There can be little doubt, someone before Jan. 31st someone will be showing Raheem Morris the door. But he shouldn’t go out alone.I refused to say it last week, after a game started by a back up quarterback. But this was different: this was virtually the same Bucs team that took the field last year and beat the snot out of Seattle at home. This is a team that did everything right, and was off to a 14-0 lead. Even the biggest “Fire Raheem” guy had to say to himself “Oh boy, now the team is going to start playing good for their coach”.
Then it happened; everything from that point on tells me Raheem Morris cannot stay on as head coach any longer. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting the blame for this on him. Life isnt fair, I realize that, but this coaching gig was as unfair as they come. You put the youngest coach in the league in charge of a team, then strip that team of any leadership? There is only one head coach, a handful of assistants. There are 53 Bucs players, with about 48 of them acting like kids because, they are. There is no one in the locker room or on the field to tell Preston Parker to get his head out of his you know what. No one to tell Parker that talking to the media after a tough game, shows there is accountability.
How many times do we hear of a Bucs player who had a bad day, and we dont hear from him after the game. They wave off the press. That is on Raheem Morris as head coach to preach accountability all the way around, but it doesnt look as if it’s being done. The coaching staff took the Bucs backwards this week, trimming down the playbook on both offense and defense. That basically tells me you dont know your team that well, that they cant handle what your giving them. So now were going to go back to training camp and teach fundamentals?
The Bucs are clearly going backwards, continuing to commit penalties, and we continue to hear how that is being addressed. And that is why it’s become clear that the coaching staff is not doing its job. The offense continues to do the opposite of what is common sense. The Bucs run for 4.1 yards a clip from LeGarrette Blount, but only ran the ball 20 times from a running back. 18 carries from Blount; meanwhile Jones-drew had 27 carries. But how many times have we heard it this year? This was a pathetic pass defense, yet you never saw a deep shot by a QB who has the arm for it. The defense did a decent job against the Jaguars, but when it counted, they fell apart in the 4th quarter.
In the end, Raheem Morris is a good person, a good coach. But he cannot get a pass when so many others are going to have to pay for this. Even if the underlying reasons for this debacle are not even his fault. Because soon the next one called upon to leave will be the Glazers themself. Or perhaps Mark Dominik; we dont know who is to blame. But whoever decided this youth movement was the way to build a team, without any free agents, is more guilty than anyone. This person felt young Bucs would establish their own leadership. That may have happened, had their team been winning. But there are no leaders among losers, no one turns to a 500 pound guy and hires him as a personal trainer, even if he knows more than anyone about the gig.
Should Morris be fired, it wont happen until after the season, probably 3 weeks after the last game. That has been the approach of the Glazers since they hastilly fired Tony Dungy and were hammered by the media for it. If he is removed before the season ends, it will speak volumes for how much change the Glazers want. A coaching change probably will not result in a big name, nor should it. Retreads are dangerous, and there are plenty of experienced offensive or defenisve coordinators who deserve their shot as head coach like Tony Dungy or Jon Gruden was given by the Raiders before coming here.
Even a big name coach will probably do nothing for fans who believe the Glazers are cheap and wont spend any money on the team. Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds has said he has learned the Bucs intend to spend money on free agents next year. That they wanted 3 years of drafting to build a nucleus, and now that they have it, they will know where to address free agency on the team.
But we have to go with Bucs core beliefs; No excuses, no explanations.
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