“Everyone Gets Yelled At”
May 28th, 2014
Bucs defensive line coach Joe Cullen has a new fan
The biggest prerequisite for a Lovie Smith assistant coach is to be an astute, effective teacher of the game.
Teaching is No. 1 on Lovie’s list. But Lovie does not seek quiet clones of himself.
A majority of Bucs coaches, however, seem to take on that subdued Lovie way. Watching practice, one might not even know Hardy Nickerson and Leslie Frazier are employed by Tampa Bay.
But there are loud, animated voices on the Bucs’ staff. Joe’s already told you about cornerbacks coach Gil Byrd. Defensive line coach Joe Cullen is another standout for his stereotypical football coach kind of demeanor. He’s loud, with a unique voice and a piercing New England accent. And he gets after it.
Joe spoke 1-on-1 with Gerald McCoy about Cullen yesterday. McCoy said Cullen stands out for his no-favorites, no-preferential-treatment approach.
“Everyone gets yelled at, and it’s not in a negative way really,” McCoy said. “Coach Cullen told us, ‘Your best friend in this profession is the one who gets the best out of you.’ And he’s committed to doing that for each guy. No favorites.
“He told us he wants everyone to have a career year, including himself. And you see that every day.”
Cullen is a Rod Marinelli disciple, working under Marinelli in Detroit. Lovie, of course, is close friend of Marinelli, who recently took over as Cowboys defensive coordinator.
McCoy, amazingly, is on his sixth defensive line coach in just his fifth season. Before Cullen were Todd Wash, Keith Millard, Grady Stretz, Bryan Cox and Randy Melvin.
Yesterday, McCoy talked about how Warren Sapp keeps reminding him about the hard work he’ll need to put in to perfect his role in Lovie’s Tampa-2 defense. Joe hopes Cullen is a steady voice for McCoy for years to come.
May 28th, 2014 at 10:18 am
Pablp likes Cullen, but Pablo wished we kept Bryan Cox.
May 28th, 2014 at 10:22 am
I wish pablo could spell his name.
May 28th, 2014 at 10:27 am
Harry thinks we should have one day, or even one post, where all posts are spoken in the 3rd person. However, we do need to spell our own name correctly, right Pablp? lol
May 28th, 2014 at 10:28 am
Pablo is living the thug life, so Pablo doesn’t have time to proof read.
May 28th, 2014 at 10:28 am
Watching Bowers play must make his blood boil
May 28th, 2014 at 10:33 am
It is impossible for us fans to know whom the coaches and players will relate to. I have said many
times that I was not overly impressed with the Schiano staff..from what we got from the media and saw as results. My initial impression is that the “D” staff of Lovie is excellent…Let’s hope the “O” staff proves they are great also….IF so a SB is there in the near future for us!!!!
May 28th, 2014 at 10:43 am
Pablo do you have “thug life” tattooed on your stomach like a wannabe Mexican 2pac lol. Jk. Just had to poke some fun. I actually like reading your posts because they always make me laugh with your third person written comments. As far as the bucs go,I feel that our defense will be a force to recon with. Last year that thought the Seahawks were fierce wait till they see what the bucs will do this year. I’m not so worried about the qb situation becAuse even having an average qb can win with a dominant defense. We will be in the playoffs this year. I predict at least a 10-6 season. gO BuCS !!!!
May 28th, 2014 at 10:45 am
If you’re going to speak in 3rd person like Joe, at least spell your name correctly Pablo
May 28th, 2014 at 11:07 am
@ pablo
I also enjoy your posts…but it seems you are almost always negative of “hedging” your bet….like this one….
“Pablo likes Cullen, but Pablo wished we kept Bryan Cox”
May 28th, 2014 at 11:09 am
It’s a damned shame the majority of comments so far are addressed to Pablo and not the article.
The lack of continuity in coaches can’t be helping any of our linemen. We need an effective coach to stick around for a while. While I’m not sold that Cullen is the best coach out there (sack stats in Chicago weren’t outstanding by any stretch), I hope Cullen has gotten better and stepped up his knowledge and understanding of how to get the best out of this group. Who can say what we have on the roster in terms of quality? They’ve never really been unleashed!
May 28th, 2014 at 11:19 am
Love that picture of cullen. Dude is high energy
May 28th, 2014 at 12:17 pm
Too bad it’s not a picture of Pablo.
May 28th, 2014 at 12:53 pm
Good one, Pablo. I bet you are living the thug life, you know, checking JoeBucsFan.com constantly for updates and blogging…. He is a blogging thug.
May 28th, 2014 at 1:08 pm
Pablo shouldn’t refer to Pablo in the third person especially while living the thug life, Pablo makes Pablo sound like a computer geek.
May 28th, 2014 at 1:36 pm
That guy looks agitated.
May 28th, 2014 at 1:59 pm
A career year for everyone. Man, that sounds good.
May 28th, 2014 at 2:05 pm
Louis Friend Says
“We need an effective coach to stick around for a while.”
I have to agree. I understand the release of Morris. The locker room had no discipline.
With Schiano, we went through a REALLY bad year. The owners could have supported him thru it and kept him another year. By not doing so, they sent a message that they would not be patient.
With Lovie, who spent 9 years coaching the Bears, they have to stick with him for at least 5 years. The players need continuity. The fans need continuity.
I’m sure halfway thru the season we’ll see some people screaming for Lovie’s head. We always do. But I think it will take more than one off season to complete this team.
Hopefully, the defense will be fantastic this year. Though, if Michael Johnson is injured it would throw everything off.
May 28th, 2014 at 2:06 pm
Tampabaybucfan Says
“Pablo likes Cullen, but Pablo wished we kept Bryan Cox”
To be fair, Bryan Cox was pretty good.
May 28th, 2014 at 2:11 pm
Next year it will be his 7th defensive line coach in 6 seasons when Marinelli is rehired here in Bucland.
May 28th, 2014 at 3:48 pm
Pablo, you are amazing. Somehow you are always the first commenter. One would think the only way that could happen is if Pablo were also the author of the article…. wait a sec
May 29th, 2014 at 12:29 am
P-A-B-L-O-W. See it’s easy. Although Davy Jones also finds Pablo amusing.
It’s amazing that McCoy has become the leagues best DT, with that kind of instability.
Makes you wonder what effect it has had on Clayborn and Bowers.
Something for their critics to ponder . . .
Captain Jones believes it has been detrimental to ALL of our young players!
May 29th, 2014 at 10:12 pm
Martinelli was the best line coach the Bucs have had ever and he endorsed Cullen for this job. Cullen was not DL Coach with the the Bears. I expect real big things from Cullen this year.
May 29th, 2014 at 10:13 pm
Martinelli was the best line coach the Bucs have had ever and he endorsed Cullen for this job. Cullen was not DL Coach with the the Bears. I expect real big things from Cullen this year. Love his approach disclosed here by Joe