Empty Seats Not “Significant” To Force Change
December 29th, 2011
Many Bucs fans pining for the jettisoning of embattled Bucs coach Raheem Morris point to the empty red seats at the football stadium on Dale Mabry Highway as one of many reasons for a new coach.
To hear the virtual revolt Bucs fans are about to mount if Morris is retained, it’s a fair chance those empty seats at home games could double if Team Glazer does not make a move.
Hold up, says Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. Those empty seats will not force Team Glazer to jettison Morris, so he wrote in a TBO Bucs Q & A.
Q: Are ticket sales that bad that the Glazers have no choice but make a coaching change and pay two head coaches again?
Michael Stephens, Lehigh Acres
A: As for the ticket sales, the empties aren’t significant enough to force a decision on the coach either way. The attendance now is about the same as it was a year ago and in the last years of Gruden’s reign.
— Woody C.
Joe is not so sure. If the masses follow through on their pledge to stop attending Bucs games if Morris is retained, Joe has to believe that has Team Glazer’s attention.
As far as paying two coaches, let’s not confuse Morris’ contract with Chucky’s. In a few weeks, Chucky’s $5 million a year contract is off the books for Team Glazer. Morris’ contract is somewhere around $2 million a year.
If Morris is jettisoned, he only has one more year left on his contract. It’s not like that contract will weight down Team Glazer for years.
But, strangely, to hear all the people hollering and screaming about Team Glazer, one coud easily get the impression they were “cheap.” Odd, Joe knows of no cheap people who pay others $15 million to fish and tell fibs on national TV once a week for a few nights a year.
Where exactly to cheap people like this reside? Joe wants to know so he can somehow move in on the money lying on the streets.
December 29th, 2011 at 9:06 am
I’ll go on a limb and say that the Glazers use this opportunity to make major changes for the better. They are letting Rah flap in teh wind so they have a low foundation to work on. There is a good, young core on the team. They are not dealing with perrenial basement dwellers that cannot break out of the funk.
However, if they gamble and think that this will fix itself, we can see the energy fizzle out and die. Then we become the Bengals, Browns and Rams for a long time.
Don’t think they want that. I dont think they want to give proof that Malcolm was the true business genius and they cannot live up to it.
December 29th, 2011 at 9:18 am
That guy is stupid, just yesterday he said Ronde Barber was having a good year. Is he saying that failing attendance was not even a factor in letting chucky go?
December 29th, 2011 at 9:20 am
“Tell fibs”?
What lies is Gruden saying on national TV?
December 29th, 2011 at 9:21 am
We need someone with some know-how to come up with a ballpark figure on what the Glazer’s are losing each game and then we’ll see just how stupid Mr. Bukkake is.
December 29th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Anthony:
Well, for one, that Bill Callahan was one of best “players’ coaches” he’s every known. LOL
December 29th, 2011 at 9:30 am
You can take it to the bank that I will cancel all five of my season tickets, held by me for the past 25 years, if significant change isn’t made which includes replacing the head coach. All my goodwill for this garbage was used by the Culverhouse regime and am not going through it again. On another note, of all the sportswriters in the Tampa Bay area, Roy Cummings is the absolute least insightful of any of them. He never offers any opinion that goes against the grain or the status quo of ownership. I believe they refer to that as being a “shill”.
December 29th, 2011 at 9:33 am
The Jon Gruden bashing at EVERY opportunity, real or imagined? For the love of GOD Joe………..LET IT GO!
Happy New Year!!!
December 29th, 2011 at 9:51 am
Does Gruden still have to keep to the confidentiality clause once his contract is up?
December 29th, 2011 at 9:59 am
To use a Gruden phrase “Lets be Honest”, you can’t argue that the Glazers are not cheap because they let Gruden go with 3 years remaining on his $5 mill per year contract. The Glazer’s absolutely thought that he would be swooped up by another team for a head coaching position and that $5 mill per year they owed would be setoff by his new salary. Unfortunately, for the Glazers, Gruden and Espn threw them a complete knuckleball with the MNF position. So lets not give the Glazerhouses credit for not being cheap based on this argument. Their plan basically blew up in their face.
December 29th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Bayfisher:
Interesting question, but only Team Glazer, Chucky and their lawyers really know
There could — this is absolute speculation — be a clause in there that if Chucky ever opened up, he could have to cough up a chunk of his past salary.
If a couple of weeks the Bucs could be two coaches removed from Chucky so not sure how vital or important or relevant it would be for Chucky to spill any beans.
December 29th, 2011 at 10:07 am
Wait a minute…. I thought that some of the reasons that the Glazers used to get rid of Gruden was that the attendance was dropping and that the fan base did not trust the coach. Well… I think those criteria are being met again with Raheem. Could it be that there were other reasons (Financial) that were the real cause for Gruden and Allen’s departure?????
December 29th, 2011 at 10:09 am
Should fire everyone under Glazers (they won’t fire themselves either!) bring in all new from top down. How much worse could it even get?
December 29th, 2011 at 10:28 am
@Joe,
That’s a personal opinion, based on his experiences with Callahan. I know the Raiders players turned against him, but we don’t know what caused that. Citing that as a lie is pretty silly. Gruden may be brown-nosing a bit, but saying he is telling fibs is unwarranted.
December 29th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Speaking of Woody, thanks for the “Morning Cup of Joe” Joe.
December 29th, 2011 at 10:45 am
If thats a fib by Gruden, what is “money will never be an issue”?
Or,
“mark Dominik is a rock star”
If opinions are fibs, I hate to think what will happen to us all at the Pearly Gates.
That being said, I agree that coaches salaries arent the big consideration for the Glazer Boys. They are negligible compared to player payroll.
Also, owneres rarely just let coaches contracts expire, cause of the “lame duck” issue. Generally there is always time left on the contract when they are jettisoned.
I suppose we will find out in a few days if they are cheap or not………..and this off season.
December 29th, 2011 at 11:18 am
My guess is that whatever the fans want, or call for, the Glazers will do the opposite, like hire Larry Porter from Memphis. He will come real cheap, almost free, room and board most likely, 3 hots and a cot.
December 29th, 2011 at 11:21 am
You are welcome rhenry! Joe aims to please. 🙂
December 29th, 2011 at 11:36 am
Not selling oh is nothing new. Our last home playoff game, 07 vs the giants was full of giants fans. And that was with Gruden
December 29th, 2011 at 11:48 am
The Cheapsters are cheap. They did think Chucky would take a HC job after being fired and he became the highest paid HC that didn’t have to coach at 8 million per year lol (with Glazer money owed and ESPN). No stress or criticism at 8 mil per. Chucky is still laughing. Cheap is staying out of free agency and being tens of millions under the flipping salary cap. FA vets would be so valuable to these “youngry” players. We are a rudderless ship needing a new captain and leaders. Cough up the cash, Cheapsters, and sign some experienced coaches and players to augment our young talent
December 29th, 2011 at 11:57 am
Attendance according to NFL.com
06 65,511
07 65,316
08 64,511
09 62,991
10 49,314
11 56,991
Rather significant drop off. Although some improvement this year after 10-6.
December 29th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
In tabulating the loss to the glazers you must go beyond just ticket prices. Each empty seat means less profit from parking, merchandise, beer and other concessions. Teams make more than petty cash from that. Each blackout is one less commercial for their product, less bucs tshirts sold at the mall. They are losing a lot and I believe really want this team to win. They WILL fire Morris.
December 29th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
I highly doubt the Glazers are paying Gruden his full contract. It must be what he was owed LESS what he is making at ESPN. Sure, they are still paying quite a bit, but not the full amount. There is a basic principal in contract law called mitigation. It is usually written into every employment contract, but it still applies even if not written. It says you will make your best efforts to seek employment if contract terminated and whatever you do make in new job can mitigate what you are owed.
December 29th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
YOu are thinking the Glazers are ‘losing’ money just because attendance dropped off….that is a false assumption. They are making money on the Bucs and they are smart enough to know that fans memories are about as long as a gnats dick. That is evidenced by all the posters crying for the return of Gruden….
Winning will fill the seats back up and winning is what the Bucs will do once they get the final pieces in place.
December 29th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
I agree with Traew. I would think Gruden makes over $4 million a year for MNF. At least $2.5 million the Glazers haven’t been forking over $5 million a year, ridicoulous you can’t double dip.
So lets say Jaws was fired from MNF and the Bucs hired him.. MNF is going to pay his full salary?
December 29th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Head Coach contracts are guaranteed guys. Chucky isn’t double dipping. He is getting paid by the Glazers and ESPN for two entirely different occupations.
December 29th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
The main reason it went from 50,000 in 10 to 57,000 in 11 was the free money (actually our deposits) they offered to previous season ticket holders to return.
Although 10-6 didn’t hurt.
And even that was botched as sometimes the cards worked, sometimes they didn’t, they had some unique accounting in dividing up what you could spend on food vs merchandise, sometimes without asking the ticket holder. Like the food vendors at the stadium the whole stadium card (the money they offered) was a constant headeache and a all season long work in progress.
And the gift shops LOL somedays had only two sizes XXL and small for both women and mens stuff.
They ran out of souviner cups at the ring of honor game??? and it wasn’t that well attended.
They aren’t offering that $ this year so just watch what happens. I went to the effort to cancel my credit card they had on file so as not to be mugged by them at their convience. I may get my tickets but I’m not planning on it yet.