Joe is on the record saying Chucky is considering the offensive coordinator job on his son's high school team

Joe wants to be first to say there’s a good chance Chucky will be coaching in Tampa this year.

That would be high school ball at Carrollwood Day School, where his son Jon “Deuce” Gruden, Jr. is on the team. 

No doubt Chucky will return to the NFL one day. But surely the 2009 season is all wrong for him. First, there are very few openings left, and Chucky may not want to risk a payday.

Yes, the Glazer Boys are on the hook for Chucky’s fat annual salary, and if he goes to a new NFL team the Glazers have to pay the difference between Chucky’s new salary and what he earned with the Bucs.

But if another team pays Gruden less than his current salary, the Glazers could always refuse to pay and challenge the contract by saying the new team is not paying fair market value for Gruden.

Would anyone be shocked if the Glazers did that and tied up Gruden’s money in court? This could keep money from Chucky and cost him interest on seven figures and legal fees, etc. 

Back to the high school theory, Chucky is a regular at his kid’s high school games.

The Orlando Sentinel even wrote a huge spread in the fall (story no longer archived) about Chucky being a fixture at all the Friday night games.  He even took Joey Galloway to a game. (Rumor is Galloway was on a leash carrying a water bowl and Milk Bones.)

Chucky’s kid, Deuce, plays quarterback, receiver and defensive back. He’s entering his sophomore season. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Gruden to be his son’s quarterbacks coach and call plays for him.

Although it seemed sarcastic, Chucky mentioned coaching high school ball in his only post-firing interview, with ESPN this week.

Carrollwood Day School is a small private school entering the second year of its football program. No pressure. No expectations.

Gruden knows how much taking that job would endear him to the national media. They’d be all over the story, and follow him all through the season. Then he can come back to the NFL in 2010.

Monte Kiffin moved to Tennessee and took a massive pay cut to work with his kid.

Chucky can have the same fun, at the same pay and live in the same house.

Spring practice kicks off in May.

Want to know who Bucs cornerback Phillip Buchanon thinks will win the Super Bowl? You can find out here along with many other picks by athletes.

Sunday's Super Bowl buffet will be accompanied by lots of great prize giveaways at Courtside Grille locations in Tampa and Feather Sound. See below for details and the menu.

TWO huge Super Bowl parties are still to come at Courtside Grille.

On Saturday night, former Bucs safety and Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson will be hosting a bash at the Westchase location  at 8 p.m. til the wee hours. Many NFL players, including Michael Clayton and Jameel Cook are scheduled to attend. Two drinks, autographs, live music and more are included.

Of course, Courtside Grille has a major Super Bowl buffet bash on gameday. It’s like their famed tailgate party on steroids. Click here for all the details.

Contact Courtside Grille now for tickets.

Here are some random photos Joe shot with his little digital camera between many interviews during Super Bowl Media Day.

The sun is shining these days on ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio.

Rich Eisen and Marshall Faulk of NFL Network.

It was hot enough on Media Day morning that Marshall Faulk had to wipe his brow.

Adam Schefter of the NFL Network chats with some cutie radio reporter.

Time to eat!

As Joe learned in college, the background makes the photo.

Deshea Townsend prepares for his chest bump with this chesty reporter, who Joe later saw later that evening a bit tipsy at The Cuban Club in Ybor City.

Steelers kicker Jeff Reed seems to be enjoying himself with Maria Menounos of Access Hollywood. Who wouldn't?

Part of the circus of Media Day.

Big Brother is watching the gathered Fourth Estate.

Jerry O'Connell (wearing Steelers gear) shares a laugh with Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke.

"This Week in the NFL" host Jenn Brown flashes a smile at Joe after he yells at her, "Hey, Clearwater girl!"

The lovely Jenn Brown, Clearwater native and host of "This Week in the NFL."

The world famous Ines Sainz of TV Azteca.

Perhaps Ines Sainzs' better side?

Steelers defensive lineman Jared Retkofsky dances with Renee Sapp. What is the guy in the black looking at exactly?

Safety Ryan Munday seems to have found a friend.

Bucs fans should recognize this woman.

More craziness.

Joe found out first-hand why Maria Menounos finds steady work in Hollywood.

As Joe pointed out previously, Media Day was a long one for him, beginning at 5 a.m. Joe didn’t get home until the wee hours Wednesday morning.

Part of the reason for the early wake up was Joe expected to fight for a parking spot downtown, which didn’t happen.

It gave Joe time to cruise through the Super Bowl Media Center at the Tampa Convention Center. Joe also described the “near-vacant” radio row, which really isn’t a row but a large ballroom. Of course, most of the country is still in bed at that time of the day so it stands to reason only a handful of radio stations were around. It was also early in the week, too.

Evidence as to how serious Pittsburgh takes its football, it seemed WDVE, the home station of the Steelers, had an entire staff there. About a third of the people in radio row were from WDVE, the other third from NFL Radio.

The bus to the CITS was leaving and Joe caught one of the last buses. Oddly enough, right in front of Joe getting onto the bus was Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. We chatted briefly — he seemed honored to meet Joe so Joe came to the quick conclusion Florio is a fine actor.

After getting off the bus Joe conducted a quick interview with Florio, which readers of JoeBucsFan.com have surely read by now.

Security was very much like getting through security at an airport on a Thanksgiving weekend, with the exception of dogs who were sniffing all the bags of equipment the fourth estate brought in.

Joe tried to get a photo of one of the German shepherds working. Let’s just say this attempt didn’t go over so well with security.

A few feet away Joe noticed Jerry O’Connell who is a big time sports fan and claims to be a regular reader of TheBigLead.com, for which Joe also writes. He was unbelievably cool. We chatted for roughly five minutes and O’Connell claimed it was his honor in meeting me (he also claims to read Joe’s screed on TheBigLead.com).

O’Connell additionally tried to say he was impressed with Joe. And this coming from a man who sleeps in the same bed as Rebecca Romijn, if you can imagine such a thing!

Joe met up with Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune while waiting in the CITS concourse with the rest of the roughly 4,500 members of the media. The other Joe — which Joe of JoeBucsFan.com can’t say enough about for his help over the years — introduced Joe to other media scribes. Henderson said, “Get ready for the cattle call.” He was right.

Joe has covered some big time events before, including the 1996 National League playoffs and NLCS. But Media Day at the Super Bowl dwarfed those assignments.

First, NFL officials jammed everyone along the Bucs/west sidelines. There was barely enough room to breathe much less navigate.

Amid this mess was a Tampa dance troupe, tables set up for various live radio broadcasts, a set for NFL Network and temporary bleachers so photographers could get clear shots at various players who had assigned booths to sit in.

Joe also noticed something rather quickly: Whenever there was a cluster of TV cameras and photographers jumbled together in one spot, it meant either there was a stud player there, a hot babe or some weirdo, or all three.

Unlike the Cardinals who pretty much stayed in their assigned seats, most of the Steelers mingled with the media like it was Guavaween on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City. Of course, this created chaos as media members had to walk up and down the sideline to find various players in the sea of humanity.

But this was also cool as the Steelers seemed to be having as much if not more fun than the media covering them. It was very casual and many, if not all, were very down to earth.

Only because she wore sunglasses and a baggy green dress, Joe didn’t notice that Maria Menounos was working for the TV show Access Hollywood. Joe was close enough to smell her. Let’s just say there’s ample reason she has gainful employment on TV.

Joe also saw TV Azteca’s lovely Ines Sainz and her glorious, um, attribute, which Joe documented previously. One of her producers started yelling at Joe for obtaining digital evidence of her, um, attribute which prompted Joe to tell him to calm down and if she didn’t want her, um, attribute photographed she would have chosen another line of attire to wear.

Joe spoke extensively with Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett with the Cardinals for a story he wrote for former Tampa Tribune staffer Scott Carter and his website Noleinsider.com. Joe never knew about Dockett’s background; it was quite moving.

Joe also chatted with Adam Schefter of the NFL Network quite a bit for a story Joe has already posted.

Joe later saw Cardinals owner/extortionist Bill Bidwill, which reminded Joe of when he first met Bidwill while cover the team’s training camp at Joe’s alma mater of Eastern Illinois University. He is such an inept owner it’s difficult for Joe to envision this team in a Super Bowl. Joe learned that Bidwill has pretty much stepped away from the daily operations of the team, which explains why the team got to the Super Bowl.

While Joe was quite impressed with Menounos and Sainz, Clearwater native and “Inside the NFL” reporter Jenn Brown stole the show. Joe was familiar with Brown from her HDNet TV series “Bikini Destinations.” No, it’s not porn. But if you are bored let’s just say Joe highly recommends gawking as Ms. Brown frolicking on YouTube in one of these videos. It’s quality time spent on a slow Tuesday evening and Joe is confident you too will become enamored with Ms. Brown.

In person, she is as lovely as she is on camera. Joe tried to fight through the mass of humanity to get a photo of her, with little luck, until he yelled, “Hey, Clearwater girl!” She, as if on cue, wheeled around and flashed a huge smile at Joe that he was able to capture on his digital camera.

Ah, what a talent.

Then there was Joe’s first encounter with the notorious Warren Sapp. Joe asked him a question, Sapp challenged Joe and Joe rephrased the question and Sapp was cool. Later while wading through the swarm of media Joe felt an arm around his shoulder and then heard Sapp bellow, “Hey my man, you walked away from my table giggling. I like to laugh too. Tell me what it was I said that was so funny.”

Joe couldn’t remember the indicent but quickly said, “I’m not sure but if I was laughing that means it was good and I’m going to use it.”

Sapp then busted out laughing and sped away from Joe, apparently satisfied.

With apologies for name dropping, Joe got to speak with some of the cream of the media crop including Tim Brando, Ed Bouchette, Woody Cummings, Rick Ballou, Dan Pompei and John Clayton among many others. Joe also got to meet up with his mentor of sorts, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

As a poor college student, Joe will always be thankful of Miklasz taking pity upon Joe in college and buying him tequila shots while covering an NFL training camp — but not at the same time.

All in all it was an experience Joe will never forget and he graciously thanks Brian McCarthy, Michael Signora and Jared Cooper of the NFL for helping make this possible for Joe.

In turn, expect in the coming weeks from Joe some really neat interviews from various media celebrities and their thoughts on the Bucs.

Caddy tells BSPN Radio's Mike Tirico he'll be rehabbed and ready to return

Cadillac Williams sat down with Mike Tirico of ESPN Radio to lounge on the Radio Row couch and chat about his knee injuries, his future and Chucky.

Joe listened to the Podcast and serves up the few interesting nuggets:

On the current knee injury:

“This one it feels like it’s going to be an easier process [than the 2007 knee injury]. I should be back in no time.”

On the Gruden firing:

“I had no idea. I never saw it coming. …I woke up …to all kinds of text messages. I was like, “This can’t be true.”

Did you enjoy playing for Jon Gruden?

“No doubt. For one, coach Gruden  and Bruce Allen, they drafted me and gave me a chance to establish himself. …I know one thing about Coach Gruden, there’s nobody in the business that’s going to work harder than him. I enjoyed playing for the guy.”

On Raheem The Dream:

“He’s one of those players’ coaches. But at the same time he has that respect. You don’t want to step on his toes. He’s going to be a great coach.”

The cute Molly Qerim of BSPN talks to Bucs defensive back Ronde Barber who is geeked about the Bucs new coach Raheem the Dream. Joe is trying to figure out where this video was shot. It appears to be north St. Petersburg near MLK or Fourth Street. But there seems to be too little traffic for that location. Maybe a loyal JoeBucsFan.com reader can figure it out?

"Inside the NFL" reporter and Clearwater native Jenn Brown gets a lift from Cardinals defensive end Antonio Smith during Media Day Tuesday.

As we are all waiting for the Super Bowl to kick off, Joe thought he would share some of the work he did when attending Media Day earlier this week. Joe will also post a rundown of his Media Day experience later today.

Tomorrow, Joe will offer some revealing photos he shot of some of the media hotties who attended the event.

This post is of various people Joe interviewed about ethics and journalism in the 21st Century, including a Bucs nugget.

MIKE FLORIO
Editor, ProFootballTalk.com

Since you are a web guy and with newspapers trimming staff daily, are you looked at as the enemy by many in the print media?

I have not yet been accosted or slugged or treated poorly in any way, but I haven’t been here that long. It’s still early.

Since it’s now clear even to someone with a white cane that the internet is the future of journalism if not the present, are you now accepted by the fourth estate or possibly looked at as maybe even some sort of a pioneer in some way?

We went through a phase early on when there was a sense where folks looked down their nose at us. But I think as time has past and we have shown passion and consistency and how we have kept our nose to the grindstone and we try to select good interesting stuff to put out there.

[ProFootballTalk.com] makes it easier for people in the media to do their jobs so they can go and see what is perking or pressing at any given moment.

I think that is just how, over time, we have gained acceptance. When national figures like Peter King in a roundabout way endorses us I think that helps too.

ADAM SCHEFTER
NFL Network, NFL.com

Talk about your transformation from a print journalist to a multimedia journalist to now a TV network talking head.

When I was in Denver I had done some local television on a very random basis and I feel incredibly fortunate to do what I do. I love what I do. To me, it’s a privilege. I get to talk about football and report on football and follow football.

Now I will say there’s a lot that goes into it and it’s not that easy. There are times my wife wants to strangle me because I won’t stop working. There are times I’m sleeping in my bed and my blackberry is buzzing. But I still wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Last week Chris Mortensen of ESPN comes out with a report, which naturally got blanket coverage by the four-letter, that Mike Shanahan was on the verge of being anointed the new coach at Kansas City. You quickly came out with a report that your sources categorically denied there was any substance to Mort’s report and it seemed the subject became a “Mort vs. Schefter” match.

I have an enormous respect for Mort. He’s a pioneer in the business. There was nothing against him personally. I was just reporting the story as the information I had.

What I got tired with was my office. All these Denver and Kansas City radio stations calling me saying “Mike Shanahan is going to Kansas City.” No he’s not going to Kansas City! It had nothing to do with Mort.

There was an e-mail I had from a Chiefs insider that said the deal with Shanahan is done — exclamation point. So everyone wanted to know what the situation was and I was just doing my job and just telling the story like I knew it to be going down.

I’ve heard sports radio guys say this on the air and I have heard whispers among writers that you are little more than a mouthpiece for the NFL and the reason you break so many stories is that you are being fed information through the NFL front office and teams’ front offices.

I appreciate you saying that because they could not be more wrong. When I was in Denver, Mike Shanahan was giving me all the information — that’s what people said and it was inconceivable to me.

The league has never given me a single story! The league tries its best NOT to give me information. The league is BOTHERED about what I report often times. They have NEVER given me information and they have never wanted to give me information. Quite frankly they get upset with me sometimes with the information I have.

The people that think that, they can think that all they want. It’s flat out not true. I have had stories I checked with them and they were furious. The last thing they want to see from me is news and I’m telling you that is the truth.

BOB PAPA
NFL Network/New York Giants play-by-play, NFL Radio host

Since you took the job this past year as a national play-by-play voice for the NFL Network, is this your future possibly full-time with CBS or Fox or NBC?

No, I am happy where I am at. I have the best of both worlds: I do the Giants on Sunday and the national game on Thursday nights. Two games a week is better than one.

During the season its pretty crazy. I am pretty much only home on Monday nights. I ship off on Tuesday. I tape my Giants TV shows before I leave and I go right from the NFL Network to the Giants game. If [the Giants] are on the road it makes for a long week. But it’s only an eight-week window and my family is understanding and it’s all for the common cause and common good of me doing a good job.

Most fans expect – rightly or wrongly — a home announcer to look at a game through their prism so it’s understandable if a home team broadcast will lean toward the home team as the home team’s radio audience is who you are broadcasting to, it’s the target audience. So when you go from that format to a national broadcast and have to call a game down the middle is that a tough balancing act to navigate each week?

Not really because we [NFL Network] get such tremendous access from the players and coaches that we get both sides of the story.

Sometimes we get more than the beat writers get because some of the information is kind of sensitive. It’s fun being down the middle — no rooting interest. You just hope you get good football. This year we had great games.

What kind of feedback did you get from Jets fans that a Giants announcer was calling a Jets game on NFL Network?

You know what, what’s funny about that is I have a bunch of friends who are Jets fans and they thought I did a good job. People I knew around town in New York thought I did a good job. They didn’t think, “Oh, the Giant guy is doing our biggest game of the year.”

Are Patriots fans saying [about an NFL Network telecast], “Oh, it was the Giants guy. We lost to them in the Super Bowl last year so will he be against us?” That’s when you know you are doing a good job is when fans of both teams think you could be leaning the other way.

MICHAEL WILBON
ESPN, Washington Post columnist on how his owning Washington Redskins season tickets is not a conflict of interest.

I don’t go to the games. My wife goes to the games. They are a major chunk of money. They are like a house payment, $5400 a year. I have never used them.

When I am critical of the Redskins, the readers know it’s coming from someone who has season tickets.

I believe in being part of the community. We (as journalists) should be involved in the community. We should be part of the community. Owning season tickets is one way of doing that.

BOB COSTAS
NBC Sports on the ethical minefield of how Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-chairman Bryan Glazer confessed one factor in firing Jon Gruden was due to negative fan feedback.

It is a very slippery slope. Look, fan reaction matters. It is obviously your business base and you have to be sensitive to it. You have to be very careful about [basing football judgments on fan feedback ]because fans are always going to react viscerally. And it’s the job of the organization to make sober judgments.

To be fair, I don’t know to what extent Glazer was influenced by this.

Former Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp relayed an incident of Chucky's less than truthful ways on radio Thursday

Seems as if each day, now that the world’s sporting media has invaded Tampa for the Super Bowl, that a new Bucs player comes out to jump on Chucky.

Now add Warren Sapp to the list. Sort of.

Speaking on the Colin Cowturd Show on BSPN, Sapp laid out why Chucky plays with the truth and cannot be trusted. But Sapp claims he didn’t have a problem with that.

“Don’t be mad if the rattlesnake bites because it’s rattling,” Sapp said.

Sapp went on to tell the story about the time he left the Bucs. He wanted to stay and retire here, but he was determined to play four more years. He called Chucky and said, “Look, Cincinnati offered me $16 million for four years. I want to stay in Tampa Bay. I won’t even send Drew Rosenhaus to come beat you over the head. Let’s just do this now.”

Chucky responded, per Sapp, “How much? $16 million? I’ll call you right back.”

Said Sapp, “I’m still waiting on that phone call.”

Sapp claims Simeon Rice is so angry at Chucky because Chucky wouldn’t tell Rice to his face that he was cut and that Chucky has never returned Rice’s phone calls.

Ex-Bucs QB and Super Bowl winner Doug Williams got personal in a radio interview

Former Bucs quarterback and current Tampa Bay personnel executive Doug Williams sat down with Mike Francesca of WFAN-AM radio to talk about race in the NFL and more. Joe recommends you take a listen.

Williams, the lone black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, with Washington in 1988, shared how happy he is that the age of labeling coaches and quarterbacks as “black” is in the past.

“It really turns me on when I listen to the Ben Roethlisbergers and the other players talk about Mike Tomlin. It ain’t about black coach. It’s about our coach,” Williams said.

Williams said he cried when Barack Obama was sworn in as President this month. He said he wept for his father and the late Grambling coach Eddie Robinson.

“Coach Robinson was the most American flag waving coach I ever seen. … A lot of times we’d say coach, ‘You sure wave that American flag.’ He’d say, ‘Hell, cat, if you can get it done, America is the only place you’ll get a shot to get it done. He used to tell us all the time, ‘If you can’t do it in America, there ain’t nowhere else you can get it done.'”

On college QBs Tim Tebow and Pat White: “If the kid wants to play quarterback, you have to give Tebow an opportunity to play quarterback. …When we go in and watch the tape on Pat White, …we say this kid’s a wide receiver, defensive back, whatever, we gotta let him try and play quarterback. …He’s earned the right.”

The Simeon Rice tirade on Chucky just got amped up 10 notches. As Joe pointed out Thursday, Rice was on BSPN and went loose on Chucky. But Rice claims that “bygones are bygones” and he likes Chucky.

Boy, Joe sure wouldn’t want to get on Rice’s bad side.

The video clip below is an edited version of Rice’s venting, which Joe heard on radio Thursday night. Rice had a quote that was edited when he said part of his anger is, “It’s about being straight up.”

Warrick Dunn spent time with new Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski as a member of the Atlanta Falcons

By BOB FOX

Fox is a freelance sportswriter who has covered the NFL for years and written for many publications. He’s best known around JoeBucsFan.com headquarters as the guy who is 6-3 with his playoff picks.

It’s time for the Bucs’ offensive line to get ready to use its young legs and quickness.

New offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski is sure to install the zone blocking scheme he learned with the Falcons under legendary offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, who was Mike Shanahan’s guru behind Denver’s consistent running game year in the 1990s and beyond.

Jagodzinski brought that concept to Green Bay when he became offensive coordinator there in 2006. The Packers still run the zone-blocking running scheme, although the Packers also utilize a power run game from time to time depending on the down and distance. I expect the same approach here in Tampa Bay.

Zone blocking relies on linemen to work together to block players in their zone, rather than having an assignment, or a set guy to block.

Blockers come off the line together toward where the running back is headed, forcing double teams and holes. The runner must break hard and fine the crease. Think Terrell Davis. Cut blocks also are common in the scheme from the weak side.

Jagodzinski spent the last two years as head coach at Boston College, where he compiled a 20-8 record, including two 1st place finishes in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Jagodzinski also helped the development of QB Matt Ryan, who had a fantastic rookie season for the Falcons this past season.

The Bucs new coordinator is a graduate of UW-Whitewater, where he played fullback. UW-Whitewater is in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and is quite well known now, as it has been in the NCAA Division III football championship game for four straight years (one D-III title in ’07).

Jagodzinski has coached at several different colleges including UW-Whitewater, Northern Illinois, LSU, East Carolina and Boston College, both as an assistant coach and as a head coach. Jags has also coached at the NFL level, where he was the offensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons (2004-2005) and then as the offensive coordinator for  Green Bay in 2006. He was also on the Packers’ staff as tight ends coach for five seasons beginning with Ray Rhodes in 1999.

Besides developing Ryan at B.C. to become a exceptional rookie in the NFL, Jagodzinski also worked with a couple of quarterbacks with the Packers by the name of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

Favre had the worst season of his pro career in 2005, the year before Mike McCarthy and Jagodzinski came aboard. In 2006 Favre revived his game, cutting his interception total by 11 in 2006. Favre’s decision-making was much improved and the Packers narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record.

But more important, Jagodzinski’s history of working with young quarterbacks will be vital to the long term success of the Bucs offense and the new regime.

The Bucs selected former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski as their new offensive coordinator. At Boston College., he molded Matt Ryan, the Falcons' stud rookie QB in 2008.

The Bucs have a new offensive coordinator.

Local Florida State football fans may be somewhat familar with him. He is former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski, who ironically coached his last game in Raymond James Stadium this December when Boston College played Virginia Tech for the ACC championship.

Jagodzinski is largely credited for grooming current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

In 2006, he was offensive coordinator in Green Bay, but he was not charged with calling plays there, as the Packers won their final four games to finish 8-8.

Joe will have more later on Jagodziski’s time in Green Bay, specifically his role in grooming quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

This is a fine hire by Raheem the Dream and the Bucs. Joe wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the Bucs draft a quarterback.

Simeon Rice hasn't been heard from in months. All of a sudden Chucky gets fired, the Super Bowl comes to town and Rice freaks out.

Joe just learned from a close tipster that former Bucs stud defensive end Simeon Rice is unloading (again) on Chucky, this time live on BSPN. Tuesday Rice referred to Chucky as “a scumbag” on NFL Radio.

Among the things Rice allegedly said this afternoon include:

“[Chucky] is a liar.” 

“If I call someone a scumbag that’s my opinion.”

“This man has zero integrity.”

“The media made up the Chucky image.”

Hopefully there will be video of this tirade. This is getting good. Joe is enjoying this.

Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks suggested Chucky treated the team well.

Speaking via telephone on the Mike Tirico Show on BSPN radio Thursday, Bucs veteran linebacker Derrick Brooks vowed to return to football for the 2009 season.

Where he will play might be a different issue.

In wrapping up a short interview with Brooks, Torico asked, “Are you coming back next year?”

Brooks replied, “Yes I am, yes I am.”

Brooks also was asked about his current and former teammates blasting Chucky, including Simeon Rice who called Chucky “a scumbag.”

Brooks, who is one of the few players to stick up for Chucky, stated comments from Rice and others stemmed from personality issues or personal problems with Chucky, not the way Chucky treated the team.

“A lot of the opinions are personal situations, some of which are more intimate than what I know. I don’t know the every day dealings with [Gruden and others].

“He treated the team well. I spent time with him as a captain and asked for items for the team, most were given. “

Moments later while appearing on Mad Dog Unleashed with Chris Russo on Sirius Radio, Brooks has more to say.

On the Bucs late-season collapse:

“December was a tough month. They were all winnable games. At the end of the day we are watching [the playoffs]. My nights haven’t been very restful.”

On the Carolina Monday night loss:

“It was all missed tackles. Carolina won the one-on-one battles. What’s more alarming, because our offense was moving the ball, people used to watching Buccaneer football were not used to watching that much offense and us not winning.”

On the Raiders loss:

“I never thought in my right mind we wouldn’t show up that day. In retrospect there were signs. But never in my mind did I think we would lose that game.”

More on Chucky’s firing:

“I was as shocked as anyone. But, hey, in 14 years I wanted to wring a few necks myself.

On playing for Raheem the Dream:

“It’s going to be fun with the energy he is going to bring. It’s a different personality. He was my younger brother and is now my boss. I think he just needs to be himself.

“We’re going to have a few extra mini camps because of a new coach.”

Joe is fired up about 2009 NFL Draft coverage coming soon

Joe knows you’re quietly counting the days until the NFL Draft.

Sure, free agency is fun, so is the combine and mini-camp, but the draft is your day.

Yours to spend tailgating in front of the big screen and watching the Bucs’ future unfold before your eyes.

On Saturday, tune in to “The Blitz” on 620 AM, The Sports Animal, for a major announcement about 2009 NFL Draft coverage. Check in with host Justin Pawlowski about 5 p.m., during a special 3 p.m to 7 p.m. broadcast of The Blitz.

Joe is very excited. In fact, he is scheduled to be on the air with Pawlowski at roughly 5 p.m.

In the meantime, check out Volume 2 of Pawlowski’s Bucs Draft Rewind. This time he looks at 1997, the Warrick Dunn/Reidel Anthony/Ronde Barber year.

Intersting to note  – and this is Joe’s note – Anthony (16th overall pick) caught seven more touchdowns in his five years in Tampa than Michael Clayton (15th pick in 2004) has grabbed in his five seasons.

Despite Chucky receiving snail mail from Joe on an offer in which Chucky can help untold sick, underprivileged children, Chucky broke his silence Wednesday to Chris Mortensen of BSPN.

Aside from a one-word quote (“blindsided”) Chucky was silent since his firing some 10 days ago.

Chucky boasted “Chucky will be back” and claimed he has not ruled out coaching at any level, including high school.

There is no question Chucky has heard the negative comments coming from some of his former players and indirectly acknowledged them.

“I’m not the first coach to take potshots. Hey, some people were taking potshots at Tony Dungy when I got here,” said Gruden. “Jeff Garcia, Michael Clayton, I wish those guys the best. I hope Raheem gets this thing going again.”

Joe wishes Chucky the best. Smart men learn from their mistakes. Hopefully Chucky begins to learn how to deal with people, specifically quarterbacks.

Chucky's gone and Simeon Rice wants back in. Rice says he's already called Raheem Morris to tell him to sign the "real deal."

As Joe told you earlier, Simeon Rice jumped on the bash-Chucky bandwagon and called his former coach a “scumbag” during a Tuesday radio interview. 

But now more has come out of that interview, courtesy of a transcript obtained by Pat “Vacation Man” Yasinskas, of BSPN.com fame.

Rice took a shot at Gaines Adams and revealed he has called Raheem the Dream seeking to get back his old defensive end position.

“Monte was the truth, man,” Rice said. “Monte’s a great, classy coach. Rod Marinelli, he’s my favorite guy of all time. Mike Tomlin, great coach. Now they’ve got Raheem [Morris] who is a great person. I already called Raheem [and said], ‘Listen, I’m ready to come back and let’s do this.’ You’ve got a lot of interns at my spot right now. They had some interns a couple of years. Now they need to come back and upgrade that spot, get the real deal, put him in the game and let him go! That’s how I feel!”

Joe admits he got a laugh out of Rice seemingly referring to Adams as an intern. Not bad smack. However, a Rice return is a joke.

Rice notched a whopping one sack after the Bucs cut him following the 2006 season. His greatness must have lost all his energy leaving Tampa kicking and screaming and bitching. That and a bum shoulder make him nothing more than a Bucs trivia question.

Joe would rather see Rice revive his dream of playing professional basketball.

Chucky has a big fan in Davin Joseph

Add Davin Joseph to the slowly growing list of Chucky-lovers on the Bucs roster.

Responding to a question from syndicated radio host Jim Rome about Bucs players bashing Jon Gruden over the past two weeks, Joseph said he had a lot of fun playing for Chucky.

“He doesn’t do the best job satisfying everybody, [but] the majority loved him,” Joseph said. “I’m biased towards him. He drafted me.”

Joseph went on to say fired Bucs offensive line coach Bill Muir “is the best offensive line coach in the league.”

Joseph heads to his first Pro Bowl next week. He was named to the NFC team as a first alternate. Joseph told Rome about the happy moment when Bruce Allen called him to break the news.

Joseph said his mother will accompany him to Hawaii. But later in the day talking with Steve Duemig, of 620 AM, The Sports Animal, Joseph said he also was paying the bill to bring along fellow linemen Jeremy Trueblood, Donald Penn and Aaron Sears.

Joe suspects that after mom retires for the night their will be some serious partying going on in Honolulu. For Donald Penn, it should represent a step up from those late nights at IHOP.