Jon Gruden fired!

I agree. Gruden will find work again as a head coach. You think his name is going to be thrown around in Oakland?

Would have taken the TN job if he was interested in college (He GAed there in the like 88-89?.) Many alumni were after him for interest. He is a pro coach.

I can see him taking the year off and getting back next year, then again, NYJ/KC(if herm is fired.) may look at him...

Got to meet Coach Gruden and Monte Kiffen this year when I was chosen as one of the Bucs "Coach of the year" guys.
It was a high honor to be chosen for that.

Coach Gruden has a terrific "public" personality and treated me very kindly. NFL coaches have to great with people though, they run multmillion dollar concern.

He won't be out of work very long, I'm sure.

OJW

Me too Touchdown. Does anyone else on this board get the feeling that there wasn't a whole lot of looking around before Mora was chosen to replace Holmgren?

The Gruden firing is even more interesting when you look at the reports surfacing that Raheem Morris will be the next Bucs HC. Raheem is a guy who was a quality control coach for Tampa in 2002 and 2003 after coaching at Cornell. He then was promoted to Assistant DB coach for 2 years at Tampa, before taking the DC position at Kansas State with Ron Prince ( who he coached with at Cornell). Basically he has been a 'full" (as in non assistant) position coach in the NFL for 2 seasons, a defensive coordinator for a offseason weeks, and is now the HC.

This promotion makes me a little curious about the relationships the front office had with Gruden. To fire someone is one thing, but to replace him with someone whose NFL experience is not only limited, but entirely under the watch of the guy you just fired is an interesting move.

Lesson to coaches...be wary of your demeanor and remember that you are replaceable.

I don't know. If someone is looking for a different model of running a team, is the best answer someone whose limited NFL experience is all within the same model that you just dismissed? That is what is kind of surprising. If you are going in a different direction as an organization, and you pick someone whose only NFL experience has been under the direction you are trying to change? That makes me curious as to how the dynamic in the room was.

As far as "a different" model, I am not that familiar with how Miami has set things up. The idea of having an experienced "football man" in the front office doesn't seem to be all that different. And with regards to the "new blood" idea, (that sometimes an organization just needs new blood ) that would make sense if not for the fact that most of the rosters turn over every 4 to 5 years anyway.

Morris...has worked completely under Gruden. Obviously, he has been influenced by Tomlin when he assisted him at TB. But in terms of the over arching head football coach responsibilities, he has only seen one one person tackle those duties.

On paper, without knowing anything specific about Coach Schwartz, it seems like a good hire. He is a guy who was with the Titans during good times (2000-2003), the leaner years, the average years, and their recent success. This should prove valuable going to the lions, who have only had "the lean years" as of late.

With almost the entire front office still intact and 17 or so of last years staff still under contract. Unless Schwartz can bring in whomever he wants staff and players wise, hes doomed. Dont get me wrong , ive been a Lions fan my whole life but there needs to be some serious changes made.

I agree. I think it was about Gruden the personality, not just Gruden the x's and o's football coach.

Raheem Morris might be a good coach, but who knows yet.
He hasn't done anything to say he will be a good or bad coach.
When asked what style offense he would use, he said, "One that scores touchdowns." Really?

I was surprised he didn't get blistered by the local press, if not ESPN.

The Glazers said they felt that the community was "wavering" in their support of the Bucs and that's one of the reasons they fired Coach Gruden. The "community" might have felt better if the Glazers would have looked around a little-but they wanted Raheem.

I would have been worried about the defense with Raheem replacing such as legend as Monte Kiffen.
I think that the DC job would have pressed this guy, but with him as HC, man look out.

The Glazers said that Coach Morris was a man of great character and they were concerned that he might get the Denver job.
Who knows, he might be, but nobody knows yet.

Didn't seem like this new found concern for a man of "GREAT CHARACTER" slowed them up when they showed Tony the door.
Tony is now a superhero in Tampa, but the "community" was down on him because he couldn't get past the NFC Championship game. There was your mistake right there Tampa.

I don't like the fact that Raheem Morris has very little experience. My guess is that he probably won't be any worse than some of those clowns that have coached the team over the years.

But is "not any worse" really a bench mark to be hoping for?
Not for me. I am a Bucs fan since they stared in the '70s.

OJW

That my friend is a great point.
Coach Tomlin is having a "dream come true" season.

I don't know the difference between these guys, because I'm not a Steelers fan, and frankly don't know anymore about them outside of what I see on TV.
You might, so please fill me in.

Although Coach Tomlin has been a great success, does this mean now that NFL teams can improve by hiring guys that have no experience? I don't think so.

We could ask the same thing about any of us.
Coachdawhip, I know that you have many years coaching, and have many years of knowing how to do things.
That is called experience.

This line of questioning reminds me of that article that was circulating a few weeks ago, where a coach wins the state championship but never punts.

The way it is was presented is that IF you do no punt you can win a state championship. They really have nothing to do with each other.

Are the Glaziers afraid that they would be losing another Mike Tomlin? Probably.

But how many guys can cause a team to play as well as the Steelers are right now? I don't know, but Mike certainly has been able to.

How many Mike Tomlin's are there out there?
My guess is NOT VERY MANY.

I posted a question earlier:
Is this a trend that started with the Miami Dolphins because of their turn-around?
Is this a trend that we will see?
Are we going to see a wholesale firing of coaches with experience and hiring of guys who have no experience? I don't know, that would be a huge mistake.

Coach Tomlin should be admired for the job he has done this year, no matter how long he's been on the job.
OJW

Great point there Coachdawhip.

Exactly what do you need to be the head coach of the NFL franchise?
That's one I'll never know, that's for sure.

But, maybe your right.
Maybe what a HC is NOW is nothing like what he needed to be back through history.
Maybe the NFL is as they say, a bunch of millionaires playing a kids game, so what you really need is a baby sitter.

I don't know, but your post has me thinking a little different about it.

I know in High school football the HC has to be "everything to everybody." Most of us serve not only as Offensive Coordinator, we're also Offensive Inventor.
We are also unofficial Defensive Coordinators.
And I'm leaving all the "unfun" stuff out.

We know we can't be just baby-sitters or politicians-there's just too much to do.

At the level of the NFL, with the demise of Shannahn (sp?) the days of one guy being the expert certainly looks over.

I asked about the Miami Dolphins model because they hired a strong man to work behind the scenes and hired a relative unknown to be the HC and it worked.
But is this the new way the NFL will be run?
I don't know, we'll see.

But one thing about it, I certainly don't know.
Thanks OJW

I think that might be a little too dramatic outlook.
Sporano was Parcell's "guy" and wouldn't have been much different than a guy like Walsh taking over the 9ers, and appointing George Seifert as his new head coach. If the 'magic' captured in Miami was solely Sporano's doing, there may be a point. The consistent schedule of the NFL creates a semi-vacuum of results, but the parity created by the balanced conference and free agency, essentially means upsetting the balance of power in a division (only 4 teams) can easily take place when a handful of variables take place. One year in the NFL isn't much of a trend (meaning, just winning games may not be enough)