Jon Gruden out?

[TFoA]

This didn't take long.... ESPN is reporting that Raheem Morris will become the Bucs next head coach and Mark Dominik Tampa's new GM.

Not too surprising that they decided to stay in house. I was already hearing that if Morris didn't get a job outside of Tampa, he'd be the one to succeed Gruden whenever he was done, and today's the day. So yeah, once again, it's a surprise to see how Gruden got the pink slip, but not a surprise to see that they didn't take long and didn't go far to find the new guys.

[See Red]

This didn't take long.... ESPN is reporting that Raheem Morris will become the Bucs next head coach and Mark Dominik Tampa's new GM.

Not too surprising that they decided to stay in house. I was already hearing that if Morris didn't get a job outside of Tampa, he'd be the one to succeed Gruden whenever he was done, and today's the day. So yeah, once again, it's a surprise to see how Gruden got the pink slip, but not a surprise to see that they didn't take long and didn't go far to find the new guys.

Morris has had two promotions within a month. Not bad at all.

[oddball]

Didn't see this coming? I saw this coming two years ago. Gruden won with Dungy's players and his players aka his 52 quarterbacks have done nothing. I knew things were in trouble when Gruden would not run the ball. You don't win in the playoffs if you don't shove it down your opponent's throat. Gruden is pass-happy coach, who believes in prima-donna quarterbacks. The fact that as someone pointed out, he lost 4 straight, doesn't surprise me that they fired him. What surprised me is that it took so friggin' long. You take out the Super Bowl winning year of 2002 of 12-4 (Dungy's team) and Gruden is 45-51 since. You're keeping a losing coach why? Look at the drafts with Gruden at the helm, they aren't so impressive. John Gruden is good, because he was in the right situation at the right time to take advantage of what Tony Dungy did and add just enough offense to a team to catapult them over the top. Why did the Bucs win the Super Bowl? Because they knew what was coming from the Raiders, and the players have said it from day 1. Is Gruden a horrible coach? No, but there is no reason to be shocked at this except that it took so friggin' long. I was honestly waiting until it happened.

[Gothamite]

Yeah, I don't see how this is a big shock at all.

[LEWJ]

Too bad they waited so long, how bout making him the Offensive Coordinator in Cleveland. Haha.

I woulda loved to see him get the head job, too late.

Plus he went to U. Dayton, so that woulda been kinda cool.

But man, Gruden as the O. Coordinator in Cleveland would be uhhhmazing.

Then Schottenheimer as the D. Coordinator. Haha.

Even if they brought Crennel back for the D. Coordinator spot, that would be cool. The players loved him, and he said he wouldn't mind doing that.

Only in my own dreamland.

[PittsburghSucks]

This is a big shock. I didn't see this coming.

And unfortunately, neither did the Browns .

See what happens when you rush into things Randy Lerner!!!

[ferrousoxide66]

The players apparently loathe the guy.

[Gothamite]

This is a big shock. I didn't see this coming.

And unfortunately, neither did the Browns .

See what happens when you rush into things Randy Lerner!!!

Again, what makes him so much better a catch than the Mangenius? Their careers seem to be similar - breakthrough seasons surrounded by a whole lotta mediocrity.

[infrared41]

Dear NY Jets Organization,

Interview Gruden now.

Man this is a huge opportunity for the Jets if they can snag him

Screw that. Go straight to sliding a contract and pen across the table. No interview necessary.

I'm watching it on Sportscenter I am stunned.

if the Jets are smart they call him post haste.

And if Gruden's smart, he tells Woody Johnson to go cram it unless Favre gets sent packing.

Are you guys serious? Jon Gruden is one of the most overrated coaches in football. He was two games over .500 with Tampa. He won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy's team and hasn't done since. The media sucked his because he was so "intense" and "tough" and in the process they created this "great coach" who in reality was a little better than average. As a Jets supporter of sorts, I hope they don't go anywhere near Popeye. Tampa fans should be dancing in the streets right now.

Here's a direct quote from the ESPN story on this "great" coach that everyone wants so badly.

"But since going 15-4, including the Super Bowl, in his first season with the Bucs, Gruden went 45-53 and made quick exits from the playoffs at home after winning division titles in 2005 and 2007."

In other words, he sucked once he ran out of Dungy's players and had to rely on his own coaching ability. That team had better talent than their record yet they always underachieved and it's all because Jon Gruden had an intense stare and people mistook that for coaching acumen. He should have been fired long before now.

Careful what you wish for if you're still looking for a coach.

[BJBerthiaume]

Come on Vikes, this is the perfect chance to turn into a dominant team. You got to realize Childress is going nowhere with this team. Gruden is perfect and it fell right into your arms!

Other teams should just pounce on him also, what fan wouldn't want that guy as your coach?

[infrared41]

Come on Vikes, this is the perfect chance to turn into a dominant team. You got to realize Childress is going nowhere with this team. Gruden is perfect and it fell right into your arms!

Other teams should just pounce on him also, what fan wouldn't want that guy as your coach?

Umm...this one? Take a good look at the guy's record. I'm not sure but I am betting he isn't a whole lot better than Childress.

[The_Admiral]

Other teams should just pounce on him also, what fan wouldn't want that guy as your coach?

o|

[tBBP]

Well I, for one, am not shocked. I, for one, am not surprised. I am also not mad.

In fact...I'm actually quite GLAD they're gone! They coulda been gone a long time ago (and should have), and I wouldn't have been mad then.

I been saying this for the Golden Boy Chucky is overrated as hell. And I knew from the jump his love of QBs and veterans was going to this team up for some time to come. I, was a Buccaneer fanatic, was both saddened and enraged to watch the deterioration of what Tony Dungy started and built in Tampa, all in the name of some "high-powered offensive mind" who was supposed to ignite that side of the ball. PHOOEY! The Buccaneers are NOT the 1999 St. Louis Rams or this year's Cardinals...they never have been! Clyde Christensen tried it and couldn't do it. Les Steckel (remember him?) tried, and it ain't work. Dungy's Bucs were hard-hitting, straight physical, grind-em-down, bend-but-don't-break squads. And from the time they went away from that, when Gruden showed up (and later, his boy Bruce), I knew it was a wrap. Sure, he got the team to a Super Bowl (really, I should say Monte Kiffin got them to that Super Bowl), and sure, some fans (and possibly ol' man Glazer) love to see points, passes, and touchdowns...but come on, this team, since it became relevant again, was never really the "finesse" type--it was about "punching people in the mouth"...whether is was Mike "the -A-Train" Alstott, or any of several stalwarts on the "D", the team was built to be physical. The "D" never really lost it thanks to Monte (and it will be very interesting to see how that goes this season and going forward), but the "O"is a different story. As for the resiliency this team showed this year (before dropping four straight to fall flat out the playoff picture), I credit that more to the steady hand of veteran leadership on the field rather than some golden-boy Chucky-faced stares coming form the sideline. And BTW...infrared41, I agree with EVERYTHING you said.

In short...holla atcha lata, Jonny Boy. You too, Bruce. And Raheem...you're on deck! Man...dude just got promoted twice in like a month and some change or something like that...THAT'S progress! Here's hoping this team can go back to what made it successdul (and relevant again) in the first place.

(Side note: anyone wanna take a guess as to the over/under of any former Tampa assistants returning to the fold? Herm Edwards, maybe? That'd be a weird situation...a guy coming back to his former team to reoccupy his former spot--a spot vacated by the guy who just got promoted to head coach. That'd be kinda funny...but I also wouldn't mind it one bit. Rod Marinelli...former D-line coach? Unless someone else done snatched him up--I ain't yet seen or heard his name pop up nowhere--hell, bring him back to the fold! Let's get this team back to where it was in the late '90s/early '2000s...yeah!)

[O_Town_Clown]

Not surprised. One-and-done in the playoffs/no playoffs, dreadful offense for his entire tenure, and quarterback drama on a weekly basis. We (Bucs fans) loved Gruden because it seemed that Dungy couldn't win the big one, and Gruden did. We also loved him because of the whole "Chucky" persona, but tough talk and mean facial expressions don't win championships.

I'm looking forward to the future.

[tBBP]

Not surprised. One-and-done in the playoffs/no playoffs, dreadful offense for his entire tenure, and quarterback drama on a weekly basis. We (Bucs fans) loved Gruden because it seemed that Dungy couldn't win the big one, and Gruden did. We also loved him because of the whole "Chucky" persona, but tough talk and mean facial expressions don't win championships.

I'm looking forward to the future.

Speak for yourself, patna.

[rams80]

Careful what you wish for if you're still looking for a coach.

Well, since my team is apparently on the verge of hiring a guy who lost his locker room and went from heir apparent to one of the best jobs in the NFL to local pariah in one season....

Gruden would be an upgrade from that.

EDIT-scratch that.

[O_Town_Clown]

Not surprised. One-and-done in the playoffs/no playoffs, dreadful offense for his entire tenure, and quarterback drama on a weekly basis. We (Bucs fans) loved Gruden because it seemed that Dungy couldn't win the big one, and Gruden did. We also loved him because of the whole "Chucky" persona, but tough talk and mean facial expressions don't win championships.

I'm looking forward to the future.

Speak for yourself, patna.

You're telling me that you never embraced Gruden? Not even immediately following the Super Bowl win? Not even when countless fans were bringing "Chucky" dolls to RayJay and cheering "Pound that Rock"?

Maybe you never did, but most Buc fans at some point really loved the guy.

[tBBP]

Not surprised. One-and-done in the playoffs/no playoffs, dreadful offense for his entire tenure, and quarterback drama on a weekly basis. We (Bucs fans) loved Gruden because it seemed that Dungy couldn't win the big one, and Gruden did. We also loved him because of the whole "Chucky" persona, but tough talk and mean facial expressions don't win championships.

I'm looking forward to the future.

Speak for yourself, patna.

You're telling me that you never embraced Gruden? Not even immediately following the Super Bowl win? Not even when countless fans were bringing "Chucky" dolls to RayJay and cheering "Pound that Rock"?

Maybe you never did, but most Buc fans at some point really loved the guy.

Actually...nah, I never cared for Gruden even when he was first hired. I was actually quite steamed (and still am, in some ways) that the Glazers fired Dungy. I knew then that Gruden was all about stockpiling QB's and veterans--which was toally against the Buccaneers' grain at the time. Dungy built that team the right way--through the draft (with maybe an FA here and/there)...a team that was also fairly young across the board. I think it took all of two years for the Buccaneers to go from one of the youngest teams to damn near the oldest in the league. Plus, that offensive wizardry Gruden was supposed to bring with him (which, IIRC, is the primary reason he was even "traded" for) never materialized.

Let it be known the Buccaneers' defense won that Super Bowl, with some help from the offense--and the head coach who knew every single move the Raiders' offense was going to make. How else do you explain three pick-sixes in the game, and (what I believe to have been) four or five picks overall? Rich Gannon wasn't the first coming of Jake Delhomme that day...Gruden did have that "D" prepared for all Gannon's moves--double-pumps, play-fakes, and all that. I'll give Gruden that much. (Wasn't hard considering he'd been that team's head coach just the year prior--I'd expect him to know damn near every move the Raiders would make.) But I also know that the "D" was tops in the league that year and, well, how's that old saying go? Defense wins championships. You saw what happened the year following that. The Bucs were nowhere NEAR where they were a year prior, and after all that, key cogs in the team, namely the "D", were cut loose. Those moves only made me dislike Gruden (and Allen, once he got on board) even more.

[O_Town_Clown]

Actually...nah, I never cared for Gruden even when he was first hired. I was actually quite steamed (and still am, in some ways) that the Glazers fired Dungy. I knew then that Gruden was all about stockpiling QB's and veterans--which was toally against the Buccaneers' grain at the time. Dungy built that team the right way--through the draft (with maybe an FA here and/there)...a team that was also fairly young across the board. I think it took all of two years for the Buccaneers to go from one of the youngest teams to damn near the oldest in the league. Plus, that offensive wizardry Gruden was supposed to bring with him (which, IIRC, is the primary reason he was even "traded" for) never materialized.

Let it be known the Buccaneers' defense won that Super Bowl, with some help from the offense--and the head coach who knew every single move the Raiders' offense was going to make. How else do you explain three pick-sixes in the game, and (what I believe to have been) four or five picks overall? Rich Gannon wasn't the first coming of Jake Delhomme that day...Gruden did have that "D" prepared for all Gannon's moves--double-pumps, play-fakes, and all that. I'll give Gruden that much. (Wasn't hard considering he'd been that team's head coach just the year prior--I'd expect him to know damn near every move the Raiders would make.) But I also know that the "D" was tops in the league that year and, well, how's that old saying go? Defense wins championships. You saw what happened the year following that. The Bucs were nowhere NEAR where they were a year prior, and after all that, key cogs in the team, namely the "D", were cut loose. Those moves only made me dislike Gruden (and Allen, once he got on board) even more.

For some reason I see you, at the end of the Super Bowl win, sitting in a room full of cheering screaming guys with your arms folded in the corner saying, "Pfft, big deal, they only won because of the defense. Everyone knows that doesn't count."

You made a lot of valid points, but I maintain that you are in the very small minority of Bucs fans who hated him from the start to the end.

[tBBP]

Actually...nah, I never cared for Gruden even when he was first hired. I was actually quite steamed (and still am, in some ways) that the Glazers fired Dungy. I knew then that Gruden was all about stockpiling QB's and veterans--which was toally against the Buccaneers' grain at the time. Dungy built that team the right way--through the draft (with maybe an FA here and/there)...a team that was also fairly young across the board. I think it took all of two years for the Buccaneers to go from one of the youngest teams to damn near the oldest in the league. Plus, that offensive wizardry Gruden was supposed to bring with him (which, IIRC, is the primary reason he was even "traded" for) never materialized.

Let it be known the Buccaneers' defense won that Super Bowl, with some help from the offense--and the head coach who knew every single move the Raiders' offense was going to make. How else do you explain three pick-sixes in the game, and (what I believe to have been) four or five picks overall? Rich Gannon wasn't the first coming of Jake Delhomme that day...Gruden did have that "D" prepared for all Gannon's moves--double-pumps, play-fakes, and all that. I'll give Gruden that much. (Wasn't hard considering he'd been that team's head coach just the year prior--I'd expect him to know damn near every move the Raiders would make.) But I also know that the "D" was tops in the league that year and, well, how's that old saying go? Defense wins championships. You saw what happened the year following that. The Bucs were nowhere NEAR where they were a year prior, and after all that, key cogs in the team, namely the "D", were cut loose. Those moves only made me dislike Gruden (and Allen, once he got on board) even more.

For some reason I see you, at the end of the Super Bowl win, sitting in a room full of cheering screaming guys with your arms folded in the corner saying, "Pfft, big deal, they only won because of the defense. Everyone knows that doesn't count."

You made a lot of valid points, but I maintain that you are in the very small minority of Bucs fans who hated him from the start to the end.

Oh I know I'm in a small minority--I don't doubt that at all.

And don't get me wrong...I was just as excited when the Bucs won that SB as any other Buc fan--probably even more so since I got a first cousin on that squad...but in the back of my brain even then, I was like "this Gruden dude just won a championship with Dungy's squad". That immediately tempered my enthusiasm...and I kept picturing Dungy standing on that podium, holding that trophy, instead of Gruden.

(This should give you an idea how deep my Buc ties run...I was also envisioning Trent Dilfer winning that ring in place of Brad Johnson. Just saying...)