Some of the comments where right to the point (Simeon Rice) and some of them were pussy-footed (surprisingly Jeff Garcia, who would have though), but regardless, the point was made.  Some of Gruden’s former players do not like his coaching style.  He is an in  your face, hold you accountable type of coach, and some of today’s prima donna’s can’t handle criticism.  

At last, my man Gruden finally had a few things to say.  

On coaching again:

“Chucky will be back and hopefully my teeth will be as sharp as ever…(whether) it’s the NFL, college, high school or, maybe, I’ll just be the best damn flag football coach in the history of Florida. I’m now head of the FFCA — Fired Florida Coaches Association.”

On taking some shots from his former players:

“I’m not the first coach to take potshots. Hey, some people were taking potshots at Tony Dungy when I got here,” said Gruden. “Jeff Garcia, Michael Clayton, I wish those guys the best. I hope Raheem gets this thing going again.”

Reaction to his firing:

“It was rough the way it ended, losing three or four games,” Gruden said. “This was the first time in my life being on the front line of the firing squad after 11 years. I’ve just taken a couple days to unwind with my family. A lot of people have called, being very supportive. Some people have taken shots and I understand that not everyone likes or agrees with what I do as a coach.”

On his accomplishments in Tampa:

“We won a Super Bowl,” he said. “I got a game ball for winning more games than any Bucs coach in history. I got a game ball for my 100th win [including playoff wins]. There are only six teams [actually seven] in the NFL that had back-to-back winning seasons the past two years and the Bucs were one of them. Again, it was tough the way it ended but we did some good things and I know some people who think we overachieved.”

What he left the Bucs with:

 ”The reality is we came in with a bad salary cap situation and we left with some $50 million under the cap, so it’s not like we went out and spent a lot of money on players.”

On the possibility of coaching college football with his reputation of being unable to work with young QB’s:

“I really only had one young guy to work with in Chris Simms,” said Gruden. “I’d love a shot to coach some young college guys. Look, you know me. I’m an addict. I love to coach.”

On potential job opportunities:

Whatever I do, I’m going to show respect for the game. I’m going to use proper etiquette. Whatever I choose to do, I expect people to be demanding. Anything less would be unacceptable.”

 This is a man who has blown relationships with local writers, national writers (all will name unmentioned) and supposedly got into a fistfight with a local (very big) writer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a respected member in the Tampa Bay community.  This is the same man who openly campaigned for the release of TE Jerramy Stevens due to his past transgressions, than subsequently was arrested weeks later for an alleged DUI, cue the “all people mentioned in this post charged with crimes are guilty until proven innocent” line.  HIS THIRD INVOLVEMENT WITH FREAKING DUI’S!  Duemig also was the same genius who broke the story about the Buccaneers being moved to Los Angeles in 2000, about Phil Mickelson’s alleged gambling debts, and in all of these scenarios, his “unnamed sources” always take the fall for his preposterous musings.  

There is one thing I’m sure of…he has had it out for Jon Gruden since the day he replaced Tony Dungy.  The only time in which this stance was not apparent was when interviewing Gruden, he would act like he liked him (coward), but with no Gruden around he made no bones about hating the man. No matter the results on the football field, the campaign remained strong…to run Jon Gruden out of town.  Well, apparently his venom finally got him his wish.  

It is being reported now from the St Pete Times, unabashed Gruden haters as well, that the Glazers not only sought the advice of a few players on the football team, but also sought the advice of the fans.  

“We talked to a lot of people, but we not only talked to the players, but (also) out in the community getting a feel for the team,” co-owner Bryan Glazer told the Times today at the Super Bowl media center in Tampa, Fla. “We get opinions and we mix them all together. We just took our time making that decision.”

“Our fans are our stockholders. They’re what we play for — the people in our stadium and the ones that watch on TV. That’s what it’s all about: winning and how they feel about the team. If they don’t feel good about the team, then there’s something wrong. . . I think you all know the sense that’s out there. It was time for a change.”

“I THINK YOU ALL KNOW THE SENSE THAT’S OUT THERE!” –   That is classic.  The funny thing to me, is I’ll give the man credit for the first time in my life.  Although he helped me personally propel a cause I had undertaken (the ouster of ex-Rays owner Vince Naimoli via Oust Naimoli) to a national stage, by allowing me to talk about Oust Naimoli on the air, I never liked the guy, and never will.   He did accomplish his goal though, Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen are gone, let’s see how long he gives the new regime before calling for their heads for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Their main targets were former Cleveland Browns OC Rob Chudzinski, former Rams Head Coach Scott Linehan, and current QB Coach Greg Olsen.  Linehan signed on to be the Lions offensive coordinator on Friday, probably under the premise that he would have his choice of players with the first overall pick in the draft.  That is pure speculation on my part, but it would seemingly be the only logical reason (other than Calvin Johnson) to choose the Lions over the 49′ers (who were also interested in his services) and the Buccaneers.

I have a few friends/fans who I respect that thing Chudzinski would be a great choice for the Bucs, but I’m not so sold.  Not saying the guy couldn’t be successful here, but his two year stint with the Browns has me less than convinced.  The Cleveland offense ranked 30th in points, 31st in both total yard and pass yards, and 26th in rushing yards, with much more at his disposal as far as offensive weapons are concerned.  We lack the aforementioned offensive weapons that the Browns had, other than bringing back Antonio Bryant or augmenting our skill positions via free agency or the draft.

I was excited about the possibility of Linehan as the OC, but as I mentioned earlier, that is over with now.  He was successful as the OC in Minnesota and Miami, and although he had his struggles as the Head Coach of the Rams, he may have just not been suited to run the whole show.  There are plenty of succesful coordinators and coaches in the league who have had trouble in the top chair, but relish the opportunity to manage one unit or one side of the football, and I think Linehan would have been a great choice.

It’s hard for me to want to get behind Greg Olsen either, as our offenses have been quite pedestrian the last few years with him coaching the QB’s, although he had no control over play calling, and I’m of the belief that Jeff Garcia hindered our offense more than helped it.

The man I really wanted to look at Jeremey Bates, decided to go be the Offensive Coordinator for Pete Carroll at USC, and in retrospect, knowing now that we were hiring his father to be the defensive coordinator for our football team, I think he might have chose a different route had the Bucs shown interest.  He has ties to the organization and our Super Bowl team as an offensive quality control coach and as an assistant quarterbacks coach.  If I had to guess he will be one of the hot names in the NFL coaching ranks the next few years as far as offensive minded guys are concerned.

My main question now is do the Bucs continue to look at Chudzinski, Olsen and I’ve heard we’ve also had some interest in Chan Gailey (yikes) or to be we look outside the box and target a college coach who may be looking for his NFL break.  I still think Jeff Jagodzinski the former BC head coach who was fired for interviewing with the Jets, would be a perfect fit.  He had plenty of NFL experience as TE’s coach of the Packers for 4 seasons, two years as the Falcons Oline coach, and one year as the OC of the Packers in 2006.  He is still unemployed and would be a great fit for the team in my opinion.