Who The Hell Is Calling The Shots?
August 11th, 2010
Last year, Raheem The Dream called his boss to discuss whether it was OK to give Josh Freeman his first regular season game action. On the surface that wasn’t strange, but the phone call to Mark Dominik was made in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss against New England.
The TV cameras caught it, which raised plenty of eyebrows. And the media demanded Raheem The Dream explain his unorthodox actions.
Now, Raheem The Dream has revealed that in-game chats with him and Dominik are commonplace. In fact, Raheem The Dream said he expects Dominik to call him on Saturday during the Miami-Tampa Bay game to demand personnel changes.
The head coach made the revelation late Tuesday to the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, during a live interview at Bucs practice on WDAE-AM 620.
Steve Duemig: As young as this team is, how hard is it to put them on the sidelines during an exhibition season? …You have a lot of guys you need to evaluate.
Raheem The Dream: Today [at practice] it was pretty easy. …On gameday it will be a little tougher with Mark upstairs calling me down from the box going, ‘let’s get him out out of there. You know, Rah.’
Raheem The Dream was not joking and went on to explain that managing preseason reps is a tough balancing act.
Joe thinks Dominik calling the head coach during a game to suggest personnel changes is counterproductive meddling.
There should be nobody more qualified than the head coach to make in-game calls. Why exactly does Dominik not trust his head coach’s judgement?
If Raheem The Dream wants to see his first team defensive line get 20 snaps, or if he wants Josh Freeman to play three series with Mike Williams, then so be it. It’s Raheem The Dream’s ass on the line at the end of the season.
Joe can only imagine what Chucky’s profanity-laced reaction would have been if Bruce Allen called him in the second quarter of preseason game and asked him to make a few substitutions.
August 11th, 2010 at 9:14 am
I can understand thier approach seeing as Rah is very inexperienced as a HC and they have decided to take things on as a team….but I can see this becoming a problem if Raheem survives this season ans sticks around a for awhile. Eventually he is gonna say enough is enough and there will be a power struggle. As Joe says, in the end it is Raheem’s ass on the line.
August 11th, 2010 at 9:24 am
I saw that during the Patriots game too. Guess the glaziers really got someone they can control now cause I know Gruden would not have had any of that
August 11th, 2010 at 9:29 am
And some of you guys wonder about my displeasures/disapproving with the team sometimes!
August 11th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Actually, I Think it makes sense. The Gm wants to ensure that they get a live action look at all the players” on the Bubble” ! The Coach is busy calling the game, and keying in on certain players. Dominik is just making sure they get film on everyone they need to look at. I believe this probably happens in every preseason game around the NFL. At least, if the coach and GM are working together!
August 11th, 2010 at 9:43 am
CaptTim, Pre-season? Those happened in regular season last year. With that said, I’m sure it happens in pre-season. That’s not the problem.
August 11th, 2010 at 9:44 am
“Joe thinks Dominik calling the head coach during a game to suggest personnel changes is counterproductive meddling.”
You are 100% correct. However, if it’s a player or two that you know you don’t really want or need, and need to showcase them some, then understandable. But overall, if Mark is calling the shots on who plays how long – completely unacceptable. It’s called micro-managing, it’s proven counter productive in any career.
August 11th, 2010 at 10:07 am
It’s just as counter productive to have a GM that does everything the coach wants him to do. Checks and balances should be part of the GM & Coach relationship. Sounds like Dominik is trying a little too hard to protect the teams very large investments. They have 100 Million reasons to keep a close eye on these guys. I don’t think it has anything to do with managing the game.
August 11th, 2010 at 10:16 am
OMG! We are sooo screwed if this crap is really happening.
August 11th, 2010 at 11:01 am
Rah if you don’t give the ball to Ward you have to clean out Joel’s car again.
August 11th, 2010 at 11:09 am
What do you idiots expect? Rah is your head coach, he has no clue what he is doing. Would you trust your multi-million dollar assets to be handled by this bafoon – of course not nobody would.
It makes me feel a little better that at least the Glazerhouses and Dom realize that they can’t leave important, even in-game decisions, to this idiot!
You guys use to call Allen – Gruden’s puppett, where is your criticism when the HC is the GM’s puppett. Oh I forgot you guys are only able to see negatives with the prior regime but not the 3-13 regime!
August 11th, 2010 at 11:26 am
Mark “Al Davis” Dominik.
What gave him the idea he knows who should be in the game anyhow?
August 11th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Ah, where to start? Louie- you aren’t”screwed” . You are just some knucklehead watching football on TV. Eric- ok , that was funny! Thomas- again with your love, Gruden? We fired his Lil ass! He doesn’t coach here, or anywhere else for that matter. But he is still around, if you can’t contain that overwhelming urge to blow him kisses!
August 11th, 2010 at 11:32 am
you guys freak out over more preseason BS then anyone I know.
August 11th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Rah getting advice from Dominik is truly “the blind leading the blind”.
August 11th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Well CapTim you just proved yourself utterly clueless.
GMs do NOT tell real coaches how to manage personel during the game.
If you WANT to believe this is normal thats one thing, but don’t start spewing that non-sense around here as if it is a common practice in the NFL. You have proven with that statement alone to be absolutely clueless about the NFL.
August 11th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
With the Freeman thing, I dont really have too much of a problem with that because as we all know, BOTH of their jobs lie in the arm of Freeman. If they threw him in there too early and mess up his psyche, then theyre both screwed. No problem with them working together on stuff like that. Now, if this happens with every player and Dom really does micro-manage, then I think it is a problem.
August 11th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Another chink in the armour for Morris….lol Talk about micro-managing. I can’t see that happening for a more experienced HC.
August 11th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
@Capt.Tim: “Actually, I Think it makes sense. The Gm wants to ensure that they get a live action look at all the players” on the Bubble” ! The Coach is busy calling the game, and keying in on certain players.”
That’s great! We’ve got a HC who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. At least you admit it!
August 11th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Capt Dim: Cant you just get honest with yourself and admit that this thing, particularly Rah, is a debacle.
I have admitted many times that many, not all, of the criticisms of Gruden are legit. For example, he and Allen did not draft well enough or didn’t develop the young players well enough. Also, I believe that he mishandled the QB position – I wanted him to secure and develop a young talent at the position. Otherwise, I liked the feeling going into every year that we were the best team in the division and usually the favorites to win it.
All this b.s. about 9-7 teams dont win super bowls even if they get into the playoffs is flat-out not true. The hottest team during the playoffs wins the super bowl, which more and more frequently is a wild card or at least non-#1 or 2 seed!
August 11th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Thomas has a point, last year was nuts. That does not mean things will not improve, and at the end of the 2010 season we will know if Morris is coming back or not. I hope for all of our sake that he turns the ship around and becomes the coach that many NFL people predicted he would. He was promoted too early, but that was not his fault. You do not turn down the oportunity unless you do not believe you can do the job. I do not think the FO will put up with another season like last years. It is now time for Morris to put his money where his mouth is. Who knows, he may be like Bellechik and have to return to DC for a few years before he matures into the head coach role, but than again maybe he excels in 2010. One thing is for sure, I can not wait for some football.
August 11th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
@ Thomas
I agree with what you said except for the fact that we were always the favorite. Most of the time we were picked to be third or fourth in the division by the “experts” because we arent the sexy team. Hell, every year it seemed that they would pick N.O. or Carolina to win the division, but they would always faulter.
August 11th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Amen to that Mcbuc!
August 11th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Gotta side with the bad guys on this one. This type of conversation should be held pre-game if at all with Rah being the final decisionmaker on the issue.
On another note: The thing I love about Rah is the thing that gets him in the most trouble. The guy is just too honest and forthright about what he’s thinking. That’s one of the administrative things that I miss about Gruden. His press conferences were entertaining for their delivery, not their substance. He made coachspeak an art form.
I love Rah’s style because I know that the way he speaks in public is the same way he speaks in private. Most players/grown men LOVE that no-BS approach. Perhaps Gruden’s problem was that he became so political with the team that they stopped listening. I’ve seen it happen on teams I’ve been on 1st hand.
At the end of the day I like Rah the way he is. Its refreshing in this era of athletes and celebs being robotic in front of a camera (by necessity) that Rah continues to be unfiltered. Keep it up Rah.
August 11th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Sensiblefan, Thanks man, I’m a bad guy at last! Yeah, my wife will be thrilled!
August 11th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
@oar
Lol! Glad to brighten someone’s day!
August 11th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Hey Gary (w/ the radio icon)…
I noticed you have made a few posts today, but I have been posting here with this name for a long time.
Can you please pick something else so people don’t get us confused?
-thanks.
August 11th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
oh, and I can guarantee that Dom doesnt say anything about personnel to Rah during the reg. season. Its valid in the preseason because Dom has a different focus than Rah, and preseason is the only time to try stuff like that.
Rah asking Dom for his opinion on the most important descision last year (when to throw Freeman into the fire) is not a bad idea.
August 11th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
This is much like a Project Mgr & Superintendent relationship in the Construction Industry. Everything inside the office is the Mgr’s responsibility and everything outside in the field falls under the Superintendent’s control. Ultimately the Mgr bears final responsibility as problems always come back to him/her. With a young Super you have to keep him on a shorter leash, much like a young coach, until he demonstrates the ability to make critical decisions without increased errors or omissions. Raheem has to earn the longer leash/rope and until he does, two heads can be better than one, especially when both are on the block. I wonder if Mark Dominick was the one who made them finally start running the ball at the end of the Season. I don’t think this type of relationship is uncommon as in Jerry Jones or Bill Parcells.
August 11th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Ok , we are in agreement.
Which construction cite can we send these guys to?
August 11th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Bill Parcells was’t direction from JJ for personel moves during any game. As a matter of fact, JJ had the ear of maybe the golden boy Jason G (OC) but he wasn’t bothering or being listened to from Parcells. Now if you say Wade Phillips hears it, then maybe.
Mark Dominic does not have the experience nor deserves the latitude to make these calls to the HC. Unless someone ELSE in behind the scenes?
The biggest problem is not just the fact of letting a GM influence these in game personel decisions but the notion of some of you goofs accepting it as OKAY?
Hence yet again reinforcing the fact that we need a real Head Coach to run this billion dollar franchise.
August 11th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Eric, I have one in Rochester, NY, or if you prefer St Maarten, V.I.
Wait, I work at McDonalds. Oops, sorry, my bad.
August 11th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Everyone wants one of the elite coaches. Sorry a Bill Cowher will not come in until after the team is rebuilt. Then they will come in to take over.When you want to dump your ageing veterans and then suck for a couple of years so you can rebuild with a lot of high draft picks. A Raheem is what you get. Raheem might turn out to be a good coach. He just got thrown into the HC position too fast. He should have been a defensive coordinator first.