INDIANAPOLIS - Aqib Talib's former coach, Greg Schiano said Thursday that the fresh start Talib got with the Patriots was "apparently in his best interest."

Schiano, the Buccaneers head coach met the media en masse at the NFL Combine. Catching up with him after his general media session, I asked what his impressions of Talib were before the early November trade with the Patriots that sent Talib north.

"For the most part, he did everything that we asked him to do," said Schiano. "We had a great relationship. It was just some of the things that maybe had happened in the past and then with the situation that came up this year, it just was in our best interest as an organization and apparently in his best interest to start fresh somewhere. Coach Belichick had a desire to look into Aqib and I told him what I thought and he made the move. From there, I don't really know how he played to tell you the truth."

Talib played well. After his addition to the Patriots secondary, New England shuffled its back-line personnel and improved drastically, especially when defending third downs. The coaching staff's satisfaction with Talib was apparent when the Patriots played the Texans and matched Talib up all over the field with the brilliant Andre Johnson. During Bill Belichick's tenure, Patriots corners aren't often deployed on specific receivers.

In less than a month, Talib will be a free agent. The things that "happened in the past" that Schiano alluded to will likely factor into whether or not another team makes a run at signing the 27-year-old. He's had four different incidents, including three fights (one with a cab driver) and an arrest for firing a gun at his sister's boyfriend in 2011. Charges in that case were later dropped. When the Patriots traded for him, he was serving a four-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs.

I've spoken to two front office people about Talib's attractiveness on the open market. Both believed Talib's shaky history will significantly offset his talent and relative youth.

Schiano wouldn't make any predictions about Talib's future. Schiano did say, "I think sometimes guys say (that they need a fresh start) and they're really saying it because it behooves them. I really felt like it was probably the best thing for the Bucs and the best thing for Aqib as well. Aqib loves football. He works at it. I never had an issue with that."