The Bucs have not stopped in their quest to replace jettisoned coach Raheem Morris. So far, the Bucs have interviewed Mike Sherman, Jerry Gray and apparently have turned their sights to the notorious Marty Chokenheimer, per Chris Mortensen via BSPN’s Twitter account.

@mortreport: Marty Schottenheimer is on Bucs’ radar but not at top; he is hungry to coach. Note that Marv Levy went to his 4th Super Bowl at age 68.

Now Joe has admiration for Chokenheimer, who is coming off a UFL championship this past season. Chokenheimer is a no-nonsense coach who won’t put up with a lot of nonsense that Morris tolerated if not enabled.

And Joe can assure you that if LeGarrette Blount is on the roster, Chokenheimer will use him, pound him, game after game. The misuse of Blount by the Bucs coaching staff last year was borderline criminal.

That stated, Chokenheimer has richly earned his nickname. No coach in recent NFL history has so often dominated regular season play with punishing defenses and a pounding running game better than Chokenheimer whether at Cleveland or Kansas City or San Diego.

But each and every time that team guided by Chokenheimer gagged in the playoffs. An absolute Heimlich maneuver.

Chokenheimer would be a great tease, probably better than Chucky. But don’t bank on any Super Bowls much less NFC title games with Chokenheimer as coach.

Regular seasons would be fun though.

Per Mort, the Bucs also will interview Brad Childress (Joe’s praying with  his rosary as he types that interview fails) and are also looking at Mike Zimmer and the pure definition of “retread” coach, Wade Phillips.

Joe’s very much a fat-friendly guy. So Joe has a sensitive ear when it comes to potential fat-guy bias in the media.

In a look at the potential 2012 Bucs roster today, beat writer Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times offered brief takes on each member of the Bucs roster and offers an opinion on whether each will return under a new head coach.

For Donald Penn, Holder says Penn returns next season but claims Penn is still battling fat challenges. Remember, those concerns from rockstar general manager Mark Dominik prior to Penn scoring a massive contract prior to the 2010 season. But this is the first Joe’s heard of anyone hinting that Penn is having new or ongoing girth issues.

Donald Penn: Weight issues; didn’t finish 2011 strong.

Joe knows Penn had a subpar final quarter of the 2011 season, and Penn admitted as such on his radio show, but overall Penn is a damn good left tackle and had a solid season. And Joe’s surely not seeing how Penn’s weight got in his way in 2011, or is an issue moving forward.

The man has started 76 consecutive games.

Holder says Penn has “weight issues,”  and perhaps he’s busted weight limits set by the Bucs, but Joe hasn’t heard of any such offense and there’s no evidence Penn’s beef is holding him back.

You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also brings you THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the Buccaneers goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t. … Of course, THE OPTIMIST’s opinions are his alone and are not influenced by Joe.

Lay off Josh Freeman.

Watching the season-ending debacle last Sunday, I paid some attention to Twitter feeds during the game and was amazed by Tweets about Josh Freeman once the game got out of hand.

Freeman should have been benched like Blount was for turning the ball over, some Tweets said. Never mind James Lee did an OLEY block letting John Abraham come in untouched while Freeman was looking left, or that Kellen Winslow screwed up and ran the wrong route; right into Bucs’ RB impersonator Kregg Lumpkin, the result of which was a Pick-6.

People actually wasted their time complaining about Freeman. Did anyone watch Sean Jones or Geno Hayes? Quincy Black took on horrible angle one specific play, amazing since he was only two feet away when he did it!

“Defense is on the field all the time because of Freeman,” another fan wrote. Really? Sunday, once again, the Bucs QB took the field for his second possession already down 14-0.

That wasn’t Josh Freeman’s fault, and it happened all year long. Only twice did the Bucs scored first last season: Week 1 vs Detroit (3-0) and week 13 at Jacksonville (14-0). That’s it, besides that, Freeman gets the ball for the first time usually down 7-0.

How many times? Eight times, half a season, the Bucs offense began their second possession already down a touchdown, four times down by two scores. Also four times, Josh Freeman touched the ball for the first time with a 7-0 deficit.

That doesn’t provide an excuse to turn the ball over, but it certainly doesn’t help.

But we have to be honest, even as a Josh Freeman fan, you have to admit he had a bad season. There were some bright moments, thought they were overshadowed by 22 interceptions. So what happened?

Quite a bit of those 22 picks were tipped balls by a wide receiving core full of No.2 WRs and no legit No. 1 guy. Josh Freeman himself admitted the Kool-Aid he drank from 2010 gave him too much confidence and he tried to squeeze the ball into places he had no business attempting.

We know every quarterback missed offseason OTAs, but one of the biggest reason’s Josh Freeman improved from 2009 to 2010 was because the massive amount of studying and preparation during the OTAs paid off during the year. Freeman greatly missed last summer.

There is a reason the entire coaching staff was let go, some of these assistant coaches were straight ‘basuda’ for our Spanish speaking Joes!  Where was QB Coach Van Pelt during this season? Olsen? Coaching him to not throw of this foot, Squeeze passes in, whatever?

Anyway you look at it, Freeman was not a good QB this year, not at all. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be. My goodness, think about all of the holes on this team, and some people want to use the top pick in the draft for Robert Griffin III? You want to do 2009 all over again? Over one bad year?

You don’t throw away a franchise QB over one bad season, especially when its been shown to happen before. Both Peyton Manning AND Big Ben from Pittsburgh had bad third seasons, tossing up plenty of interceptions. Freeman is only 18 months older than Andrew Luck, and five more months than that over Robert Griffin III. Look how long the 49ers stuck with Alex Smith and they are the No.2 seed.

And for those that criticized Morris for not pulling Freeman like Blount, you don’t pull your QB over interceptions. QB is NOT running back. You can find a running back on a street corner (Blount), a franchise QB? Not so much.

Bottom line: with so many needs on this team, you don’t even think about pulling the plug on Freeman, and if you can find me ANYONE who writes or works for a reputable network who agrees with you, you’ll be the first one to find that person — because the concept is plain silly and ignorant.

Get some linebackers, running backs, corners, etc., and coach up the guy who has nine fourth-quarter comebacks on his resume.

NO!

One of the coaches the Bucs are rumored to be interested in is former Buffalo head coach and current Dixie Chicks offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.

A former get-back coach for Sam Wyche here in Tampa Bay, Mularkey has worked with quarterbacks and has had solid results wherever he’s been. So naturally Joe is high on Mularkey coming to take over the Bucs… until now.

If Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune is to be believed,  the Bucs are indeed interested in Mularkey through his league sources. But, Mularkey has a stipulation, so Biggs reports. That if Mularkey is to be a head coach, that former Bucs offensive coordinator (keyword: offensive) Clod Christensen is a package deal as Clod will be Mularkey’s offensive coordinator.

Colts offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen, if let go, could be a strong candidate for the position based on his previous experience with Smith for the Buccaneers. But an NFL source said if Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey lands a head coaching job (the Jaguars and Bucs are interested in him) Christensen will go with him. The source said Mularkey will be the leading candidate in Jacksonville.

Provided this information is accurate, if Joe were either Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik or Team Glazer, during a prospective interview with Mularkey, if he demanded Clod as the leader of the Bucs’ offense, Joe would stand up, shake Mularkey’s hand, say “Thank you for your time,” and walk straight out of the room.

Hat tip @JennaLaineBucs

One of the classic debates among sports fans surrounds when truly great players should retire.

Should stars try to go out on top? And does that mean on top of their game and/or with a championship team?

Should they try to not “embarrass” themselves by competing long past their prime?

Frankly, Joe loves watching the competitiveness of superstars as they keep working in their craft, regardless of their success or age. If a guy wants to be dragged off his field of play or forced out of his game, then so be it. Joe doesn’t expect a game warrior to somehow want to sit back on his couch smoking cigars and drinking cognac. Though, sadly, Muhammad Ali took hanging on way too far.

Joe was living north of San Francisco when legendary Joe Montana, then 37 and coming off a major injury, was traded from the 49ers to the Chiefs in 1993. Joe’s never seen such an outcry of fans and media. Legions were screaming from rooftops that Montana should have retired to preserve his legendary legacy and not wear a foreign uniform.

It was amazing. All the soft-spoken Montana wanted to do was play football — no Brett Favre lunacy — and many Niners fans skewered him for that. … Montana went on to lead the Chiefs to the AFC Championship game in the ’93 season.

This brings Joe to Ronde Barber, who had surgery this week for a broken arm, so The Roanoke Times (Va.) reported yesterday. Click through the link for brother Tiki Barber’s comments on Ronde’s future.

Who knows what Ronde Barber will do next? And would the Bucs want to give him a blank check to return?

The only thing Joe’s sure of is that Joe will not be the guy who says Barber, if he decides to keep playing somewhere, should have hung it up and held on too long.

Don’t tell former Ravens head coach and current FOX NFL analyst Brian Billick he’s some sort of power-hungry potential head coach that would come to the Bucs demanding power and control. Billick says that’s way off the mark.

Check out this very interesting Billick interview on The Dan Sileo Show on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday. Among lots of juicy head-coaching talk, Billick says he believes the Bucs need to “address some things along the offensive line,” and says “the Bucs need a Darren Sproles type.”

Click on through the image to get even more information about the dazzling greyhound racing, 24/7 poker room and the best darn buffet in the Tampa Bay area at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg.

"I don't get it, Mr. Glazer. I wasn't the guy who drafted Gaines Adams or Dexter Jackson."

Joe finds it amusing in a scary way that since Raheem Morris was jettisoned by Team Glazer suddenly Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has somehow become evil incarnate to Bucs fans.

Bucs fans, it seems, will either have to deal with Dominik or find something else to hate, so NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas wrote in an ESPN chat yesterday.

Charles (San Francisco)
Hey Pat, Happy New Year. Pat are you surprised Mark Dominik survived? And though the coaches took the fall, how much did the players immaturity and lack of veteran leadership resulted in the inability to stop the bleeding?

Pat Yasinskas
Not surprised at all. Remember, Bucs gave Dominik a four-year contract extension last offseason. All they did with Raheem was pick up his two-year option. That right there tells me that, even after 10-6, they were sold on Dominik, but still weren’t sure about Raheem.

The fact Team Glazer reupped Dominik for four years tells Joe he is doing what Team Glazer wants him to do.

Sorry, but Joe just doesn’t get the vile that is all of a sudden built up for Dominik. But it seems Bucs fans just have to hate someone. First it was Barrett Ruud (who was unjustly crucified in this town) and once he was gone it turned to Morris (justly) and now that Morris is out of town the hate is now targeted for Dominik.

Joe’s good friend and Buccaneers Radio Network pregame and postgame host Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski takes to the airwaves of WDAE-AM 620 this morning from 9 a.m. to noon.

As one can imagine, the state of the Bucs and their head-coach searc will be the topic du jour. Look for The Commish to field a barrage of calls from outraged Bucs fans that can’t believe Mark Dominik is employed.

Those chained to a computer can listen to a live stream via the station’s website.

Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times stopped in for a visit with Tampa Bay sports media czar J.P. Peterson yesterday on WQYK-AM 1010 and talked about the Bucs’ job search to fill the void left by jettisoned coach Raheem Morris.

Naturally Joe took notes.

The Bucs want to “interview someone that can work with Mark Dominik. But they are all on one-day contracts,” Stroud said.

“Not having Barrett Ruud and Cadillac Williams had an impact and was a calamity down the stretch. Coaches sort of expected it but they bought into it and” then came 2010.

“Keith Milliard never had a chance to work with his players in an offseason, but that’s the job they chose.

“You have to start with ownership. I’m a big believer in good organizations win championships. They do what it takes to win, they invest financially and they pick good people.

“One of the reasons Jon Gruden is not here is because they wouldn’t invest in free agency and get guys in their prime and spend money and they were not willing to do that.

“2010 was miraculous, I mean pretty incredible. But those decisions [on lack of veterans] came back to bite them. The coaches, believe me, they are on the field and in the classroom with these guys, they tried to impart upon management with wouldn’t fly this year and guess what?

“The Glazers do pay attention to the rest of the league. They take their time. Because Jeff Fisher is popular, doesn’t mean a thing to them. They have been around as long as Jeff Fisher. They will march to the beat of their own drum.

“There are a lot of good football coaches out there. I think it will be very risky for them to hire a first-time head coach after what happened with Raheem and that is unfortunate. Maybe the best coach is Rob Chuzinski, but a first-time head coach, is that the best move? That’s a different job than you have ever had before and you will learn on the job and make mistakes.

“Guys are going to wake up and not be on the team, they won’t realize it.

“I think they will get a guy who has head coaching experience. Jeff Fisher worked for an owner, Bud Adams, who is one step from Bill Bidwill or Hugh Culverhouse. What is Fisher looking for? Commitment. I don’t know if that is what he sees.

“Mike Mularkey is really intriguing. He’s not a young guy any more. He’s good with young quarterbacks. He knows the Falcons, he knows the Saints. He’s an intriging guy.

“Chip Kelly? It’s a big risk coming from college football. How will he do? Will his offense work with Josh Freeman? When you have LeGarrette Blount who gets a quarterback killed, when you have Mike Williams who can’t stretch the field, when you have Kellen Winslow who can’t run any more, let’s see how you do.

“I don’t think they want a guy who wants to run personnel. They will have to get along with Mark. I would be surprised if they hire a first-time head coach and that may be the best way to go, that guy might be a superstar.”

Perhaps every Bucs fan agrees that the Bucs had ineffective locker room leadership this season, from iconic former players, to staunch Raheem Morris supporters in the media like Shaun King and Steve Duemig, to the everyday fan that had to watch a lifeless team have the same problems repeatedly.

All could see the Bucs lacked discipline and inspiration.

It’s not like the Bucs had no veterans or captains. Team captains were Ronde Barber, Quincy Black, Jeff Faine, Adam Hayward and Josh Freeman, and of course the Bucs had other veterans. But Joe has to put a giant spotlight on the captains.

Ultimately, these guys failed. Outside of Barber and Freeman, Joe knows the Bucs need new blood at the top of the leadership food chain. So the Bucs are almost forced to look outside the organization for a couple of standouts that can excel on the field and lead, especially on defense.

Specifically, Joe’s grown tired of Faine in a leadership role. Joe had major issues when Faine scoffed at attending team bonding/practice sessions during the lockout. And Joe sees Faine as a guy whose on-field play and extensive off-field interests no longer make him an ideal captain.

Plus, look at Faine’s paycheck for 2012, roughly $5 million non-guaranteed; that’s cold hard cash the Bucs could use to sign an impact name that still has his best years ahead of him. As it relates to money, you could make the same argument against Ronde Barber, though Joe would never advocate showing the Bucs icon the door.

Quincy Black? Unlike Faine, the Bucs still owe Black guaranteed money. The thought of Black returning as a leader of the Bucs makes Joe shakes violently. Perhaps the man best known for his big “Redskin Package” sack against lowly Carolina in 2010 will be very happy in a true secondary role in 2012.

In the third report in as many days, this time even strongly worded, the Bucs will not interview Jeff Fisher to fill the vacancy of jettisoned Bucs head coach Raheem Morris.

Per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the teams courting Fisher have been whittled down to two: Miami and St. Louis.

All indications are that it’s a two-horse race between St. Louis and Miami for Fisher’s services. He apparently will not interview in Tampa Bay, as had been speculated.\

But the rest of the NFL has taken notice of Kroenke’s serious pursuit of Fisher. With Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden seemingly intent on sitting out this hiring season, and no real hot coordinators on the market, Fisher is the belle of the ball in this year’s NFL coaching carousel.

In conversations with a variety of sources around the league, one recurring theme has been that Kroenke must be serious about winning in St. Louis if he’s going after Fisher. This will be Kroenke’s first coaching hire as Rams controlling owner, and for better or worse, it will help define his ownership style to his competitors in the NFL.

On Monday after, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune reported the suits at One Buc Palace were indifferent to Fisher. The next day, good guy Maoist Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Bucs and Chiefs were the only two teams with head coach openings that didn’t seem interested in Fisher.

Thomas’ report seems to close the door on Fisher and the Bucs.

Apparently looking to shore up their defense, or scare the hell out of their fans, the Vikings are welcoming the worst defensive coordinator in the 2011 NFL for a visit.

BSPN is reporting that Raheem Morris will meet with Vikings’ brass for a powerful position.

Morris will meet with Vikings coach Leslie Frazier and newly named general manager Rick Spielman to discuss a possible job as defensive coordinator or assistant head coach/defense.

Raheem probably has a strong shot at this gig. The Vikings were 11th in the NFL against the run, so they won’t need Raheem to craft new methods to stuff the run, something he never figured out in Tampa. Joe can only imagine how Raheem might answer for his run defense in an interview.

The Vikings were 26th against the pass, even with Jared Allen and a strong pass rush, so Raheem might just be their man.

When Joe’s curious about Cheesehead-related matters, Joe turns to popular local sports radio caller Green Bay Bob, aka Bob Fox, who has long written about all things Green Bay Packers for numerous publications, including now for Bleacher Report, among others. Joe asked Bob what he thought of Tom Clements, the Packers QB coach who’s getting his share of buzz for NFL head coaching openings. Here’s what Bob sent back.

By BOB FOX

The Glazer family and general manager Mark Dominik have kicked off the process of looking for a new coach and the names we have heard that might interest the Bucs are ones familiar to NFL fans: Jeff Fisher, Mike Sherman, Mike Mularkey, Jerry Gray.

I’m sure there will be several more candidates, one of whom should be Tom Clements, QB coach for the Green Bay Packers.

Why?

To me, there is nobody in the NFL better qualified than Clements to help turn around Josh Freeman’s career.

First, look at Clements’ background. For one thing, Clements knows how to play QB and also how to win. Clements was a three-year starter at QB for Notre Dame under Ara Parseghian, and he led the Irish to a 29-5 record. That included an unblemished national championship in 1973.

Clements only played one year in the NFL, but in the CFL, he was a legend.  Clements was named an All-Star seven times in the CFL and twice guided teams (Ottawa in 1976 and Winnipeg in 1984) to Grey Cup Championships. Clements was the Outstanding Offensive Player in both of those championship games. Clements was also Rookie of the Year (1975) and MVP (1987) of the CFL.

Coaching career

Clements has been in coaching since 1992, when he coached at his alma mater for four years. He began there as quarterbacks coach but ended up as an assistant head coach before he left Notre Dame. Before he arrived in Green Bay, Clements began coaching in the NFL in 1997 and has coached the quarterbacks with the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clements was also the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills for two years before he moved on to Green Bay.

What Clements has done in Green Bay is remarkable since joining Mike McCarthy’s staff in 2006. Brett Favre was coming off his worst season ever as a pro in 2005, when Favre threw 29 interceptions and had a QB rating of 70.9.  Clements worked closely with Favre and by 2007, Favre had his best season in the NFL since the three straight MVP years from 1995-1997. Favre threw 28 TD passes vs. 15 picks for 4,155 yards and a QB rating of 95.7 in 2007.

In 2008, the Favre tenure in Green Bay was over, and the Aaron Rodgers era began.  What Rodgers has done since then is stunning. Since 2008, Rodgers has thrown 131 TD passes vs. 37 picks for 17,037 yards. Rodgers had a QB rating of 93.8 in 2008, and since then it has not dropped below 100 in any given year and this year Rodgers broke the all-time record set by Peyton Manning in 2004 of 121.1, by having a QB rating of 122.5. For his career, Rodgers has a 104.1 QB rating, best in NFL history, plus he owns the best QB rating in postseason history.

Rodgers endorsed and Flynntastic

When asked about Clements last year, Rodgers told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel he gave a lot of credit to his quarterbacks coach for his success.

“Tom does a great job at never being complacent with the way I’m playing, and we scrutinize every little part of the game — everything from every step in the drop to my play fakes to my keeps off of a run,” Rodgers said.  “He’s a great teacher of the game,” Rodgers said of Clements.  “He understands that less is more, I think, especially on game days.  He’s got one or two things every time I come off the field.  He’s always very even-keeled.  There’s not any arguments on the sidelines or confrontations.  He understands that there’s going to be mistakes on the field. But he understands how to manage, help manage, our personalities during the game.  And then off the field, he doesn’t let you be complacent.”

Clements also developed the backup to Rodgers in Green Bay, Matt Flynn. Rodgers didn’t play last Sunday vs. the Detroit Lions last Sunday, as the Packers had already clinched home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs. All Flynn did was break a couple of single-game records in Green Bay history. Flynn threw six TD passes and notched 480 yards in the wild 45-41 shootout victory over the Lions.  Obviously, like Rodgers, Flynn was well prepared.

Clements is checking out his coaching options now. And once again Rodgers spoke out on the behalf of Clements when he the news. Speaking on his weekly radio show on ESPNMilwaukee and ESPNMadison, Rodgers said the Nittany Lions job (now filled) will be a challenge for whoever replaces Joe Paterno, but that he believes Clements is up to the task.

“That would be a difficult situation, I think, if you look at the landscape of college football as it unfolds in the next month or so, with the bowl season finishing up. There for sure is going to be some openings. I’m not convinced that’s going to be at the top of many people’s list of places to go,” Rodgers said. “It’s a difficult situation, obviously. You’re going to have to make some changes, but I can tell you what, Tom Clements is a man of integrity, discipline, hard work, sticks to his guns. He’s a moral man, he’s an incredible coach, great teacher, understands the game, has played the game at a high level at the CFL for 13 years, has almost 40,000 yards passing, has won the Grey Cup a couple of times. His record as a player speaks for itself, more than he ever will. It speaks to the kind of guy he is. Great college player, won a national championship.

“He has the pedigree, and he understands how to relate to guys. I have a great relationship, would hate to see him go, but I’ve really enjoyed my time with Tom, and consider him a very close friend, but also someone who I don’t ever want to let down on game-day. We have a great relationship as friends, but also as player-to-coach. I think if anyone could go into that situation and handle it with dignity and class, it would be Tom Clements.”

Bottom line, the Bucs need to make sure that they at the very least interview Clements for their head coaching job.

The proof is in the pudding. The Bucs have many needs as they try to move forward with whoever is the new head coach. Obviously, there are major issues with the defense that need to be addressed. But getting Freeman back on the right track might be the biggest issue the team is facing. Again, Freeman is the face of the franchise in a quarterbacks league.

Based on his recent work with quarterbacks, nobody would be a better mentor and teacher for Freeman than Clements.

In Joe’s eyes the best piece of news about the search for a successor to jettisoned Bucs coach Raheem Morris just came from Chris Mortensen of BSPN, who is reporting Penn State has chosen a successor to iconic Joe Paterno and that man is New England offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.

Why should Bucs fans care? Because Packers quarterback coach Tom Clements was thought to be the leading candidate to fill the vacant position.

If, as the Bucs claim, it’s all about No. 5, there may not be a better guy on the market who has a long resume of developing strong NFL quarterbacks.

Let’s go Bucs, get this interview scheduled while the Packers have a bye week.

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Last night, Joe brought you Part I of former Bucs quarterback Shaun King’s passionate radio rant against the firing of Raheem Morris and on the current state of the Bucs.

Of course, Joe wouldn’t deny you Part II of this historic tirade.

Check out the audio below, courtesy of WQYK-AM 1010 and Justin of The King David Show.

Bucs fans increasingly are falling into two camps: those that think rockstar general manager Mark Dominik is a bumbling, stumbling joke, and those that believe Dominik has done a solid job infusing the Bucs with young talent and deserves little responsibility for the Bucs’ demise in 2011.

Outspoken former Bucs coach Herm Edwards, now a candid analyst for BSPN, falls into the latter camp.

Speaking to the crew of PrimeTime on WHBO-AM 1040 today, Edwards said the Bucs’ crumbled not because Raheem Morris didn’t have players but because team discipline was lost and the Bucs lost their emotion.

“That has nothing to do with talent. It’s a mindset. And once it gets going, if you don’t stop it early, it becomes who you are,” Edwards said. “I’m a big believer in this, Your habits create who you are. And unless you’re willing to change your habits, it’s going to show up. And it showed up when they played.”

“We’re all human. I don’t ever say people quit. I say this, the game of football is played with emotion. And when you lose your sense of emotion, it looks like, well, they quit. … I just believe emotionally you check out sometimes. And when you do that, it looks bad.”

Edwards went on to say he believes the Bucs didn’t know how to handle success and didn’t have the locker room leadership to help pull them out of a tailspin.

Edwards said Ronde Barber can’t be a true leader from the cornerback position and he implied that the Bucs didn’t have any leadership on defense in 2011. “No one was there to grab’em,” Edwards said, and “hold them accountable.

“When your struggling you need to make sure your locker room is strong. … You gotta have guys that are willing to get in the players’ faces, not the coaches, the players, and say, ‘Hey man. We’re not doing that around here.'”

No interest in Bucs job

Edwards said he has no desire to be a head coach in 2012, saying he loves life at BSPN.

On Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Grey getting an interview by the Bucs this week, Edwards said Grey is a disciplinarian type and a guy he knows well.

As for the type of coach the Bucs hire and how discipline would be instilled, Edwards was passionate about the subject. He said the phrase “player’s coach” has a negative connotation that implies a lack of discipline. Edwards said that’s the furthest thing from the truth, giving Tony Dungy as an example of a “player’s coach.”

“They called me a player’s coach,” Edwards said. “You think I don’t have discipline? My father was in the Army for 27 years.  … When you’re a head coach, they respect the title of the head coach. When you get the players to respect the man behind the title, then you got discipline.”

Edwards was very upbeat about the Bucs’ future.

“Whoever gets that job is going to walk into a very good situation. Mark Dominik has done a good job drafting players.”

The Twitter universe was going wild earlier with word from Tampa Bay Times reporter Stephen Holder Twittering that rockstar GM Mark Dominik was not in attendance Wednesday when Team Glazer interviewed Mike Sherman and Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Grey for the Bucs head coaching job in Houston.

Calm down Dominik haters and lovers. Breathe easy.

Dominik was there front and center during interview process for these candidates, Joe has learned from One Buc Palace.

Rick Stroud, also a Times beat writer, joined J.P. Peterson on WQYK-AM 1010 today and apologized for riling up the masses with Holder’s errant Tweet.

The man Chucky couldn’t figure out how to get on the field with Antonio Bryant, Joey Galloway, took to the WDAE-AM 620 airwaves this week with Dan Sileo.

Galloway reflected, saying he enjoyed his time under Chucky in total, though the not the final days.

Speaking about the 2011 Bucs, Galloway said what happened to Raheem is common across all sports — teams fall apart and the coach gets the blame. Saying he liked Raheem and respected him while he saw him first-hand as an energetic Bucs secondary coach, Galloway said he highly doubted Raheem’s closeness with players was a factor in his demise with the Bucs.

“It wasn’t the problem last year [when they were successful]. I woudn’t imagine he got any closer with the guys this year than he did last year,” Galloway said.

Joe knows that many Bucs fans are pining for former Titans coach Jeff Fisher to be named the next Bucs coach. With Fisher being heavily courted by Miami and St. Louis, it would stand to reason those two teams are the frontrunners for his services.

Armed with that information, it seems
popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, beer-chugging Peter King of Sports Illustrated is of the mind that within two days, NFL types will know where Fisher is leaning, so King Twittered this afternoon.

@SI_PeterKing: I would assume we’ll know the fate of Jeff Fisher, or at least his very strong leaning, within 48 hours.

Add to the intrigue that good guy Maoist Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports yesterday wrote that there were two teams with head coach openings that “do not seem” interested in Fisher, Kansas City and Tampa Bay. Silver did not elaborate further.

Silver’s information seems to back up what eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune earlier this week said, that the suits at One Buc Palace are indifferent to landing Fisher.

Cash-tossing Danny Snyder, Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan might be after another big free agent — one with “core beliefs” who’s “ready to deal.” That would be Raheem Morris, the recently defrocked Bucs head coach.

Per Redskins reporter George Wallace’s Tweet, Raheem has been dining recently with Redskins staff, and Brad Biggs of NationalFootballPost.com says Raheem might be tapped for a key position on Washington’s staff.

The ex-head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is reportedly in the mix to join the Washington Redskins, who are looking for someone to clean up their secondary. George Wallace of WTOP radio in Washington reported Morris was spotted in the area dining with Redskins brass, leading one to believe he was in town for an interview.

It’s possible the Redskins could look to add Morris as their defensive backs coach and coach Mike Shanahan could also give him the title of assistant head coach. Morris and Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan have a relationship together from their days on the same staff in Tampa.

What a great potential fit for Raheem. Joe assumes Raheem would lose the $2 million remaining on his Bucs’ head coaching contract if he coaches with another team in 2012. However, if the Redskins make it worth his while with a long-term deal, then maybe Raheem jumps to join Bruce Almighty and Shanahan, and revive his resume at the same time. Plus Joe assumes the allure of playing the Bucs next season would be quite attractive.

If Raheem gets this job, Joe wonders what free agents in the Bucs’ secondary he might ask for? Elbert Mack? Ronde Barber? Surely not Sean Jones.

Joe loves mystery and drama. Give Joe some ice cold Molson and an hour to watch Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Joe’s a happy guy.

Therefore, Joe perked up reading a live chat with Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder yesterday on TampaBay.com. Holder was asked about an apparent locker room disagreement between someone with the Tampa Bay Times and Aqib Talib. Holder acknowledged some sort of confrontation and defended his newspaper’s response, or lack thereof.

Comment From Zeke: Why didn’t anyone report the Times’ locker room spat with Talib?

Stephen F. Holder: It was a personal conflict and unrelated to the game. We didn’t go there as a courtesy, not because we were pressured. I think that should be a lesson to those who think we went out of our way to disparage Talib. That was a layup and we did not take it.

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