While waiting for the Ohio State-Texas ballgame last night, as I have a lot since the end of the NFL season, I went over to The Tampa Tribune's website to see if there were any more stories about whether Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Jon Gruden should've been fired already.There were, because he should. Hot Seat Available For Gruden Again
Then I went to the main website, http://www2.tbo.com/news/
You'll never guess what The Tribune's lead story was.
Panetta to lead CIA?
Upcoming Ohio State-Texas ballgame that same night?
Special Legislative session starting in Tallahassee?
The Gators' upcoming BCS title game here in Miami?
Nope, their lead story is about some 21-year old utilities worker being suspended from work.
Really?
Utilities worker Jason Booker on Monday was suspended without pay for five days for repeated absenteeism.
That would explain a LOT!
I don't even think that's the TOP STORY tonight on that guy's particular
block. In fact, I'm positive it isn't.
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There's a photo run on the Tribune's Bucs homepage that spells out exactly the nature of the problem with the Bucs and their perennial December swoon, akin to the one of the Mets the last two years in October.
Since winning the Super Bowl against the Raiders after the 2002 season, with ex-Seminole/
Redskin/Viking Brad Johnson as QB, the Bucs are 45-41 in regular season games.
In six years they are only plus four games.
In my opinion, the best piece written on Jon Gruden's tenuous status in Tampa Bay is this one by Tom McEwan from Monday.
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Tampa Tribune
Breakfast Bonus with Tom McEwan
Help Wanted Signs Posted At One Buc
Posted By Tom McEwen
Jan 03, 2009 at 05:38 PM
Hard for us to understand, isn’t it?
I am talking about this Tampa Bay Buccaneer season that just recently that went south, that went from 9-3 to 9-7 like a bank robbers heading for Mexico.
Buccaneer fans, especially those weary enough to remember the 0-26 start, have unchallenged memories for memories of losing, so this lousy finish with four straight defeats fits well into our mental file of Bucko losses, particularly those final two (losers to San Diego and Oakland) at that great Raymond James Stadium we built for these players, and those before them.
Lousy deal, wasn’t it? Just lousy. This shabby finish at the site of the next Super Bowl, in maybe the best stadium in the NFL, on the best playing surface in the NFL, next to the best training palace in the NFL, built by team owners who certainly haven’t told Coach Jon Gruden and his players to shape up or they’ll ship them to Green Bay, who surely deserve more than their staff and “athletes” have returned, in wonderful weather and circumstances, before the most decent fans anywhere, fans who now are likely to face a ticket price raise.
Injuries, oh, we know about them. The coaches know about that risk. Yes, the loss of running back Ernest Graham was plenty serious. May well have made the difference. Got to figure on that, and to enjoy and reap the benefits of the arrivals of wideout Antonio Bryant and return star Clifton Smith.
We should not have lost those last three games—13-10 at Atlanta, 41-24 to San Diego and 31-24 to Oakland. San Diego and Oakland, remember, flew across country to lose here, and neither was a quality team. The Bucs had everything to win, were at home and quarterback Jeff Garcia had been playing pretty doggone well, recently. But, we’ve said all this before because it has happened so often before.
Oh, the coach has taken the blame, and should have, but the losses are still losses and these Bucs so beautifully accepted them.
These Buckos are not in the playoffs of a Super Bowl lottery for the SB-41 that is booked in their backyards.
What’s to be done? Well, send in some more dough for season tickets next year, when money request arrives soon. And assume Coach Gruden—no one has said he will not be back—is already checking his fishbucket of a roster for keepers and throw-backs. His assistants are already going and new ones will be coming.
Right now he’s surely looking at the free agent list and college draft. Since he all but dismissed Brian Griese this season, he certainly is in the young quarterback business. He’ll get a couple to go with his project Josh Johnson. They’ll need to get some defensive help. Stars Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks may be back but will need help to work with coming linebacker headliner Barrett and his sidekicks. I mean, even defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin has gone to the Tennessee Volunteers to join son Lane, while other of Kiffin’s aides have move to promotions. The solid Buc defense of Kiffin of so many years—though not this last one when it slowed and leaked—must be rebuilt.
Malcolm Glazer, head of the owning family, is not well, and this last season could not have helped him, except in resolve. So far as anyone knows, there is no “for sale” sign out, nor is there a “situation wanted’’ sign on the Joel/Bryan Glazer door at One Buc.
But, believe me, there will be plenty of business for the name plate makers for the Buc locker-room. Losing in December has become unacceptable for the Buccaneers in the future.
Better be, some season ticket damage has already been done and higher prices could cause more in these rotten economic times.
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Since the U-M wasn't smart enough to make him the Hurricanes head coach when Larry Coker was let go, I'd love to see someone like Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach at Tampa Bay, and give the fans there the sort of team they desperately want but will never have with Gruden around.
Exciting and winning, instead of a team whose number one goal every week seems to be to prevent the other team from scoring more than 20 points, since once that number is hit, the Bucs seem to lose more often than not.
Watching the Bucs try to come from behind in December and the first playoff game every year is like the film Groundhog Day.
If we've seen it once we've seen it a thousand times already.
Mediocre wide receivers without the ability to separate or come back for the ball when the QB has to scramble -just like U-M's.
