Raheem Morris is clearly frustrated with his players.This column was supposed to be a 4 part series on if Raheem Morris is on the hot seat or not. That question is over, he is. When you lose 6 games in a row the way the Bucs are losing them, the owners should consider firing themselves too. Thats how serious it is.
There is no doubt if Raheem Morris is fired at the end of 2011 it will be extrememly unfair. The Coach was given NO Free agents, no veterans, just young players (Youngest team in the league two years in a row now) with no one to look up to. Then he is let go after 3 years where there was progress before this season when everything was exposed.
Raheem Morris preaches for his team to play Smart, Consistent, Fast and hard. Sometimes this team plays hard. Sometime it plays fast. It rarely plays smart, and for that reason, is NEVER consistent! The defense is a complete mess, it is statistically the worst defense since the Bucs ’85 and 86 seasons, the Worst in franchise history with two 2-14 seasons.
The offense makes no sense. It’s one thing to fool people, a reverse is decided on to trick someone. The Bucs play it twice a week as a staple of their offense. The Offense for two years now lines up in shotgun on 3rd and 2, when it has a running back feared by most. How many games does LeGarrette Blount get the ball only 11 or 12 times? Why cant he pass protect yet? IS he not being taught? Especially when there is no one else who can run?
The Front management went into the season with only Earnest Graham at running back, putting faith in Kregg Lumpkin. Albert Hanesworth was brought in as a stop gap measure, but it showed how bad these young players need a veteran to learn from. Only now Hanesworth seems to be getting bored with this defense, as are all the fans.
Raheem Morris has 4 games left but there is no reason to think he can save himself from losing at least one of his jobs. Morris as Defensive Coordinator could be it, but the Glazers may have to look at the big picture. The only two games that didn’t black out this year are two nationally televised Night games; One Monday Night football game, and one Saturday night game against the Dallas Cowboys. The stadium is sure to be half full of Cowboys fans.
The Bucs are slowly turning into the Yucks of the 80s and early 90s. The people are turned off, all the victories achieved by the Glazers in turning around Tampa Bay as a football embarrasment have been reversed. The fans consider their ownership cheap, because they are acting that way. If no free agents are brought in next year, if there isnt some sort of major change, the situation is going to get a lot worse. The Glazers are smart Business men, surely they know that.
So how do we fix the situation?
1)Raheem Morris must let go of Defensive Coordinator duties. He has so many problems with his team right now its not funny. Worrying about calling plays should not be one of them.
2)A new offensive coordinator must be hired, one with credentials. Olsen’s offense is too predictable, and has not produced since he has taken over. This year the Bucs faced three of the worst defenses, and only scored 24 points against one of them. This has to be done now while Josh Freeman is still developing.
3)The Glazers must go after one or two TOP free agents next year, and land at least one. Some veterans must be brought in to provide or groom leadership.
These last four games will decide if Raheem Morris can keep his job or not. We know the talent level isnt up to par, but right now the effort isnt either. The Bucs are not listening to Raheem Morris, he has admitted this. He has 4 games to get them to listen, or he will hear the same words Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden heard once upon a time.
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