No Bruce Almighty Hangover

February 15th, 2012

Bucs fans are irritated that the team has yet to announce its full coaching staff, including naming a defensive coordinator.

That’s because the Bucs don’t even know who their defensive coordinator is.

Part of the reason the full staff has not been announced is that the Bucs are constantly being denied to talk to various assistants from other NFL teams. Joe, as has many have, suspected that this is payback for the antics former Bucs general manager Bruce Almighty pulled often, denying other teams the opportunity to interview various Bucs assistants.

This is a fallacy, says Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. Speaking on the too-Jewish sounding King David Show on WQYK-AM 1010, co-hosted by Toby David and former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, one of just three Bucs quarterbacks to lead the team to an NFC championship game, Cummings stated the blocks other teams are putting on Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik have more to do with timing and nothing to do with Bruce Almighty.

“[The Bucs are] probably starting to realize, as much as it was important for them to do their due diligence and pick the right coach, they are feeling it right now because it took three weeks to get their coach so they are a little behind the eight ball.

“The hiring season,” as agents like to refer to it, is the first two to three weeks – tops – of the offseason. Once you get into a month out, people start to look at other things, at free agency and the draft, and teams want their staffs set. If you are in the position the Bucs are in, you are calling up a lot of teams who are trying to maintain what they’ve got, they don’t want to be the ones out on the street trying to find a tight ends coach tomorrow that may be hard to find. That’s why they have been denied a lot of the times.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with getting back at the Bucs for the days when Bruce Allen was running the team and he wouldn’t let his guys like Joe Barry and Rod Marinelli and Mike Tomlin get out of their contracts when they had opportunities. It’s not really a payback, but it is ironic it is happening to the Buccaneers.”

Cummings makes a solid point and this may very well be the reason Greg Schiano’s coaching staff will be loaded with college coaches.

Let this be a lesson. It was pretty obvious former Bucs coach Raheem Morris was going to be jettisoned as the season wore down. Some on the inside suggest this was a fait accompli in early December. If that was truly the case, Team Glazer should have cut the chord at that time so the team and Dominik would have had a head start in interviewing candidates, thus, the Bucs wouldn’t still be looking for a defensive coordinator in mid-February.

To listen to Cummings’ entire interview, click on the little button below. (Audio courtesy of WQYK-AM.) Hat tip Justin.

13 Responses to “No Bruce Almighty Hangover”

  1. Cmurda Says:

    In the end, doesn’t matter the reason but it’s high time to find a D Coord. and get this thing moving.

  2. Bulldog Says:

    WOW, What a concept. Being prepared , proactive and decisive. Especially when you knew weeks in advance.

  3. OAR Says:

    Can we please stop with the “Shaun King, one of three QBs to lead the Bucs to an NFC championship game..”? Any, and I mean ANY QB could have lead that defensive team to that championship!
    We definately need to get that DC spot filled though, ASAP!

  4. Joe Says:

    Can we please stop with the “Shaun King, one of three QBs to lead the Bucs to an NFC championship game..”?

    Why? It’s true. Props to Shaun!

  5. OAR Says:

    Joe you really think Shaun LEAD the Bucs that year to that championship?
    He didnt start the whole year (he only played in 6 games of which he started 5). Our record was 7-3 when he took over for an injured Dilfer. Again, ANY qb could have got that defensive team there! His 7 tds to 4 ints, 11 sacks, and 800+ yards are a great way to lead!
    Sorry, I just dont see the point in saying all that each time you post his name in blogs/articles?

  6. OAR Says:

    That’s like saying he and Rob Johson are SB winning QBs, just cause they have rings and contributed in a game or two!

  7. Joe Says:

    OAR:

    Quarterbacks lead offenses. If the Bucs didn’t score any points, well, you know the result. Remember Shaun King did bring the Bucs from behind against the Redskins in the playoffs. It wasn’t Trent Dilfer, who was simply incapable of pulling such a feat.

    And no, Rob Johnson was not a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. To the best of Joe’s knowledge, Rob Johnson never took one snap in the Super Bowl.

  8. OAR Says:

    I thought it was a forced fumble that set us up for that final td. BTW if you remember the Redskins missed a field goal in the final seconds, that won us the game.
    Whatever, Im just glad you enjoy typing that extra long description of Shaun King. To each their own, I guess.

  9. Bulldog Says:

    Bill Sherridan is supposedly interviewing with the Bucs. And it’s Brad Johnson Mr. Oar.

  10. aj Says:

    OAR, on the flipside, if Bert Emanuel wasn’t screwed in St. Louis, then you’d have to read about King being one of two QBs to take the Bucs to the Super Bowl, lol.

    A columnist has to have a style, something recognizable that lets the reader know who wrote it. It helps build trust, without the reader ever thinking about it.

    While some may find it a bit annoying, in the end, if you like Joe’s work, it will make you more likely to read his work even if you were to find it at another outlet, where you would not expect to see it.

    As to the article at hand, I’m going to keep continue believing that other team’s are getting back at the Bucs, just like last year I let myself beleive the lockout was all about stopping the young Bucs from winning the Super Bowl.

    It gives my drunken self something to rant about if the Bucs stink.

  11. OAR Says:

    Bull
    I know it was BRAD JOHNSON!
    This is what I wrote(add sarcasm):
    “That’s like saying he and Rob Johson are SB winning QBs, just cause they have rings and contributed in a game or two.”
    Brad won the SB and more games than just…”contributing in a game or two”! Sheesh!
    Hint: the Rob Johnson comment was sarcasm!

  12. OAR Says:

    aj
    I like the way you used “….take the Bucs to…”, I can live with that, but “lead” seriously?
    BTW I’ve been here since the beginning of Joebucsfan. I know all about Joe and his writtings.

  13. White Tiger Says:

    Let’s remember that the Glazers may have begun working on a deal well before they I dismissed Raheem Morris – but the time loss wasn’t due to ignorance of the timeline of the hiring season….how much time was lost pursuing that moron Chip Kelly who eventually turned them down?

    Ultimately they got the right guy, but the lost time pursuing the Oregon coach compromised the assistant/coordinator pool.

    The other issue HAS to be the weird arrangement with Butch Davis to get around his UNC contract commitment. If team Glazer bought out the $2.7 million UNC owes him to NOT coach – would he be the DC?

    Is he really the deaf to DC and this status makes it difficult to hire someone Like a Tom Bradley if he doesn’t understand what the REAL arrangement is?