna, at practice. He was voted a team captain. Galette, who sported a grin ear to ear, proclaimed it was "the best week of my life!"
Almost a year later, Galette might consider this week one of his worst.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
What Galette didn't know was shortly thereafter the Saints were increasingly growing tired of his act.
Galette insisted his relationship with Payton, whom he looks to as a father figure, was on solid ground.
Sources said, however, that had not been the case for quite some time.
Payton had always been irked by Galette's loose lips to the media and via social media, but that was a minor issue until December.
Galette squarely put himself in Payton's doghouse when he told the media that the team's current players were better than the ones they replaced, causing former Saints players publicly to lambast him on social media.
They still hadn't forgotten by Friday, as ex-Saints defensive end Bobby McCray posted a GIF directed to Vilma and Smith that said, "Now comes the part where we throw our heads back in laughter."
"Karma came calling," Vilma tweeted.
Former Saints Scott Shanle and Scott Fujita both reacted with tweets indicating laughter.
Galette said his proclamation wasn't a slight to the former players. Instead, he was trying to pump up his own teammates with praise. A source said Saints coaches, Payton in particular, didn't think Galette had done enough of note in his own career to be castigating his predecessors, some of whom helped the Saints win their only Super Bowl five years ago.
That was nothing compared to the list of things that followed.
First came the arrest. Galette has been adamant that he was the victim in the situation. He said a former friend woke him up and demanded money for a cab or she would call the police. He and his cousin, Terrance Banks, forcibly removed the woman from the house and both were arrested on a charge of simple battery with domestic violence.
Banks would be arrested again a week later, while driving Galette's car, after police found marijuana on the seat during a traffic stop. Galette was not present.
The domestic violence charge was dropped in February. But the woman filed a lawsuit against Galette accusing him of physical, mental and sexual abuse.
The woman's attorney, Joe Raspanti, stepped down from the case, citing uncooperativeness by the plaintiff. The lawsuit is now in limbo with authorities unable to contact the woman.
That was followed by two unflattering videos of Galette, one posted to a friend's Instagram account in which Galette shouted in the background about the jewelry around his neck and his next contract, while a friend went on a profanity-laced tirade directed at "Sean."
Then the video surfaced in June, showing a man a league source identified as Galette involved in beach brawl. In the 2013 video, Galette is seen striking a woman with a belt at least twice, striking a man with a belt and throwing punches during the melee. The video was posted on YouTube by an onlooker.
Galette's lawyer insisted it was not his client in the video. With Galette's past transgressions, the court of public opinion already had made a decision.
In each of those situations, Galette reacted as if his detractors were out to get him. He privately and publicly accused some members of the media of being purposely negative. He has stated he doesn't need to change the company he keeps.
He once went back and forth with his critics on his Twitter account, but after his arrest, he left Twitter and said he has become more of a recluse. His Instagram account was deleted shortly after the video of the beach fight surfaced.
"Really, at this level, you can conduct yourself as good, as choir boy as you want, sometimes the trouble comes to you," he said in the offseason.
THE FUTURE
So what's next for Galette?...
It was an abrupt ending for the 27-year-old defensive captain, who signed a four-year, $41.5 million extension with the team last September.
Galette's demise, however, began almost a year ago.
Multiple team sources said the Saints grew weary of Galette's behavior soon after rewarding him with the new deal and spent virtually the entire offseason trying to sever ties. Saints officials went over various scenarios in the past six months to rid themselves of Galette, from seeking possible trade partners to his outright release, which would result in a massive salary cap hit.
Galette's change in attitude after the new contract coupled with his arrest in January on a domestic violence charge in Kenner ultimately sealed his fate with the organization, sources said. Team officials were on board with jettisoning Galette even before a video surfaced in June that showed a man identified as Galette by a league source striking a woman with a belt.
Shortly after Galette's arrest, a team source predicted he would not be in a Saints uniform by the fall. Then after the video surfaced, the Saints submitted the clip of the altercation to the NFL per league protocol. The league, which has been increasingly vigilant in enforcing its new off-field conduct policy, recently summoned Galette to its New York offices to investigate his participation in the video. A first-time offender for domestic violence, regardless if he's found guilty by the court system, could face a league suspension of at least six games without pay.
But the clock essentially ticked toward the 11th hour on Saints officials, forcing them to make a decision on Galette's future with the team. With training camp looming and the league's investigation into Galette's off-field conduct ongoing, the team ultimately decided this week to take the $5.45 million cap hit in 2015 and swallow another $12.1 million in 2016 and release Galette before players reported for camp in West Virginia on Wednesday.
In the end, the Saints wanted Galette gone badly enough they essentially paid to get rid of him.
"(It was) the worst call they've ever made," Galette told NOLA.com | The Times Picayune Friday afternoon. "It was a terrible call to kick me when I'm down."
LACK OF LEADERSHIP
The Saints knew they could have some growing pains after parting ways with veteran defenders Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins, Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith and Jabari Greer last offseason. They didn't know quite how much.
Galette was voted a captain by teammates at the beginning of last season. According to a source, Saints coaches were unsure about how such a move would go, but preferred not to step into the players' affairs.
Saints coaches and players quickly found out that Galette didn't exactly embrace his new role the way some older veterans thought he should.
"He thought being captain was more so about status on the team instead of being a leader on and off the field," one source said.
According to sources, Galette's attitude changed after he received the new contract in September.
A former Saints teammate told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune of Galette: "He stayed focused long enough to get paid, then the real Junior came out. Sad."
The cracks began to show as the team, which entered the season as a Super Bowl contender, started losing. A source said some coaches and players wondered privately why Galette, who'd never been lauded for his leadership skills, had been chosen as a captain in the first place.
He was a sharp contrast from Jenkins, a previous defensive captain and longtime safety who commanded respect and ran the defense prior to his departure to the Eagles. Or linebacker Curtis Lofton, the other team captain in 2014, who led by example and preferred to keep issues in-house as much as Galette seemed to want to talk about them publicly.
Jenkins, an impassioned player who was capable of making rousing pregame speeches, ran the secondary and essentially made sure everyone on the defense knew their roles. With him gone, it was a struggle as other veteran defenders tried to fill the void.
But that was just one part of it.
MORE MONEY, MORE PROBLEMS
By all accounts, Galette has never wavered on his commitment to football. He played through injuries, including a broken toe last season, and nobody questioned his on-field effort. While Galette struggled in run support last season, he was one of the few bright spots on a defense that finished 31st, second to last, in the league overall. Galette finished with a team-high 10 sacks.
Off the field was a different story.
Sources said the new contract rankled some teammates and some Saints coaches, and shortly after Galette signed the new deal he exhibited behavior that led to those same players questioning if he warranted such a show of faith. Team officials, who initially thought they secured a good deal for a talented pass rusher, soon after began to privately have buyer's remorse, multiple team sources said.
Sources said Galette's new contract was particularly a simmering point of tension between him and Cameron Jordan, a young Pro Bowler who had not yet received a new contract after a 12.5-sack season in 2013. Ultimately Jordan would get a five-year, $60 million contract after the season.
Then there were those in the locker room in support of All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham. Graham went to arbitration to fight for his contract last offseason, when Payton testified against him. Graham eventually got the contract, but the damage was done. While Graham seemingly fought for every dollar, a source on the team said some players felt Galette had been given a contract he did not have to work for.
On a losing team, every issue was magnified. Multiple sources said the atmosphere in the locker room was often sour. Galette and defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick, who is no longer with the team, got into a fistfight before one of the Saints' preseason games.
There was a trickle-down effect.
Sources also said Deaderick got into another fight with a defensive lineman around the time of the Saints' loss to the 49ers in November.
The fights were more than simple pushing and shoving matches, the sources said. They were all-out brawls the likes of which some in the locker room had never seen.
Team chemistry was non-existent.
Galette wasn't solely responsible for the team's internal issues or disappointing 7-9 record last season, but he also was not part of the solution.
THE BEST OF TIMES
Galette's fall from grace in 2015 seems even stranger when compared to his first few years on the team.
When Galette showed up as an undrafted rookie out of Division II Stillman in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2010, he was a mile-a-minute talker who was happy just to be in the same room as Drew Brees. He used to chatter about playing as Brees in the Madden video games, and still smiled years later when recalling the moment Vilma brought him up to assistant coach Joe Vitt's office to tell him he'd made the roster of the defending Super Bowl champion.
"He stayed focused long enough to get paid, then the real Junior came out. Sad." -- former Saints teammate.
But still, it was a show of faith for the Saints to take Galette on, as he'd run into trouble after only one season at Temple. After personality clashes with coaches and an incident in which his cousin, who was living with him, was arrested for stealing laptops, Galette transferred to Stillman.
Galette proved himself as a rookie in 2010 at Saints training camp and rewarded the team by becoming a solid backup behind Smith then eventually a full-time starter. He had 9.5 sacks combined in his first three seasons before producing a career-best 12 sacks in 2013.
Galette appeared to have matured beyond his past transgressions, and giving him a new contract at some point seemed like a no-brainer for team officials. The Saints' timing, however, raised eyebrows. Galette still had two years left on his original deal and the organization previously had been reluctant to offer early contract extensions to its players, including stars such as Graham and Brees.
But Galette's teammates seemingly were in full support of his new windfall soon after word surfaced.
Back in September with the 2014 season still full of promise, there didn't seem to be a raised eyebrow from players in the locker room when Galette entered, giddy with excitement after signing his contract extension. It was the culmination of a lifetime of hard work for Galette, who grew up in an impoverished area of Haiti.
Brees put basketballs in Galette's locker as a lighthearted prank. The team played his favorite artist, Rihanna, at practice. He was voted a team captain. Galette, who sported a grin ear to ear, proclaimed it was "the best week of my life!"
Almost a year later, Galette might consider this week one of his worst.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
What Galette didn't know was shortly thereafter the Saints were increasingly growing tired of his act.
Galette insisted his relationship with Payton, whom he looks to as a father figure, was on solid ground.
Sources said, however, that had not been the case for quite some time.
Payton had always been irked by Galette's loose lips to the media and via social media, but that was a minor issue until December.
Galette squarely put himself in Payton's doghouse when he told the media that the team's current players were better than the ones they replaced, causing former Saints players publicly to lambast him on social media.
They still hadn't forgotten by Friday, as ex-Saints defensive end Bobby McCray posted a GIF directed to Vilma and Smith that said, "Now comes the part where we throw our heads back in laughter."
"Karma came calling," Vilma tweeted.
Former Saints Scott Shanle and Scott Fujita both reacted with tweets indicating laughter.
Galette said his proclamation wasn't a slight to the former players. Instead, he was trying to pump up his own teammates with praise. A source said Saints coaches, Payton in particular, didn't think Galette had done enough of note in his own career to be castigating his predecessors, some of whom helped the Saints win their only Super Bowl five years ago.
That was nothing compared to the list of things that followed.
First came the arrest. Galette has been adamant that he was the victim in the situation. He said a former friend woke him up and demanded money for a cab or she would call the police. He and his cousin, Terrance Banks, forcibly removed the woman from the house and both were arrested on a charge of simple battery with domestic violence.
Banks would be arrested again a week later, while driving Galette's car, after police found marijuana on the seat during a traffic stop. Galette was not present.
The domestic violence charge was dropped in February. But the woman filed a lawsuit against Galette accusing him of physical, mental and sexual abuse.
The woman's attorney, Joe Raspanti, stepped down from the case, citing uncooperativeness by the plaintiff. The lawsuit is now in limbo with authorities unable to contact the woman.
That was followed by two unflattering videos of Galette, one posted to a friend's Instagram account in which Galette shouted in the background about the jewelry around his neck and his next contract, while a friend went on a profanity-laced tirade directed at "Sean."
Then the video surfaced in June, showing a man a league source identified as Galette involved in beach brawl. In the 2013 video, Galette is seen striking a woman with a belt at least twice, striking a man with a belt and throwing punches during the melee. The video was posted on YouTube by an onlooker.
Galette's lawyer insisted it was not his client in the video. With Galette's past transgressions, the court of public opinion already had made a decision.
In each of those situations, Galette reacted as if his detractors were out to get him. He privately and publicly accused some members of the media of being purposely negative. He has stated he doesn't need to change the company he keeps.
He once went back and forth with his critics on his Twitter account, but after his arrest, he left Twitter and said he has become more of a recluse. His Instagram account was deleted shortly after the video of the beach fight surfaced.
"Really, at this level, you can conduct yourself as good, as choir boy as you want, sometimes the trouble comes to you," he said in the offseason.
THE FUTURE
So what's next for Galette?...
Mike Rosenberg @RosenbergMerc
