Raheem Morris, just 32 years old, was named defensive coordinator to replace Monte Kiffin. Let's hope Morris has enough clout to make sure the Bucs resign Jermaine Phillips, who becomes a free agent after the season.

Bucs brass wasted little time coming to terms with secondary coach Raheem Morris, who will replace defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. The announcement was made today, reports the Tampa Tribune.

After the season, Kiffin will end his long tenure with the Bucs and head to the University of Tennessee to coach with his son, Lane.

Morris, just 32 years old, has been tabbed as the young jewel of the Bucs coaching staff, a player’s coach, a motivator and, dare we say, a genius.

Joe likes the move. Morris has the respect of the players, and he surely seems like he’s ready to hit the ground running. Regardless of how the Bucs finish against Oakland on Sunday, Morris has massive shoes to fill. Nothing less than a top-10 defense next year will be acceptable.

Joe likes that a majority of defensive big plays this season came from the secondary. Morris had great talent back there, but he kept his unit hungry. Think back to the last Atlanta game with Jermaine Phillips stripping the Falcons’ tight end at the goal line to save a touchdown. Without Tanard Jackson’s strip and fumble recovery in Kansas City, the Bucs would have lost that game. There are several others, as well.

This move makes Joe think the Glazers are bringing Jon Gruden back for next season, no matter what. How could they land Bill Cowher or another big name coach without giving the guy a chance to pick his defensive coordinator?

Contract terms are not yet available for Morris. It’ll be interesting to see how many years the Glazers game him, as well his salary. He’s probably making half as much as Kiffin’s reported $2 million per season.

Of course, regular readers of Joe know that Joe had not only predicted such a move by the Glazer Boys but that rumors of this happening surfaced in the preseason.