Schiano Wanted Roy Miller But Didn’t Get Him
August 26th, 2013
Did Mark Dominik exercise his executive powers?
He is a heck of a run stopper and plays the position, you know we call the tilt nose in our defense, he plays it very well. And he’s really custom-built to play it. I mean his traits really fit the position. — Greg Schiano on former Bucs defensive tackle Roy Miller. December 27, 2012
Who makes the personnel decisions in the current Bucs regime?
That’s a subject that has drawn much speculation. Former Tampa Bay Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder called Greg Schiano one of the most powerful head coaches in the NFL, and many believe Schiano is all but running his own ship.
Joe, however, has always maintained that Holder was out of his mind and that Schiano and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik work as a team with Dominik wielding as much if not more power.
One interesting nugget to come out of Saturday’s preseason game in Miami was a conversation between analyst Ronde Barber and play-by-play man Chris Meyers that might have been an insider look at the chain of power at One Buc Palace.
Myers and Barber shared a bit of their pregame interview with Schiano, in which Schiano told them he still stays in touch with Roy Miller via text messages and how he had hoped Miller would have stayed with the Buccaneers. Myers said it was a financial decision that cost the Bucs Miller, and Barber said Schiano respected Miller’s feedback as a trusted veteran and Barber talked about how Miller was an ideal fit for the defense.
So Joe has to wonder why Schiano didn’t get his Buccaneer Man, Roy Miller? Why was Schiano denied?
Either Miller didn’t want to stay, doubtful given that Schiano’s defense resurrected his career, or Dominik turned down the head coach’s request.
Per Rotoworld.com and other sources, Miller’s deal with the Jaguars was a two-year, $4.5 million contract with the only guaranteed money being a $650,000 signing bonus. That’s not a lot of cash at all.
What adds intrigue to this question is that six weeks after Miller signed in Jacksonville, the Bucs traded up in the fourth-round of the NFL Draft to snag defensive tackle Akeem Spence to replace Miller. And Spence has been a preseason standout and appears to be an absolute steal — at a much lower price for the next four years.
This reminds Joe of when Raheem Morris openly praised and sought the return of Barrett Ruud and Cadillac Williams for the 2011 season, but despite miles of salary cap room, those two veterans were not pursued.
August 26th, 2013 at 7:41 am
It looks like they were trying to cut cost at DE/DT positions. Well it would have been nice to have Miller and Spence in rotation. That would have been a great tandem at Tilt.
August 26th, 2013 at 7:48 am
Most of the time when Dom makes these moves we end up with an upgrade. I think Spence will be better than Miller. Foster is an upgrade over Ruud and Martin is certainly an upgrade over Cadillac. Dom has a knack for knowing when the wheels are about to fall off of a players career. He has, however, been snake bit with players he drafts getting injured.
August 26th, 2013 at 8:03 am
Will never forgive Dominik for choosing Lumpkin over Cadillac. Miller was overrated. Good riddance.
August 26th, 2013 at 8:08 am
How was Miller overrated? It’s not like he got national praise or a big free agent contract. He just tried his best to do his job. His final year with us, he was finally able to do just that.
August 26th, 2013 at 8:25 am
Miller was one of the reasons we were #1 against the run. He’s just injury prone.
August 26th, 2013 at 8:29 am
Yeah his deal looks miniscule when its for another team. Miller started one, two years? That contract is hardly starters pay, and i highly doubt he was asking hat low a figure from the team that clearly needed him. If Spence pans out then Dom truly dodged a bullet. Cant wait for this team to not have to DEPEND on rookies to fill out its starting roster!
August 26th, 2013 at 8:49 am
I don’t think it matters. Akeem Spence is looking like he may end up better than Miller ever was, and there is a good chance Dominick did not just dodge a bullet but may have struck gold.
Spence can block the run AND pass rush. At least thus far. And he is already faster than Miller ever was.
It all remains to be seen in the regular season though.
On a side note…I really hate Mondays. Bucs fans do nothing but complain on Mondays. Even after a win.
Of course, the Jets have it much worse today 😉
August 26th, 2013 at 8:50 am
Joe, the Flash plugin is freezing my browser. It may be ad-related. Only happening here.
August 26th, 2013 at 9:39 am
@BuccaneerBonzai
It crashes my browser too. I was wondering what was up with that.
August 26th, 2013 at 9:41 am
Dominik seems to favor and give more than enough slack to the players drafted under his watch. I’m surprised Miller wasn’t resigned, considering the role he played on the D line and the 3rd round pick spent on him. Myron Lewis was given way more wiggle room than Miller and lasted slightly longer with no signs of improvement, compared to Miller. The drafting of Spence and the early returns makes the decision to let Miller walk look like a good one. The bigger problem however, is the pass rush.
August 26th, 2013 at 10:01 am
Dom may be a genius in cap management. But is terrible talent evaluator and decision maker.
August 26th, 2013 at 10:08 am
Anyone that suggests Schiano was in charge of everything sorely lacks intelligence or faith in the Glazers. They didnt become billionaires because they were stupid. LOL, It makes me laugh when people say Dom is Schiano’s lackey and had nothing to with anything other than writing checks when Schiano got here.
August 26th, 2013 at 10:18 am
^^^^Couldn’t have said it any better myself.
August 26th, 2013 at 10:20 am
Very interesting. Never would have believed Schiano wasn’t calling the shots
August 26th, 2013 at 10:33 am
I don’t think it matters. Akeem Spence is looking like he may end up better than Miller ever was, and there is a good chance Dominick did not just dodge a bullet but may have struck gold.
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Completley agree. It’s only pre-season but the rook has looked impressive and I would go as far as to say he looks as fast as McCoy at times. Which is great.
August 26th, 2013 at 11:39 am
Roy who? Akeem Spence looks like a beast!!
August 26th, 2013 at 12:01 pm
“Anyone that suggests Schiano was in charge of everything sorely lacks intelligence or faith in the Glazers. They didnt become billionaires because they were stupid. LOL, It makes me laugh when people say Dom is Schiano’s lackey and had nothing to with anything other than writing checks when Schiano got here.”
That is well said. I’m sure Schiano had a little more input this year but as far as who is calling the shots….that is Dom. I happen to believe he is very good at evaluating talent. This team is loaded with talent. The coach is the one who takes the talent and puts up wins or losses. I have faith in Schiano but this year will be telling.