For someone who claimed earlier this week he was “a great guy, a character guy,” new Jets running back Kevan Barlow didn’t waste much time getting himself involved in controversy again.
Yesterday, Barlow apologized for statements he made to a newspaper Tuesday when he compared his former head coach, the 49ers Mike Nolan, to Adolf Hitler.
“He walks around with a chip on his shoulder, like he’s a dictator, like he’s Hitler,” Barlow told the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times. “People are scared of him. If it ain’t Nolan’s way, it’s the highway.”
Yesterday, a contrite Barlow, who stirred up trouble when he was in San Francisco by feuding with teammates, coaches and the front office, did his best to make amends.
“If I could take back what I said, I would,” said Barlow, who called the newspaper after the interview to try to stop the Times from running the story. “That was a little harsh, calling him a dictator. I was disappointed when I said what I said. I was talking because of emotion. I’m a passionate player. I’m emotional on and off the field. Sometimes that gets the best of me.”
That emotion figures to get Barlow, for whom the Jets traded Sunday because Curtis Martin has yet to show he will be able to come back from the knee injury that is threatening his career, in hot water.
Barlow said he called Nolan, who took over the 49ers last season, and left him a “long, detailed message” apologizing for his remark.
“I’m pretty sure I will talk to him,” Barlow said. “He knows I’m a character guy and was just upset.”
Barlow also spoke with his new boss, Eric Mangini.
“I thought his comments were inappropriate,” Mangini said. “After he said it, he wished he could have those words back. But he can’t. You own the statements you make. Kevan has already called Coach Nolan to talk to him about that, which I think is important.”
Mangini and Barlow met yesterday before practice. The coach defended Barlow’s character when the running back came to the Jets on Monday.
“He was there to support me,” said Barlow, who said he was told by Nolan last week that he would not be traded. “I just want to put this behind me.”
That will be much easier to do if Barlow, who rushed for 1,024 yards in 2003 but has struggled in each of the past two years, manages to keep his foot out of his mouth.
“It took a day or two to sink in,” Barlow said of the trade, which he learned about half an hour before boarding the team bus prior to the 49ers’ preseason game against the Raiders. “I was just disappointed.”
Barlow also told the Times that Nolan was a “first-time head coach with too much power.” Barlow said yesterday he does not have similar feelings about Mangini, another rookie head coach.
“He’s done a great job,” Barlow said of Mangini. “I’m still learning a lot of things here.”
That’s why Barlow said he feels differently about the trade now than he did initially.
“I thought I was going to retire a 49er,” said Barlow, who was in the third year of a five-year deal. “But now I feel this is a blessing in disguise. I love being in New York. I bleed green and white now.”
