Outgoing insider? Koonce causes a stir
If George Koonce's nose is right, the Packers offense might get an upgrade yet.
Koonce, who recently resigned his position as the Packers' director of player development to accept a job with Marquette University, has caused a stir on blogs and Internet message boards with his remarks to a Milwaukee radio station Friday.
At the end of an interview on the Gary and Cliff Show on WSSP (AM-1250), Koonce said "the offseason's not over with quite yet, so don't be surprised if ... a big name (comes) in before training camp."
Pressed by the hosts for more information, Koonce refused to provide a name but said he was talking about an offensive player.
"I'm not going to spill the beans," Koonce said, "but ... I sniffed around a little bit before I left."
Considering the Packers' much-discussed failure to land Randy Moss and countless other rumors that have come and gone, this could be one more letdown for fans frustrated by the team's inactivity in free agency. But with about $10 million of salary-cap space (after the rookie pool is spent) and more than a month until training camp, General Manager Ted Thompson has plenty of time and flexibility to augment the roster -- if someone's available at the right price.
Koonce could not be reached Monday afternoon.
(Tip of the hat: WSSP program director Ryan Maguire, who sent us the 17-second clip in an e-mail.)
-- Tom Pelissero,
[email protected]