Look For An Offensive Coach
December 15th, 2011
BSPN's John Clayton has had some curious things to say about embattled Bucs coach Raheem Morris lately.
Now Joe is aware that embattled Bucs coach Raheem Morris is still in the head coaching chair at One Buc Palace, and as far as anyone knows, he could still be at the helm when OTAs roll around next spring.
So it may be jumping the gun to predict who will next coach the Bucs because there is no vacancy. That hasn’t stopped “The Professor,” John Clayton of BSPN. In a question-and-answer format on the four-letter’s website, Clayton believes the next Bucs coach will be an offensive coach.
Q: Regarding the Bucs, I’m wondering about their coaching situation. Raheem Morris has one year left on his contract. He needs assistants to fix the defense but no one will come for a one-year stint with a lame-duck coach. So what should the Bucs do?
Eric in Paris
A: The way it’s going, I don’t know whether Morris will make it to the end of the regular season. The team looks lost. I think the Buccaneers will look for an offensive coach, then try to fix the defense with a veteran coordinator. I’m wondering whether former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman would be in the mix. The next coach in Tampa needs to be a disciplinarian. Because the Bucs have a great, young quarterback (Josh Freeman), it would be nice to have an offensive-minded head coach.
Not sure how many people noticed this last night, but Clayton, while appearing on BSPN’s “The Insiders,” suggested Morris was going to be fired Monday but was spared the guillotineĀ because without a head coach and a defensive coordinator, the Bucs wouldn’t have enough coaches.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:15 am
Like we have a Head Coach now? Heck, make the Quality Control coach the Interim HC until the season ends. Oh, we did that 3 years ago! Who cares whether we have an HC/DC for these last losses. At minimum, firing Raheem now would show that the Glazers care what Bucs fans think.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:18 am
So glad to know that the Glazers actually are embarrassed by how bad this coach is but dont have an option for an interim coach.
I would go to the game if Rah doesnt to see a team
Freed from its baggage.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:33 am
Now watch the Bucs go and beat the Cowboys Saturday, LOL
December 15th, 2011 at 9:34 am
The WHOLE COUNTRY will see just how embarrassingly bad our team is on Satruday night….LMAO!
December 15th, 2011 at 9:37 am
I think Raheem as a HC is offensive enough, thank you.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:37 am
I agree we need to hire an offensive minded head coach. This is supposed to be all about 5 which makes it more surprising we hire an OC that wasn’t ever one. Another Dominic blunder to go along with him not drafting (being he’s allergic to FA) any weapons for Free to use. I also think Derrick Brooks needs to hired in some capacity (linebackers coach).
December 15th, 2011 at 9:48 am
Whatever happened to integrity in journalism where you did investigative research and gave sources to validate what you said or printed? I’m fine with what Clayton said, but is that his opinion or is this according to Buc sources? And regarding Mike Sherman – I can’t speak to his qualifications, but I do know his record – Fired from Green Bay, and more recently fired from Texas A&M. What redeeming value would he bring to a struggling NFL team? Maybe Clayton is dead-on regarding Morris, otherwise I would expect a clarification around noon given the impact this could have on player morale going into the Dallas game!
December 15th, 2011 at 9:52 am
take this for what its worth….my BFF knows Mrs. Greg Olson and she told him Monday Olie and Morris were already told they would be gone at the end of the year. Discuss.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:52 am
Dead man walking.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:04 am
I like raheem and have always been a supporter. but whether or not he knows his “Xs” and Os”…he has lost control and the wheels have come off. He has to go. With a team this young, we need a disciplinarian. I would love to see someonw with a Bill Parcels/Jimmy Johnson style of leadership…FEAR
December 15th, 2011 at 10:05 am
The kindest thing the Glazers could do for Morris right now is release him and let him go be a defensive coordinator somewhere, get the experience that he should have got in the first place. By that I mean some actual structured knowledge, not just floundering around like he has done for the last three years. If he is lucky he might be able to pick up a job under his buddy Tomlin working with Dick Lebeau.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:11 am
@below me: Well, my barber’s gardener’s sister said that isn’t the case.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:22 am
I agree. Morris is gone, but no sense in firing him now with nobody to step up as interim. Since both Olsen and Morris are to be fired anyway, might as well let them finish out the final three games. They may be motivated to give their best to show their next potential employers how they handled the adversity of being lame ducks…..I don’t know. This off season just better be full of positive changes.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:26 am
Can we stop the talk about Mike Sherman? That guy just flat out stinks……was just fired for cripes sake and this is the answer?
Raheem Morris > Mike Sherman
December 15th, 2011 at 10:31 am
Two different former employee’s of the organization that still have ties to the team have told me that Raheem’s done. Of course no one really knows how accurate anything is, but they’ve been right before. According to them Morris would have been gone the moment he left the field at Jacksonville if they had Anyone at all to run the show. I guess the owners are as embarrassed as the fans and changes will surely be made after the Falcon’s game.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:38 am
This all seems so familiar. Cheapskate owner fires big name expensive coach. He has time left on his contract so he hires cheapest option, existing position coach. Things just get worse and team becomes a laughing stock.
Let me know when Sam Wyche gets here.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:46 am
QUESTION:
If the Bucs kept Raheem Morris On but:
1) Fired Olsen
2) Hired Norv Turner in his place (rumors he’ll be fired as HC)
3) Hired Herm Edwards as DC
Would that satisfy some people?
Herm was a horrid head coach in my opinion, but he was a solid defensive teacher. There was a time that he was considered a possible replacement for Monte years ago (when there were unfounded rumors that Monte was going to retire).
Turner has also failed a number of times as a head coach. But he has always flourished as an OC…which led to additional offers to be a head coach.
Just tossing the scenario out there. I know Thomas would never agree, but he’s a make-believe fan anyway. The moment we get a new coach, he’ll find a reason to complain.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:56 am
no one will see how bad the team and freeman are. the game is on the nfl network.
December 15th, 2011 at 11:07 am
As to this article…I think Clayton has been reading the various message boards. It seems the GB OC is a popular option amongst fans.
And he obviously agrees with me (nudge nudge) that firing Morris before the end of the season is a bad idea.
Imagine that…according to Thomas, I have no football knowledge…and yet I am proven right again.
While Thomas claims he would “buy a ticket even if we didn’t have a interim HC if Raheem were fired” when we all know he isn’t actually a Tampa fan and would never buy a ticket.
December 15th, 2011 at 11:19 am
Jettison Raheem and his joke of a staff, bring in Chuck Pagano (DC with the Ravens) give our Defense a nasty attitude like the Ravens have.
Bring in Norv as the OC…Herm as the DC and lets do the damn thing.
December 15th, 2011 at 11:29 am
Good points sooner in Tampa I have called for herm Edwards since last year . He gave Raheem his first job and coached in Tampa. Sad thing is I think it is to too late for rah. I think the packers QB coach can’t remember his name , panthers off cord who has flordia ties if Perry fewell
December 15th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Rolls eyes…yeah good mention on edwards š
December 15th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Phat Tuna time
December 15th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Mike Sherman yea right? Then I would really be pissed off. He sucks and his players hate him more then Tom Coughlin. He didn’t do anything in Green Bay and didnt do anything at Texas A&M. I would be really disgusted if they hired this slob. Sorry but Id rather just keep morris.
Raheem > Mike Sherman
December 15th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
I’m predicting that the Bucs play inspired ball these last three games and Rah keeps his job for another year with new coordinators on both sides of the ball. If they DON’T play inspired ball then I will be on the fire Rah bandwagon too because the players know what’s on the line and if they don’t step up then we need a HC who will MAKE them step up or sit on the bench. I don’t expect them to win all three games but I expect them to beat Carolina and I expect them to be competitive against Dallas and Atlanta. I want to see them play the way they played Green Bay.
December 15th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
I see a 35-14 shellacking this weekend against the Cowboys. Hopefully Morris will be fired Monday or Tuesday and we can get to moving forward on finding a worthwhile head coach and revamped coaching staff.
There’s no need to wait ’till season’s end. Olson has head coach experience and can call plays, and Lake has been groomed as a potential DC for a while so he knows how to call the defense. It can’t be any worse than Raheem’s defense, now can it? There’s no compelling reason why Raheem needs to stay if this weekend’s game is another embarrassment.
And I disagree with Clayton. The new coach doesn’t have to be an offensive minded coach. They could do the opposite and hire a defensive coach (say Gregg Williams, for example, or Mike Zimmer or someone like that) and then hire a veteran OC such as a guy like Norv Turner, who has excellent experience working with QB’s. Those are just examples…not my personal preferences necessarily.
Let’s get this show on the road already. To heck with the fans who are scared of change. Get ‘er done.
December 15th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
*correction: Olson doesn’t have head coach experience…not sure where that came from. I meant to say he can serve as interim coach and call plays.
December 15th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
I disagree with the premise that we need an “offensive coach.”
We’re in the division with three other hot-hand QBs and two teams with high power, high tempo offenses. And Matt Ryan.
We need to get back to what we did best– DEFENSE. Remember that? It’s where all our hall of famers are from and won us a Super Bowl.
We need a Defensive minded coach– just a better one than Raheem– and we need a good OC.
December 15th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
I agree D, a defensive minded coach would be awesome, along with a nice, proven coordinator. If (when) we get spanked and embarrassed Saturday night, I think Raheem is gone Monday. In front of the entire country, there’s just no way he can stay. What’s interesting is if we BEAT the Cowboys. What happens then?
December 15th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Why the hell does everyone hate Mike Sherman so much? He was pretty successful back in Green Bay.
2000: 9-7
2001: 12-4
2002: 12-4
2003: 10-6
2004: 10-6
2005: 4-12 (his only bad season)
That seems like a damn nice tenure to me. So what if he got fired? It was over one bad season.
I know he got fired at Texas A&M, but Sherman actually had some pretty exciting offenses while he was there. The Aggies were a fun team to watch but their defense and the close last minute losses were the reason they disappointed this year.
Even at