“Not Factually Based”
January 12th, 2015
So what’s the latest on Rod Marinelli coming back to Tampa?
If you missed it, there were multiple reports yesterday claiming Marinelli will be on the move to re-join his great friend Lovie Smith and assume the Tampa Bay defensive coordinator position.
Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud, speaking on WDAE-AM 620 this morning, said he talked to Lovie yesterday and the head coach said the report is “not factually based.” Stroud also penned a piece on TampaBay.com that shared similar language, though the website keeps asking Joe to pay to read that story. The nerve!
NFL Network super insider Ian Rapoport pointed out yesterday that Marinelli remains under contract in Dallas for about another week, and there’s no sign that the Cowboys will let him talk to the Bucs before then.
Joe has been skeptical for several days about Marinelli joining Lovie in Tampa. Sure, Marinelli may want to come in theory. But Jerry Jones isn’t dumb enough to let Marinelli walk without offering him a pile of money to stay. Marinelli did a heck of a job with the Dallas defense.
Would Team Glazer match Jones’ offer? Does Marinelli care about making an extra million bucks, potentially, if he stayed in Dallas? Is Marinelli eager to live in his Gulf Boulevard condo in Redington Shores?
One also has to wonder whether Marinelli could emerge as a head coaching candidate now that the Cowboys’ season has ended. Joe can only imagine how a fiery competitor like Marinelli would be eager to erase the 0-16 taste from his mouth — and legacy.
Joe just doesn’t think Marinelli is a slam dunk to return to Tampa. It might very well happen, but money and opportunity have a funny way of altering plans.
January 12th, 2015 at 9:30 am
Lovie would know, because nothing he says is factually based either….
January 12th, 2015 at 9:32 am
What ….are the Bucs becoming the coaching retirement 1/2 way house ???
January 12th, 2015 at 9:34 am
not sure why rod would want to come to tampa, but would welcome him.
January 12th, 2015 at 9:39 am
Mariota!
January 12th, 2015 at 9:42 am
J Moné Says:
Mariota!
__________________________________________
Wrong side of the ball.
January 12th, 2015 at 9:51 am
LOL @ BoJim!!!
Some people have one track minds.
January 12th, 2015 at 9:54 am
The only reason the Bucs are saying no contact has been made is because that would be tampering. Marinelli is your new DC as of January 19th.
January 12th, 2015 at 10:01 am
Tough to imagine….with Lovie’s blind loyalty, how would be break the news to his pal Leslie Frazier…..
Looking back at this entire ongoing mess, you can point to two major events that would have changed the face of this defense…
First, how much better would things be if Michael Bennett had been here…
Second and even bigger, Mark Dominik passing on Luke Kuechly and taking the dreadful Mark Barron.
Not sure there’s a team right now that made two mistakes that were THAT BIG, THAT HORRIBLE, THAT DISABLING!!!
Simple as that………
January 12th, 2015 at 10:06 am
All excellent points Joe! It’s no slam dunk but IMHO an outside possibility
I just don’t know how they would divide the egos. Could be awesome having such a brain trust. Then again it could be to many chefs spoiling the soup.
I’m comfortable with Frazier. I look at him like I do Lovie. Solid DC skills questionable HC skills.
One thing I do think Marinelli could bring is a little fire in the approach. Both Lovie and Frazier are pretty laid back and Koetter seems pretty mellow as well. Marinelli’s fire might be a nice counterbalance.
January 12th, 2015 at 10:13 am
Someone told me all this is just a way for Marinelli to get more money out of Jerry Jones, when he renews his contract.
January 12th, 2015 at 10:22 am
if money has even the least bit to do with it, Jerry Jones will make it happen. he’d have to be pretty unhappy in Dallas to make a lateral move to a less successful team.
January 12th, 2015 at 10:28 am
Lovie double speak says: “Were always looking for coaching that can help make our team better”. “But were not looking at any coaches at this time”.
January 12th, 2015 at 10:47 am
1. If Jones can offer him a pile of money to stay, why didn’t he wrap him up with a new deal rather than letting his current one expire?
2. If the Bucs weren’t given permission to talk to Marinelli last year, they probably still don’t have it until his contract officially expires. So of course Lovie is going to say there’s nothing to this report. Otherwise Jones can raise all kinds of holy hell about inappropriate contact.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:00 am
this whole leaked story might be so marinelli can get a raise from jerry jones and the cowboys.
lovie can not confirm the story because marinelli is under contract another week. lovie cannot speak to him until then.
sounds like marinelli’s agent could be trying to get more money from jerry jones by starting a rumor.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:01 am
1. Marinelli has said publicly that he has ZERO desire to be a HC again.
2. Marinelli values relationships more than money
3. One has to believe that Frazier was given the skinny when he was hired…Marinelli was always Lovie’s first choice.
4. It is pretty well documented how close Lovie and Rod are…one would be a fool to think they have not discussed…even if it were just casual conversation.
Who knows if Marinelli will return to Tampa, but I am all for it! Sapp has said several times that Rod was the straw that stirred the drink known as the Tampa D under Monte…and Monte got all of the credit.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:02 am
I discount the factor of $$$ in this decision. Marinelli is 65 and has made millions and millions in this league already. How much more money does he need.
The kind of numbers we simply toss around these days in sports is mind boggling. If a guy is worth ten million dollars and can earn 750,000 in one place or 1,000,000 in another is 250,000 going to make that much difference in the person’s life…NO! Because money makes money. If you’ve been earning in the millions or close to it for more than a decade and invested at all you’re set for life!
Gekko said greed is good. Some people actually have a far better value system.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:07 am
SoonerinTampa Says:
January 12th, 2015 at 11:01 am
1. Marinelli has said publicly that he has ZERO desire to be a HC again.
2. Marinelli values relationships more than money
3. One has to believe that Frazier was given the skinny when he was hired…Marinelli was always Lovie’s first choice.
4. It is pretty well documented how close Lovie and Rod are…one would be a fool to think they have not discussed…even if it were just casual conversation.
Who knows if Marinelli will return to Tampa, but I am all for it! Sapp has said several times that Rod was the straw that stirred the drink known as the Tampa D under Monte…and Monte got all of the credit.
——
This and especially #3. There is no doubt that Lovie told him his #1 choice was Rod and that when/if Rod became available, he would likely go after him.
This all doesn’t mean Rod will be the de facto defensive coordinator. He may end up with a role like Assistant Head Coach or something like that. I’m all for it, the better coaching we have, the better we’ll be. I remember Dungy and Gruden’s staffs constantly getting raided and then not always being able to replace the guys with quality coaches.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:09 am
StPeteBucsFan Says:
January 12th, 2015 at 11:02 am
I discount the factor of $$$ in this decision. Marinelli is 65 and has made millions and millions in this league already. How much more money does he need.
The kind of numbers we simply toss around these days in sports is mind boggling. If a guy is worth ten million dollars and can earn 750,000 in one place or 1,000,000 in another is 250,000 going to make that much difference in the person’s life…NO! Because money makes money. If you’ve been earning in the millions or close to it for more than a decade and invested at all you’re set for life!
Gekko said greed is good. Some people actually have a far better value system.
———–
Also, no state tax in Florida… has to be worth quite a bit of $$$ when considering options.
Also, there is no place like home. I live in DC but I WANT to live in Florida. If I quit teaching here in Virginia and get a job on the Gulf Coast, I’ll be taking a $10-15K pay cut…and it will be worth it. Home is where your heart is. Maybe Rod just wants to come home.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:16 am
Tom Edrington Says
“Tough to imagine….with Lovie’s blind loyalty, how would be break the news to his pal Leslie Frazier…..”
He wouldn’t have to if Rod caim in as Assistant Head Coach instead, and he could still oversee the defense for Lovie.
So we could well end up with both Frazier AND Marinelli.
Question, if that is the case, would it still be tampering to contact him now? It would be a promotion, or would that not matter?
Anyway, Lovie will not admit to anything at this point, even if he and Rod have been talking about it since last year.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:18 am
@Brandon
I don’t think there is a state tax in Texas either.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:37 am
No one wants to get in trouble for tampering.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:37 am
Correct, no state income tax in TX.
January 12th, 2015 at 11:44 am
Marinelli was an Assistant HC here his last few years AND we had Kiffin as DC
January 12th, 2015 at 11:53 am
dying for bucs news already? guess anything can be reported about tampa because offseason is much more exciting that regular season. i’ll take it all with a grain of salt this offseason especially since most people just guess something is gonna happen and wants to put it out there just in case they are correct
January 12th, 2015 at 12:31 pm
I will go with Peter King’s prediction over Joe’s.
King says Rod will be a Buc!!
January 12th, 2015 at 1:22 pm
Ok Joe, the head coaching part is a bit far-fetched, as the 0-16 season was enough to scare teams off forever that would want him as a head coach. What adds validity to him becoming DC here is that per Mike Florio, Marinelli informed the Dallas brass that he will not be returning to the team and that most likely he will wind up in Tampa. Jones can offer all the money he wants, but face it if Marinelli clearly doesn’t want to be there no amount of money he offers will suffice. Marinelli is what? 65? I’m sure he is more than content finishing off his coaching career with his good buddy Lovie Smith in a city where he has many connections (Tampa). To me all the sign point to this being exactly that (a slam dunk).
January 12th, 2015 at 1:28 pm
Oh and of course Lovie can’t just come out and say yeah I spoke with Marinelli and yeah we talked about him becoming DC here. I am pretty sure if he did come out and say that it would violate league tampering rules, so of course Lovie would deny any reports.
January 12th, 2015 at 1:37 pm
The good news is he still has a condo in Redington. Hell it’s probably paid for so he won’t even have to make mortgage payments to live here.
January 12th, 2015 at 3:23 pm
One word
“Tampering”
That is all.
Why you insist on being wrong about this.
I’ll never know.
January 12th, 2015 at 3:53 pm
Based on what Jason Garrett said this morning, it sounds to me as if Jones is going to make a run at keeping Marinelli in Dallas. Having said that, Jones also said a few weeks ago: “There will be coaching changes this off-season”.
No doubt I think Marinelli would like to return to Tampa, but there are a lot of “if’s”; and I don’t think the Glazers will get into a bidding war for Marinelli’s return. Frazer? It’s also hard for me to envision both Marinelli and Frazer somehow co-existing. I guess it could happen as some have speculated above, but this could in fact be the proverbial “Too Many Chef’s In The Kitchen” scenario….
January 12th, 2015 at 3:55 pm
(And my two cents: I’d love to see Marinelli return!)
January 12th, 2015 at 4:18 pm
He can throw the fattest check in the world at him.
It’s nothing the Glazers can’t match not to mention being Lovie’s brother trumps all of that.
January 13th, 2015 at 1:54 am
I don’t want to be trivial, but why would JOE give out Marinelli’s residents like that! That’s no ones Business. Sometimes I really wonder if JOE is an actual journalist or super fan. Some of the stuff that they say and do are kind of ranked & rookiesh! I guess I’m use to celebrities being that I live in California. But it would be great to have Marinelli back home in Tampa!!!
Sir, do you have any idea how many condos are on Gulf Boulevard? Second, ever read a big newspaper and read about where someone lives? Of course, So and so lives Park Ave. in Manhattan, so and so has a waterfront home in Malibu, etc. Let’s not be silly. Joe didn’t give out his address. –Joe