Bucs Re-Sign Morris to a 2-year Extension
By Josh Hill
TAMPA — After last season, the extremists were calling for his head already. Those doubters are now eating their words, and if they’re nice maybe Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris will take them out on his dollar; after all he’s a rich man now. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked up the two year option on Raheem Morris’ contract thus keeping him on the Bucs sideline until the 2012 season. Morris will make $2 million a season and could double the payout with various playoff incentives.
“It’s obvious that Coach Morris has done a phenomenal job with this football team,” Bucs GM Mark Dominik said on Monday, one day after the season ended with a 23-13 victory at New Orleans. “That’s why no one is worried about their contracts.” Dominik and Morris came in at the end of the 2008 season replacing Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen and changing the face of the franchise. Dominik is really the man behind the curtain in Tampa, juggling various tasks, chief among them was his job of finding replacements this season for the numerous injuries the Bucs suffered. He also plucked the diamond that was LaGarrette Blount out of the rough, which may be a reason Dominik is being considered for NFL Executive of the Year.
“So, what everyone is really focused on now,” Dominik continued to say, ” is making sure that we continue what we started in 2009 and did in 2010 and keep this going. That’s where our focus is.”
Players aren’t upset about the extension of their head coach, in fact they are ecstatic that they all can continue to grow as a unit in Tampa. “Well deserved,” left tackle Donald Penn wrote in a text message to The Tampa Tribune. “He earned it the hard way. (Now we have) got to move forward and build on this great season we just had.”
“We certainly started something this year, and hopefully we can build on it next year and grow from it.” Morris said. “We want to build a team here that can win for a long time, and I certainly believe we’ve set ourselves up for that.” Raheem Morris was also a part of finding the random players that proved to be the Bucs backbone this year. He also was instrumental in getting perhaps the most important piece of the Bucs franchise when he fought hard to get Josh Freeman drafted out of Kansas State and into Tampa. Morris got what he wanted, a quarterback whom he has a deep history with, and the Bucs are off and running in just the second year. If there was any coach that deserved a contract extension it was Morris.
Re-signing Morris was the Bucs number one priority this offseason and you can put a giant check mark next to that now. This assures the Bucs will still have the magic they had this year for at least the next two seasons. It won’t be an easy road as the Bucs’ schedule will be much more difficult next year with trips to Green Bay, Atlanta, Tennessee and a San Francisco team that will be very improved. But the Bucs are up to the challenge.
“I’m extremely proud of this coaching staff and what they did with this roster this year,” said Dominik, whose active roster included 25 players from the 2010 draft class. “They did a great job preparing these guys this year and getting them ready to play under some unusual circumstances.
“That’s why I don’t have a problem saying that, in my mind, Raheem Morris is the NFL’s coach of the year.” I have to say, I down right agree with that last statement.