Chucky’s Heart Wasn’t With Bucs
January 12th, 2018
Friend of Chucky explains.
The folks tired of Chucky stiff-arming the Bucs (allegedly) and taking the Raiders job are the same ones who cheered for Team Glazer to hire Chucky, thus, they don’t want to be reminded of their dashed dreams.
But this is huge news in the NFL, even days after Chucky’s welcome press conference in Oakland.
The greatest coach in Bucs history returned to the west to take over the Oakland/Vegas Raiders. But why? Did Team Glazer not meet Chucky’s demands? Was Team Glazer tired of being used as leverage? Did Team Glazer just have that much faith in Dirk Koetter, especially the way America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, played when healthy? Was Chucky spooked by Jameis?
It seems it boiled down to the simple fact that Chucky simply didn’t want to coach the Bucs that badly, said Chucky’s close friend, NBC broadcaster Mike Tirico.
Appearing earlier this week with the great Mike Florio on PFT Live (which intelligent football fans enjoy weekday mornings on the NBC Sports Network), Tirico, who worked the Monday Night Football broadcast booth with Chucky for seven seasons with BSPN, explained Chucky’s motivation for wearing the silver and black. Again.
In short, Chucky always heard the siren song of the Raiders in his head, also known as “The Autumn Wind.”
“It is because of the team,” Tirico told Florio why Chucky returned and the timing of it all. “Jon is a Raider. … As he has said in front of me hundreds of times, he did not want to leave the Raiders. … I don’t think the Raiders ever left Jon’s system. If he was going to go back [to coaching], this was a place that called him louder than any other place would have.”
So apparently not only did Chucky not want to leave Oakland in the first place, he didn’t seem to have any passion for returning to the Bucs.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:35 pm
100% agree why come to Tampa that is a good 3-5 years away from drafting and possibly grabbing FAs to improve this team and a bigger red flag is that possibly gruden has no faith in jameis. Oakland has an up and coming QB, who is probably gun shy now, not sure if that can change but he lit the bucs up for 530 yards, he has 2 top notch WRs, he has one of the best defensive players in the league and can draft an RB this year and be in the AFC championship next year, because oakland was close a year ago and if carr can get the mental thing out the raiders will be rolling and tampa is a den of depression
January 12th, 2018 at 2:36 pm
Heard yesterday that he had a deal in place with Mark Davis by Christmas eve so he basically used the Glazers as leverage to sweeten the pot. Good luck to them he should at least maintain an average team in that weak division.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:37 pm
Glad he isn’t coming back. Not that I am in love with Koetter. That he kept running Doug Martin makes me question his sanity but Gruden is going to flop in Oakland and they will be on the hook for a long time.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:38 pm
all about the passion for football between the two owners….Davis is a closer match to Grudens passion..IMO….and off course the rosters and starting QB’s….close but no Ybor cigar
January 12th, 2018 at 2:40 pm
I swear
During his halftime ceremony and called for 1 last play in the stadium I knew he wasn’t coming here
January 12th, 2018 at 2:41 pm
Yep and 100 million talks the loudest
January 12th, 2018 at 2:42 pm
After all of the dust has settled Im glad we kept Coach K! We need some consistent plays from the books, just need them to equal out to wins. And Coach K needs to fix his coaching 101 mishaps. I think he will though.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:43 pm
Gruden won a super bowl in Tampa so anything less would tarnish his image in Tampa plus Oakland was 12-4 last season and in a weak division so much easier to win that division than the NFC South. Rivers will be gone soon, Denver doesn’t have a QB and KC will have a new QB soon. Gruden’s not stupid he’s looking for a situation where the path to success is much easier.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:44 pm
Who in there right mind truly wants to coach our bucs under this current ownershp? I mean we desparately took 2 losers dumped by the Atlanta Falcons as coaches. And are presently operating under the delusion our Defesne will vastly improve under Mike Smith with the addition of a couple of players? Snakebit orgsnization to think our divisional opponents will not get even better. Its so Deyeeham disqusting….. I think I’ll start my friday matini’s early!
January 12th, 2018 at 2:46 pm
His goal is to get into the NFL Hall of Fame. He feel he has a better chance of reaching his goal with the Raiders instead of the Bucs. You can’t really blame the man, for using common sense.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:51 pm
GO RAIDERS, IM DONE WITH THE BUCS
January 12th, 2018 at 2:55 pm
Who wants to come to this Dumpster fire! Davis actually wants a Super Bowl like his father. The Glazer’s, not so much, they talk a good game but they have no clue and don’t care enough to get one.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:56 pm
@JOE –
I was wrong about Gruden and the Glazers, I had that all wrong.
It looked to me like he was coming here, I was sure of it, but I admit I WAS WRONG!
January 12th, 2018 at 2:58 pm
Nobody cares what your done with. As for me, I was on the Gruden train but after seeing that contract. Raiders can have him. he’s not worth that money. Raiders are insane to sign someone whos been out of his job for what 9 years? Huge gamble that most likely wont pay off. Might be the only smart thing Glazers have done in a long while.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:58 pm
Really Dusthty in Tampa we have a QB with a avg career rating of 87.2 while the Raiders QB rating is 88.13 so they are basically the same (in reality Winston was better last year and has improved each year where as Carr has not, so up and coming?) In addition we have a two dynamic TE’s and top 10 WR, another WR that has a ton of upside in Godwin, and we also can draft a RB this year. On the defensive side of the ball we have the best LB core in the league, a promising safety and a decent DT to build around. The key is we have a ton of money to spend and we pick ahead of them in the draft. The thing that hurts us is the division we play in whereas the weak AFC is seeing the likes of the one dimensional Jags and Titans in the playoffs in the NFC he would have had to go through so complete teams.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:59 pm
There was never a conversation between Jon and the buccaneers. With that being said Jon never came out and denied any roomers either. He didn’t have to say anything just let the media do what they do. Without saying a word the media did his negotiating for him. He should definitely thank the media for his contract. Now quit beating the horse.
January 12th, 2018 at 3:06 pm
Just another chapter in bucs history, to go right along with:
Losing Doug Williams
Bo Jackson plays baseball
Bill Parcels “done deal”
the “non catch”
Brett Favre
Its a bucs life.
January 12th, 2018 at 3:07 pm
Oh Jeeesh, it must be the Off-season
Chucky aint here! How about more articles about potential Free Agent fits and kids coming into the Draft!
January 12th, 2018 at 3:12 pm
I still think our biggest loss on defense was Jim Swartz. I am fine with Koetter coming back but Smith? Come on man! I just don’t see the passion in that guy. That is my biggest concern heading into next season, and has my tickets on the line on whether I renew or not. Go Bucs!
January 12th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
revisionist history… Gruden wanted out from Al, no question and even said many times he agreed to the trade. Now today, did he prefer the raiders, no clue, sounds like it
January 12th, 2018 at 3:16 pm
The Raiders courted him harder than any other team and put their money where their mouth is. So, it’s not like he didn’t like the Bucs in general. It’s just the business side of things. He won a SB in Tampa and that will never change. His legacy only could have, and probably would have, been tarnished by coming back to Tampa with a team that is simply not at the level of the Raiders. And I’m sure he didn’t like the fact that he got fired the way he did. So, that was probably lingering in his mind. Why else would he creat the fictitious FFCA.
But, I’m sure if Tampa was ready to mortgage their future by offering him the Brinks truck, at the cost of not being able to sign a few key star players, he still would have chose the Raiders because of unfinished business and the fact that whatever problems he had with the Raiders leading to his trade, has simply gone with the demise of Al Davis.
January 12th, 2018 at 3:31 pm
I bet the NFL will match up the Las Vegas Dealers and the Bucs on MNF…2019
January 12th, 2018 at 3:32 pm
Gruden will fail miserably. Today’s snowflake players will turn on him. Grudens style and personality No longer fits todays nfl…
January 12th, 2018 at 3:35 pm
Nick J Says:
January 12th, 2018 at 2:51 pm
GO RAIDERS, IM DONE WITH THE BUCS
….HAUL AS$!!!
January 12th, 2018 at 3:36 pm
More passionate owner who will give him everything he needs, better overall roster today, arguably a better general manager, of course the Raiders enticed him more than the Bucs.
January 12th, 2018 at 3:39 pm
SB Says:
January 12th, 2018 at 3:07 pm
Oh Jeeesh, it must be the Off-season
Chucky aint here! How about more articles about potential Free Agent fits and kids coming into the Draft
Dilly! Dilly!
January 12th, 2018 at 3:42 pm
TMAX
Yesterday’s “snowflake” players turned on him why would today’s be any different?
Anybody who thinks this deal went down primarily due to money hasn’t been keeping score.
Gruden got 15 million from the Bucs for the years he didn’t coach. Meanwhile
ESPN gave him similar amounts to broadcast. All of this came after earning millions with the Raiders. Bottom line….Chucky’s 100 million dollar Raider deal is probably less than his current net worth.
Really if you’re worth 100 million…not that you’re going to turn down and extra 100 mil…but really…at what point do we succumb to greed.
And I do not consider Gruden THAT mercenary. He could have been making these dollars before this but I think he made a decision to stay with ESPN because of his family. Waited until the last boy graduated.
Holy cow!!! Do you mean a man could make a decision based on family over $$$
January 12th, 2018 at 3:44 pm
tmax…I don’t think he’ll fail miserably….but will certainly be shocked and disconnect with today’s players…in his recent non coaching role the players and draft prospects were neutral and on their best behavior …which was their role in the relationship….it won’t be all smiles and happy faces now…
January 12th, 2018 at 3:45 pm
Never once considered Gruden’s return to Tampa a credible possibility. While he possesses incredible football knowledge, he requires a team on the brink of success and a superior coaching staff around him.
January 12th, 2018 at 3:50 pm
Giving Gruden a 10 year guaranteed contract (plus the degree of control he surely wanted) would have been a HUUUUUGE mistake by the Buccaneers.
I’m not even sure we were ever in the running for his services – but if the Glazers were serious about trying to get Jon back here – it was a very good call to pass or lucky to get outbid – whichever.
Time to turn the page on that whole Gruden revival tease.
Chucky got us our only Super Bowl. For that alone we should all be grateful –
and hopefully able to wish him well from afar on another coast in another Conference.
January 12th, 2018 at 3:52 pm
Bottom line gruden had one good year period. He never won another playoff game and started our current playoff drought… to the low standard buc fan winning division then falling to win a playoff game is 100% failure and renders division title meaningless. It’s what you doin the post season that matters regular reason titles mean nothing if you fail when it maters most. Gruden has only one more playoff win than the failed dungy the clown era.
January 12th, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Chucky has an ego, he knows he will be in Vegas in 2 years and his brand will just get bigger. he loves the spotlight.
January 12th, 2018 at 3:55 pm
He is sitting on a gold mine, the raiders will leave Oakland as playoff caliber tean into a new vegas stadium flush with cash and on top of the world making a new patriotesque dynasty in vegas and there will be a 17 year dumpster fire here
January 12th, 2018 at 3:59 pm
LOL! Anyone that believes anything Gruden says is a gullible dope. Gruden cared about one thing, that was how much money he could shove in his pocket, and he knew he had a big fish on the line with the red headed stepchild of Al Davis – so Gruden leaked out information to keep the Raiders on the hook over and over again. I have no doubt that the Glazers might have inquired about Gruden, but that was just used by Gruden to get more money out of the Raiders. Seriously, the guy last won a playoff game 15 years ago and he was able to flip that into $100-million dollars. That is amazing, and good for him for being able to get that gig.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:04 pm
Nick J Says:
January 12th, 2018 at 2:51 pm
GO RAIDERS, IM DONE WITH THE BUCS
————————————————————-
GO NICK!
And take your fat ugly boyfriend with you!
January 12th, 2018 at 4:09 pm
Dusthty – Gruden had a SB winning team here in Tampa and yet did nothing except destroy it, why exactly do you think he can take a good team, that isn’t a SB winner, and get dynstanty out of it? Unless a dynasty means going 9-7 every year and losing in the first round of the playoffs, I’m not sure dynasty and Gruden have anything in common.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:16 pm
Pickgrin – I’m not grateful to Gruden for anything, he didn’t get the Bucs to their only SB, Monte Kiffin and the defense did. All Gruden did was tear apart the defense so he could spend money on offense and destroy what could have been a dynasty. Gruden destroyed the team, he dumped Lynch and Sapp, got Rich McKay fired and replaced him with his own personal stooge in Bruce Allen. Gruden had a top 5 defense for nearly his entire time here, he had perhaps the best defense in league history in 2002, yet he blew up the team because he couldn’t take people saying he won with Dungy’s team (which is exactly what he did). He’s garbage.
With that said I’d still take him on a 10-year deal over Dirk. The one positive of a 10-year deal is that Gruden can absolutely build the team the way he wants and for recruiting FA’s, having that kind of long term stability, it should be a huge plus. Plus moving to Vegas, and the state not having an income tax, that should help with players as well. We’ll see if Carr can take Gruden’s abuse or not, apparently the last Raiders coaches said Carr is a cupcake and can’t handle people yelling at him, if that’s the case then Gruden will be trading for every veteran QB in the league by October.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:19 pm
Gruden had a talented roster nearing the end of their greatness….NO high draft picks and NO money for quality FA’s…just the way it was at the end of the road….lot of ego’s asked to restructure or accept out right pay cuts…the last quarter come back by the Colts on MNF….was the beginning of the long slide….
January 12th, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Gruden will have a hard time with the players today. Carr already has Rich Gannon mentoring him on “how to handle Gruden” 😂😂😂
January 12th, 2018 at 4:24 pm
Rod
I guess you forgot Gruden took over a 2-14 Raiders team in 1998 and made them a Super Bowl contender (we did play them in that game remember?) once already.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:28 pm
Rod
Cracks me up……….Team’s players don’t stay together for 10 plus years, especially today. McKay ran off to Atlanta and draft the dog killer. I’m sorry that Dungy just couldn’t get us to the big one.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:29 pm
oar – and Gruden took a 15-4 Super Bowl winning team to 5-11 in 2 years.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:30 pm
AlteredEgo – Aging roster? Lets see, Sapp played for how much longer? What was it, 4 years, including a 10-sack season playing out of position at DE in a 3-4. Lynch played for what, another 5 years, where he had 4 more pro-bowls in him? Barber played how many years? Brooks played how many more years? Rice played how many more years?
Yeah, that was really an old team on the verge of collapse.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:31 pm
@Oar…
Dungy’s worst loss of his career was when he took the 99 Bucs out to Oakland and lost 45-0
January 12th, 2018 at 4:34 pm
Hey dusthy I guess the eagles and rams were 3-5 years away. Give me a break. 3-5 years away from what? This team can compete next year given the right free agency and right draft. And barring a collapse in coaching again
January 12th, 2018 at 4:34 pm
@Rod… once reason he didn’t like young qbs too was there high price tag. He didn’t want to draft a qb in the 1st round you have to give money to. The rules have changed and draft picks are slotted. Most teams were up against the cap back then too, especially the Bucs so he’d rather grab a cheap vet off the scrap heap for the minimum. Teams can spend a lot more easily now. He will be awesome out there.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:35 pm
Gruden’s worse loss was in 2003 at home, on MNF, when Dungy’s Colts came back from way down to beat him. It was truly an epic embarrassing loss.
With that said to be fair the loss was because Brian Kelly got hurt and over the offseason the Bucs had moved Dwight Smith from being the 3rd DB to being a starting S and the Bucs had no depth at corner and Manning just threw the ball where Kelly should have been over and over and over again.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:37 pm
Gruden had no high draft picks in Tampa? What about 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007?
January 12th, 2018 at 4:40 pm
And Tony Dungy and the Colts started the Bucs collapse on that fateful Monday night in Tampa. The Bucs were leading 35-14 with 5.09 left and had just scored. Everyone was thinking , game over. Tony Dungy was even thinking about pulling the starters. The Colts came back and beat the Bucs in overtime 38-35, in one the greatest comebacks ever. It was the beginning of the end for the Bucs.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:41 pm
miken – If Gruden ever actually said that he’d have more credibility, however what Gruden always says is that he wishes the Bucs would have drafted him a QB, like Rodgers for example. As we all know Gruden ran every aspect of the team so for him to say the team didn’t give him the tools he needed, it’s more of Gruden just lying. Also the Bucs didn’t trade out of their slot so the money had to go somewhere. In 2005 when the Bucs took Cadillac, despite needing a QB and everyone universally saying the top two QBs that could go 1-2 was Alex Smith and Rodgers, the Bucs kept and spent their high pick on a RB. Now Cadillac, had he stayed healthy, would have been a solid pick – but the Bucs had a huge hole at QB. I’m not even completely criticizing him, the Caddy pick wasn’t seen as a bad one at the time, it’s just the fake news narrative of Gruden saying it wasn’t his call that is annoying.
January 12th, 2018 at 4:49 pm
broy i hear you but they have better management than this dumpster fire, what has licht done in 5 years? i can tell you it rhymes with bucs and 5-11, those other teams built a defense thebucs draft kickers
January 12th, 2018 at 4:55 pm
For those that say Dungy did nothing here, you’re obviously just bandwagon riders that didn’t actually live through the pre-Dungy years. There’s a reason when Joe talks about how great Gruden is and how Dungy is an afterthought in front of Ira, Ira is basically giving them the “yeah, OK” treatment. Dungy is in the HOF and Gruden will never be in the HOF. For Dungy’s time with the Bucs he absolutely had them in the SB in the 1999 season, except for the refs screwing over the team with Bert Emanuel catch garbage. If you don’t think the fix was in from the NFL, that they weren’t wanting the high scoring Rams in the playoffs to counter a very dull Titans team, then you don’t know your football history. If that BS doesn’t happen the Bucs go to the SB and almost certainly win.
The defense had 2 peaks, in 1999 and 2002. In 1999 the Bucs defense still have very young guys in Sapp, Brooks, Barber, Kelly, D-Jax, Quarles, McFarland and vets like Hardy, Abraham and Ahanotu. That 1999 defense was a great defense, the #1 in the league and at the time probably the #2 best defense in team history (behind the 79 Bucs). But between 2000 and 2002 the Bucs retooled the defense and there was some growing pains in there as the vets were dumped and young guys played more and some reinforcements were brought in, mainly Rice. By 2002 the Bucs defense was simply ready. I do think change might have helped in terms of making people off balance, but there was nothing special about it being Gruden. I 10000% believe if they had hired Steve Spurrier for example you would have seen the exact same results if the defense was left untouched, except the offense would have been better. Again, we’ll never know, but that is my belief.
January 12th, 2018 at 5:24 pm
There are 100 million reasons why Gruden is a Raider, and not 100 million and one!
January 12th, 2018 at 5:31 pm
This is silly and typical nonsense.
Just because he didn’t come back doesn’t discount what he did while here.
What did he have to gain by coming back to the Bucs? He won a chip. He’s in the Buc ring of honor. What was left to do?
Re: The Raiders
Total opposite. He didn’t win the chip. He was ceremoniously dumped via trade. His last game was the Tuck Rule game. Any human with a pulse would have a burning desire to rectify that unfinished business.
January 12th, 2018 at 5:33 pm
I don’t even know why this is even a debate. James said it best…There are 100 million reasons. Unless the Glazers intended to match or exceed that, he was always going to be with the Raiders. I don’t want my team winning the pay the coach race.
January 12th, 2018 at 6:02 pm
@rod… he didn’t need to come out and say it, that was just the reality then. The worst thing that happened to us when he was here was he coached the nort south game and fell in love with caddy durring the practices.
January 12th, 2018 at 6:09 pm
Miken – I don’t disagree with his biggest mistake being passing on Rodgers when Gruden did nothing but talk him up and needed a QB, but to be fair a lot of teams passed on Rodgers. At the time there was some excitement about Cadillac and I think generally people were OK with it, although a lot of people wondered why the Bucs skipped on a QB yet again. I will say this on Rodgers, had he not sat on the bench of years and learned from Favre, had he been thrown right into the fire, we don’t know if he’d have been the same guy or not. But the issue with Gruden is that he sat for years on TV and basically blamed the team for not getting him a QB, when he controlled every aspect of the team from the day he got Rich McKay fired. Gruden is a self absorbed salesman that always is selling himself, which isn’t a bad thing since it’s the same thing that gives him his ego, which is one of his biggest selling points.
January 12th, 2018 at 6:22 pm
So, I’m going to start a new thing, unless Joe asked me to stop. Best written post and worst written post. To win best writing, you have to spell things creatively and develop your own grammar. To win worst writing, you must use a dull, uninspiring, formulaic approach to spelling and grammar.
Winning the award for best writing for this thread is Mike Johnson, though I’m not sure he was honest about waiting until he’d posted to start drinking.
Winning the award for worst writing is lambchop who bested Pickgrin and Rod Munch’s 7th post.
January 12th, 2018 at 6:24 pm
gambelero – Speling is overrated.
January 12th, 2018 at 6:24 pm
Note that using the phonetically more pleasing “asked” instead of the formulaic “asks” was a good way to avoid having to give myself the “worst writing” award.
January 12th, 2018 at 6:31 pm
I’m going to give out my own awards as well…
Best post…
Anything by Rod
Worst post…
Anything not by Rod
I’m willing to endorse posters and remove them from the worst of list in exchange for financial considerations.
Word.
January 12th, 2018 at 8:12 pm
Meanwhile every media outlet talked about how Gruden and the Bucs were a near lock. Even Ira, Joes and myself were buying in. Gruden and his camp played us and made sure his deal was sweetened by the threat of a deal with the Bucs. Gruden can coach but he doesn’t know a thing about drafting or personnel. The man has never met a QB he doesn’t like. Have fun with that Raiders. I was hoping for Gruden but I’m seeing the silver lining now. If Dirk doesn’t cut it this coming year, he’s gone and so is Mike Smith and maybe Licht. That’s when attention will be paid to prspect coaches like Harbaugh. I would love to get Harbaugh. He has proven himself to be capable of coaching men in the NFL unlike Saban.
January 12th, 2018 at 8:49 pm
Chucky can go eat a d!ck. He deserved to be fired when he was. He will not be successful with the Raydahs, and fans who are still upset about him are delusional.
January 13th, 2018 at 1:58 am
Cmurda,
The completion in luring Gruden to the raiders wasn’t the bucs. The Bucs didn’t raise the raiders offer. The fact is Gruden was already making 8mil from espn.
I have to believe if Gruden went to Espn and said my new price is 10mil they would have paid him. Do you think for a second that the bucs would pony up that kind of dough? Heck, I seriously don’t believe that the bucs could hit 8mil a year.
The only way the raiders are able to is the Vegas move.
Now that’s part of it, but the other factor is Gruden was/is a raider at heart. So is his wife. She loved living out west and has many friends from those days today.
Gruden has a raiders shrine in his tampa home. You know what he doesn’t have…….a bucs shrine. That should be all you need to know about that.
Captain kangaroo aka Mark Davis has been trying to get gruden back for years.
He had to wait until the kids were out of school, and He had to beat , guarantee wise espn. The Bucs didn’t get used because it’s not about them. Never was.
Gruden is back to the only place He’d go.
January 13th, 2018 at 9:15 am
Rod,
I agree with the first part of your post, wholeheartedly. But this part…
“With that said I’d still take him on a 10-year deal over Dirk. The one positive of a 10-year deal is that Gruden can absolutely build the team the way he wants and for recruiting FA’s,”
WTF? his building of teams, and his FA choices are why we are where we are today…..
January 13th, 2018 at 10:17 pm
Whatever. He’s just as much of a Buc as he is a Raider. Raiders agreed to pay the 10M a year. That’s why he’s in Oakland.