That guy patrolling Bucs practices this year who won’t talk to any players but furiously takes notes and overtly whispers in coaches’ ears, that’s going to be Butch Davis.

Per Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik says new special assistant Davis doesn’t want to coach, only advise and be an “extra set of eyes.” (Click through above to read the whole story.)

Joe won’t hide that this all seems a little bizarre, especially considering the lingering multimillion dollar severance payouts from the University of North Carolina that Davis won’t receive if he “coaches” the Bucs.

Davis is a career football coach. So it’s hard for Joe to believe he would be content to analyze every inch of OTAs and sweat his ass off through training camp and not step in to mold young men.

Sure it’s all very plausible that Davis doesn’t want the responsibility and demands of a coaching title, but color Joe skeptical, no matter who the Bucs name as defensive coordinator.

Bucs fans already read the rather non-committal comments from Ronde Barber to Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder at a local charity event Saturday night.

Essentially Holder, in the Tampa Bay Times, wrote that Barber was playing wait-and-see regarding his future and wondering “if I fit in” with the 2012 Bucs.

But what vibe did Holder really get from Barber? Tom Krasniqi of Primetime of WHBO-AM 1040 asked Holder that yesterday.

Krazniqi: From your conversation with him, do you have any gut feeling one way or another if Ronde’s coming back?

Holder:  Yes. I absolutely do. I got the impression, and I told him this, I got the impression that he sounds like a guy who wants to play. Because he said something along the lines of, ‘You know I’ve got to find out if I fit in and, you know, I think I know where I stand but I’m not allowing myself to commit to anything.” Well that sounds like a guy that’s trying to talk himself out of it. … But I walked away with the sense that, “Wow, that sounds like a guy who wants to play football in 2012.” I absolutely did. I told him that, like I said, and he didn’t necessarily try to talk me out of it. He just made it clear that he hadn’t made a decision yet.”

The Barber situation will be one of the most interesting of the offseason. But Joe’s going to put aside the drama for a moment surrounding Barber’s status as a Bucs icon, his potential contract demands and willingness to play a reduced role.

For Joe, the Bucs need Barber. He stays healthy. He’s still makes plays. He’s a role model. Aqib Talib is a question mark. And the Bucs hardly have a guy behind Barber that has earned the torch.

Arm-tackling around the shoulders is not the way to bring ballcarriers down but is a favorite technique of Aqib Talib, which is why Pro Football Focus rates Talib among the worst tacklers in the NFL.

Somewhat to Joe’s surprise, when he has brought up the issue of the Bucs secondary and dared suggest the Bucs could be looking at three different starters and perhaps four, no one has mocked Joe.

Here’s a little bit of evidence why the Bucs could (should?) have a brand new secondary in 2012: the Bucs secondary was horrible at tackling.

The numbers crunchers at ProFootballFocus.com reviewed all the game tape and banged out an Excel spreadsheet to show of the 20 worst tackling cornerbacks in the NFL, three of them were on the Bucs roster.

Ronde Barber (No. 97), Aqib Talib (No. 89) and E.J. Biggers (No. 81) were cited as among the worst offenders of bad tackling in the NFL.

Now maybe Ronde — who Joe believes at some point belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — is just getting old and that is why he is missing so many tackles?

There is no such excuse for Talib, who loves to try to arm-tackle up high, which would make any high school much less Pee Wee football coach watching this tactic likely throw up on a living room rug.

It just astounds Joe that the most sacred, simplest tenant of fundamental defensive football is allowed to be ignored at such a rate in the NFL, and that is wrapping up.

Hell, Kyle Arrington, cited by ProFootballFocus, as one of the best tacklers in the NFL, decided to blow up Ahmad Bradshaw in the Super Bowl and not wrap up and Bradshaw instead blew up Arrington and raced for a critical first down.

If Joe was Schiano and Talib and Biggers are both back on the roster (Joe expects Biggers to be; Talib is not exactly an absolute to return), Joe would have all the linebackers and defensive backs practice wrapping up each and every day until they would wrap up without thinking about it; it would become a natural instinct.

If they didn’t wrap up in a game and tried to blow people up in order to reach the most sacrosanct of athletic achievements — being shown on SchlockCenter — Joe would have two words for the offending party.

“Hello, bench.”

While nobody knows what kind of playcaller/gameplanner Mike Sullivan will be as Bucs offensive coordinator, one thing that can’t be argued is the man is used to being around exceptional quarterback play and work ethic from Eli Manning.

And per the Star-Ledger, Manning is down about losing his QB coach, and Sullivan recognized Manning’s focus on detail.

 “I’m extremely excited for Coach Sullivan, but I’m sad to see him go,” Manning said. “We had a great relationship. He is a tremendous coach who pays attention to every little detail. He always had us well-prepared.”

After throwing for 4,002 yards with 31 touchdowns to a career-high 25 interceptions, Manning emerged as one of the league’s best under center in 2011, passing for 4,933 yards, 29 touchdowns (an NFL-record 15 in the fourth quarter) and just 16 interceptions during the regular season.

His postseason numbers were even more impressive: 1,219 yards, nine touchdowns, one interception, and his second Super Bowl MVP award.

“Working with Eli, it was wonderful to see the hard work, the commitment, and the focus on all the little details,” Sullivan said. “He’s such a true professional. I think there was a definite determination and attitude he brought to the table this year to focus on being the best he could possibly be, whether it was small mechanical things, or footwork, or different things in practice.”

While there’s been a lot of focus on what Sullivan brought to Manning’s development and preparation, Joe’s feeling rather soothed thinking about how Manning likely helped push Sullivan to grow as a quarterbacks coach over the past two seasons. Regardless, Josh Freeman should be the beneficiary of a coach with high standards of excellence. 

Sure, Sullivan will not coach quarterbacks in Tampa. But Joe suspects a load of his offseason work will be devoted to all things Freeman, from film study to devising an offense that plays to Freeman’s strengths, and everything in between.

Good grief, the Bucs have so many question marks with the draft a little over two months away, Joe doesn’t know where to start. From holes in the defense to upgrades needed on offense, there are all but two positions that aren’t secure in Joe’s eyes.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has whittled the questions down to one. In having a question for each NFL team, Prisco asks if new Bucs coach Greg Schiano can instill discipline in the squad?

Can Greg Schiano instill discipline in a team that needs it?

The Bucs looked like they would be a potential playoff team in 2011, but they looked to have a discipline problem. Coach Raheem Morris was too buddy-buddy with his players. Schiano has to change that culture. Quickly.

This is an easy one to answer for Joe: Too many Bucs players took advantage of Raheem Morris’ easy-going ways and it turned into a grotesque 10-game losing streak that culminated with the team coughing up 42 points in 22 minutes and a tight end blowing up a play himself because he was running a wrong route — in Week 17 no less!

If some of these players who took advantage of Morris turn their backs on Schiano too, then the answer is obvious: Cut them.

If certain players won’t play for Morris and won’t (potentially) play for Schiano, then why keep them around to poison the locker room further?

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson is encouraged about what the hiring of offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan could mean for Josh Freeman.

Simply put, Carlson has no love for Josh Freeman’s mechanics and, during an interview on PrimeTime on WHBO-AM 1040, Carlson said Eli Manning’s mechanics are so sound that Sullivan should recognize the contrast as he studies the Bucs’ franchise QB. Sullivan was Giants quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons.

However, Carlson, a longtime quarterbacks coach and JoeBucsFan.com analyst, makes no guarantees that Sullivan is a mechanics guy and will recognize Freeman’s troubles. Alex Van Pelt didn’t get it done and should have, Carlson explained.

Joe’s got the audio with all the specifics. Just click the fancy arrow below.

At one point in our nation’s history, President Bill Clinton forced many to reconsider the meaning of the word “is” and the defintion of “sexual relations.”

Hey, Joe’s open to studying the language. In fact, it’s a passion of Joe’s.

On that front, it seems the Bucs and their new special defensive assistant advisor general, Butch Davis, will test the limits and meanings of the word “coach.”

Joe’s previously delivered the reports that have Davis not serving as a Bucs “coach” because that would prohibit him from collecting at least the remaining $1.7 million or so from the University of North Carolina and potentially forfeiting previous money he got from the school after leaving as its head coach. Davis, per the terms of his release from UNC, is not allowed to coach in the NFL and keep his remaining college income due. Therefore, the Bucs only have Davis in a defensive-consultant role.

Count Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud among those confused why the Bucs wouldn’t just buy out the rest of the money UNC owes Davis and have Davis available to the Bucs in all capacities, so Stroud said on The Dan Sileo Show today on WDAE-AM 620.

“Maybe this is just the role [Davis] wants. There’s no cameras over there, I think. I don’t know if North Carolina is going to have spies on the practice field [at One Buc Palace,]” Stroud said. “But we all know the agreement. And, you know, he’s going to be more in an advisory role.”

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. UNC is a public college and Joe suspects somebody over there will be in charge of scrutinizing Davis’ role with the Bucs, especially in these times that have states grasping for every last nickel they can find.

Is someone coaching if he has no role on gameday or doesn’t talk to players on the practice field? Is someone coaching if he’s merely breaking down film indoors before a group of players and coaches? Are you coaching if you’re wearing a headset in the booth and barking opinions to the head coach? Are you a coach if you only coach coaches on how to coach?

As Joe’s written previously, if Davis is not officially a coordinator, then by NFL rules he never has to engage the media on any subject. So don’t expect Davis to explain.

Perhaps, as Stroud suggested is possible, Davis really has no interest in coaching and simply wants to only engage coaches and study film.

Perhaps Arrelious Benn learned he won’t be running the Benn’d Around any more? Perhaps he heard the Bucs won’t draft Justin Blackmon and cut his playing time?

Joe has no clue. But whatever Benn’s new position coach told him recently has got Benn fired up, so he Twittered yesterday.

@ArreliousBenn: Got the phone call of my life from my position coach so pumped. Havent felt like this since 9th grade

Pumped during 9th grade? Frankly, Joe’s most “pumped” memory from 9th grade was witnessing a girls track practice for the first time. If Benn is that excited for offseason workouts, then that’s a good thing.

The ol’ ball coach was vibing on local radio this morning.

During the interview with Dan Sileo on WDAE-AM 620, Raheem wouldn’t toss around any blame or insight into what went wrong with the Bucs, other than to say it was all on him and he’s “not going to cry over spilled milk.” Raheem said the best way he knew how to fix the losing streak was to emphasize the core beliefs — all together now, “play hard, fast, smart and consistent.”

On his you’re-fired meeting with Team Glazer, Raheem said it was an emotional good-bye.

“When you’re talking abou the Glazers, you’re talking about guys I can call and talk to at anytime. You’re talking about guys that can give you whatever you need. You’re talking about if there was a complaint, if there was an argument, if there was a discussion, they were always open to talk about it,” Raheem said. “So to be able to call those guys and have those kinds of open relationships, it’s something you can’t forget. Leaving those guys is bittersweet. Obviously, going somewhere else to learn something new is obviously going to be great for me, great for them. And, you know hopefully, we both enjoyed our time together. I think they told me the same thing in their meeting.”

On the Tampa Bay area, Raheem said he won’t be moving out of town — ever.

Raheem said he’s been coming home on weekends from the Washington Redskins’ compound and despite this weekend’s cool weather in Tampa, he was “sitting outside with no shirt on on my deck.”

Good luck being your best self, Raheem.

Josh Freeman's contract may partially prevent Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik from making it rain for free agents.

Joe loves his loyal readers but not always do Joe’s loyal readers love him.

Just last night a reader kept Twittering Joe to write about some element of the salary cap. This issue bores Joe to death for a number of reasons.

One, writing about the salary cap is akin to writing about tax law. Second, the subject bores Joe to death. Third, spending does not equate wins. It just doesn’t.

Therefore, Joe skips the subject as much as possible.

Now Joe also knows that fans are angry with Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik because he won’t make it rain during any free agent period. That is also likely to continue this offseason, says ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas, partly thanks to quarterback Josh Freeman and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, so Yasinskas wrote in his weekly NFC South chat.

Dr. H. Doofenshmirtz (Tri-State Area)

The Bucs have all kinds of money to spend. Do you see them going after one of the big names (M. Williams, D. Jackson) in free agency?

Pat Yasinskas

Once again, let me say it: Bucs will be more aggressive in free agency this year. But that doesn’t mean they’re going on a free-agent frenzy. They could sign one big guy, but I suspect more mid-level guys. Also, yeah, they’ve got some cap room, but it’s not as much as it’s been in past years. The Freeman and McCoy contracts are starting to get in their prime years and are taking up a lot of space.

This is why Freeman needs to turn things around quick and GMC needs to stay on the field so both of them can justify their contracts.

Joe will write about this later this week, maybe this afternoon if he has a chance, Bill Polian was recently hired by SiriusXM NFL Radio is blowing Joe away by all the knowledge he is dropping. He believes there is such a glut of free agents this year (600+) that even he, an anti-free agent guy himself, would be tempted to dabble because, in Polian’s words, it will be a “buyer’s market” for talent this offseason.

There are few if any former Bucs players more popular than Derrick Brooks. As ferocious as he was as a linebacker, he is that personable of a person when meeting him on the street.

It seems Brooks has a smile for just about anyone.

And as intelligent as Brooks is, specifically his football knowledge, Bucs fans will not see Brooks stalking a Bucs sideline, no matter how many pine for him to do so, as evidenced in a recent TBO Bucs Q&A.

Q: In the hopes that you have the ear of someone within the Buc’s organization or that at least a few of the decision makers read these columns, how about Derrick Brooks as an assistant coach? Maybe it’s just me but I’d vote for the guy if he ran for president. While they’re at it, why not checkout some of our other retired greats, Mike Alstott might be ready for a change of pace!

Scott Sparenberg, Homestead

A: I think the Bucs would gladly take on some of their past greats as coaches if the greats were interested. As of right now, Derrick Brooks is rather busy running the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm. I think he’s looking more at a future in management than on the field, much like Doug Williams and Shelton Quarles.

– Woody Cummings

It ain’t happening, and Joe will explain, in dollars and cents.

Brooks is a millionaire, and not just from his football earnings. Brooks is a savvy businessman. Aside from running the Storm and working for SiriusXM NFL Radio, Brooks has many business holdings where he makes a pretty penny.

Why would Brooks want to step away from that, take a pay cut of at least 50 percent if not more, and work twice as many hours?

Brooks is content with coaching his son in youth football. Before Bucs fans will ever get a chance of calling Brooks “coach,” they will likely have to use a different title.

“Senator.”

Why wouldn’t Greg Schiano want Bucs icon Ronde Barber on his roster next season?

Joe can’t answer that question. It seems like a no-brainer that Schiano, who says he craves competition in every drill, would want a versatile, solid cornerback like Barber on his team, a guy who doesn’t miss practice. And Barber just happens to a future Hall of Famer.

That written, Barber says he doesn’t know what he wants to do and he’s going to wait and see “if I fit in,” so he told Tampa Bay Times beat writer Stephen Holder last night at a local charity event.

Like most things in the NFL, Joe suspects a lot of Barber’s decision will come down to money.

 And some of it might come down to whether Barber is willing to accept a lesser role. If the Bucs draft allegedly can’t-miss cornerback Morris Claiborne and still have Aqib Talib on the roster, Barber’s playing time would diminish.

Are teams denying the Bucs a chance to interview coaches a payback from sins of the past?

Joe is beginning to think a good number of Bucs fans need professional counseling from the feedback he is getting on Twitter.

Nearly every move the Bucs make, many Bucs fans are convinced there’s some sort of underlying demonic reasoning or rationale. When the Bucs brought in Butch Davis, Bucs fans reacted like Tea Party members would if Mitt Romney hired Paul Bagala to run his presidential campaign.

So naturally, when Jim Harbaugh slammed the door shut on the fingers of Bucs rocks star general manager Mark Dominik yesterday after Dominik sought permission to interview 49ers secondary coach Ed Donatell, Bucs fans became even more irritated than before.

Calm down, says BSPN’s Chris Mortensen. He believes there is a very simple explanation for NFL teams during a cold shoulder to the Bucs in their quest to fill out a coaching staff.

@scottyplizair: why are so many teams denying Tampa Bay the chance interview there coaches?

@mortreport: To keep their own staffs from being raided

It’s as simple as that. Most NFL teams have their coaching staffs in place ready to roll for the upcoming glorified indoor track practice NFL combine.

Still, Joe has to wonder if some of this, innocent as it seems, is payback for Bruce Almighty pulling the same thing so many times when he was Chucky’s puppet Bucs general manager.

The 49ers won't let the Bucs sniff their guy

Another coach has been told he can’t sniff a Buccaneers coordinator job, so reports Jason La Canfora of NFL.com.

This time its former Packers and Falcons defensive chief Ed Donatell, the current 49ers secondary coach and the defensive coordinator under Mike Sherman that saw his Packers unit allow the famous Donovan McNabb 4th-and-26 completion. Donatell was the Falcons defensive coordinator under Jim Mora.

The San Francisco 49ers denied secondary coach Ed Donatell permission to interview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ vacant defensive coordinator position, according to a league source.

Donatell is at least the third candidate for a position on the coaching staff who has been blocked from speaking with Tampa Bay by current employers.

Joe’s not concerned. The Bucs shouldn’t have trouble finding a smart defensive mind — and a teacher — who will gladly do everything Butch Davis and Greg Schiano tell him to do.

How Mike Sullivan will run the Bucs’ offense is anyone’s guess. He’ll be a first-timer calling the shots in the NFL, with a first-time head coach helping him mold the playbook.

But there is information out there on Sullivan during his many years on the Giants’ staff. Recently, he found the spotlight as quarterbacks coach overseeing Eli Manning’s subpar 2010 season and his Super Bowl/superstar season of 2011, via the Newark Star-Ledger. It seems Sullivan is eager to innovate.

“I don’t know if he’s gotten any credit but … he’s certainly been a catalyst in the good year Eli’s had,” offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said last month.

Manning also threw much better while moving in the pocket and on the run, which backup quarterback David Carr attributed to Sullivan’s unconventional drills.

“He has some different drills where it’s uncomfortable movements,” Carr said of Sullivan last month. “You’re not just dropping back, moving to the left and right, stepping up and throwing the ball, which never happens in the game.

“You move up, you sprint out, run away from someone and then try to throw off balance. We do that drill every Wednesday and something every Thursday and Friday that’s similar to that, where we move around and twirl.”

Another Star-Ledger story highlights the rocky learning curve Sullivan had as QB coach (definitely worth reading) and illustrates how his core beliefs are influenced by Jiu-Jitsu.

Improved decision-making. That was one of those goals to come from last January’s meeting, all of which are written at the three points of a triangle used by the Gracie family, the famed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu clan admired by Sullivan, a former Army Ranger, Jiu-Jitsu blue belt and mixed-martial-arts fanatic.

“It’s on our quarterback guide, it’s something we constantly talk about,” Sullivan said. “Everything else, it has to fit within that framework. If he’s grading out and getting an ‘A’ (in the three goals), we’re going to win.”

While Sullivan won’t be Josh Freeman’s position coach, the coaching change is likely to be a radical one for Freeman. Joe especially is confident in that after reading about how Alex Van Pelt was known for his levity.

As Joe’s written before, it’s clear the Bucs’ coaching hires are going to be all about discipline — the opposite of the previous regime.

Joe’s spent much of the morning researching anything and everything about new Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan.

Maybe next week Joe will speculate about Sullivan’s strong relationship with free-agent-to-be Plaxico Burress. (Noooo.)  But for now, here’s a video on Sullivan from one of his hometown TV stations KSBY out of San Luis Obispo, California. Apparently, Sullivan brings a lot of enthusiasm to his coaching — “vibing,” as Raheem Morris might have called it.

Joe’s going to go out on a limb and say Bucs new offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan knows how to call plays.

After the Jeff Jagodzinski debacle, Joe can only imagine how much Sullivan was grilled and drilled on his playcalling ability during the interview process. Why Joe wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucs even organized a pickup game at One Buc Palace just to see the West Point grad work a playbook like a fiddle.

Yes, BSPN NFL guru Adam Schefter is reporting that the Bucs have hired Sullivan, a former Army defensive back and coach who has spent the last eight years with the Giants coaching wide receivers and quarterbacks.

Allegedly, he’ll team with old NFL veteran coach Jimmy Raye, Jr., a new senior offensive assistant, to devise and deliver the Bucs’ offense. And Joe’s glad to see another guy join the Bucs, along with Butch Davis, who knows exactly what championship football and a disciplined team look like.

Joe’s on board with all these hires, and Joe’s glad to have the feeling that Greg Schiano is handpicking his staff.

Can they be successful? Who knows? But Bucs fans should feel good. Yeah, anything was better than the coaching mess that surfaced 3 1/2 months ago, but this new staff has some gravitas. (Yes, that’s a big word for a Friday night, but this is a big hire.)

Perhaps the most exciting thing about this post is that Joe gets to reference BSPN talking hottie Rachel Nichols.

It is she who Twittered earlier this afternoon that the Bucs are interviewing New York Giants QB coach Mike Sullivan for their vacant offensive coordinator gig.

Sullivan is a West Point grad, and a former Army player and coach who has been with the Giants for many years coaching receivers and now quarterbacks. Between the military background and working under Tom Coughlin all those years, one can assume Sullivan is a discipline-first kind of guy.

Also, it’s widely known that Bucs new head man Greg Schiano had good relationships with Giants coaches, who were based in his old stomping grounds.

Can Sullivan call plays? Joe has no clue. Joe’s just going to stare at the Nichols photo above and wonder.

Former Bucs stud linebacker and current Bucs director of pro scouting, Shelton Quarles, was asked today whether he thinks Tampa Bay will be players in free agency next month.

The answer to WDAE-AM 620 host Dan Sileo? “You know, I hope so,” Quarles said.

Joe got a chuckle out of that one.

Quarles said he and his staff are “grinding on tape” at One Buc Palace analyzing potential free agents daily from “before the sun comes up to after the sun goes down.”

The bell rings on unrestricted free agency in 32 days.