Raheem Morris & The 2026 Bucs
January 9th, 2026
The 2025 Bucs defense couldn’t tackle, couldn’t understand all its assignments and it had a propensity to make life very easy on offenses.
When the dust on the regular season cleared, their league-worst red zone defense was no surprise; the Bucs ranked 9th last year and 32nd this year.
It was learned yesterday that defensive assistant coaches were blamed and launched for various defensive failures.
Defensive line coach Charlie Strong was one of those guys.
(Did anyone, from Team Glazer’s office to the fan base, think Strong was the best man for the job when he was hired. Was he the proud score after an exhaustive search to find the very best for our beloved Bucs? Absolutely not and everyone at One Buc Palace should be ashamed.)
Another Todd Bowles guy, cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross, was fired and safeties coach Nick Rapone retired.
The Bucs have a young secondary and could use a strong, high-energy teacher. And the defense as a whole could use a wake-up call.
So Joe is looking at Raheem Morris, the former Falcons and Bucs head coach, and Rams Super Bowl defensive coordinator.
It’s obvious to Joe that Bowles wants to call plays on defense and that will continue. Why keep Bowles if you know he can’t successfully oversee special teams, won’t get involved in the offense, and won’t call the defense? Team Glazer could have just promoted Bowles into a Bruce Arians-like special advisor role if that were the case.
Morris’ greatest strength is his history coaching defensive backs and the energy he can bring to a team. Keep in mind the Bucs acknowledged they were short on juice when they signed Jason Pierre-Paul in December. And it was obvious before JPP returned.
Bowles said publicly this week that Morris is a friend and a heck of a coach, and Morris has years of experience in a 3-4 defense when he worked for Washington after the Bucs fired him. He did not have great defenses in Atlanta, but he developed an edge rush with Falcons outside linebackers coach Jacquies Smith.
Perhaps he could bring Smith to Tampa?
While Morris is interviewing now for head coach gigs, he’s unlikely to get one. Joe could see Morris coming to the Bucs as a figurehead defensive coordinator/hands-on defensive backs coach. He would bring energy to practice and help shake things up.
January 9th, 2026 at 10:55 am
If anything that comes from the Falcons it should be
TE Pitts !
January 9th, 2026 at 10:55 am
Haha, yes, lets get even worse LOL
January 9th, 2026 at 10:58 am
This could work.
January 9th, 2026 at 10:58 am
As Ronde Barber said, Bowles will be calling the defensive plays as long as he’s the HC. Plain and simple.
That means the philosophy will be the same going forward.
And the Glazers seem to like Bowles enough to ignore the results on the field.
Raheem would not be my choice since he is friends with Bowles.
The HC\DC needs a voice to challenge him when needed.
January 9th, 2026 at 10:59 am
let’s hit the bar and party like it’s 1999
January 9th, 2026 at 11:00 am
Atlanta’s defense wasn’t a complete disaster, they could get to the QB, so I wouldn’t mind Raheem coming back.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:01 am
someone likes this team regurgitating the same old crap!
January 9th, 2026 at 11:02 am
Fire Belows
January 9th, 2026 at 11:03 am
can RAH coach special teams?
GO BUCS!!!!
January 9th, 2026 at 11:03 am
Joe … ‘Itâs obvious to Joe that Bowles wants to call plays on defense and that will continue. Why keep Bowles if you know he canât successfully oversee special teams, wonât get involved in the offense, and wonât call the defense?’
I’m convinced that most HCs who also call their own plays as either the OC or DC fail. There are some well-known exceptions obviously (Andy Reid, Sean McVay, Sean Payton) but there are a lot more who don’t succeed.
Bruce Arians figured that out when he took the HC position here. He might’ve had a big hand in the game planning, but you didn’t see him calling plays during games. Lefty pretty much took care of that on offense, and Todd certainly had a relatively free hand on defense. BA was the Jefe-in-Charge and stepped in selectively.
Todd could make that same model work again IF he hired some experienced coordinators. They’re out there, he just has to be willing to give up some control. I know, I know … dream on.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:04 am
Leave out the “it’s all about #5” and “yungry” and he’s actually a very sound defensive coach.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:06 am
@joe is this the same Jacquies Smith that played for the Bucs a while back?
January 9th, 2026 at 11:07 am
Was thinking some of the same thing, bring Morris in, bring McDaniel in and add in a lot of new hotshots wanting to make a name. Something to add juice to coaching staff because it sure lacks it now.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:16 am
I can see the Bucs next season sitting at the bottom….. WTF!
January 9th, 2026 at 11:17 am
No way. Aint gonna happen. Why would a former head coach of this team come back to be the DC (in title only)? While your at it Joe, maybe Dirk Koetter can come back and be the OC? Jon Gruden?
January 9th, 2026 at 11:19 am
Wasn’t raheem the one that sent Derrick Brooks into retirement and kept young inexperienced replacements.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:20 am
This may be dumber than the Kay Adams story from earlier today.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:23 am
Pass.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:24 am
If he’s not available we can bring back Mike Smith
January 9th, 2026 at 11:25 am
No thanks! Raheem, along with Dominik, set this organization back many years. We donât need any coach from the lost decade of Bucs football back around here. Also, if and when Bowles gets fired, Raheem would probably become the head coach again. If weâre going to hire anyone from the Bucs coaching alumni, it should be Gruden or Tomlin
January 9th, 2026 at 11:25 am
I doubt he’d take a DC job where he couldn’t call the plays. He’s not a position coach looking for a half-level advancement.
The highest his defenses have been ranked as a DC is 17th in the league. Why do you want that?
Those edge rushers in Atlanta were good to start, not because they were coached to brilliance.
If this team is toxic for edge rushers, you’d think at least one of the failures would have gone onto success somewhere else. Smacks more of poor player selection than some sort of career-destroying dysfunction here.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:26 am
Dewey – great call!
January 9th, 2026 at 11:30 am
At this point, it feels like weâre just playing Madden with these ideas. Hiring an ex NFL head coach from Atlanta as DC and a former Miami head coach as OC sounds good on paper, but both would immediately be candidates for other head coaching jobs or even head coaching gigs at college if they wanted to go that route. Why would either choose to work for a coach they just beat a few weeks ago, especially one whoâs on the hot seat and could be fired within a year? So they could potentially get fired again? I would love to have them both, but that doesn’t mean Todd would want to be looking over his shoulder at his replacement. Imagine the defense improving, and rumors about how Raheem is the difference maker. Then Bowles would be pushed out by his own hiring? Or the offense excels, Baker puts up career numbers and we keep him when Todd’s contract is up. If Im Todd Im not hiring an ex-NFL coach.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:32 am
Todd Bowles 2.0
January 9th, 2026 at 11:34 am
these posts on retread coaches are nauseating
January 9th, 2026 at 11:36 am
This really is a great idea. Recall that Atlanta finished with the same record as the Bucs with far worse talent on the roster. And defensively, their worst games were better than our worst games.
Still, I think it’s a stretch that Raheem would take the demotion, and I’m sure one of teams with even worse records than us and Atlanta would take a shot with him as HC.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:47 am
“This may be dumber than the Kay Adams story from earlier today”
Agreed
January 9th, 2026 at 11:49 am
The entire NFC South is improving,.,…except for one team
January 9th, 2026 at 11:53 am
Might as well bring back Schiano and Lovie Smith at this rate.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:55 am
I think he would be a good fit Joe, a lot of energy there. Not to mention, playing the Falcons twice a year for a little pay back, priceless.
January 9th, 2026 at 11:59 am
The waitresses at the bars in Soho would be so excited to have him back.
January 9th, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Joe Says: âDid anyone, from Team Glazerâs office to the fan base, think Strong was the best man for the job when he was hired. Was he the proud score after an exhaustive search to find the very best for our beloved Bucs? Absolutely not and everyone at One Buc Palace should be ashamed.)â
I said the exact same thing when he was hired. HE all by HIMSELF, was seriously responsible for âsingle-handedlyâ DESTROYING âTHREEâ College Football TEAMS. First LOUISVILLE, then TEXAS, and onto USF. Absolutely, DESTROYED. For YEARS, after he left them all completely BARE and just in HORRIBLE shape. It took those Universities YEARS to finally recover. Louisville eventually had to turn back to PETRINO, from being so desperate for help. And, a lot of people on here know about USF. KILLED the program. They were set to be on track to join a Power Conference and EVERYTHING. Waaaaayyy ahead of UCF at the time, and was the logical âfirst-choiceâ over THEM. Until, they WERENâT. Hell, it has taken them 7+YEARS just to get back on a level footing after HIM. Itâs a JOKE. And, these are the types of coaches that Bowles prefers being around. I Fricking CANâT. On the Glazers, right now. What a HUGE JOKE.
January 9th, 2026 at 12:10 pm
A little on the fence about Raheem.
Agree with BakerFan though. If we can get McDaniel, then yes maybe Raheem would be okay.
January 9th, 2026 at 12:18 pm
@ CapeBuc Says: âAtlanta finished with the same record as the Bucs with far worse talent on the roster.â
Yeah, Iâm not so sure about that. I donât see it that way, and obviously neither does Art and the rest of ATL. They definitely have A LOT MORE âtalentâ on DEFENSE, across the board, too. And, THREE of them are only Rookies⌠They âhitâ on ALL THREE. Then, on Offense they have more âhigh-endâ talent as well, PLUS they are very YOUNG. Bijan (ELITE), Drake London (ELITE), & Pitts (ELITE, and they have the âfranchise tagâ they would definitely use on him, depending on the next HC of course, but I couldnât imagine them NOT wanting HIM)⌠Then, you have The âBIG-Penix.â IF he can stay healthy, with the right coaching to develop him, he can be really good. So, yeah⌠Iâm not buying that the BUCS TALENT is âfar betterâ that ATLâs. The Bucs to me, seem OLD and STALE. I am just NOT seeing-it!!!!
January 9th, 2026 at 12:18 pm
This probably isn’t the worst idea. However, doing the same things and expecting a different result… Well, you’ve heard it before. I like to try to focus on issues that are backed by analytics/data and logic, but being a fan is mostly emotional. Bringing back Bowles really was a gut punch and now pulling in one of his friends really feels like this is a big step back for our ownership. Feel like next year will be more of the same. I would really like to see a strong leadership directive identifying what was wrong and what we are going to do to fix it new DC, new OC, special teams…).
January 9th, 2026 at 12:26 pm
We will be batting for the bottom of the NFC South with our Dollar Tree Head Coach
January 9th, 2026 at 12:30 pm
I donât think this is a bad idea at all. Raheem has always been an outstanding defensive coach – who has only gotten better with experience since leaving Tampa. Can see Morris being the yin to Bowles yang.
January 9th, 2026 at 12:35 pm
âHe did not have great defenses in Atlanta, but he developed an edge rush with Falcons outside linebackers coach Jacquies Smith.â
Bring Smith & Nate Ollie in, they need jobs
January 9th, 2026 at 12:39 pm
My ankles would be good with this. Also hire Mike McDaniel. Todd can then learn firsthand how his defense was beaten twice by a QB who can’t move and a rookie who, at best, will be a career backup.
January 9th, 2026 at 12:44 pm
I could see this. very complementary approaches. Raheem is a well proven coach that can get players to push themselves.. Heâs just not an x and o kind of guy.
This can let them both do what they enjoy doing.
I still would rather another top tier head coach
January 9th, 2026 at 12:50 pm
Hahaha imagine that going from interviewing for head coaching jobs to position coach hahaha. He would be a good defensive coordinator and position coach honestly but Bowles is too goofy to even put out a feeler
January 9th, 2026 at 12:54 pm
Morris would be an upgrade ag DC. Still won’t get me to watch tho if bowles is here. Negative
January 9th, 2026 at 1:05 pm
No freaking way! Morris owns the worse collapse in Bucs history. Lost 10 straight in 2011 by an average margin of 17 points. Worst example of players quitting on a coach I have ever seen.
This season with Bowles was second worse.
January 9th, 2026 at 1:23 pm
Despite the Nay-Sayers, I actually really like this idea. Raheem wouldn’t be steamrolled by Bowles during scheming/meetings/etc. because has been a head coach and a successful DC.
Developing a pass rush would do wonders for this team. Think about it: What are Bucs biggest holes on defense? In order, I think they are:
1. Can’t cover middle of the field.
2. No edge rush.
3. Soft corner coverage.
By bringing in two guys, Morris and Smith, we could POTENTIALLY alleviate number 2 on the list (which some folks may argue as number 1, and understandably so).
My thoughts as to why pass rush is 2 and not 1 is that the Bucs have found ways to reasonably and consistently win games without an edge rush. Yet, the games we get torched over the middle, we don’t have a chance.
January 9th, 2026 at 1:24 pm
Why would Morris come back here to do his old job? Nah….
January 9th, 2026 at 1:29 pm
âBy bringing in two guys, Morris and Smith, we could POTENTIALLY alleviate number 2 on the list (which some folks may argue as number 1, and understandably so).â
THREE Fred, 3 we need Nate Ollie. Agreed on the middle of the field prioritization and a big reason I despise Bowlesâ tendency to shoot those 0-blitzes on 2nd/3rd & long, they stink!
January 9th, 2026 at 1:32 pm
So instead of simply connecting dots here… has anyone tracked the style defenses Morris has ran since leaving Tampa? I’m pretty damn positive he ran a 4-3, Tampa 2 style defense when he was our HC, and Bowles def is built in the mold of a 3-4, no I don’t care if he’s got a 4-3 config at times, it’s simply different and not the easiest to make fit with the personnel we have.
I don’t see it happening, but the simple answer, yes, I’d take Rah as our def coord, we’d be stupid to say no to that type of offer given what he brings to the table as not only a positional coach, but as a HC, Rah has always had juice and he’s a damn good defensive mind, and he’s found success on every stop he’s made since leaving us, to include a SB with the Rams.
January 9th, 2026 at 1:38 pm
Joe, Im still not sure how, or why, you stand behind Licht. Wouldn’t the hiring of Steong ultimately fall on Licht? Oh, that’s right homer retains his picks and the fact that he’s subs are still with the bucs are a reflection of his success, not failure. Other duties be d@mned. Seems to me, virtually every article you put out contains a subtle indictment of Licht. Subconsciously, you know the truth
January 9th, 2026 at 1:49 pm
raheem morris and mike mcdaniel… pay the money and make it happen
January 9th, 2026 at 2:03 pm
IF..Bowles was smart. He’d hire a guy like Raheem Morris as his DC. But he won’t. Biwles wants the defense to be his. And therein lies his mistake. He needs a counterbalance.
January 9th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
Last thing I want is Raheem Morris in a position to be the next Bucs head coach again.
January 9th, 2026 at 2:44 pm
As long as Bowles coaches this defense this team is playing for a top 5 next year. As bad as Grizzard was Bowles defense was even worse. Fire everyone but defense coordinator you arenât getting better. Iâm ok if he is a figure head, head coach. But to pretend this defense will get better is not a very bright decision by alleged bright people. No one decent will want to coach on a team in a lame duck year. Probably how we could only end up with Gizzard in the first place. Welcome back to grand reopening of the Den of Depression.
January 9th, 2026 at 3:20 pm
Bring back Rah? Nah.
But that did make me laugh.
January 9th, 2026 at 3:39 pm
Get rid of the 3-4 defense. Bowles 3-4 defense is trash. Go to a 4-3
January 9th, 2026 at 4:38 pm
Raheem? Might as well fill out the D staff with the Smith brothers, Lovie and Mike. It could be a epic reunion of failure.
January 9th, 2026 at 4:53 pm
@Teflon Don – yes that’s the same Jaq Smith. Promising young player whose career was ended b/c they had him playing special teams, despite being our best pass rusher at that time. Just another example of stupid choices made by people running this franchise.
As for Raheem – at least his team finished the season strong.
We on the other hand completely imploded.
January 9th, 2026 at 6:19 pm
He better than Callahan.
January 9th, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Hmmm… Let’s just keep retrying all the stale stuff from the past that did not work then and has even less chance now.
From Todd to Coach Rah to Victory Formation! Mix it all together and what do you get?
January 9th, 2026 at 7:56 pm
Tampa 2 is an ez defense. Even these Buc players could understand it.
January 9th, 2026 at 8:19 pm
For everyone complaining. Raheem’s team went on a winning streak and fought to the bitter end. The Bucs could use that.
January 9th, 2026 at 8:35 pm
I hadn’t considered Raheem. Couldn’t hurt. Good call.
January 9th, 2026 at 8:49 pm
Raheem like joe is a clown đ¤Ą. Falcons players were disrespectful to him on live TV. London was vocal about him not being a good coach. Why bring in more yrash
Head coach is much difference than a position coach/figurehead defensive coordinator. Players who didn’t play for him as a head coach would have a much different take. –Joe
January 10th, 2026 at 4:57 pm
I think Raheem would be an excellent addition in any capacity that Bowles could utilize him in.