Former Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz has rubbished claims that defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh had a disruptive influence on the team during his tenure.
Suh has had a number of disciplinary problems since entering the league four years ago, while he was also accused by former player Heath Evans of turning up late to team meetings and being "uncontrollable" at times.
However, Schwartz, who is now the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills having been fired by the Lions, insists that such allegations are not true and admitted that he was still a Suh fan despite his new allegiances.
"There were a lot of things that were completely untrue that were said. Somebody said that Ndamukong was constantly late and was doing it to show up the coaching staff and all these different things, and I can say categorically, in four years as a player there, he was late zero times in four years, and I know that for a fact," Schwartz told 104.5 FM.
"I was there every single day. Ndamukong was one of our first guys in the building every single day, and he matured as a player also. You're not going to get voted by your teammates a team captain if you're the guy that's late and things like that.
"He's had an outstanding career so far, and he has a lot in front of him. Even though I'm now over at the Bills and we play Detroit this year, I'm certainly still a Ndamukong Suh fan and in a lot of ways still a Lions fan. I want a lot of players there, a lot of coaches there to continue to have success, as long as it is not at the Bills' expense."
Schwartz has also defended Matthew Stafford, insisting that the Lions quarterback was not to blame for their collapse towards the tail end of last season.
