Belichick Knows Raheem’s Situation

December 26th, 2011

For weeks, Joe’s heard some callers to sports radio say that Raheem Morris should not be fired because a coach can’t logically go from being a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate one season to a coach worthy of firing the next.

And that argument was given more life today when Raheem himself floated a similar take during his Monday news conference.

Well, Joe knows plenty of coaches that were hailed as superstars one season and forced to walk the plank after the following campaign.

Obviously, Todd Haley is a recent example with the Chiefs. Pete Carroll was canned after his third year in New England, despite never having a losing season there. And Bill Belichick was in a situation similar to Raheem’s with the Browns back in the mid-1990s.

There have been others.

Belicheat was a young man in his fourth season as head coach when the Browns broke through with an 11-5 record in 1994. They shocked the NFL by allowing a league-best 12.8 points per game. And the Browns marched into the Wild Card playoffs and took out New England, led by 1994 AP Coach of the Year Bill Parcells.

Belicheat was fired after a 5-11 record in 1995.

It happens. Especially to younger first-time head coaches that typically get a lot less leeway than their more experienced colleagues.

29 Responses to “Belichick Knows Raheem’s Situation”

  1. thibs5599 Says:

    I’m sure bill was not preaching technique and gap control all season. Or planned on having tackle drills week 17. Peace Raheem

  2. Macabee Says:

    It is no mortal sin to get fired in the NFL. Sooner or later, it happens to everyone who stays long enough. It happens to first-time coaches more frequently, but even consistent winners who frequently make it to the playoffs, but never win the SuperBowl are eventually asked to leave.
    That is why Morris sounds as he does in his recent pressers – he doesn’t want to look weak or sound personally defeated, he just didn’t win and that’s accepted in the brotherhood of the NFL. It is a friend of a friend league and there is a friend out there that will give him a job. I’m not worried about Raheem, he will get another job soon and will take a 2mil check with him to boot. And with his smile, personable nature, and gift of gab, there is a television job in his future if he wants it.
    I’m more concerned about the Bucs and the new coach. Are the Glazers going to ditch the “Plan” and get the new guy some help to dig us out of this hole? Because we will just pillory the new guy if he too doesn’t win soon. It’s the nature of fans, Buccaneer history, and that ferris wheel of coaches we often see in the NFL.

  3. Niko (The Optimist) Says:

    I don’t have a problem with firing Raheem Morris, I just have a problem with all the hate. And I don’t care what anyone says, if you HATE Raheem Morris, your a racist. Period.
    You didn’t hate Jon Gruden the same way, and you just plain weren’t even a Bucs fan when Tony Dungy was around. Thats all ancient history to you because the average Bucs fan on here didn’t even follow the team when they were in the Superbowl.

    The guys says the right thing, and he learns from his mistakes. He wasn’t the one who put himself in this predicament, and I don’t get for the life of me how people don’t realize the true evil in these matters are the Glazers for not spending any money.

    I could care less if Morris gets fired, it won’t do any good if the Glazers don’t pick up a few free agents.

    For the record, I’ve called for Raheem Morris to go to, its for the better of the franchise. Even if the Bucs have a good win this weekend, which you just know isn’t going to happen, I can’t see him saving his job, because the horrible players, absolutely the worst bucs ever, have let him down.

    Dont hate Morris for the results of the team and ownership. Put the blame where it belongs, with the Glazers, who better spend some money this year.

  4. Pile on Rah Says:

    Hey, if destiny says Rah will win multiple Superbowls with another team, let’s get started on his destiny. Set him free to chase his dreams. We have reality to deal with in Tampa.

    BTW, changed my name from Jon in Tampa

  5. Fire Rah! Says:

    I was saddened when Dungy was let go. I was ready for Chucky to go. I know Rah will be one hellava coach one day. I’ve said before that I wish Rah could stay as a coordinator under a new head coach. That’s not likely to happen though. At this point the Glazers never gave Rah a chance because they didn’t allow him time to develop. So now it’s all in or all out with Rah. Sad really. If they choose to keep Rah the fan base will shrink a little. This team does have a lot of band wagon fans after all. I can only deal with what ever decision is made since I love the Bucs. What ever happens, something has to change. Gooo Bucs!!!

  6. Bucnjim Says:

    Raheem is kind of like a bottle of wine. It’s a good bottle, but we just cracked the seal way too early. Knowing that it should be good; it’s very disappointing when the product isn’t what you expected it to be. Not to mention us as fans have paid a very good price for this product. In corporate America; the one thing good management understands is that there needs to be seperation between the employees and the person in charge. There needs to be a person in charge of the asylum! That is the hardest part of the job and probably the most important. You can’t party with your employees!

  7. Apple Roof Cleaning Says:

    How can anyone Hate Raheem Morris ?
    He is about as likable a person as they come.
    No, if anyone, I hold Mark Dominik responsible, and the Glazers for buying into his plan.

  8. Bucnjim Says:

    There are very few people who hate Morris! Unfortunately; it has been his immaturity and inexperience that have been his down fall. He’s only a few years older than most players and is younger than Ronde. This is not a good formula for a team starting from scratch. For Raheem it’s more important to be liked than to have his players dislike him. This does not work in the NFL and Raheem will make this adjustment going into his next job. Just like Dungy realized that you need offense as well as defense to make it far in the playoffs. It’s just life experience and he will go on to be successful on some level.

  9. B.D Says:

    i wanted for him to work out even though i wanted a more experienced coach when he was hired,,.i always will think it better to get to the playoffs, once there, you can get hot/lucky enough to go all the way.(Giants)this was grudens style.but i will say building through the draft has its upside.i just think it should be somewhere in between. either way,all i really care about is being competitve,having a chance to win.this team, this year wasnt even close to that.coaches are kind of like girlfreinds, you love the hell out of them in the begining,then if they are not what you thought they were,and you see something better,,,,LOL

  10. Garv Says:

    I admire Coach Morris and think he has not been backed up by ownership or the GM. I also firmly believe many of the players who say they support him have quit and let their HC, themselves and the fans down.

    Unfortunately for Raheem, he will be the scapegoat the Royal Glazerbaum’s are looking for. I wish him the best.

    The personal hatred 2.2 continues to vent against is disgusting, disturbing, repetitive and boring. It’s been going on since day one, through 10-6 and up to now. I want no part of it. He is a disgrace as a fan and a human being IMO. There is clearly something more going on here and that should be clear to anyone.

    Having typed my truth, it is probably best for all concerned that Raheem move on. I only hope the Royal Glazerbaum’s pay attention to what needs to be done here and that 2.2 gets the help he needs to be a decent human being one day.

    Happy New Year!!!

  11. bucfanlostiniowa Says:

    Wow that is hilarious, you flat call out somebody else’s posts, then you use a phrase like “royal glazerbaum” do you understand the word hypocrite?

  12. adam from ny Says:

    rah’s got a huge set of keesters to go one wdae and do his radio show today….it has to be difficult for him….even peterson is distancing himself from rah, calling him “sir” a lot during the program…yowzers, rah is like so played out at this point…..

    ok since rah hasn’t resigned today, he should do something funny like wear a shirt with a “giant bullseye” on it sunday as he walks the sidelines….he should have fun with this debockle…it would make it a more whimsical situation as this has gone way beyond bad or pathetic as of now…rah should steal the show sunday as the bullseye t-shirt would be the talk of the league and media….and it would subject him to a highly publicized fine with the commish…….adam from ny

  13. adam from ny Says:

    attention rah:

    rah just go out with a bang…in fact if you do stay, just play josh johnson on sunday…free is frustrated…let him sit and get his head right at this point….even play rudy carpenter…that really would be best because jj won’t be here next year and maybe carpenter will…let’s peep his game rah-dog

    adam from ny

  14. Bucnjim Says:

    You can sum up Raheem Morris’s problems in one word; Rah. It’s not coach Morris; it’s not coach; it’s not even Raheem; it’s Rah. Sounds too simple, but that lack of professionalism and respect that has led to the majority of the problems he has faced this year. It’s great to be friends with everyone even the media, but what happens when it’s time to be boss. No one will take you seriously! Those once cleaver phrases are now nothing more than the grumblings of an immature NFL coach.

  15. Jon in Tampa Says:

    Let’s be realistic. Glazers didn’t simply choose Rah because he was cheap and inexperienced. They saw the same things we did. Look around the league and see how many assistant and head coaches came from our ranks. Who was one of the more recent coaches to go big-time. Might it be a gentleman named Tomlin. Bucs kept seeing coaches groomed under us, only to depart because we were beholden to the Gruden era.
    They saw teh wheels come off when Kiffin announced his pending departure. They wanted a change. We fired Gruden and the 2nd worst GM in NFL history (after Millen) and promoted Rah to DC. Almost immediately, the Broncos interviewed Rah for the HC positions. Once again, the Bucs watched as anotehr team was preparing to harvest from our crop. So the Glazers jumped on him.

    In hindsight, we can all see it was the wrong decision. but let’s not assume the Rah HC hiring was just about cheapest coach. It was an experiment that was catalyzed by the Broncos interviewing Rah.

    Rah is no Tomlin, as we have now learned.

  16. Amar Says:

    Hmmmmmm……I wonder for any reason if someone influenced Joe to write this article? hmm.?

  17. Pete422 Says:

    This is exactly why I have a gut feeling Rah doesn’t get fired (not that I don’t support him getting the axe). The Glazers have started they are in this for this for the long haul & made this hire with that in mind.

    I coached for 15 years. When I had maximum effort, we were successful & I had great support. When I had lousy effort, the success wasn’t there I was knit picked (for the same coaching style as during the good times).

    IF (big IF) Rah does return, he should re-introduce himself to his players as “Coach Morris.” That should be followed by stating every player’s job is on the line.

  18. Garv Says:

    Glad you are amused some guy in IOWA! LOL
    I don’t like hatred and I’ve been hearing it for too long from 2.2. we all have to an extreme that is very, very disturbing, some guy in IOWA.

    Raheem will not be back, I don’t see the Royal Glazerbaum’s, whom I pay thousands of dollars every year and expect better focus from them on THIS team as opposed to a GD SOCCER team in Europe. Excuse me from that some guy from IOWA!

    But let’s not kid ourselves, the hatred from Raheem is over the top when, IMO the REAL problem is AT the top. this is not to say a change is not need at HC, the entire staff and at many player positions. Hope that meets your approval some guy from IOWA who matters so much around here.

    Happy New Year!!!

  19. Pete422 Says:

    Bucnjim has it right. To his players, he should be “Coach Morris.” All coaches should also address him and “Coach Morris” in front of the players. lack of professionalism is a great way to state that.

    Guys, correct me if I heard wrong, but on his show the day after Talib was shown dancing in street clothes on the sideline, I thought I heard Coach Morris say they play music on the sidelines?

  20. Pete422 Says:

    I heard some rumor that Jim Tressel may be the Bucs coach next year. “The vest” would be the polar opposite of “Rah.”

  21. Garv Says:

    I think the Royal’s will either fire Raheem (most probable) or give him an extension with a lot of new coaches (unlikely). Keeping him as a lame duck would be a disaster, even more of a disaster than the past ten weeks. Attendance would be at all time lows, blackouts and a terrible loss of interest.

    We all know the Buccaneers are not the Royal’s first love or concern. I’d put the Bucs at number three behind money and English soccer. But if they or the NFL cares at ALL about the Buccaneers, surely they’ll begin to show it a week from today and with some solid hires, signings and FA pick-ups.

    Wonder how season ticket sales are going? Row A baby, I’m coming down to row A!!!

    Happy New Year!!!

  22. gatherspeed Says:

    The problem with this article is that ask any Browns fan and they WISH they never fired Belicheck.

    This article seems to be anti-Morris but actually makes a case to keep him.

  23. Bucnjim Says:

    Sounds like the movie The Replacements! Is that guy smoking on the field (John Madden)? No I couldn’t be; you must be seeing things. Just like in the movie; the kicker is the main source of offense. I’ll take their MLB though he was old school.

  24. bucfanlostiniowa Says:

    Oh I wish I was cool like you Garv, I wish I mattered like you Garv, maybe I can make some racist jokes like you then I will fit right in,like you Garv, let’s see how’s this “the Bucs suck because of their tight ass jew owners the Royal Glazerbaums” I feel so special now, just like you Garv

  25. D Says:

    Wow are people sensitive here. Has no one heard of the Royal Tenenbaums movie? Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray?

    I’m pretty sure they weren’t even Jewish, in the movie.

    I’m pretty sure it’s a German name.

  26. bucfanlostiniowa Says:

    Not being sensitive just keeping it real. In one breath dude wants to call somebody who hate Raheem a racist, in the next breath he wants to talk about the Glazerbaums. Can’t have it both ways when he says Glazerbaum he aint trying to be nice if you think he is I got some swampland for sale here in Iowa to sell you

  27. Garv Says:

    Dear Mr. lost in Iowa

    The Royal Glazerbaum’s refers to a comedy starring Gene Hackman years ago called the Royal Tenenbaums. If you were old enough or aware enough you’d know that before calling someone a racist for using the term. In fact, Mr. lost in Iowa, I did not call anyone a racist although the way Coach Morris is treated by some people I do have to wonder. Obviously you have yourself.

    I don’t expect someone with questionable motives to apologize but you really should think before you type.

    I know we’re all a little sensitive about our Buccaneers these days, I certainly am, but this kind of accusation is over the top and uncalled for. Grow up.

    Happy New Year!!!

  28. gronk Says:

    Belichick wasnt fired he resigned cause the browns were moving to Bmore

  29. thibs5599 Says:

    He has zero discipline of his players. I don’t think an offseason is going to make them respect him anymore. That is plain and simple it is the lack of leadership and respect he gets. Yea there are several players who have stood up for him but we do not know if theyu are just blowing smoke up his ass.