“I Never Thought I’d Be Fired”
September 9th, 2009
Good guy Richard Deitsch of SI.com (who reads Joe) snagged an interview with former Bucs coach and current BSPN talking head Chucky recently. Deitsch, being the journalist he is, wasted little time in trying to pin Chucky down on when or if he will coach again.
Chucky deftly dodged the question.
SI.com: Your boss, ESPN executive vice president John Skipper, predicted to SI that you would be in the booth for at least two years. Will he be right?
Gruden: I hate to predict my future. I never really thought I would be a head coach at 34 years old. I never thought I would be traded to Tampa. I never even really thought I would be fired, even though I probably deserved it. I try not to predict things. I signed up to a job and I’m going to finish it and give it everything I have. I feel like I have made some improvements, but I have a long way to go to be good at it.
Chucky also seemed to take a veiled shot at the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig. When asked if he can be critical of players or teams since he may be affiliated with them some day, Chucky said, “Yeah, I can be critical. Now I’m not going to be one of these sports-talk show hosts that does negative criticizing for a living.”
Chucky also confessed that his arrogance may have contributed to his dismissal saying, “I never thought I’d be fired.”
September 9th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I like this guy more and more now that he is not here! Funny how that works…Maybe getting canned was the best thing for him and his ego…He’s really good on camera. He’s always been a good quote…Seems like Chucky the broadcaster is > Chucky the offensive coordinator…
September 9th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Once the reality of the season sets in. We as Buc fan’s will consider the Gruden/Kiffen era as the golden years. These two coaches did more with less than any other coaches. It will makes us wonder what would have been if ownership had supported the Team. I think we forget of all The top draft pics that would be in their prime as well. Instead we point the finger at 1 guy and say that this is the problem. I think after this season that fans fingers will be pointed at alot of problems. At least the negative sports radio will have plenty of topics to fill up their airtime.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:38 am
If Chucky is smart – and he is – he’ll spend 2 years in the booth collecting both paychecks; one from ESPN & one from the Glazers.
September 9th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
A championship with a TOP TIER defense…He blows the team up still rides the D with a woeful offense for 6 years of no playoff wins and a few losing seasons is the Bucs “golden years”, gimme a break…