PLS is exploding with content today. You're welcome (or I apologize).
I just noticed that Tampa Bay demoted DC Jim Bates and HC Raheem Morris will assume the DC duties. Tampa will return to the defense that bears its name.
Coach Morris and I have had our past tiffs. I could sort of live with the decision previously, in light of the fact I thought Josh Johnson should be given a shot. This one is unacceptable.
For those of you who are keeping score, Raheem Morris has now fired both his DC (listed above) and his previous offensive coordinator within three months of taking the job. This desperately smacks of something I call "not knowing what the hell is going on". First, even a football outsider like me knows that you only sacrifice coordinators in order to extend your own head coaching career. This doesn't really bode well for Morris' career as a Head Coach if he's already firing guys.
Second, it was obvious that Bates' defense (a more physical 4-3) was not going to work with the present personnel at the season's outset. I could live with the hiring if only to secure Bates and then bring in different personnel as the year played out, possibly getting a prime player at the top of the draft. But Raheem and GM Mark Dominik surely must have known that Morris' and Bates' defensive philosophies were at odds. Since these guys were hand-picked by the Dynamic Duo, it speaks poorly of the research that actually went into hiring these coordinators.
Lastly, the Raheem Morris shouting point, "Stay the Course" has actually turned into a more false rallying cry than "We want the ball and we're going to score!" What, exactly, does going back to the defense that couldn't stop the run at the end of last year do to correct the problem of being unable to stop the run this year? To clarify, Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik believe that staying the course means to start from a fresh, new direction, release your team's icon, and then give up when it sucks and go back to what we did before. As JoeBucsFan has so eloquently stated,
Joe hasn’t seen this much needless motion and misdirection since Chucky had a his offense shifting all over the place on every other play.
Full disclosure: I wanted Gruden gone. I thought he had run his course; the offense was erratic (as always) and the defense pretty much quit after Monte Kiffin had his bags packed for Tennessee. Sometimes, the devil you do know is better than the devil you don't.At this point, I'd rather see Isaiah Thomas coach the Bucs. At least we could then blame his incompetence on not knowing football because he was a basketball guy (of sorts).
The only thing Tampa might be able to do to win back fan support at this point is to give their franchise icon a chance to start the coaching climb. I firmly believe, and will stump for, Derrick Brooks' hiring in some capacity. He is a pretty intelligent guy who will some day make a fine DC/HC, if he so chooses. Let's give him the opportunity to start now, assuming he is the bigger person and forgives the organization that so swiftly showed him the door when he didn't fit the new scheme, only to abandon it midseason and return to the scheme in which he was fluent. Believe me, the fans would be more willing to give Brooks a chance than most, if not all, are giving to Morris.
No more excuses, Raheem. No more excuses, Dominik. This terrible administration and coaching job are now squarely on you chumps. You can try to wash the blood of change off of your hands now, but mere cries of, "Out, damn spot! Out, I say!" will prove much like Ms. Macbeth's attempts: fruitless and historically famous for not working.
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