Ditka, Saints Drop QB Collins
The agent for New Orleans Saints quarterback Kerry Collins was told by general manager Bill Kuharich that coach Mike Ditka is not interested in re-signing the free agent.
"He (Kuharich) just said that it was coach Ditka's decision, and that's the way he felt it was going to go," Leigh Steinberg said Wednesday.
Ditka confirmed that later Wednesday. "It is my decision," Ditka said. "They're all my decisions. I'm the coach."
Ditka cited the 14 turnovers Collins committed in less than 24 quarters last season as the main factor in his decision not to re-sign the quarterback.
Collins, 26, the fifth player selected in the 1995 draft, threw 10 interceptions, fumbled eight times and lost four, and the Saints were 2-5 with him as a starter.
"(Turnovers), that was the glaring thing," Ditka said. "That was what we were trying to overcome. We had (a franchise record) 55 of them the year before. We were trying to stop doing that, and we did it pretty well for a long time."
"If we don't have 15 turnovers (actually 10) in the last four games, we might win three of them. Who knows? That's all. That's what it comes down to. Maybe I'm too old of a coach to teach new tricks."
Collins accounted for eight of those 10 turnovers. The Saints were 1-3 in the last four games, beating Dallas (22-3), then losing the final three to Atlanta (27-17), Arizona (19-17) and Buffalo (45-33).
Ditka said he reached the decision not to re-sign Collins after reviewing videotape.
Collins was arrested Nov. 2 for driving under the influence of alcohol in Charlotte, after the Saints had claimed him off waivers from the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 14. Collins subsequently was forced to undergo psychiatric counseling by the NFL.
Before joining the Saints, Collins was accused of being a racist and a heavy drinker during his three-plus seasons with Carolina. Collins was released after asking coach Dom Capers to remove him from the lineup following the team's 0-4 start last season.
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