“At The End Of The Day, It Was Raheem.”
June 2nd, 2011
In an extremely rare occurrence, Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer sat down for a brief interview with Joe’s good friend “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, this afternoon live on WDAE-AM 620. Among the things Glazer talked about was why he hired rock star general manager Mark Dominik and coach Raheem Morris, how in-house decisions are made and who was responsible for drafting Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. Hint: “… it was Raheem.”
Steve Duemig: You made the decision to re-sign Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris and extend their contracts, tell us about that.
Bryan Glazer: We made the decision to hire them two years ago. Mark, he has been with the organization for 16 years, as long as I have been here. We saw him work his way up from a scout and we learned to trust him. Raheem, we have known for close to 10 years. They shared what we wanted to do going forward and that is to build a lasting contender, not just one or two years in a row.
Duemig: You have done that in the past with Coach Dungy.
Glazer: It takes some patience. You have to have everyone on board. But that was the feeling from day one. We knew there would be bumps in the road, we knew it would be painful but we knew that the team would be successful.
Duemig: It seemed there was a quick turnaround. Were you surprised by the 10 wins last year?
Glazer: It did not shock us. The previous season, we could have won more games. We lost a few games in the last minutes. When people — and I won’t mention any names — said we would win two or three games, I’d laugh. We had the talent and Josh was getting better and it was a wonderful year. Most fun I’ve had in a long time.
Duemig: Consistency, it’s important to have a solid quarterback, you don’t want to change that.
Glazer: Yes, and you see the teams that have longevity and long success, you see a franchise quarterback.
Duemig: Was that the owners’ decision to draft [Freeman] or was that management’s?
Glazer: At the end of the day, it was Raheem more than anyone else. His one year [at Kansas State where Freeman was the starting quarterback] he got to know Josh and he told us the whole story. From there, it was an easy decision.
Duemig: How much do you get involved — it is rare to get a chance to talk to you. I know from your history you let people do their job but you have the final say.
Glazer: That is correct. We hire good people to do their job. Yes, we are in the room when they make the decision but at the end of the day, yeah, it’s our decision but we trust our people.
Duemig: Has there been a bump in season ticket sales?
Glazer: We we had some success. Fans have gotten to know the team a little more. There is a way to go but we are excited and optimistic.
Duemig: With the advent of HDTV, have you had or are there any discussions in owners meetings to try to keep fans in the stadium?
Glazer: We talk about that all the time. We have to make the in-game experience more fun than the home experience. At home, you are just steps from the refrigerator. In-stadium, there is no way to match that experience. But it is a challenge. It’s a challenge for all teams, not just football.
Duemig: How do you do it?
Glazer: We are talking about some things that I can’t mention now but we know it’s a challenge. People can stay home, they can go to the beach, they can go to the movies. We have to get people to come to the game. A game situation has to be fun. This is a good market. Look at the Lightning and what they have done. The Rays too. This may be the most exciting 12 months for Tampa Bay sports. Fans will enjoy themselves at games and have a good time.
June 2nd, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Thanks for the transcript Joe. Unfortunately for me Glazer was the first one up and I had missed it.
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Great to see the Bucs building the team the right way again. Like most knowledgable football fans knew all along, the head coach’s feedback is an integral part of the drafting process. Rah’s prior relationship with Freeman is the main reason he was drafted. Again though, this was obvious to knowledgable football fans.
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Did you hear that? It was the sound of Thomas’s head exploding. Glazer said “it was Raheem.” OUCH
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:47 pm
Some more news I read today boys… K2 will be on NFL Total Access tomorrow night and Ronde will be on Total Access Monday night. Barber will also be on the Top 100 program doing a player bio. With some light at the end of the tunnel regarding the lockout being announced today, I am stoked for some Bucs football!
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Tommy two inches is too much of a fraud to admit he’s ever wrong.
The owner of the team says on record it was Raheem who was responsible for drafting Freeman. THE OWNER OF THE TEAM! How you doing to square that Tommy?
So should Glazer have hired some burned out coach who was distracted because his wife was dying and drafted skirtchaser Mark Sanchez instead? Tommy you are a gutless turd. Always bitching about Raheem killing the team last year but never giving the guy credit for turning it around.
If for once you’d admit you were wrong Tommy you might get some respect. You claim you are a lawyer… who the hell passed the bar for you? Only guys you ever represented are beating their cages with their coffee cups begging the guards for a drink and a hand job.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Either the Glazers had some restrictions on questions/subjects in place or this was one weak a– interview. I didn’t learn one thing from it, including that Rah was an advocate for Josh due to Rah’s 1 inconsequential year at K State, that was covered ad nauseum in and around the 2009 draft. What was confirmed is that management has not relinquished full control of football decisions such as draft picks.
Duemig should have asked: Why didn’t you make Rah’s original salary public like all other 31 teams? Why did you lobby to take a home game from Tampa for London? Why not buy up tickets to avoid blackouts forr the community? If the CBA is resolved, will you commit to filling in roster gaps with top free agents? Are your expectations the playoffs or bust this year? How do you feel about the revolving door of key assistants in the last two years, i.e. Bates, Jags, Wash, Mangurian, Biasaccia? What is your feeling about the rash of arrests and league suspensions that the team has had to deal with recently, do you hold your coaches and gm accountable?
These are tough but probative questions (probably off-limits). Unlike: “Its important to have a franchise quarterback, you don’t want to change that?” No s-it Duemig. Why waste time with that Captain Obvious. Very disappointing.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:03 pm
Well that was refreshing hearing from the top what was actually obvious to most fans already knew. Raheem has a great eye for young talent and kmows how to coach them up quickly. Its just another sad day again for Thomas the local JoeBucsFan fool.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:09 pm
thomas 2.2:
You are correct. It was a conditional interview. A number of subjects were off-limits specifically related to the asinine lockout drummed up by field marshal Roger Goodell.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:16 pm
I have never heard a fanbase of a team that has yet to make the playoffs, much less advance in them, argue that there team has been turned around after finishing 3rd best in the division with an unusually weak schedule.
You can’t assume automatically that just because a team is fairly young that it will keep winning more games every year – it doesnt always happen for various reasons. They may just as easily win 7 games next year and then they have gone from a 3 win to 7 win team in 3 years – not much of a turnaround. Nothing is confirmed by 2010.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Thanks for the confirmation Joe. I feel better about Duemig’s part now.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Hey guys… There’s a reason why Thomas feels special on this site. Either it’s Joe writing blogs in response to him or some of you guys bringing him up on message boards when he hasn’t even posted. The guy is not special! He regurgitates the same BS every post just to piss the true fans off. He’s “all in” on his hatred for the new coaching staff and will not change his mind no matter what the Bucs accomplish under their leadership. Feel sorry for the guy because he will have to read about Raheem and the Bucs for a long time to come.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Why anyone would pay any attention to Thomas after those comments is beyond me. Can you say “AGENDA”?
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:36 pm
thomas 2.2:
Duemig was pretty open about the interview being conditional. First thing he said after the interview was finished.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Listen Lucas and MoBucs:
All I need is proof via 2011 (hopefully there is one). 2010 didn’t prove anything to me, and many others (although I admit most on this site are on your overly-fanatical side). We had one debacle and one year of improvement against a bunch of cupcakes. Maybe they would have went 10-6 if the schedule unfolded differently, Nobody knows.
I suspect that they win fewer games in 2011 and miss the playoffs again (even though it looks like they have a pretty favorable schedule again). If Rah does a great job (and the games aren’t won solely on Free 4th quarter heroics) I will give him credit. The defense still stinks, Ronde is aging and Talib is unreliable for 2011 and probably beyond.
Save the anger and emotion for something more important than Buc football. This blog is about healthy debate, and yes there are legit opinions differing from those of the most passionate fanaticals like yourselves.
The proof will lie in 2011, someone will be right, somebody wrong. If they go 6-10, I don’t want to hear the excuses: Oh Freeman was hurt, Talib was in trouble, the D Line was young etc. Remember what all of you are saying today – this team has been “turned around.” Lets see.
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Thomas… In the second year of a complete rebuild, the Bucs won 10 games. A 7 game turnaround! We were pathetic for 3/4 of the ’09 season. By the end of last season, I think we could have played with and beaten any team in the league. This with the youngest team in the league! Imagine this team in a few years! We happen to be in the toughest division in football and will be fighting for a playoff spot every year. This was not the case when Gruden coached the Bucs. Gruden was great with veteran talent but did not have the patience (much like you) to deal with young players. This team is finally being built the right way! If you cannot see where optimism among fans comes from Thomas, you never will. I don’t expect you to.
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:01 pm
thomas are you even a fan of the bucs? because ive never seen a fan of a team be so negative. instead of being happy with a 7 win turnaround for instance you just say it probably wont happen again next year lol… I mean damn man be happy about something we’ve had some lean years since the super bowl and you dunno how good we have it now at least were not living through another gradkowski or simms era
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Practice what you preach Thomas! You predicted a 2-3 win season last year! You were wrong. Admit it without using excuses.
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:03 pm
LMAO. Joe Bucs Fan, the home of Thomas . . .
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:06 pm
If Rah does a great job (and the games aren’t won solely on Free 4th quarter heroics) I will give him credit.
wow… yeah a good coach never leans on a star qb to bring the team back in games
The proof will lie in 2011, someone will be right, somebody wrong. If they go 6-10, I don’t want to hear the excuses: Oh Freeman was hurt, Talib was in trouble, the D Line was young etc. Remember what all of you are saying today – this team has been “turned around.” Lets see.
hopefully with a great 2011 you will quit trolling jbf but I doubt it
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Thomas give it a f ing rest already. From where we were when Gruden got fired, to now just 2 years later our franchise is in much better shape to not only win now but WAY more importantly to be a contender for years to come. Your clueless and I feel your just a stubborn idiot that cant admit he is wrong.
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:07 pm
By the way Thomas, our D was ranked 17th in the league last year. Our offense was 19th. Which side of the ball had the bigger turnaround?
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:38 pm
So let me get this straight Thomas – last year’s 10 wins meant nothing to you because we had an easy schedule (the same schedule Atlanta and New Orleans had, less 2 games)? This, by definition, is you making an excuse. However, if we win 6 games next year, you don’t want to hear us making any excuses? You have also planted the seed that we have an easy schedule coming up, thus once again providing another excuse if we should have a successful season. So to understand your reasoning, we can’t make excuses, but you can, right? That makes perfect sense! Your entire JBF life is full of making excuses (the winning record, the improvement in defense, we only won because of Freeman, etc. etc.). I don’t believe for one second you believe half the stuff you say. I believe you are just an old, grouchy man with nothing more to do than to come on the site and do your best to piss people off. Just some advice for you, you would be much better at it if you would get some new material. The constant repeating of the same twisted facts just doesn’t work anymore. Come on Thomas, you are better than that!
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:14 pm
@Hawaiian, and making excuses to hate on the team your supposedly a fan of? What is this bizzaro world?!?! Usu
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:15 pm
Usually fans are the other way around
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Ash,
Not according to Thomas. If you are positive towards the team you like, then you are a homer. We are supposed to constantly criticize everything the team does, and especially the guy who coaches them.
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:32 pm
I get not being an apologist with pewter shaded glasses but damn this is the time to be excited. If your not happy with where the team is going and the people running the show then you will never be content
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:56 pm
I don’t care what anybody says, this team is loaded with talent, lead by freakin Superman #5. I’m not buying any of the BS that this team can’t perform at a high level. They are chalk full of star players and it’s just that the World doesn’t know it yet. Many national media are starting to come around and see it. Being a Buc fan isn’t the popular thing right now, but for us Die Hard, Hard Core, Live and Breath Buc Football Fans, we know where it’s at. We know the real deal and my hat’s off to the Glazers, Dominick & Raheem. They are totally rockin and the Sky is the limit. Anyone that disagrees can just go ahead and Suck It, Right Here, Right Now!!!
Go Bucs !!!!!!
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Don’t be surprised to Nnamdi in a Buc uniform very soon. Good call by the Captain.
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:10 pm
BigMacAttack said
“Being a Buc fan isn’t the popular thing right now, but for us Die Hard, Hard Core, Live and Breath Buc Football Fans, we know where it’s at. We know the real deal and my hat’s off to the Glazers, Dominick & Raheem”
A lot of people have joined the bandwagon this season. This statement holds more merit with the Rah and Dom early believers that werent running them out of town before giving them time to do their thing. Its great seeing this team blossom. I know you BigMac were patient enough to give them a fair shot unlike others
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Why do you always bring up schedule? Saint had an easier schedule then we did and the falcons just a few % points harder. Everyone one in the division has 12 common opponents every year right? So for the most part everyone in the division will have pretty close schedules every year.
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:31 pm
@TCK,
Exactly, but that is too deep for Thomas. He used to claim we had 6 different games, but when I pointed out it was only 2, he still refused to acknowledge his mistake (shocker). He tried to justify it further by saying it was 4 because you can’t play against yourself!!! What an idiot!!!
June 3rd, 2011 at 7:29 am
Ash, I was a little tipsy last night. Can you tell?
June 3rd, 2011 at 7:40 am
The 14 of the 16 teams may have been the same, and Atlanta benefitted from that weak schedule too by winning 14 games and we saw they werent that good in their first playoff game, but the Bucs drew an unusual string of 2nd, 3rd, Rookie qbs last year. I have published this list before but will again;
Troy Smith, Max Hall, jimmy clausen, matt moore, jake delhomme (benched), drew stanton, sam bradford and there are others. The point: the browns were much better with mccoy, the 49ers were better with alex smith, bradford was better later in the year after more starts, max hall was a disaster, matt moore and jimmy clausen embarrassing. This was a rare cupcake schedule and yes these bad qbs helped the defensive stats except: last in the league in pass rush stats and run d (or next to last)
June 3rd, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Ah yes, Thomas, the great Alex Smith. The 49ers were soooo much better with him. He got them off to that fabulous 1-6 record, then Troy Smith helped them win 2 in a row before Tampa came to town, in which we won there for the first time in 30 years. Did I mention it was a shut out? I’m also so happy we didn’t have to face the great Colt McCoy! He had them only 1 game away from the playoffs didn’t he? Sam Bradford was better huh? Let’s see, 3-3 when they played Tampa, finished 6-10. Hmmmmm, that sure seems a whole lot better to me. Drew Stanton led the Lions to win against the SB champs the week before us, but I guess the Packers lucked out too??? Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but Max Hall played the whole game right? I could have swore Derek Anderson played the majority of the game, but I must be mistaken.
Like I said, you are nothing more than a grouch old man with no life whatsoever. It’s pretty sad what you do, but I guess you have nothing else, so it makes you feel important. Good for you, keep it up I guess. I just can’t wait to see your excuses pour in some more next year. You have already laid the groundwork, so I can hardly wait. But you better not shrivel up like a little girl and disappear.
June 7th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
I really miss the Buzz of Tampa sports. Especially now that we have not one, not two but three contenders. Tampa Bay sports are on fire. It looks like all three major franchises have finally got some momentum and good ownership who wants to win and compete for championships. All these Washington D.C. fans and talking heads do is whine about Snyder or bitch about the Caps choking or the lack of production from the Nationals. The teams and fans feel entitled to be considered an Elite sports market they have forgotten that it has to be earned through dedication to the fan base to put winners on the field or Ice. Go Bucs, Rays, Bolts!!