Mark Dominik “Could Have” Been Fired
August 14th, 2009
Mark Dominik, here with Bryan Glazer, admitted on Sirius NFL Radio that when Bruce Almighty began his reign as GM he "could have fired" Dominik.
Joe heard some of the greatest radio yesterday he’s ever laid ears upon (and sadly, missed what Joe learned was a classic show from the dean of Tampa Bay radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig).
Sirius NFL Radio made a stop on its “Training Camp Tour.” During the tour hosts go to each NFL training camp to devote an entire four-hour show to the team they are visiting. They won’t even take calls during said show unless the calls are about the team they are visiting.
Of course, these shows are virtually wall-to-wall with interviews from team executives, coaches and players.
Thursday, Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan came to One Buc Palace to broadcast “Movin’ the Chains.” If anyone has ever heard these two, their show is thick with Xs and Os of the kind only rarely (outside of Duemig’s show) can a football fan hear locally.
No cheerleading allowed on “Moving the Chains!”
These two also hold few punches. Case in point was their interview with Bucs general manager Mark Dominik, who let slip some eye-opening nuggets.
First, Ryan asked Dominik to explain the rationale for giving Michael Clayton so much money. Dominik confessed that maybe he rewarded Clayton for being “such a tough Son of a Gun.” But Dominik went a bit further.
Dominik said that the style of offense the Bucs envision, it’s critical that the wide receivers “pinch down on the cornerbacks.” Clayton, Dominik said, is one of the best in the league at doing that and as a result, he couldn’t risk letting Clayton go to another team.
Later, Kirwan asked Dominik if he still has to pinch himself that he’s an NFL general manager. Dominik was blunt.
“Oh! Look, I’m 38 and I’m a general manager. Of course I pinch myself. When Bruce Allen came here he could have fired me. But he didn’t.”
Dominik then explained how Bruce Almighty took him under his wing and showed him the ropes of contract negotiations and relationship-building with coaches.
Today Joe will provide other tidbits from NFL Radio’s Training Camp Tour. Check back often!
August 14th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Bruce Allen probably would’ve been wise to get rid of him when he had the chance. I bet he won’t make that kind of mistake again. Tell me why Allen was fired again?
August 14th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Michael:
Word is Bryan and/or Joel told Bruce Almighty to fire Chucky and he refused, thus he fell on his sword for Chucky.
August 14th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Other than the CAP was Bruce really that great?Seriously. I only know what I read and hear on the radio. What goes on in the basement of One Buc Place is unknown to me…
August 15th, 2009 at 12:04 am
Jorge:
The jury is very much out as to Bruce Almighty’s worth as a talent evaluator. But as a capologist he was one of if not the best in the league.
August 15th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Allen was the NFL Executive of the Year in 2002 as he built the Super Bowl team in Oakland. Key aquisitions included: Rod Woodson, Bill Romanowski, Jerry Rice, Rich Gannon. So I would say his talent evaluations were very good. Want proof that he made those personnal additions? What have the Raiders done since he came to the Bucs? The record shows they have never been better than 5-11. Ouch. All en won 2 division titles with the Bucs in 5 years (and 5 in the past 10 overall). I say that’s pretty good.
As for salary cap – the Bucs were in hell in 2004 upon his arrival (I save the articles). When he was fired this year the Bucs were $63 million UNDER the cap (or somewhere around that astounding figure). Think maybe if he could have spent some of that money on players things might have been different?
Going to be an interesting season.