Charlie Casserly, former GM of the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans, went on NFL Network this week and dropped a bombshell about Kyler Murray being a terrible interviewer, poor leader, and having bad study habits.
Those comments would not go unnoticed, and while Murray wasn’t going to throw shots back at Casserly, his agent wasn’t going to let this fly by as his client gets ready for April’s draft.
“My initial reaction was to laugh because I knew the ‘old guard’ would inevitably try to come up with the usual pre-draft nonsense,” Burkhardt said. “But when I later watched this man say what he did, it was over-the-top and definitely felt personal, and that’s when I got pissed off.” via PFT
“First and foremost, Kyler is an exemplary person,” Burkhardt said. “He is everything you hope your own son grows up to become. We’re talking about a young man who has done everything right and worked relentlessly his entire life to achieve and push for greatness. We’re talking about the first human ever drafted in the top 10 in two major sports leagues, and who just completed the greatest single season in football history. You will not find even one former teammate or coach at any level in any sport who’s played with Kyler Murray who has anything remotely negative to say about him, his leadership, or his work ethic.”
Then Murray’s agent began to ether Casserly:
“So what do I think about an agenda-driven ‘analyst’ who’s never once even talked to Kyler or any of his coaches or teammates?” Burkhardt said. “I think it’s disgusting and embarrassing and Casserly should be ashamed of himself.
“Further, my business partners and I personally represent coaches and executives who sat in on eight of Kyler’s 10 formal combine interviews. I spoke directly to each of them, as well as executives from the other two teams and many others who I don’t represent but were present, and all of them were extremely positive about his entire interviews, with each citing specific examples as to why.”
“The bottom line here is that it calls into question the motives of a man to get on national television and cite anonymous sources on things such as ‘leadership’ and ‘study habits’ about somebody he’s never met,” Burkhardt said. “Look, If you don’t like Kyler’s game, it’s cool. If you don’t like his size and want to talk about that, that’s fine, too. If you’re into a Heath Shuler-type looking guy, then hype those guys and say why. But when you slander the character and work ethic of a young man who’s worked his ass off his entire life and done everything right to put himself in his current position, you’d better cite your sources and come with a better record than 18-46 as a G.M. of the Texans, and whose own leadership and accountability has been questioned by his old bosses and colleagues, as well as the greatest coach on the planet.”
Game. Set. match.
