Anyone that thinks Gruden should go in first – it just tells me they’re a bandwagon rider who jumped on board when the Bucs won the SB – or they’re too young to actually know anything about the history of the team. It’s ridiculous anyone would think Gruden, a man who destroyed what should have been a dynasty, should get any honors from this franchise before Dungy, absolutely ridiculous.
Hopefully Dungy was offered this honor first and simply had a scheduling issue so the Bucs moved on to the next person on the list.
Agree with Mr. Munch. Gruden fired them up for a season, but also administered the slow descent into irrelevance. In Gruden’s years he only drafted one player elected to the Pro Bowl with the Bucs (Davin Joseph.) That isn’t a formula for success. After running off Rich McKay who drafted Sapp and Brooks in the same draft, Gruden’s legacy doesn’t seem so elite.
As a longtime fan from day one in 1976, and the initial losing that followed. There was a brief rise based on great defense with a strong armed, determined QB that was Doug Williams where Sports Illustrated said from worst to first after a 4-0 start. Hugh Culverhouse let Williams go over a dispute over 400k. The Bucs again went into a down slide for what was many, many years. Along came the hiring of Tony Dungy, between Dungy and great draft picks by Rich McKay the culture of losing was turned around.
Dungy lost his job because of loyalty to his assistant coaches, primarily the offensive coordinator. The franchise had turned the corner, was ripe for winning and along came Gruden who aquired a few offensive weapons Jervisious comes to mind and the Bucs win a Super Bowl. I think it is fair to say that Dungy and McKay deserve the brunt of the credit for turning things around and Gruden put them over the top. I say all three deserve the limelight for our super bowl win.
The people have spoken!!!!! I guess that is the reason the Head Coach Gruden has statue at 1 Buc!!!!!!!!!!!
The window was closing, the bills were due!!! It was the right decision to can dungy and bring in a Head Coach that could get the most out of both sides of the Ball and take this team further that it has ever gone before it was too late!!!!
Without Head Coach Gruden’s Superbowl win, does Sapp and Brooks get in the hall on the first ballot!!!! Bucs fans owe a lot to Head Coach Gruden!!!!!
Thank you Sir for bringing the ultimate win to Tampa Bay!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dungy had 6 years and could not get it done with “his players”. So it took someone else to accomplish it and the cry babies want to cry about a Super Bowl? Most of us thought we would never see that with this joke of a franchise. And guarantee a lot of us feel we may never see it again.
Rob Munch I think that’s an unfair statement. Both coach’s deserve to get in and I think it’s a good debate as to which goes first. Personally I think Gruden should go first and I don’t think that makes me a bandwagon can……..At the end of the day IMO, it’s about resumes. And Gruden has a huge star on his under the Championship column. Don’t forget Dungy did get fired for a reason. You can’t deny the fact that Tony could not deliver come playoff time in Tampa Bay.
Let’s not forget what the ultimate goal is in football. Tony did a heck of a lot for this city and franchise, heck he did a lot for the game. But he could not get this town a ring. I can’t blame the Bucs for choosing to honor our championship players and coaches first while others have to wait.
The bottom line is: It don’t take much to get into the Bucs Ring Of Honor. After all we are talking about a franchise with an All-Time record of 250-393-1. A 36% career winning percentage over 40 years. 12 winning seasons in 40 years, I see why fans of other teams take our fans for a joke. This Franchise is PATHETIC and the ROH is even more PATHETIC.
Lakeland why is the ROH pathetic? Specifically which member of the ROH is pathetic?
I’m calling total BS on you bro about the ROH. The fanbase being pathetic………well there are a few posters on this site that kinda proove you right on that one.
you might be right!!!! But when they show the video of Head Coach Gruden and Mr Glazer holding the SuperBowl trophy, you know that is something no one can take away from the Bucs!!!!! It was no joke then!!!!!!!! They bested everyone and were World Champions that year!!!!!!! That is why the decision to put in Head Coach Gruden and Mr Glazer was the white,,,,,,,,errrrr ah ah I meant the “right” decision!!!!!!!!!
Let’s not forget Sam Wyche started the turn around by drafting players like Brooks and Sapp. And for the love of god can we get James Wilder in the ring already.
Munch
Or none of the above. My opinion is they own the team…yes own…they can put in whoever they want first. Some of us were here from the beginning. N yes it was mostly guys left over from dungys team. But gruden won it. And dont forget some guys were left over for dungy from wyche. Go bucs
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — An ordinary day for the New York Jets — Day 4 of OTA practices — was another winning day for Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
His 129th day without alcohol.
In an interview with ESPN, the veteran tight end admitted Tuesday he sought help after the season for a drinking problem that led to a DUI arrest last September. Seferian-Jenkins said he stopped drinking Jan. 21 and attended rehab four times a week on an outpatient basis.
“Even since I stopped drinking, it’s been a transformation,” Seferian-Jenkins, 24, said. “It really has changed my life. I just try to win one day at a time. I’ve won 129 days and I’m going to continue to win however many more days. It’s been a blessing.”
I respect Coach Dungy. I’m not really that involved in the debate who should go in first…Chucky or Dungy.
Wyche is the one who keeps getting left out here. If Chucky used “Dungy’s players” then they both used Sam Wyche whose final draft built the core of that SB defense.
Does anybody really believe Father Tony would have taken the chance Wyche did on “pothead” Warren Sapp. We know Dungy sat Wyche’s experiment at safety…John Lynch in favor of one of Tony’s guys from KC. Luckily that guy got hurt and the rest with Lynch is history.
Brooks, Sapp and Lynch were Wyche players. Would that D have been the same without them?
Why do people always say it was mostly Dungy’s team that won the Super Bowl? Gruden brought in: Dilger, Dudley, Pittman, Jurevicious, McCardell 2 or 3 offensive lineman (starters). Everyone Gruden brought in was an upgrade except for Pittman who replace Warrick Dunn. It was Gruden’s team that won the Super Bowl. Besides, Dumgy didn’t draft Sapp, Brooks or Lynch..
@WillieG
You forgot Brad Johnson. And you will figure out a lot of these people are looking at the core defense. Which was run by Monte. But Dungy still could not win with any of them or Monte. None of the teams were the same from Wyche on down. Only some starters.
any fool who thinks dungy belongs in the ring of honor or hall of fame is the same low standard loser who would throw a parade for a Wild Card Banner in Baseball… low standards. Dungy is a ignorant stubborn one dimensional clown with a career losing playoff record
Grudens team won the Super Bowl. Tony’s team year after year missed the playoffs or were eliminated…. no Gruden no Super Bowl. Tony cost us a super bowl or 2 . Had one or the best defenses in NFL history and did nothing with it! And how bad has this team sucked since they fired Gruden……
Dungy and his play run the ball and play defense cost as stated above the bucs and dungy a shot at might have been a patrotseque at most or possibly a bills super bowl run… gruden steps in with only one offensive stud and lets monte be monte and BOOM….sam wyche and rich mckay have their prints on the dungy era too
Gruden did what Tony failed to do year after year, put an offense on the field good enough to complement a Great defense… he inherited 3 hall of famers , thank Sam not Tony.
Tmax you don’t know a thing about Buccaneers football. If you’re still mad that Tony couldn’t get us over the hump that’s quite silly but at least valid. But you have no respect that Tony built us a defense that carried us to a Championship. You are completely clueless and as always the most ignorant fan who comments here.
Neither should be in the ring. They were both fired. Both built half a team. Dungy couldn’t get the Bucs over the top while Gruden couldn’t keep them there. Maybe after all the deserving players have entered the ring i’ll changer my mind. Until then neither belong.
Question… say the Cowboys lose in the first round again and Garrett is fired any Jerry with all his $$$ brings Gruden out of the both and He wins the Super Bowl the following year……. is he a great coach OR did he win it with Garretts team ???? Only in Tampa can the one coach who won us a Super Bowl be so hated. Did Tony win his with Moras team he didn’t draft Manning or Harrison
Again I respect both Chucky and Dungy but it’s not like the Bucs have ever had a Parcells, or Jimmy Johnson, or…..I could go on. These two guys were good coaches but there have been plenty better.
And so now that I’ve hacked everybody off let me finish with an outrageous claim.
I think #3 is on track to become truly great at his position…far better than either Chucky or Dungy were as coaches….and I think Koetter is going to do the same thing. I think we may have multiple SB’s in the future and that Koetter and #3 set benchmarks that will not be exceeded in my lifetime.
That SB win is in the top 5 greatest moments of my life. I love Tony(not the Tampa one) like family and I witnessed what took place when he was hired. No it was not Wyche, or even Kiffen for that matter. Dungy turned the team around, and Kiffin helped. Dungy hired Kiffin.
Jon Gruden did not take Tony Dungy’s team to the SB when 1/2 of Dungy’s roster was let go when Gruden came in his first year.
26 new players on the 2002 roster. Many coaches have come in and changed cultures. Gruden won a Super Bowl. Fewer coaches have won Super Bowls because so many of them are multiple winners. It’s a more elite club. And another point people like to bring up in their Gruden vs Dungy debates is that Monday night comeback in 2003. Everyone would agree that Dungy’s best team was 1999. Someone could even make an argument that the 1999 defense was better than the 2002 defense. But what happened when Dungy’s team faced Gruden in 1999. 45-0 !!! That had to have been Gruden’s job interview in the eyes of Team Glazer.
Gruden should have never been fired. If he would have had a few more years he would have built an offense like the one in Oakland and gave us another two to four Super Bowl wins. Love Tony Dungy but GRUDEN brought the trophy here common sense thank God the most of you guys understand football and most important the Buccaneers and voted correctly! TAMPA aaaaaaaaa
1987 definitely top five and a buccaneer life. I think the Eagles championship game was just us greatest Super Bowl maybe greater. Tony Dungy never would have shut the vet down with a win and a trip to Super Bowl 37
When they signed Chucky I was in my car and heard it on the radio….
As I was headed back to NC from Florida. I went from bummed out about Dungy to hell freaking yeah we’re going to the Super Bowl. Some of us had to have known it. I certainly did. Ponied up close to 300 bucks for NFL ticket just to watch the Bucs from my living room in Raleigh. Selling point to my wife was…Jon Gruden and we’re going to the Super Bowl THIS season….Honey pleeease!!!
Jon Gruden made the misery go away….I don’t care if he set FIRE to RJS after doing so. That win still brings a slight tear to my eye after watching the DVD to this day!!!!
Jon Gruden huh? I think I’m going to get my banner ready then!
Tampa Bay. look up your history. To select gruden ahead of Dungy to me and a lot of Buc fans is..tryly..fake news! his..story of not…. I won’t go where you know I want to go….Dungy is as worthy and even more so to those of us who sit in those ole sombrero stands..yr after yr..loss after loss.. Dungy turned the Tampa Bay Bucs team..history around and then some. Its ok to put Gruden before Dungy for now..But don’t get it twisted..Real fans know..Dungy deserves induction even more so than Gruden. If you don’t thinks so? then you truly..do not know..or never followed..BUC history. But then again..the now thing is deny history and acknowledge..fake news..Right?
Rod Munch Says “Anyone that thinks Gruden should go in first – it just tells me they’re a bandwagon rider who jumped on board when the Bucs won the SB – or they’re too young to actually know anything about the history of the team.”
Now hold on a sec. I’m a franchise-long fan and I don’t really care which went in first, so long as both eventually do.
But I can see why Gruden got in first. While Tony turned this team around, Gruden did indeed get them their first superbowl victory. It makes sense that the most important results gets Gruden in first.
And while Dungy helped to build the team that won the Superbowl, it would not have happened without Gruden to complete the offense.
“…Gruden, a man who destroyed what should have been a dynasty…”
This is where history does indeed play a key role. If you recall, there was turmoil in the Bucs offices. Rich McKay leaned defense and did not want Gruden in the first place. It led to McKay leaving angry…to the point that he went directly to our division rival as a result.
In came Bruce Allen. But what you are forgetting is the state of the NFL in those days. The player walk-out was looming. The NFL owners saw it coming years before it happened. The media saw it coming. The fans saw it coming.
Around the time that Allen came in, the owners figured they were a couple years from the walk-out (which eventually got pushed back another two years). They will never admit to it because it was collusion, but as a whole, owners agreed to underspend on players in order to weaken their resolve once the walk-out happened. While the top played players would not be effected, the majority of players did not fit in that category. A couple teams actually broke the secret agreement, and they were later penalized for it by the league.
This was the period when the Bucs fans accused the owners of being cheap. And technically they were right. But there was strategy behind it. That league-wide plan worked, because players ended up suffering financially, causing many of them to take out high interest loans that did not last long enough. There had this thing called ‘walk-out’ insurance that they paid into before the walkout, and they were sold on it being enough to support them during their protest, but it fell completely short of doing that.
Anyway, as a result, Gruden and Allen were forced to plug holes with ‘C’ grade players…and they almost never do well enough to get far. ‘A’ and ‘B’ grade players are what teams need to succeed.
You say that Gruden tore the team apart? Then why have all of his players sworn by him outside of quarterbacks? They feel he was the best coach they ever worked with…even those who worked with Dungy.
And finally…and think about this…
…Bruce Allen was a GM who specialized in free agent acquisition. That’s how he was known for building his teams. He was never known for drafting well. So you had this guy that knew how to spend on talent…yet he was ordered by the owners NOT to spend. They essentially took away the thing he was best at (in his eyes).
It’s not an excuse, it’s just the nature of the beast at the time.
I personally would have preferred both Dungy and Gruden going in on the same year, but I also understand that if you could only do one at a time, then Gruden had to be the first choice. It just makes sense.
It doesn’t mean Dungy doesn’t deserve to be there too…it just means he will get there later.
Skipper Says
“Total Morons that don’t pay attention or understand the history of this franchise.”
Speaking of history…as I recall it, the things that led to Dungy being fired were valid.
First, he had strict loyalty to his coaches. While on the surface this would seem like a good thing, when it came to offensive coaches he fought to keep from replacing poorly performing ones.
Which is why he could not build an offense.
Secondly, he failed to find a franchise quarterback (so did Gruden; [art of the reason he was fired too).
And thirdly, Dungy made the playoffs multiple times, but always fell short (although one time I think he was robbed of a Superbowl trip by the refs).
Also, as I recall…nearly all the fans wanted him replaced. The uproar only arose when ESPN showed video of Tony loading his SUV at night in the rain. Great Drama…but it was Dungy who chose that time of day to do it. And it was Dungy who made sure the cameras were there to film it. Don’t believe me? Name one other time when any head coach is fired in the NFL and the media catches him packing up his things and leaving afterward.
It was staged by Dungy to garner sympathy. And it worked perfectly.
Dungy the clown was ONE DIMENSIONAL ONLY…. that is a universally accepted fact. Popularity does not equal greatness. Dungy the clown cost both tampa and indie superbowls because of his ignorance, stubbornness and inability to understand all three phases of football. His career losing playoff record renders him nothing more than an average to below average coach who is popular. popular does not equal greatness. it most cases it actually is reverse. Dungy is just another religious hypocrite fool who failed to get the job done who gets a free pass in the PC world we live in. He is barely the bucs 4th best coaches. Schiano had a much better football mind than dungy .
I’m getting close to leaving this site completely with all of your ignorant posts. I think considering you are a bucs fan and aware of the team and past, you are the dumbest person I’ve never actually met.
Tony Dungy is in the Hall of Fame and I can guarantee you it’s because he’s a great coach and not because he’s popular, no matter what you think. You’re throwing out foregone conclusions without any merit, they’re all opinions.
Joe, I can’t tell if this guy is ruining your site, or if he is making it more interesting just so we all have to repeat common sense back to tmax essentially making us more confident in our football/bucs IQ.
Now, now little Eric go ahead and take your ball and go home because you can’t handle anyone who disagrees with little Eric’s opinions. 2 playoff wins in six years is failure by any standard not greatness.. Dungy is a clown not a great coach.
I have yet to see one person on here that agrees with your posts. You are the dumbest person on this site. I’m not concerned with if you agree with it or not, I’m just simply stating the obvious here.
Dungy is in the Hall of Fame. To insinuate it was because he is popular is hilarious, really. I respect your opinion but holy s*** is it dumb.
Nobody is mentally weak in that regard including lvd and gmc. I know you’d like to believe you have a profound impact on strangers on the internet but like real life, nobody here cares here about your opinion. We pretty much laugh at your logic on a constant basis and trust us when we say if we address your ignorance, it’s not because we are offended.
Come on, you spend all day on the internet clowning a team that you apparently love, little man.
Glad to see your insult humor hasn’t improved either, carrot top.
@ Eric: do you really think Tony Dungy would have been voted into the HOF if he hadn’t had the fortune to coach teams that already had the following players on their rosters when he took the job:
Peyton Manning
Reggie Wayne
Edgerrin James
Marvin Harrison
Derrick Brooks
John Lynch
Warren Sapp
Hardy Nickerson
Paul Gruber
Tony Dungy may be a good coach and a nice guy, no doubt. But look at the young talent he inherited.
You’re absolutely right. He had help from his personnel, that’s not my point though. That statement could be made for a lot of coaches in the HOF. Some players too, considering they were dependent on others around them.
The guy is in the HOF. I’m not sure you understand how difficult the process of getting elected is. My only point is he’s a great coach and he’s not in the NFL’s most prestigious group because he was popular.
I don’t know… I’m still a little mad at them both. Dungy did a great job instilling confidence and winning atmosphere on team but didn’t hold whole team accountable and should’ve done more with what he had. Gruden did a great job of getting us over the hump but did his best to ruin the roster with terrible personnel decisions at every chance possible.
But you think he would have been in the HOF if he had only been in Indy those few years with Peyton…
NOPE. It’s the big picture and his accomplishments during his tenure. He coached up one of the best defenses in history, he turned our franchise around into consistently making the playoffs, and then won a super bowl.
AGAIN, YOU ARE NOT UNDERSTANDING MY F****** POINT. I SAID HE’S A GREAT COACH, WHICH HE IS, AND ALSO WHY HE IS IN THE HOF.
May 30th, 2017 at 7:12 pm
It was mostly Tony Dungy team..
May 30th, 2017 at 7:18 pm
Anyone that thinks Gruden should go in first – it just tells me they’re a bandwagon rider who jumped on board when the Bucs won the SB – or they’re too young to actually know anything about the history of the team. It’s ridiculous anyone would think Gruden, a man who destroyed what should have been a dynasty, should get any honors from this franchise before Dungy, absolutely ridiculous.
Hopefully Dungy was offered this honor first and simply had a scheduling issue so the Bucs moved on to the next person on the list.
May 30th, 2017 at 7:29 pm
Agree with Mr. Munch. Gruden fired them up for a season, but also administered the slow descent into irrelevance. In Gruden’s years he only drafted one player elected to the Pro Bowl with the Bucs (Davin Joseph.) That isn’t a formula for success. After running off Rich McKay who drafted Sapp and Brooks in the same draft, Gruden’s legacy doesn’t seem so elite.
May 30th, 2017 at 7:32 pm
As a longtime fan from day one in 1976, and the initial losing that followed. There was a brief rise based on great defense with a strong armed, determined QB that was Doug Williams where Sports Illustrated said from worst to first after a 4-0 start. Hugh Culverhouse let Williams go over a dispute over 400k. The Bucs again went into a down slide for what was many, many years. Along came the hiring of Tony Dungy, between Dungy and great draft picks by Rich McKay the culture of losing was turned around.
Dungy lost his job because of loyalty to his assistant coaches, primarily the offensive coordinator. The franchise had turned the corner, was ripe for winning and along came Gruden who aquired a few offensive weapons Jervisious comes to mind and the Bucs win a Super Bowl. I think it is fair to say that Dungy and McKay deserve the brunt of the credit for turning things around and Gruden put them over the top. I say all three deserve the limelight for our super bowl win.
May 30th, 2017 at 7:41 pm
The people have spoken!!!!! I guess that is the reason the Head Coach Gruden has statue at 1 Buc!!!!!!!!!!!
The window was closing, the bills were due!!! It was the right decision to can dungy and bring in a Head Coach that could get the most out of both sides of the Ball and take this team further that it has ever gone before it was too late!!!!
Without Head Coach Gruden’s Superbowl win, does Sapp and Brooks get in the hall on the first ballot!!!! Bucs fans owe a lot to Head Coach Gruden!!!!!
Thank you Sir for bringing the ultimate win to Tampa Bay!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!
May 30th, 2017 at 7:50 pm
Thank you Realist! And I have been a fan since ’76 as well(went to every game for first 5 seasons….been to 130+)
May 30th, 2017 at 7:52 pm
Dungy had 6 years and could not get it done with “his players”. So it took someone else to accomplish it and the cry babies want to cry about a Super Bowl? Most of us thought we would never see that with this joke of a franchise. And guarantee a lot of us feel we may never see it again.
May 30th, 2017 at 7:54 pm
Rob Munch I think that’s an unfair statement. Both coach’s deserve to get in and I think it’s a good debate as to which goes first. Personally I think Gruden should go first and I don’t think that makes me a bandwagon can……..At the end of the day IMO, it’s about resumes. And Gruden has a huge star on his under the Championship column. Don’t forget Dungy did get fired for a reason. You can’t deny the fact that Tony could not deliver come playoff time in Tampa Bay.
Let’s not forget what the ultimate goal is in football. Tony did a heck of a lot for this city and franchise, heck he did a lot for the game. But he could not get this town a ring. I can’t blame the Bucs for choosing to honor our championship players and coaches first while others have to wait.
May 30th, 2017 at 7:58 pm
The bottom line is: It don’t take much to get into the Bucs Ring Of Honor. After all we are talking about a franchise with an All-Time record of 250-393-1. A 36% career winning percentage over 40 years. 12 winning seasons in 40 years, I see why fans of other teams take our fans for a joke. This Franchise is PATHETIC and the ROH is even more PATHETIC.
May 30th, 2017 at 8:03 pm
Lakeland why is the ROH pathetic? Specifically which member of the ROH is pathetic?
I’m calling total BS on you bro about the ROH. The fanbase being pathetic………well there are a few posters on this site that kinda proove you right on that one.
May 30th, 2017 at 8:04 pm
@lakelandbuc
you might be right!!!! But when they show the video of Head Coach Gruden and Mr Glazer holding the SuperBowl trophy, you know that is something no one can take away from the Bucs!!!!! It was no joke then!!!!!!!! They bested everyone and were World Champions that year!!!!!!! That is why the decision to put in Head Coach Gruden and Mr Glazer was the white,,,,,,,,errrrr ah ah I meant the “right” decision!!!!!!!!!
Go Truth, Justice and the American Way!!!!!!!!
And Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 30th, 2017 at 8:05 pm
Mediocrity is only celebrated in a Mediocre surrounding!
May 30th, 2017 at 8:13 pm
Let’s not forget Sam Wyche started the turn around by drafting players like Brooks and Sapp. And for the love of god can we get James Wilder in the ring already.
May 30th, 2017 at 8:21 pm
Munch
Or none of the above. My opinion is they own the team…yes own…they can put in whoever they want first. Some of us were here from the beginning. N yes it was mostly guys left over from dungys team. But gruden won it. And dont forget some guys were left over for dungy from wyche. Go bucs
May 30th, 2017 at 8:21 pm
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — An ordinary day for the New York Jets — Day 4 of OTA practices — was another winning day for Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
His 129th day without alcohol.
In an interview with ESPN, the veteran tight end admitted Tuesday he sought help after the season for a drinking problem that led to a DUI arrest last September. Seferian-Jenkins said he stopped drinking Jan. 21 and attended rehab four times a week on an outpatient basis.
“Even since I stopped drinking, it’s been a transformation,” Seferian-Jenkins, 24, said. “It really has changed my life. I just try to win one day at a time. I’ve won 129 days and I’m going to continue to win however many more days. It’s been a blessing.”
I know this off topic, but I’m proud of ASJ.
May 30th, 2017 at 8:27 pm
I respect Coach Dungy. I’m not really that involved in the debate who should go in first…Chucky or Dungy.
Wyche is the one who keeps getting left out here. If Chucky used “Dungy’s players” then they both used Sam Wyche whose final draft built the core of that SB defense.
Does anybody really believe Father Tony would have taken the chance Wyche did on “pothead” Warren Sapp. We know Dungy sat Wyche’s experiment at safety…John Lynch in favor of one of Tony’s guys from KC. Luckily that guy got hurt and the rest with Lynch is history.
Brooks, Sapp and Lynch were Wyche players. Would that D have been the same without them?
May 30th, 2017 at 8:42 pm
Why do people always say it was mostly Dungy’s team that won the Super Bowl? Gruden brought in: Dilger, Dudley, Pittman, Jurevicious, McCardell 2 or 3 offensive lineman (starters). Everyone Gruden brought in was an upgrade except for Pittman who replace Warrick Dunn. It was Gruden’s team that won the Super Bowl. Besides, Dumgy didn’t draft Sapp, Brooks or Lynch..
May 30th, 2017 at 8:52 pm
@WillieG
You forgot Brad Johnson. And you will figure out a lot of these people are looking at the core defense. Which was run by Monte. But Dungy still could not win with any of them or Monte. None of the teams were the same from Wyche on down. Only some starters.
May 30th, 2017 at 8:54 pm
dungy is a clown and so is his failed coaching tree…. tomlin is not a dungy guy so stop before you start…
2 mesley playoff wins gets you fired not the ring of honor. enough said on that. dungy is simply a joke who gets a free pass
May 30th, 2017 at 8:55 pm
dungy cost us so many super bowls! I cant stand him! I have spoke with so many players and coachs who agreed he cost us at least 2 more rings!
May 30th, 2017 at 8:56 pm
any fool who thinks dungy belongs in the ring of honor or hall of fame is the same low standard loser who would throw a parade for a Wild Card Banner in Baseball… low standards. Dungy is a ignorant stubborn one dimensional clown with a career losing playoff record
May 30th, 2017 at 9:03 pm
Grudens team won the Super Bowl. Tony’s team year after year missed the playoffs or were eliminated…. no Gruden no Super Bowl. Tony cost us a super bowl or 2 . Had one or the best defenses in NFL history and did nothing with it! And how bad has this team sucked since they fired Gruden……
May 30th, 2017 at 9:08 pm
Dingy was at the helm when this franchise went from losing to winning ways.
May 30th, 2017 at 9:12 pm
Total Morons that don’t pay attention or understand the history of this franchise.
May 30th, 2017 at 9:23 pm
Dungy and his play run the ball and play defense cost as stated above the bucs and dungy a shot at might have been a patrotseque at most or possibly a bills super bowl run… gruden steps in with only one offensive stud and lets monte be monte and BOOM….sam wyche and rich mckay have their prints on the dungy era too
May 30th, 2017 at 9:23 pm
Gruden did what Tony failed to do year after year, put an offense on the field good enough to complement a Great defense… he inherited 3 hall of famers , thank Sam not Tony.
May 30th, 2017 at 9:30 pm
Tmax you don’t know a thing about Buccaneers football. If you’re still mad that Tony couldn’t get us over the hump that’s quite silly but at least valid. But you have no respect that Tony built us a defense that carried us to a Championship. You are completely clueless and as always the most ignorant fan who comments here.
May 30th, 2017 at 9:30 pm
Neither should be in the ring. They were both fired. Both built half a team. Dungy couldn’t get the Bucs over the top while Gruden couldn’t keep them there. Maybe after all the deserving players have entered the ring i’ll changer my mind. Until then neither belong.
May 30th, 2017 at 9:35 pm
Question… say the Cowboys lose in the first round again and Garrett is fired any Jerry with all his $$$ brings Gruden out of the both and He wins the Super Bowl the following year……. is he a great coach OR did he win it with Garretts team ???? Only in Tampa can the one coach who won us a Super Bowl be so hated. Did Tony win his with Moras team he didn’t draft Manning or Harrison
May 30th, 2017 at 9:36 pm
Nole&Buc?? Gruden WON the superbowl with his team, the bucs ONLY title, he deserves to be there right besides John McKay
May 30th, 2017 at 9:56 pm
Again I respect both Chucky and Dungy but it’s not like the Bucs have ever had a Parcells, or Jimmy Johnson, or…..I could go on. These two guys were good coaches but there have been plenty better.
And so now that I’ve hacked everybody off let me finish with an outrageous claim.
I think #3 is on track to become truly great at his position…far better than either Chucky or Dungy were as coaches….and I think Koetter is going to do the same thing. I think we may have multiple SB’s in the future and that Koetter and #3 set benchmarks that will not be exceeded in my lifetime.
May 30th, 2017 at 11:07 pm
That SB win is in the top 5 greatest moments of my life. I love Tony(not the Tampa one) like family and I witnessed what took place when he was hired. No it was not Wyche, or even Kiffen for that matter. Dungy turned the team around, and Kiffin helped. Dungy hired Kiffin.
Jon Gruden did not take Tony Dungy’s team to the SB when 1/2 of Dungy’s roster was let go when Gruden came in his first year.
@Rod….the votes say it all. You’re wrong.
May 30th, 2017 at 11:56 pm
26 new players on the 2002 roster. Many coaches have come in and changed cultures. Gruden won a Super Bowl. Fewer coaches have won Super Bowls because so many of them are multiple winners. It’s a more elite club. And another point people like to bring up in their Gruden vs Dungy debates is that Monday night comeback in 2003. Everyone would agree that Dungy’s best team was 1999. Someone could even make an argument that the 1999 defense was better than the 2002 defense. But what happened when Dungy’s team faced Gruden in 1999. 45-0 !!! That had to have been Gruden’s job interview in the eyes of Team Glazer.
May 31st, 2017 at 12:02 am
Dungy won with Wyche’s foundation.
Dungy defined “half a football team.” Dungy had every opportunity do do something special, and he failed most every time.
I, for one, quickly tired of “we were out of sync.”
Gruden put it all together.
May 31st, 2017 at 12:06 am
Culverhouse’s death and the Glazer’s purchase is what REALLY turned the Bucs around.
It all starts from the top.
May 31st, 2017 at 12:08 am
Gruden should have never been fired. If he would have had a few more years he would have built an offense like the one in Oakland and gave us another two to four Super Bowl wins. Love Tony Dungy but GRUDEN brought the trophy here common sense thank God the most of you guys understand football and most important the Buccaneers and voted correctly! TAMPA aaaaaaaaa
May 31st, 2017 at 12:11 am
Great point 45 -0.i hated that game
May 31st, 2017 at 12:12 am
Also lots of great points Cobra boy.
May 31st, 2017 at 12:15 am
1987 definitely top five and a buccaneer life. I think the Eagles championship game was just us greatest Super Bowl maybe greater. Tony Dungy never would have shut the vet down with a win and a trip to Super Bowl 37
May 31st, 2017 at 12:18 am
Obviously
May 31st, 2017 at 1:13 am
Bucs4821 …excellent post and very accurate.
When they signed Chucky I was in my car and heard it on the radio….
As I was headed back to NC from Florida. I went from bummed out about Dungy to hell freaking yeah we’re going to the Super Bowl. Some of us had to have known it. I certainly did. Ponied up close to 300 bucks for NFL ticket just to watch the Bucs from my living room in Raleigh. Selling point to my wife was…Jon Gruden and we’re going to the Super Bowl THIS season….Honey pleeease!!!
Jon Gruden made the misery go away….I don’t care if he set FIRE to RJS after doing so. That win still brings a slight tear to my eye after watching the DVD to this day!!!!
Jon Gruden huh? I think I’m going to get my banner ready then!
May 31st, 2017 at 2:02 am
Tampa Bay. look up your history. To select gruden ahead of Dungy to me and a lot of Buc fans is..tryly..fake news! his..story of not…. I won’t go where you know I want to go….Dungy is as worthy and even more so to those of us who sit in those ole sombrero stands..yr after yr..loss after loss.. Dungy turned the Tampa Bay Bucs team..history around and then some. Its ok to put Gruden before Dungy for now..But don’t get it twisted..Real fans know..Dungy deserves induction even more so than Gruden. If you don’t thinks so? then you truly..do not know..or never followed..BUC history. But then again..the now thing is deny history and acknowledge..fake news..Right?
May 31st, 2017 at 8:30 am
Rod Munch Says
“Anyone that thinks Gruden should go in first – it just tells me they’re a bandwagon rider who jumped on board when the Bucs won the SB – or they’re too young to actually know anything about the history of the team.”
Now hold on a sec. I’m a franchise-long fan and I don’t really care which went in first, so long as both eventually do.
But I can see why Gruden got in first. While Tony turned this team around, Gruden did indeed get them their first superbowl victory. It makes sense that the most important results gets Gruden in first.
And while Dungy helped to build the team that won the Superbowl, it would not have happened without Gruden to complete the offense.
“…Gruden, a man who destroyed what should have been a dynasty…”
This is where history does indeed play a key role. If you recall, there was turmoil in the Bucs offices. Rich McKay leaned defense and did not want Gruden in the first place. It led to McKay leaving angry…to the point that he went directly to our division rival as a result.
In came Bruce Allen. But what you are forgetting is the state of the NFL in those days. The player walk-out was looming. The NFL owners saw it coming years before it happened. The media saw it coming. The fans saw it coming.
Around the time that Allen came in, the owners figured they were a couple years from the walk-out (which eventually got pushed back another two years). They will never admit to it because it was collusion, but as a whole, owners agreed to underspend on players in order to weaken their resolve once the walk-out happened. While the top played players would not be effected, the majority of players did not fit in that category. A couple teams actually broke the secret agreement, and they were later penalized for it by the league.
This was the period when the Bucs fans accused the owners of being cheap. And technically they were right. But there was strategy behind it. That league-wide plan worked, because players ended up suffering financially, causing many of them to take out high interest loans that did not last long enough. There had this thing called ‘walk-out’ insurance that they paid into before the walkout, and they were sold on it being enough to support them during their protest, but it fell completely short of doing that.
Anyway, as a result, Gruden and Allen were forced to plug holes with ‘C’ grade players…and they almost never do well enough to get far. ‘A’ and ‘B’ grade players are what teams need to succeed.
You say that Gruden tore the team apart? Then why have all of his players sworn by him outside of quarterbacks? They feel he was the best coach they ever worked with…even those who worked with Dungy.
And finally…and think about this…
…Bruce Allen was a GM who specialized in free agent acquisition. That’s how he was known for building his teams. He was never known for drafting well. So you had this guy that knew how to spend on talent…yet he was ordered by the owners NOT to spend. They essentially took away the thing he was best at (in his eyes).
It’s not an excuse, it’s just the nature of the beast at the time.
I personally would have preferred both Dungy and Gruden going in on the same year, but I also understand that if you could only do one at a time, then Gruden had to be the first choice. It just makes sense.
It doesn’t mean Dungy doesn’t deserve to be there too…it just means he will get there later.
May 31st, 2017 at 8:38 am
Skipper Says
“Total Morons that don’t pay attention or understand the history of this franchise.”
Speaking of history…as I recall it, the things that led to Dungy being fired were valid.
First, he had strict loyalty to his coaches. While on the surface this would seem like a good thing, when it came to offensive coaches he fought to keep from replacing poorly performing ones.
Which is why he could not build an offense.
Secondly, he failed to find a franchise quarterback (so did Gruden; [art of the reason he was fired too).
And thirdly, Dungy made the playoffs multiple times, but always fell short (although one time I think he was robbed of a Superbowl trip by the refs).
Also, as I recall…nearly all the fans wanted him replaced. The uproar only arose when ESPN showed video of Tony loading his SUV at night in the rain. Great Drama…but it was Dungy who chose that time of day to do it. And it was Dungy who made sure the cameras were there to film it. Don’t believe me? Name one other time when any head coach is fired in the NFL and the media catches him packing up his things and leaving afterward.
It was staged by Dungy to garner sympathy. And it worked perfectly.
May 31st, 2017 at 9:15 am
It’s true.. we have really dumb fans.
I agree putting Gruden in first, just because he got the ring. No ifs and or buts. He did it. He deserves it.
IMO Dungy was the better coach. I could destroy someone in a debate as to why, but we’ll skip that for now.
Fact is to claim Tony wasn’t a good coach is WAY DUMBER than saying Gruden was a better coach. Our fans make me sick sometimes. TONY WAS THE MAN!!!!
May 31st, 2017 at 10:12 am
Eric
Dungy the clown was ONE DIMENSIONAL ONLY…. that is a universally accepted fact. Popularity does not equal greatness. Dungy the clown cost both tampa and indie superbowls because of his ignorance, stubbornness and inability to understand all three phases of football. His career losing playoff record renders him nothing more than an average to below average coach who is popular. popular does not equal greatness. it most cases it actually is reverse. Dungy is just another religious hypocrite fool who failed to get the job done who gets a free pass in the PC world we live in. He is barely the bucs 4th best coaches. Schiano had a much better football mind than dungy .
May 31st, 2017 at 10:17 am
Eric I’d like to learn how you would destroy someone…one argument was Gruden’s raider squad rolling up 45 on dungys squad in 1999
May 31st, 2017 at 10:20 am
tmax
I’m getting close to leaving this site completely with all of your ignorant posts. I think considering you are a bucs fan and aware of the team and past, you are the dumbest person I’ve never actually met.
Tony Dungy is in the Hall of Fame and I can guarantee you it’s because he’s a great coach and not because he’s popular, no matter what you think. You’re throwing out foregone conclusions without any merit, they’re all opinions.
Joe, I can’t tell if this guy is ruining your site, or if he is making it more interesting just so we all have to repeat common sense back to tmax essentially making us more confident in our football/bucs IQ.
May 31st, 2017 at 11:29 am
Now, now little Eric go ahead and take your ball and go home because you can’t handle anyone who disagrees with little Eric’s opinions. 2 playoff wins in six years is failure by any standard not greatness.. Dungy is a clown not a great coach.
May 31st, 2017 at 11:33 am
Little Eric you are as mentally weak as lvd and gmc if you allow a commenter to ruin your day on a sports entertainment blog… Toughen up buttercup
May 31st, 2017 at 11:40 am
tmax
I have yet to see one person on here that agrees with your posts. You are the dumbest person on this site. I’m not concerned with if you agree with it or not, I’m just simply stating the obvious here.
Dungy is in the Hall of Fame. To insinuate it was because he is popular is hilarious, really. I respect your opinion but holy s*** is it dumb.
Nobody is mentally weak in that regard including lvd and gmc. I know you’d like to believe you have a profound impact on strangers on the internet but like real life, nobody here cares here about your opinion. We pretty much laugh at your logic on a constant basis and trust us when we say if we address your ignorance, it’s not because we are offended.
Come on, you spend all day on the internet clowning a team that you apparently love, little man.
Glad to see your insult humor hasn’t improved either, carrot top.
May 31st, 2017 at 11:47 am
@ Eric: do you really think Tony Dungy would have been voted into the HOF if he hadn’t had the fortune to coach teams that already had the following players on their rosters when he took the job:
Peyton Manning
Reggie Wayne
Edgerrin James
Marvin Harrison
Derrick Brooks
John Lynch
Warren Sapp
Hardy Nickerson
Paul Gruber
Tony Dungy may be a good coach and a nice guy, no doubt. But look at the young talent he inherited.
May 31st, 2017 at 11:55 am
cobraboy
You’re absolutely right. He had help from his personnel, that’s not my point though. That statement could be made for a lot of coaches in the HOF. Some players too, considering they were dependent on others around them.
The guy is in the HOF. I’m not sure you understand how difficult the process of getting elected is. My only point is he’s a great coach and he’s not in the NFL’s most prestigious group because he was popular.
May 31st, 2017 at 12:00 pm
I don’t know… I’m still a little mad at them both. Dungy did a great job instilling confidence and winning atmosphere on team but didn’t hold whole team accountable and should’ve done more with what he had. Gruden did a great job of getting us over the hump but did his best to ruin the roster with terrible personnel decisions at every chance possible.
May 31st, 2017 at 12:18 pm
@ Brandon: most fans knew the price to get Gruden would come back and hurt the Bucs badly.
But it could have been worse: they could have cratered later and not have won a SB.
Dungy is in the NFL HOF because of Indy, not Tampa. Had he not won a SB in Indy, he wouldn’t have been in the NFL HOF.
Gruden in in the Ring of Honor because of the Tampa SB win.
“Simple as that.”
May 31st, 2017 at 12:28 pm
Again, you’re right…
But you think he would have been in the HOF if he had only been in Indy those few years with Peyton…
NOPE. It’s the big picture and his accomplishments during his tenure. He coached up one of the best defenses in history, he turned our franchise around into consistently making the playoffs, and then won a super bowl.
AGAIN, YOU ARE NOT UNDERSTANDING MY F****** POINT. I SAID HE’S A GREAT COACH, WHICH HE IS, AND ALSO WHY HE IS IN THE HOF.
SIMPLE AS THAT!
May 31st, 2017 at 5:41 pm
@Eric: most coaches in the HoF acquired great players and coached them well. Dungy had incredible talent on both teams he coached.
I’f fine with him being in the HoF. Don’t really care one way or another.
But I am also fine with Grunden in the RoH and not Dungy.
And I consider Gruden a better coach than Dungy overall.
June 1st, 2017 at 8:31 am
cobraboy
Agreed. Glad you saw my point.
Also agree about gruden in roh but I’d take Dungy overall. Just my opinion. If our defense was average, we would never have a ring.
Guess you could say we needed both, though.