Team Glazer Not Enamoured With Jeff Fisher
January 4th, 2012
There has already been some news seeping out of One Buc Palace about what the Bucs think of one of the candidates to become the franchise’s ninth head coach.
When Raheem Morris was told, in so many words, to go to the Outback Bowl and not come back Monday, quite a few Bucs fans jumped up and down as if they were on trampolines in the excitement of former Titans coach Jeff Fisher potentially coming to Tampa Bay.
Hold up, says eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. Kaufman has his ear to the ground at One Buc Palace and believes the powers that be who work there are collectively shrugging their shoulders over Fisher, so he told “The Fabulous Sports Babe” yesterday, heard on WHBO-AM 1040.
“My information — and you are not going to like it — my information is this organization right here is not overwhelmed with Jeff Fisher. That’s my information.”
Kaufman had loads of other information about the Bucs’ putrid season, the coaching search (Mike Sherman is leading candidate thus far) and jettisoned coach Raheem Morris (“He did know he was going to be fired.”)
January 4th, 2012 at 9:12 am
But wait! Joel said they had no “pre-conceived notions” about any coach or any style. Hmmm…more useless sound bites from owners.
But they would never lie to us, right??? Oh, yeah….
January 4th, 2012 at 9:16 am
Yet, Rick Stroud reported yesterday that the Bucs would “aggresively” pursue Fisher. Who knows. I still believe money is an issue with the Glazers and Fishers demands for the acquisition of quality assistants and veteran players will come with more of a price tag than the Glazers are willing to stomach. Unfortunately, my expectations are for more of the same old, same old.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:17 am
If I have to choose between Fisher and Sherman I’m taking Fisher all day. Personally I don’t want either but if the search stops at Sherman the Glazers are proving more and more their going for the cheap hire. I’m sure not being impressed with Fisher was how much he is asking. Of all the candidates out there Sherman is the least exciting and will result in more of a backlash from fans (IMO)
January 4th, 2012 at 9:18 am
I honestly don’t want either of these coaches jeff fisher is pretty mediocre as a coach in his 17 seasons. Mike Sherman? I definantley don’t want him. He had favre in his prime Ahmad green antonio freeman and a nice ol in their prime still couldn’t sniff the super bowl. He’s a wc offense guy.so expect the same offense. He didn’t even get sniffed as a hc after his dismissal. That tells u something. And o he just got fired from Texas am for not being able to cut it. If u can’t even make it in the big 12 why would u hire him to coach this team? Do you really think these players would respect a guy that just got fired from a college team? Glazers if u hire him ur ensuring the fans that they will get the no1overall pick in 2012-2013.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:25 am
good lord people.. nobody worth their salt in business will make a public announcement on who they want to hire. Of course they have preferences, but if they make them known they may: 1) expose themselves to Rooney Rule liability (see: Marriucci, Steve) or 2) lose leverage in contract negotiations or have the coach change their mind if the announcement is made too early.. I can’t remember who did that one but it happened about 4-5 years ago. Joe- do you remember who that was?
Anyway, my point is that we need to let the process play out and take everything GMs or owners say with a grain of salt when it involves personnel moves. I’d bet that they move towards a more authoritarian coach but don’t care as much about offense vs. defense.. that usually doesn’t translate into head coaching success on one side or another. Remember offensive genius Billick? Didn’t he win with a nasty D and Dilfer as his QB? Ditto Harbaugh in SF, Gruden in TB, and others. A good coach will make the most of their roster and win with what they have.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:25 am
Glad to hear they aren’t jumping on the first big-name veteran coach to visit. This is along process. If the Bucs are ready to offer the money, any of these coaching candidates are interested in hearing from the Bucs. Why, we have a good franchise QB potential, solid core team that can be built around and the likelihood of success in the first year based on a 4-12 past.
Miami is crap without the top pick in draft, Colts are a mess with QB drama, etc. Rams can be enticing as well, but Bucs have good package to offer. Depends on money and philosophy. Plus, Rockstar is taking a backseat on some issues and can still be fired if needed.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:27 am
Not enamored = wants too much money and control!
January 4th, 2012 at 9:28 am
the glazers will pick the coach who does not demand they spend money
January 4th, 2012 at 9:29 am
Dom loves the big 12, for whatever reason. Please no Sherman, I’d rather they took a chance with an unproven DC or OC than basically a failure, the guy had Farve! Free is no Farve! Grimm, Chud, Malarky, if they’re going “retread” Billick should be the man!
January 4th, 2012 at 9:31 am
pretty sad how the glazers have ruined this team and city remember a few years back when they spent money and there was a 100 thousand people on the season ticket waiting list now its hard to even give away your club seats to friends for free
January 4th, 2012 at 9:41 am
Give it a rest with the cheap talk. Go back to the 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s if you want to see cheap. What makes any of you think that Fisher demands more money than Sherman anyway…Oh, becasue Miami is rumered to want him. Big deal. I am all for Mullarkey myself. I do not want any of the retreads, not even Billik. First of all, Billik won a Super Bowl, and as Joe pointed out the other day…No retread coach has won a Super Bowl with a second team. Fisher had some pretty good teams with TN over a long period of time, but does not have a ring. Sherman I just cannot stand. I would prefer Fischer out of the three, but I would rather see a OC or DC get the job.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:46 am
You want to know who is underwhelming? Mike Sherman.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:49 am
i’m down to Grimm or Bassaccia
January 4th, 2012 at 9:49 am
mike sherman record as a coach over the last 5 years is 29-37 no wonder he got fired from texas a&,m
January 4th, 2012 at 9:49 am
Fisher is a safe pick, not necessarily the best pick. We can all speculate who the best pick is, when in reality, you never know how they will do.
I think we should have an offensive minded team. Points and excitement come from the offense, which makes games more entertaining, which in turn, will sell more tickets.
I’m not crazy about a lot of the choices, I just hope whomever it is takes us back to winning….and none of us know who that will be.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:51 am
I hope you are correct. Do not want Fisher. 16 years as HC and 1 Superbowl appearance, which he lost. 6 playoff appearances. Let’s check the Russ Grimm (might have to cut his son) or Rich Bisaccia if he’s not too upset about not getting it to begin with….
January 4th, 2012 at 9:52 am
Bucfanjeff…So true my man, so true.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:53 am
Of the three names floated, I rank them (in order) Fisher, Gray, Sherman. And I’d put Sherman in a distant 3rd.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:55 am
What kind of defense does Mike Zimmer run in Cincinatti?
January 4th, 2012 at 10:00 am
How are you idiots saying “he had Favre” like that is a reason Sherman isn’t qualified? Belichek has Brady, McCarthy has Rodgers, Payton has Brees, Dungy had Manning, Shanahan had Elway. Now those of you saying he couldn’t cut it in college have a good argument but stop saying “he had Favre!”.
That said, I’m not surprised they don’t like Fisher. Fisher is a Mercedes and Glazers are shopping for a Chevy. I want someone that turns into a Lamborghini.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:05 am
Yeah enough with the cheap talk.we buc fans have a short memory how things used to be.the glazers got us a superbowl and paid enough to keep brooks,sapp and alstott all those years.its their buisness and they do fine by us(gruden,keyshawn etc)they spend when they need to. Gray is probably the best fit for our young undisciplined group of studs. I could see chud or clements as well
January 4th, 2012 at 10:07 am
Zimmer runs a 4-3. I think he’d be a good candidate to have in the mix.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:10 am
I think we should dump Dominick and bring in Bill Polian or Jerry Angelo to help with the coaching search. That will help long term.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Billick, plain and simple. Bring him in and we will be victorious once again.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:14 am
Polian had 13 years to build a team around Manning and didn’t do it. He had 13 years to find a backup to Manning and didn’t do it. No thanks to Polian, even though I’m underwhelmed by Dom.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:21 am
Zimmer or Grimm would be the guys I look at.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:37 am
sing it Jim J! My pick as well. He has stated he is interested in miami job and think Rams job would be best of alll available – but no one is contacting him. Uh oh.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:39 am
So they aren’t enamored with Fisher… Which is fine. But I don’t understand why they would be enamored with Sherman.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:41 am
Jim J and LOLJFH…
Don’t see it. Billick is an offensive minded won with a STELLAR defense. Not really that good IMHO.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:50 am
Del Rio or Spags as DC.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:52 am
I am starting to warm up to the Biasaccia talk.
He Fits their mold
he’ll come in cheap as first time HC.
Bucs Still owe Morris $2 Million next year
Still has respect of the Locker Room in Tampa
Left in protest of Gruden/Allen Regime not Dominik
Well respected in league and could attract some good assistants.
Would not control Offense or Defense and would not be biased to either
January 4th, 2012 at 11:00 am
@Meh,
Before you trash Polian, I highly suggest you look up his body of work. He built the Bills team which made it to 4 Super Bowls. In Buffalo!!! He built the Panthers and got them to the NFC championship in their 2nd year of existance! Yes he didn’t have a capable backup for Manning, but the guy never missed a game in 15 years, why would you invest heavily in a backup??? If you did research, you would understand how great of a GM he is.
January 4th, 2012 at 11:03 am
We need to interview:
Brian Billick, Joe Philbin, Mike Zimmer, Tom Clements, Jerry Gray, Fisher, etc……..just to name a few.
January 4th, 2012 at 11:14 am
Is it just me or does it seem like we are FAR behind all of the other applicable teams on this coaching search…especially when the powers that be AND Raheem knew he was going to get fired before the end of the season. I really hope it is just the Glazers being their typical stealth self on this.
It does scare me that the only candidate people (mainly media) are talking about is Sherman who according to LaCanfora, will be hired by the Bucs sometime next week.
Can’t wait for THAT outrage to begin if it comes true.
January 4th, 2012 at 11:19 am
If what Ira says is true. Team Glazer does not want anybody that will want control. Plain and simple. You people who defend them are insane. They are the cheapest owners in the NFL ever since they bought Man U. If Fisher were to come in here he would demand free agents and a coaching staff that will be getting paid big money. Joel says money is not an issue. Don’t believe a word he said. Glazerhouse trio need to put their money where their mouths are. I’m afraid its not going to happen.
January 4th, 2012 at 11:42 am
CC- cool it with the cheap talk.. back it up with facts, please. They did offer Haynesworth more money than he got with Washington, paid Derrick Ward, Donald Penn, kept Ronde, etc. They were active in FA when needed – not to mention the fact that they paid Gruden for several years to NOT coach. That alone says they’re not cheap… if they were really cheap they would have kept Gruden and Allen. Where they made a mistake was in thinking that one year of success with young players would continue without adding any.. honestly other than keeping Ruud (which most of you were against anyway) who else would have helped? Asomugha didn’t do much for Philly. Maybe Sproles, but what other high price FA was out there that would have been an improvement over the talent at the end of last year??? And when you answer please use the knowledge you only had back then when Mike Williams was named by his peers to be in the top 100 players…
January 4th, 2012 at 11:48 am
Does the Rooney rule apply even if the coach you fired is a minority you again have to interview another minority coach? Not trying to be cute… really just wondering with the rumors out there with the signing of Sherman next week etc….
January 4th, 2012 at 11:49 am
[Sorry Mike, that’s out of line. There is zero reason to invoke one’s religion into this discussion. — Joe]
January 4th, 2012 at 11:51 am
By the way some of my best friends are Jewish and I am not an Anti-Semite. Just for the record.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
I too think the cheap talk is unfounded. OK. They didn’t bring FA’s in last year…big deal. The team went 10-6. Do you want to disrupt the chemistry by bringing in a bunch of retreads or do you want to wait another year and see if this team develops into a playoff contender? They waited….it didn’t work out. I think they have a lot better idea now where they need FA help then they did last year. Half of this team will probably be gone by the start of next season.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
TampaRob – Exactly!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
To all you Glazer apologists out there: It is not that the Glazers are not spending any money. Each year, every team spends millions of dollars on payroll for players and coaches. The problem is that since ManU the Glazers have consistently spent LESS than the vast majority of other teams in the league on payroll. The results of which have shown up on the field. So don’t cite examples of what they have spent, look at what they have spent in relation to every other team in the league. Therein lies your problem.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Jake, Glazer pointed out, as have many on this site, that the lack of draft talent in the 2000’s is the main reason. The second contracts of drafted super stars typically pull in the big contracts…not to mention the lack of first round picks due to the Gruden and Keyshawn deals. This makes sense. Just curious, and there is nothing wrong with being a fan since the 90’s, by age, bandwagon, or relocation, as long as you are a Bucs fan I do not care when how or why. How long have you been a Bucs fan? Do you remember the Culverhouse owners? Now that was cheap ownership, Hugh did not give a rats ass about winning. ManU can take care of itself, it makes way more money than the Bucs do. The Bucs talent has been in a down cycle, we sold the farm to win a Super Bowl, and I am glad we did. I hope we are on an upturn with some very talented draft picks over the last three years. Call it apologists or whatever, but these owners broguht the Bucs from being big time losers to being respected. Now we are headed in the loser direction, but hopefuly the new coaches can turn it around…Basically, hearing the same old “Glazers are cheap they will not spend” gets old.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
OK Jake- I disagree with your statement. First, I’m not a Glazer apologist. I don’t care either way about them- but I do remember the Culverhouse years. Second, I don’t care what other teams spend. Teams like Dallas, Philly, NY Jets, and Washington totally throw off the spending curve. And exactly how did that work out for them??????
They made a choice to go with young players because that’s what works. Simply put it’s the only proven way to build a playoff team. I’m not making excuses because that’s the direction they chose to take based on the last half of 09-10 and 10-11 season. If you remember all of the media attention and praise was lavished liberally on Raheem and Dom for making smart choices and finding talent in scrap heaps.
Remember this is exactly how the Patriots and Colts were built. I’ve brought this up before, but how many of NE’s starting OL were off the scrap heap in their 1st super bowl under Bilichick? I know Russ Hochstein was cut by the Bucs and started for them… Yes, the eventually added Harrison but did so after letting Milloy and others go even though it enraged their fans— yet nobody called Kraft cheap. How many “big name” FAs are on the Steelers? Ravens? Broncos? Saints? (and don’t say Boldin.. he stunk this year and nobody including Miami wanted Brees as he was damaged goods)
Again, they need to sign some FAs this year because the grand experiment failed. If they don’t sign any this year I will consider them to be cheap- but I’m willing to give them a pass for last season based on the facts in place at that time.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Oh- BTW don’t even THINK of comparing the Glazers to Hugh Culverhouse. THAT man was cheap. The Glazers shelled out millions to build the new One Buc Palace and staff it with professional chefs while HC made the players pay .50 for Cokes in a vending machine. Yes, the Glazers had public money that I voted against spending– but they did put quite a bit out of their own corporate pockets in order to make the team more attractive to FAs. No profit is gained from that facility at all. Nor can I remember a time when HC lowered ticket prices.
I’m not an apologist at all for them– but I remember cheap. Oh yeah- and I remember the time when Gay Culverhouse ripped the fans right before the league stepped in and had Steve Story start running the team.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Mike Sherman’s a better candidate than Jeff Fisher??? Really??? F**K it, put Thomass in charge over there!
January 4th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
How can you justify being at the bottom of the team salary cap for the past 5 years? These guys are cheap. If you did your homework you would know that they are borrowing $$$ to pay Man U loan. Where do you think that $$$ is coming from? If you Glazerhouse apologists are satisfied with this product more power to you. Me personally, I hope they sell the team to somebody (DeBartolo) that will dedicate there time and $$$ on this team here in Tampa.@ TampaRob the facts are they are cheap or just don’t have any $$ to spend. Either way last 5 years what have the Bucs done?
January 4th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Thank God they aren’t interested is all I can say.
McBuc Says:
January 4th, 2012 at 9:41 am
I am all for Mullarkey myself. I do not want any of the retreads.
You are aware that Mullarky is a retread also, aren’t you?
He didn’t exectly set the world on fire as a head coach.
January 4th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
I cant believe people are still falling for that Glazer boy line about “we have low payroll cause we didnt have good drafts”.
Total BS.
January 4th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
CC- how do you know where their money comes from? First of all any business borrows money to pay bills, and nobody knows how much any other team is or isn’t leveraged. Man U does publish their books and they are more than profitable enough to support their debt service and have money left over, so spare me the pseudo-CPA stuff. You can justify the expense simply by the results of year 1 and 2 of the Raheem/Dominick regime. They continued to show improvement, thereby justifying the strategy. Year 3 bombed. Now, CC, please show me a comparison of salary expense on free agents vs. results for the last 10 years for all NFL teams before you can make any claims that an increase in one will directly result in the increase of the other. You simply can’t tell me that there is a link because one doesn’t exist.
In the last 5 years they had mixed results- and in years 4 & 5 that you reference they were top heavy on salary with free agents, so those facts counter you own argument. Garcia? Faine? Pettigout? Dunn? Galloway?
January 4th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
..oh BTW, CC, do you know the financial condition of the DeBartolos? I know I don’t, and most likely neither do you. How do you know they’ll have the money to spend on FAs or that they would do anything different than current ownership? Do they have the cashflow to purchase the team valued where it is? I don’t know that and neither do you unless you are their CPA.
January 4th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
I hope the Glazers are keeping a finger of the pulse of Bucs fans, because it’s clear that a Sherman hiring will create ZERO interest among fans. The apathy will only deepen. Fans will rightly come to the conclusion that the Glazers really don’t care about winning, they care about control and profit margin.
No way to Sherman. Absolutely no way. I’d take Jerry Gray all day long over Sherman. I’d even take Mularkey or Chudzinski over Sherman by a country mile. I hope La Canfora and Stroud are just being intentionally misled in order to keep the true candidate under wraps a little while longer.
January 4th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Coincidentally (not) he is the candidate that will demand the highest compensation!
Some things will never change. At least we have a rockstar (17-31, last place division, no pro bowl) GM.
January 4th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
every one saying that fisher is average, because he only has 1 super bowl appearance should be shot. Your stupidity is appaling. Flat out he is the best candidate for the job, for years when people asked who the best coach in the nfl is his name was on the short list mentioned.He is most prepared and experienced. We have to come up with a way to gameplan for the panthers, and saints, for years to come. Ill take the coach with experience any day. His peers all look at him as a great coach. The only reason the glazers are not enamored is because he will cost the most. You idiots can have your silly little coordinators, ill take the guy who has done it successfully and the right way for years. Keeping dominic is just proof that the glazers are still looking to do it cheap, joe stop calling him rockstar, he should be fired, had he not got extension he would of.
January 4th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
DO NOT LET FISHER OUT OF ONE BUC PLACE, LETS RESTORE THIS FRANCHISE
January 4th, 2012 at 5:32 pm
You say the have not spent…yet they paid for 100 of the practice facility, bringing training camp back to tampa. Several trades and free agents as well. However…if I had been owner I would not have spent uch leading up to the lockout either. It’s called leverage.
AND then after last year, it wasn’t thought there would be a need.
Homework is a wonderful thing. The NFL has franchise rules…owners cannot use the franchise as collateral for loans. You seem to think the Glazers have no other interests outside of ManU and the Bucs…they were billionaires before buying a franchise. Those are still owned aspects. The Bucs organization long ago paid for itself. It is self-maintaining now.
Therefore, the assets from the other businesses are able to be applied to the ManU. You mentioned doing homework…you should do it sometime instead of listening to sensationalism.
January 4th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
I admire your enthusiasm, but you are mistaken. Yes, Fisher is a good coach. He’s good…not great.
He also is not the candidate best suited for this team. Consider the things we need in a coach:
1) Offensive or Defensive-minded?
That depends. Which unit is closest to completion?
On defense we need 2 OLBs, 2 CBs and possibly another DT depending on whatever scheme we go to under a new coach.
On offense we need a RB, a speedy WR, and a RT. Eventually we’ll need a replacement for Winslow.
Clearly, the offense needs less spots filled.
2) The coach must be a quarterback teacher
In order to get that going right, we need someone who is skilled at preparing quarterbacks. Of those available, the one with the best track record in that area is Tom Clements…QB Coach for the Packers. It is also widely thought that Clements runs the offense in Green Bay.
Freeman is the number one priority for this team. Superbowl winning teams are built on units (defense, offense, etc), but Dynasties are built on quarterbacks (Pats, Colts, Packers, Giants, Cowboys, etc). We have to make sure he is properly developed, and part of that is having a head coach that can believe in him AND teach him.
3) We still need to address the defense
We need a guy who can do the above, but also has a clear understanding of defenses. He must develop or offense rapidly, and improve the defense within 2 years. In short, we need a team with a great offense and a good-to-great defense. The best candidate for this would be Russ Grimm. The Steelers are accustomed to having both. They and the pats have consistently been the best in the AFC for over a decade.
4) We need a disciplinarian
Fisher would be good in this, but he lacks the above characteristics. Russ Grimm can do it, and so can Clements,
So, when we point at people other than Fisher, its because we’re considering all aspects of the team, not just one.
January 5th, 2012 at 8:48 am
pete russ grimm was a o line coach, so not sure why he is so qualified to address a defense. Sorry but out of all the people you mentioned, jeff fisher would be able to field the best staff, meaning those problems you listed would be addressed by better coaches. I challenge any one to find one football person, on tv, newspaper, or website, that does not think fisher is a great coach. Give me the most qualified person for the job, you keep the rooks