Jim Swartz: D.K. I tried to express a compliment to Metcalfe

USA Today Sports

Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalfe May be The whole Michael went to Jordan The Eagles are on defensive coordinator Jim Swartz, but the coach insists he is only trying to show a little respect on Monday night.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, Swartz said he was trying to give Metcalf a compliment three times when first-team All-Pro brought Calvin Johnson to second-year wide receiver.

“In my mind, it was a little fun. You can always name someone in the same sentence as Calvin Johnson, I don’t know how you can blame meSwartz said via ESPN’s Tim McManus. “[I] I read his story, I knew he would get over the injury, I knew he was a worker, he reminded me a little of Calvin and congratulated him after the game. At that point he said to me, ‘Hey, thanks coach, that means a lot to me.’ “

Still, Metcalfe found Schwartz’s words very motivating, and he had no choice but to raise a career of 177 yards.

“If anyone wants to be compared to someone I consider to be one of the greatest players in the history of the National Football League, yes – it would be nice to get your motivation that way,” Swartz said. “But we’m not going to worry too much about that.”

Swartz said that if anyone is to feel that way about the comparison, it must be Johnson. Swartz was Johnson’s head coach at Detroit from 2009-2013, the first of Whiteout’s career.

“You have to understand how much I value Calvin,” Swartz said. “The greatest honor of my coaching life is coaching that guy day in and day out. He means a lot to my kids and my family and everything. So I tried to give a guy a compliment.”

Swartz’s comments to Metcalfe would not have offended most people under normal circumstances. But this is how some athletes like their motivation. Like George Carl at the restaurant with Jordan, Swartz may have offended Metcalfe no matter what he did or said.