Courtesy Edmonton Journal:

Defensive back Stanford Samuels called general manager Brendan Taman a snake last year when contract negotiations broke down with his former employer, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The scrappy cover man bid a somewhat kinder farewell Monday to Danny Maciocia, head coach and director of football operations for the Edmonton Eskimos.

Maciocia cut Samuels on Sunday night in the midst of training camp.

“They always say the Eskimos are a family,” Samuels said Monday morning, just hours after saying goodbye to his teammates. “In every family, you communicate. Some times, you hug. Some times, you cry. And some times, you disagree. But you always move on. I guess the whole family thing here is really subjective.”

My how things change. Just 18 months ago, the Esks introduced Samuels as their prize catch on the free-agent market and projected anchor of the defence for years to come. In 14 games last season, Samuels recorded 51 tackles, four pass knockdowns and one interception.

Up until a week ago, the coaching staff had big plans to move the ball-hawking University of Florida product to free safety from halfback.

So what went wrong?

Maciocia, for one, prefers to focus on what went right — with the other players in his secondary.

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