John Gruden (You're Fired!)

[cassanova]

This news makes me very very happy. I also think it was long overdue.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired head coach Jon Gruden on Friday, as NFL Network's Adam Schefter first reported.
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General manager Bruce Allen also was dismissed. After the team collapsed following a 9-3 start and failed to make the playoffs, its owners decided to go in another direction.

"We will be forever grateful to Jon for bringing us the Super Bowl title, and we thank Bruce for his contributions to our franchise," Buccaneers co-chairman Joel Glazer said. "However, after careful consideration, we feel that this decision is in the best interest of our organization moving forward."

Buccaneers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, recently promoted from defensive backs coach, is expected to be named Tampa Bay's next head coach, and Mark Dominik, the team's director of pro personnel, is the favorite to become the new GM, Schefter reports.

Gruden was Tampa Bay's coach for seven years before being dismissed, and Allen was GM for the last five seasons.
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"These decisions are never easy," Glazer said. "This is the toughest decision you can make for an NFL franchise. ... Jon and Bruce are consummate professionals. They've poured their heart and soul into this franchise. It's really been an honor to work with them. They gave their all."

The Buccaneers were tied for first place in the NFC South heading into December, but they finished with losses to Carolina and Atlanta on the road and San Diego and Oakland at home, where they had been 6-0. One more win would have landed Tampa Bay an NFC wild-card berth.

The 9-7 record this season left the Buccaneers out of the playoffs for the fourth time in the last six years, though Gruden led the team to back-to-back winning records for the first time since arriving in Tampa Bay.

"Any time a season ends, especially the way our season ended, it's a very, very emotional time," Glazer said. "And one thing we always like to do is not act on emotion, let things simmer down, think through things carefully and not make any quick, rash decisions.

"After taking a lot of time to look at our franchise, look where it's been, look where it is, look where we want to go, we just felt this was the time for a change."
Jon Gruden's NFL head-coaching career
Year Team W-L Result
1998 Oakland 8-8 Missed playoffs
1999 Oakland 8-8 Missed playoffs
2000 Oakland 12-4 Loss, Conf. championship
2001 Oakland 10-6 Loss, Divisional playoffs
2002 Tampa Bay 12-4 Win, Super Bowl XXVII
2003 Tampa Bay 7-9 Missed playoffs
2004 Tampa Bay 5-11 Missed playoffs
2005 Tampa Bay 11-5 Loss, Wild-card game
2006 Tampa Bay 4-12 Missed playoffs
2007 Tampa Bay 9-7 Loss, Wild-card game
2008 Tampa Bay 9-7 Missed playoffs
Totals Regular season: 95-81 Playoffs: 5-4

Gruden went 60-57 in seven seasons as head coach of the Buccaneers, including the playoffs, and leaves as the winningest coach in franchise history. He was the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl when he led Tampa Bay to a 48-21 win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, his first season with the team.

The Glazer family fired Tony Dungy and used four high draft picks -- two No. 1s and two No. 2s -- and $8 million cash to pry Gruden away from the Raiders following the 2001 season. He led Tampa Bay to its only NFL title the following season, but the Bucs haven't won a playoff game since the Super Bowl appearance.

Gruden had three years remaining on a contract extension that he received after winning the NFC South in 2007.

But since going 15-4, including the Super Bowl, in his first season with the Bucs, Gruden went 45-53 and made quick exits from the playoffs after winning division titles in 2005 and 2007.

This season's collapse continued a trend of playing poorly late in the season. Since winning the Super Bowl, Tampa Bay is 9-17 in the month of December.

"This isn't a decision that's made on one play or one game or one week or one thing," Glazer said. "You look at the totality of the situation, evaluate it, look at where your franchise is. For us, the goal is to build a championship team that can compete year in and year out."

Gruden had three years remaining on his contract, and both he and Allen received contract extensions last winter after the Bucs went 9-7 and won the NFC South for the second time in the last three seasons. But Glazer said that wasn't a consideration in Friday's decision.

"At the end of every season, we sit back and look at everything," Glazer said. "We did that last year and went forward with the extensions.
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"But at the end of the day, every year we feel we owe it to this football team and this community to do a good honest assessment of our franchise. If at any point we feel that change is in our best interest, we feel we have to make that change. That's where we got to in this situation. You can't let decisions you made a year ago affect a decision today."

The team co-chairman said there's no timetable for naming a successor. When Dungy was fired, the Glazers conducted a meandering search that lasted more than one month after a deal they had to lure Bill Parcells out of retirement fell apart.

They settled on Gruden, who had one year left on his contract in Oakland, after also considering Marvin Lewis and Steve Mariucci for the opening.

Glazer declined to answer questions about possible successors.

"In our mind, there's a plan of where we want to go," he said. "We've thought it through very carefully. It will become apparent as we move along."

Gruden's firing means that there will be 10 new head coaches next season, the most since the 2005-06 season.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=090...s&confirm=true

[FL Knifemaker]

Adios Chucky

[Gard]

...this is a dark day in the NFC South, Tampa may become consistent and competetive now...



...I've been telliin' you Yucks chuckleheads this needed to happen for years now, someone finally got the ability to reason at One Buc Place....dammit...


Still, after how the Glazer family treated Tony Dungy (without whom, they would NEVER have won a Super Bowl!), I will NEVER root for this team, until the Glazers are gone.

[jokn388]

The Glazer family fired Tony Dungy and used four high draft picks -- two No. 1s and two No. 2s -- and $8 million cash to pry Gruden away from the Raiders following the 2001 season. He led Tampa Bay to its only NFL title the following season, but the Bucs haven't won a playoff game since the Super Bowl appearance.

No way, is this really true? That is insane

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by Gard

...this is a dark day in the NFC South, Tampa may become consistent and competetive now...



...I've been telliin' you Yucks chuckleheads this needed to happen for years now, someone finally got the ability to reason at One Buc Place....dammit...


Still, after how the Glazer family treated Tony Dungy (without whom, they would NEVER have won a Super Bowl!), I will NEVER root for this team, until the Glazers are gone.

I've been saying Gruden was a bad idea since day one. He destroyed a good team. If ya look in the article I posted it shows his head coaching stats to some extent and he really isn't that great of a head coach.

1998 Oakland 8-8 Missed playoffs
1999 Oakland 8-8 Missed playoffs
2000 Oakland 12-4 Loss, Conf. championship
2001 Oakland 10-6 Loss, Divisional playoffs
2002 Tampa Bay 12-4 Win, Super Bowl XXVII
2003 Tampa Bay 7-9 Missed playoffs
2004 Tampa Bay 5-11 Missed playoffs
2005 Tampa Bay 11-5 Loss, Wild-card game
2006 Tampa Bay 4-12 Missed playoffs
2007 Tampa Bay 9-7 Loss, Wild-card game
2008 Tampa Bay 9-7 Missed playoffs
Totals Regular season: 95-81 Playoffs: 5-4



The article also said he had a 60-57 record for his last 7 seasons. Thats hardly anything to brag about and he's a mediocre coach at best. Dungy was far more consistent as a head coach here. IIRC he took the Bucs to the playoffs 4 times in his 6 year tenure here. All Sam Wyche and other coaches were canned much sooner than this for having similar records. I've never understood how Gruden could say he was looking towards the future when he hires so many old free agents that are near the end of their season.

I also have to agree with you about the Glazers. Immediately after purchasing the team they were threatening to move them to another town/state if they didn't get a new stadium. That told me a bit about their character. The Dungy screw over was the icing on the icing on the cake.

I hope whomever they hire as the new head coach and GM will look to the future and find some good young talent and stick with them. Especially, in the QB/WR positions.

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by jokn388

No way, is this really true? That is insane

Unfortunately it is true. For everything they gave up to get Gruden they could have drafted young talent from college and probably been in better shape than they have been under Grudens reich.

As much as I like the Bucs and would like for them to go to the Super Bowl again, I also like seeing them not go to the playoffs and suck too. You see, I believe in justice and I like seeing the organizations stupidity bite them in the ass as the crappy seasons under Gruden and Allen are indeed justice for said stupidity.

[bassrique]

The Bucs have fired two sure Hall of Fame coaches in less than ten years.

Gruden is a good coach, but he may still be legitimately critiqued.

What I object to are the media personalities that characterize John Gruden as a "pathological liar" [among other untruths]. The douchebag propagandists have gotten their way, but you know what they say, be careful what you wish for....

[vinny]

As a Cowboys fan, I'd take him. Phillips has got to go.

[Scarlet Fire]

Good. I've been waiting for this to happen for years.

[Zappstorius]

Say what you want about Gruden being an average coach, but he won a Super Bowl with the Bucs in his 1st year there. The offense improved immediatley when he arrived. He hasn't had the greatest talent in the world there. He'll be ok though. He'll coach somewhere in the next couple of years.

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by Zappstorius

Say what you want about Gruden being an average coach, but he won a Super Bowl with the Bucs in his 1st year there. The offense improved immediatley when he arrived. He hasn't had the greatest talent in the world there. He'll be ok though. He'll coach somewhere in the next couple of years.

Eh, he didn't put together that team though, he took Dungys team and I do believe that if Dungy were still there in 2002 he would have done the same thing.

[Gard]

Originally Posted by cassanova

Eh, he didn't put together that team though, he took Dungys team and I do believe that if Dungy were still there in 2002 he would have done the same thing.

Not only would Dungy have done it in '02, he almost certainly would have repeated at least another 1-2 times in the time since, if he were still there.

There is no comparision between Dungy's ability and Gruden's. It isn't even a fair fight.

The team has gotten WORSE every season in most ways since that first year, that alone is proof.

I'm still not happy about it, I'd rather he stay in Tampa, makes them less of a threat in the NFC South, IMO.

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by Gard

Not only would Dungy have done it in '02, he almost certainly would have repeated at least another 1-2 times in the time since, if he were still there.

There is no comparision between Dungy's ability and Gruden's. It isn't even a fair fight.

The team has gotten WORSE every season in most ways since that first year, that alone is proof.

I'm still not happy about it, I'd rather he stay in Tampa, makes them less of a threat in the NFC South, IMO.

I love Dungy, but he's had one of the best QBs ever. Gruden ..... not so much. Also, please take a look at Dungy's record in the post-season.



To all the Gruden detractors:

In what areas did he perform poorly?

==========================

Edit:

Oh, do you know how the Glazers did him? After all these years and a Super Bowl, you'd think they'd look the man in the eye. Nope. John Gruden was at dinner with his family at a local restaurant when he got the call. Gruden then asked the server to wrap up the meals for take out. The Glazer sons are bitches.

[Gard]

Originally Posted by bassrique

I love Dungy, but he's had one of the best QBs ever. Gruden ..... not so much. Also, please take a look at Dungy's record in the post-season.



To all the Gruden detractors:

In what areas did he perform poorly?

==========================

Edit:

Oh, do you know how the Glazers did him? After all these years and a Super Bowl, you'd think they'd look the man in the eye. Nope. John Gruden was at dinner with his family at a local restaurant when he got the call. Gruden then asked the server to wrap up the meals for take out. The Glazer sons are bitches.

At least Dungy CONSISTENTLY got his team to the post-season! Gruden plain sucked at it. He was at best an average coach with a lot of hype surrounding him because of that '02 SB win. Dungy's teams in Indy were not JUST Manning, and saying that shows you weren't paying close attention.

We'll absolutely agree on the Glazer family, they have zero class. I don't dislike the Bucs as much as I do the organization - I'm not some "I hate all NFC South teams because they my rivals" fan, I root for Carolina and Atlanta in the playoffs when they're not playing my team - I NEVER root for the Yucks, because of the Glazer family.

[bassrique]

Dungy's teams in Indy were not JUST Manning, and saying that shows you weren't paying close attention.

The QB is the most important player on any team.

Gruden has never had a franchise QB. He's never had anything close. What would Gruden have done with a Peyton Manning?

-----------

The more I think about it, the more I think the Glazers are schmucks. They just gave Gruden/Allen a substantial contract extension last year, and now they're canned.

One rumor is the Buics are having a hard time selling season ticket packages these days. It's Gruden's fault So they hire a coach/GM with very little experience

[Spector_Ray]

Originally Posted by vinny

As a Cowboys fan, I'd take him. Phillips has got to go.

Agreed!

[TallLankyBastyd]

With his calm & detached demeanor...

...Gruden would make a perfect sports announcer at Fox.

[CrashClint]

Originally Posted by vinny

As a Cowboys fan, I'd take him. Phillips has got to go.

Dude bite your tongue. Gruden would only survive one season in Dallas. Both he and Jones are too controlling and we know Jones wins out.

I have to give it to Phillips, he is a good defensive Coordinator, but that is it. Dallas needs a diciplinarian as a coach, like Jimmy Johnson and Tuna.

It will be a great day for Dallas when Jerry Jones is out of the picture.

[Gard]

Originally Posted by TallLankyBastyd

With his calm & detached demeanor...

...Gruden would make a perfect sports announcer at Fox.

^ that is funny.



(not to mention, he'd probably do much less damage to anyone that way...)

[peterbright]

John Madden is waiting for the call.