Gruden was fired

[tishaLA]

That's really surprising to me, no matter how much that team fell apart at the end of the season. But probably he'd been in that job too long anyhow and needed a new place to use his act. link

Bucs fire Jon Gruden and GM Bruce Allen

In the stunner of the off-season, the Bucs have fired head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen.

"We will be forever grateful for Jon bringing us the Super Bowl title and we thank Bruce for his contributions to our franchise,'' said Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer. "However, after careful consideration, we feel this decision is in the best interest of our organization moving forward.''

After failing to reach the playoffs for the fourth time in six years, the Glazer family which owns the Bucs decided it was time for a change after seven seasons with Gruden and five with Allen.

Tampa Bay was the first team in 15 years to start 9-3 and fail to reach the playoffs, losing their last four games in a row. That historical collapse also included blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead to the 4-11 Oakland Raiders in the regular-season finale at Raymond James Stadium.

[Auggie]

1. Wow -- did the Glazers get tired of winning?

[madinmaryland]

2. Guess where TO is going next year. Thanks for the draft picks Tampa!!!!

[joeybee12]

3. Fire Charlie Weis! Gruden's alarm clock plays the ND Fight Song

when it goes off!

[Kingofalldems]

4. Really? I would love to see Gruden take over at ND

I bet the alumni are already on it.

[joeybee12]

5. Yeah, he's made it known for quite some time...

...but they didn't fire Weis, and I bet they would have had Gruden been fired during the season...there was no one waiting to take Weis' place, which was part of the problem...probably the only reason he didn't get canned.

[Condem]

6. A college classmate of mine.

He was a freshman at the University of Dayton when I was a senior. Sorry to hear about that. He'll land somewhere. Too good of a coach.

[El Supremo]

7. They can have Shannyhan.

We need to get some of his salary off the books for the next three years.

[rpannier]

8. He's a great coach... Sorry to see him go

He's the only reason why I liked the Buccs

[HooptieWagon]

9. Gruden was about .500 and no playoff win since SB

He and Allen were just putting band-aids on the team. Gruden's act was starting to wear thin on fans (season ticket sales down), local media, and evidently the players. Glazers finally saw the light and decided to move in a new direction. The new HC appears to be DB Coach Raheem Morris, who had just been promoted to Defensive Coordinator a couple weeks ago. However, Morris was one of the three finalists for the HC job in Denver, and is regarded around the league as a rising star. He likely would not have been DC for long before being hired as HC - so the Bucs probably did the right thing by promoting him to HC before they lost him.

New GM is Mark Dominik, who was director of personel - also being looked at and interviewed by other teams for GM.

Obviously there is a risk in hiring rookies for both GM and HC - but they appear to be good hires by the Bucs.

[hughee99]

10. G-G-G-G-Gruden and the Jets. n/t

[Yavin4]

11. Yep. That Makes The Most Sense

Jets want Favre back and happy. Gruden does just that.

I think that TB acted too hastily. They've never had a real good QB, and when you don't have one, it's difficult to win championships, unless your defense is outstanding.

Also, didn't TB win their division last year?

[Ganja Ninja]

16. Be careful what you wish for. n/t

[trumad]

12. The most overrated coach in the NFL the last several years...

He won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy players, the year after Dungy was fired--- and since then his team has regressed. His team was a total choke job this season.

[cboy4]

13. He was sure full of himself from everything I read.

No wonder he failed in the end.

I remember when Tampa was coming off the SB win, and they came to San Francisco .. only for the 49ers to beat his ass like a tin drum, 24-7

[nolabels]

14. Nice to see the team that he screwed last screw him in the end

The Raiders knocked him and Tampa bay out of the playoffs and him out of a job :toast:

[Ganja Ninja]

15. Gruden was not all that and a bag of chips.

He's more hype than substance and he had some pretty glaring flaws.

Number 1 was his ego. Everything he did was calculated to boost his image, sometimes at the expense of the team.

He was a terrible judge of talent, Ernest Graham is a perfect example. He spent 4 years on special teams and was even cut from the team before Gruden was forced to use him because of injuries.

His constant search for a quarterback was a joke. Seven years after he was hired he still did not have a QB he trusted and had no plans for developing one.

He didn't develop a single skill position player (QB RB WR) in the entire time he was in Tampa. Those that he drafted like Cadillac Williams and Michael Clayton were at their peak in their rookie years and never progressed or even regressed over time.

He was constantly feuding with one or more of his receivers. His doghouse was always occupied and once a player went in the only way out was to leave Tampa.

He had real problems with player relations which may have been a major reason for his firing. Tampa has a lot of free agents on offense this off season and they need to re-sign some or they're in trouble.

His draft picks at the skill positions on offense have not panned out. Last years second round pick Dexter Jackson was a laughable bust. A second round pick and he was too scared to step on the field with the big boys.

And last but not least. He was hired to bring a flashy offense to Tampa - epic fail! Gruden's winning seasons in Tampa can be traced directly to the defense's performance. The offense never rose above mediocrity.