Usually, Jeff Garcia reserves his playful butt slaps for wife Carmella. On Sunday, he went out of his way to give Chucky a big wack on the butt.

Last week, Joe implied that a T-shirt sale on Jeff Garcia’s Foundation Web site could be a sign he’s leaning toward leaving the Bucs after this season, when he becomes a free agent.

So in the spirit of fairness, Joe must tell you about another sign, one that might reveal Garcia is content right here.

After throwing a 39-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Bryant against the Saints, Garcia celebrated on the field with the offense. Then he came off the field, ran up behind Jon Gruden and gave him a real hard slap on the butt. Gruden looked at him surprised, and then the two gave each other a fist bump.

Was the slap an olive branch to Chucky? A way to say, ‘Hey, even after benching me for Son of Bob, deep down I love and respect you, coach?’

Joe isn’t sure. But the way Garcia went so far out of his way to slap one on Chucky, it had to mean something significant. And, yes, Joe is confident Garcia is not gay, despite the old rumors.