Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson says Raheem Morris' new buddy philosophy should work because he laid the ground rules early

By Jeff Carlson
JoeBucsFan.com analyst 

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson trains QBs of all levels via his company, America’s Best Quarterback. You can also find Jeff as an analyst on Bright House Sports Networks and as a host on ESPN 1040 AM, Sundays at 11 a.m.

Raheem Morris is now commanding the troops his way.

New music fills the air. New plays fill the playbooks (far lighter playbooks to carry around, I might add). And his new coaches are getting to know the new-look Buccaneers.

During my NFL days, I played under a number of head coaches, including John Robinson, Ray Perkins, Richard Williamson, Sam Wyche, Ray Handley, Dick McPherson, Bill Parcells and Wade Phillips. One thing is common between these men; they were all quite different from each other.

They motivated in different ways and had different levels of success or failure as the case may be. Tony Dungy won a Super Bowl without emotion, while Jon Gruden won one with a ton.

The Bucs new head man Morris is forging a new philosophy not many have tread before: Being buddies with players.

Jermaine Phillips expressed his pleasure with the new regime, saying it’s nice to be able to punch Morris in the arm now and then.

Don’t know much about punching the head coach in the arm, but if Morris can straddle that fence between motivator and pal, more power to him. Bill Parcells was known to hang around the locker room and B.S. with the best of them. 

I’m not saying it can’t work or won’t work. In fact, I think it will work mostly because he laid the groundwork early.

The new “Ra-laws” about performance expectations (hard, full-padded practices all season) takes away the veteran entitlement that creates dissention. Chopping a few big names from the roster showed everyone is vulnerable.

I like the fact the Bucs look like they are having fun, because shouldn’t grown men playing football for a job that pays a fantasy wage be having the most fun?

Good luck, Coach!