“Don’t Rush To Judgement” On Raheem
December 13th, 2011
The reigning Major League Baseball Manager of the Year, Merlot Joe Maddon, is a close friend of Raheem Morris.The two head coaches have professed their love of each other publicly many times, and Joe even got to witness some of it as Joe was invited into Maddon’s 2011 birthday party in a cozy St. Pete Times luxury box.
Raheem has even gone so far as to call the unflappably positive Maddon a trusted mentor. Watching Raheem at his news grilling yesterday, Joe instantly thought Raheem looked very Maddonesque in the face of turmoil. No F-bombs this week. (Joe swears, Maddon could have a 10 yungry pit bulls charging him and would stay the course on whatever path he was on, completely confident the dogs would bypass him).
Ironically, Maddon was a guest on The Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday and chimed in on Raheem and the Bucs. Maddon was preaching patience and revealed he was talking lockout excuse challenges with Raheem very recently.
“You’re talking about a young team, man. Young teams makes mistakes. I remember in 2006 and 2007 with the Rays, the Devil Rays at that time, it was no fun, man. But eventually you have a chance to flip the culture and then good things begin to happen. I mean, I hope people again don’t rush to judgement right here,” Maddon said.
“I even mentioned this to Rah the other night. The fact that the spring training was so short this year, or not even hardly existed at all the offseason program, that’s when a lot of your disciplinary or discipline kind of stuff comes into play, where you’re able to go over these kind of things and then here comes the preseason and you get a lot of this stuff in play. But when you’ve got young players that don’t have this time element that they need, you can see how some of the problems may occur. But listen I’m a big Rah fan. I’m here to tell you, man, this guy’s a great guy. And I know how hard he works, and he’s very, very bright.”
Joe appreciates Maddon’s take, and the lack of an offseason surely hurt the Bucs. However, Joe sees teams with new head coaches, new coordinators and new quarterbacks that have had great success, or at least have their teams now, in Week 15, heading in the right direction.
The Bucs, though, have been heading in the wrong direction for nearly half a season, something Maddon never experienced en route to a World Series in his third year managing the Rays.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
December 13th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Anthony really gets annoyed with Joe’s inserting himself into the story.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Morris should have been fired 8 days ago. Also, baseball sucks.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
The only lockout that should occurr is the doors at one buc place, and never give Mr. Morris or Mr. Dominik a new key – or anyone else remotely associated with this utter disaster.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
That’s what Joe does; always did, always will.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Maddon puts a very exciting product on the field. These guys play hard and they play fast. Something Raheem preaches, but in three years has yet to accomplish. If you can’t get your team to at the very least play hard; then you have to look in the mirror to see if you are in the right profession.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Joe,
you have a point with other teams having new coaches, new coordinators , and new Qb’s, but with the exception of Carolina, how many of those teams are as young as the bucs? That is the one Major difference to me at least. all of those other teams have vets on the roster that can help snap their younger players out of a funk, the bucs don’t have that luxury. Blame that on Dom or on the Glazers.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
I agree. I think a 4-9 record, but close games would be treated a lot differently by the fans. The clear shut down by the team is what is so upsetting. Each of the most recent games has been worse than the one before. And the obvious lack of discipline points to a team that has shut out the HC. At the end of the day, the HC has to own the penalties on the field, at least when they are this prevalent. The team just does not appear well-coached. Similarly, the trend to start out so slowly/fall behind so quickly (notwithstanding the Jags game) also has to fall on the coach.
This team has regressed in practically every area this year. The WR play has been spectacularly awful when it was ok last year with the same personnel. The defense is an absolute disaster. I know McCoy is hurt, but he was not setting the world on fire before he was hurt. He was fine, but nothing special. The LBs are not good, and somehow they have made Ruud’s departure work against us (I thought letting him go was the right decision at the time). The secondary is also not good. The safety play has been terrible. And only Barber has been ok out there. Talib gives up more plays than he makes. He misses a lot of tackles and he plays with way more bravado than he deserves.
This team looks like it has a lot of big talkers who don’t back it up with results. Even the guys that play hard like Blount do more posturing than scoring. I know football is an emotional game, but unless you are one of the best, you should just go on the field and score points, and try not to antagonize opponents. Again, it comes back to a lack of discipline.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Heres something i didnt know. Apparently teams that fire a coach and appoint an interim cannot replace that coach with a permanent hire till the end of the year.
So, perhaps the silence and inaction from one buc place isnt an indication of the ultimate decision – and wont hurt finding a good candidate if they chose to let rah go.
Not that i think they will make a change or anything.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Its the same mistakes WEEK AFTER WEEK AFTER WEEK.
Fine, they’re 4-9. But each week is worse than the next.
Raheem is clearly over his head.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
This has very little to do with youth. It has everything to do with not being ready to play on Sunday’s. This team has no passion and the mistakes being made are similar to that of a bad high school team. A good coach would have gathered the entire team together after that first fumble for a TD and pulled there head’s back into the game. Instead we got that deer in the headlights look that screamed here we go again.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Mr Morris is a very bright guy and im sure he’s players think he is a nice guy too and im glad the bays coaches have a close friendship makes me feel so much better about ……..wait no it doesn’t we have simply walked around to the other side of the horse to beat the other side common guys building through the draft only works when you have an experienced staff to cultivate the talent which we dont .Rah won last year on an easy schedule we all got wasted on that kool-aid and thats ok too, but what happen the last nine weeks alone should have already closed out this chapter of bucs history . oh and if you don’t like Joe inserting himself then go to another site that will only tell you what you want to hear, your are free to leave .
December 13th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
I know im going to get killed for this but o well. This teams current losing streak is depressing and can see how ppl would want to gut the whole coaching staff with the performance the last 7 weeks. People always think change is for the better but that’s not always the case. Bad teams find ways to lose were a bad team right now and losing is contagious. Which is what we are seeing. We have had a historically tough schedule up to the last 2 games and this team has suffered due to this lack of an offseason. I hear the arguments that young teams are doing good that changed personell ie the 49ers and panthers. But fans need to start looking at the vets that team does have their young in age not in experience. In fact the 49ers have several veteran leaders and that line up was gonna be able to pick up a new system fairly easy. They have guys like Willis, gore,golsden, Staley,davis,baas and smith is no spring chicken. They have established leaders that can back up their talk with their play. Carolina has smith,Williams,Stewart,gamble,gross, reason (eventhough injured). These guys have years of experience, just again young in age number. Who on this team could help lead this team out of this funk? Freeman(only his 3rd year and is 23) blunt? Williams? Clayborn foster (rookie)? Then u look at some of the older guys what Penn ( made 1 pro bowl). Faine (often injured,not that good)?barber (not vocal enough)? A coach can’t be the only one to lead the team. Raheems job is to get these guys in position which ill admit he hasn’t done a good job at. Olson (couldn’t coach his way out of a paperbag. This non offseason has hurt this team look at what happened last season when they had an offseason. Wasn’t alot of hate then. Ppl were actually proud of this team. How many people can say for sure that bringing in a new coach will solve all the problems. No what this team needs is more experience and vet leadership that can back their talk up with their play. Im not saying raheem should keep his job or not im saying tho that the lockout plays a big part in what this team did last offseason and what they couldn’t this offseason. All in all I think we need a new oc and dc. And raheem should get a full offseason like he had previously to work with this team. But im a true buc fan and raheem shouldn’t take all of the blame for this
December 13th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
knucknbuc: There’s a million reasons….anything is possible, but if you ain’t getting better, you’re getting worse. Another off-season isn’t going to do anything but delay what has already been delayed long enough.
Morris shouldn’t have been hired in the first place and that mistake has to be corrected.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Knucknbuc….I agree. I would like to see one more year of Morris because when you bring in a new HC that had nothing to do with the talent drafted..things don’t always go well. I do want to see changes but only with the assistant coaches. Morris should NOT be the DC…period. I would like to see Olson go too and bring in somebody who can better game plan with the talent we have. This team has no veteran leaders that are vocal and to think a new HC is going to change that is just silly. Adversity will develop leaders and I would expect them to start emerging beginning next year after this years baptism.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
The head coaches number one priority should be to have his team physically and mentally ready to play. Since Raheem has been unable to do either in my opinion; then the responsibility falls directly on him. Mentally they are weak and closer to mental cases! You can bring in whatever coordinators you like, but in this case it will not make a difference.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Why is that creepy dude from Storage Wars pouring wine on JBF ?
December 13th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
The question is how best to fix what ails the team. New leadership seems an obvious answer but ownership doesn’t seem ready to pull the trigger yet so what’s the point in all the continual griping?
For now, how does the HC get more consistent higher quality play on the field. He can bench the first/second string for boneheaded play but how many battles are they going to win with special teams and practice squad players? Does anyone really believe plugging in a new coaching staff is going to do anything to seriously improve on-field performance?
It’s hard to believe ownership won’t be demanding serious improvement at season end, but it’s not clear they’ll be opening their wallets any wider or casting a wider free agent net to do it.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
bucfanlostiniowa;
???? No clue what you are talking about Iowa.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Joe here,
@Hillbilly Heaven — Funny how you start the comments off in this thread with a line of zzzzzzs and then come back later to chime in.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Nice catch Joe about Hillbilly. Didn’t notice that myself. LMAO!
December 13th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
I know, I know….
Couldn’t resist coming back, any defense of Raheem makes my blood boil
Nothing to do with Joe – I live for the site – I just cringe at anyone defending whats going on at One Buc. That Morris’ pals
December 13th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Thanks Hillbilly!
December 13th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
it’s a reality show on cable they auction off the contents of storage lockers guess I’m the only one who watches it
December 13th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
I’m still in Raheem’s corner.
Scenario 1 – We remove Raheem from HC and are forced to Hire OC, DC and HC.. While I see some good coordinator positions, I do not see any excellent head coaches that wow me. This includes Fisher, Cowher, Billick and whatever else retread.
Just too many gaps to fill.
My preferred scenario – Keep Raheem as HC. Hire Norv Turner or someone from Packers, Texans or Saints as OC and someone from the Bears, Bengals or Spagnola as DC.
It might be completely ridiculous but I do think it would be best. I don’t think that Raheem will make it a week after the end of the season but I would like for him to come back for another try. Lets see what he’s made up now that he’s reached the bottom.
He might be our Gary Kubiak.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Miracle:
Morris is a lame duck going into 2012 and with that status, you wont draw any top shelf co-ordinators. There’s no fixing this with better assistants unless you give him an extention.
I would love to see a firey young guy in charge with Turner & Spags at OC/DC. But that guy isn’t Raheem, he has no credibility left with anyone.
I dare say that you won’t get a sniff at the best assistants unless you cut Morris loose now. Miami, KC, Jax have got a jump on everyone in that race. A pre-emptive strike is the best route at this point.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
I have no doubt that Joe Maddon would do a much better job coaching and preparing the Bucs than Rah Rah Morris, in spite of the fact that he has no football training.
Nobody could possibly do a worse job as a head coach than what we have witnessed this year from Cliche.
Sure lets give him another year and allow this lack of discipline, these horrible habits and absent fundamentals to develop further so we have a bigger and more difficult mess to clean up.
You will be setting this organization back a decade.
If you bring Jeff Fisher in and 2 key veterans, draft well and flush or hose off the Cliche Morris effects from these players, you could be competitive.
Free needs a dose of psychological treatment or a humane form of brainwashing to cleanse Free of this “exposure” to the undisciplined and erratic Cliche Morris experience.
If we can just wash Free clean from all of this detrimental coaching, he will be fine – so would Olson. Toby David was suggesting yesterday that he has a source who says that Dominik tells Cliche who must start and play in-game.
He also said that there has been at least 1 vocal locker-room disagreement between Cliche and the boss whose name ends in D (Dominik) about who should be playing – I think he said the Houston game.
Even Dominik knows Rah is clueless and he has taken over coaching responsibilities. Embarrassing.
Maybe Dom is yelling Youngry and Yangry and “be our best selves” into Rah’s headset as well.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
“Nobody could possibly do a worse job as a head coach than what we have witnessed this year from Cliche.”
Core beliefs.
Best selves.
Back in the lab.
Gray matter.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
I have heard Rah himself say that Dom had at least a hand in deciding whether Freeman would play. And, you notice Rah included “D” in the people he has to answer to.
Dom is no fool, he is figuring out ways to save his own ass if the Glazer Boys have had enough of the Raheem Morris Show.
Simple self preservation.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
Why would Dominick have to worry about his job? You don’t think he’s found any talent in the draft? If you think that then you are not only blinded by hate for the organization but just plain stupid. That would mean that you expect a new coach to come in and win with no talent and if that’s the case then why are you crying about Morris?
December 13th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
@Bobby,
Dom found some talent in the draft, as most teams do. However, the GM has greater responsibilities than that. Signing free agents, and resigning current players. On those fronts the man is a failure. And, his drafting skills are wildly overrated. Hard for a lot of the local media that prematurely crowed about it to admit.
I doubt his job is in danger in reality. Glazer boys just re-upped him.
If it were me, Dom would be out the door, but obviously thats not the case.
I would think any GM that assembled a team mired in a horrific seven game losing streak, which may hit ten, would be making moves to protect himself.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Where did the belief that qualified Coordinators run away at the chance of a lame duck head coach?
I think its just something that was thrown out there and everyone has just decided to believe. Yasinskas points to Fox as an example but I don’t remember him running around frantic looking for coordinators his final days in Carolina.
You only have to look at your own work situation to know it is quite possibly the opposite reality. You have the opportunity to enter 2 work environments.
1) Go to work at an established business where the guy ahead of you is firmly established in his career. You will get good experience and possibly some consideration from the outside but you aren’t getting a promotion within that company.
2) Go to work at a business where the guy in charge is possibly on the way out for whatever reason (possibly bad work or even retiring). You may not agree with everything that your boss says, but you follow along. You do your job well and be a bright spot so you’re in prime candidacy when the opportunity comes.
You can’t tell me that coordinators that believe in themselves wouldn’t kill for the 2nd opportunity. You either 1) Get first cracks at the head coaching job or 2) get credit for the turnaround and be considered for other head coaching jobs.
The idea that coordinators won’t go to a situation like Morris is just a plain legend and silly.. Look at Jacksonville as an example. Who is prime spot to take over the head coaching job? The interim head coach/ Old Defensive coordinator
December 13th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
It’s actually pretty simple:
when a head coach is fired (or contract is not renewed) the staff goes with them. The new head coach will, rightfully, demand to pick his own staff.
Jax???? that guy has no shot at being the head coach. Are you kidding?
December 13th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
@Hillbilly Heaven…he wasn’t talking about if Morris was fired…he was saying the idea that they couldn’t find quality assts. to come in as DC and OC while Morris is in his last year of a contract is ludicrous. I would have to agree.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
“when a head coach is fired (or contract is not renewed) the staff goes with them. The new head coach will, rightfully, demand to pick his own staff.
Jax???? that guy has no shot at being the head coach. Are you kidding?”
1) Greg Olsen came from the Gruden regime yet he was kept and later promoted.. Not everyone gets fired. I would hope our 2 line coaches stay when we get a new coach.
2) The Jax DC is already 1-1 and has his team playing well. His defense is one of the best in the league even though it is decimated by injuries and has a horrible offense next to it. He was also 1 of the up and coming names to be considered for HC jobs.
so no I am not kidding.
Are you?
December 13th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
“However, Joe sees teams with new head coaches, new coordinators and new quarterbacks that have had great success, or at least have their teams now, in Week 15, heading in the right direction.”
However, I see teams that have turn things around in 1 year all the time. And 3 YEARS in, we still stink.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Excuses…excuses…excuses. How come the lockout only affected the Bucs?
Maddon it doesn’t matter HOW much you like a person if they are unqualified they are unqualified.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Why is Merlot Joe pouring a blush/rose?