Views
18
Comments
13
  • January 22, 2008 06:24 PM ET

Gruden's new contract is a mistake...

Gruden is Moses (207-128-19) vs tryfortomorrow (1-0-0)
6
Votes
11
Votes
6
Votes
11
Votes


OK, he's my namesake...but lets be honest. He's not the answer to Tampa Bay's future. He did the job he was hired to do, and that was to win a Super Bowl that Tony Dungy seemed ill-capable of doing. And he did it. I'll always have the hat and t-shirt. But since then, he's below .500 and won the NFC South this year simply because no other team there seemed to want it. And he did exactly what he did the last time he won the NFC South...and that was to lose the wildcard game to the visiting wildcard team. That's Chucky, but your time has passed. Tampa should have gone out and found a new leader to take them back to the top. With Gruden, it'll be a dissapointing run, even when you get to the playoffs.


Here's the deal.. Tampa Bay won four games in the 2006-2007 season. As a Buccaneer fan, I believed they were going to turn the tide and win at least seven, maybe eight games this season, they exceeded that. However, most people believed that Tampa Bay would win now more than five games this season.

I am not saying the reason they won nine games was due solely to Gruden, but I'm not saying it wasn't either.

Look at the teams who need or needed a coach. How many of them are looking at or have hired 'better' names than Gruden?

The Ravens hired John Harbaugh, is he better than Gruden? Jim Fassel is out there, but I don't believe he's better than Gruden. Sure, they could try and get someone like Pete Carroll, but do you honestly believe he's going to go into Tampa Bay?

My point is, if you're going to hire a new coach, they need to be at least on the same level of your previous coach.

Gruden only got a three year extension anyways, and he's proven he can win in the Super Bowl in the past. I don't think two early exit's should determine he should be fired. The Super Bowl win should overshadow the losses.. unless they pile up.

Change is absolutely good, but bad change is not good.


First off, yes, I do believe that Pete Carroll would rather take a team with the talent of Tampa Bay over the losers that are courting him now.

Second of all, he's UNDER .500 as a coach since the Super Bowl. It seems to me that anyone with any mathmatical ability could figure out that that is a LOSING coach since the Super Bowl. Just look at this season. The team SHOULD have been 11-5, but they crawled into the playoffs losing three of their last 4. And I place that ENTIRELY upon the shoulders of a coach that had a bad game plan.

What the Bucs did was reward Gruden for mediocrity. I don't care what he did in his first year with the team. I care what he's done since replacing most of Dungy's players with his own choices. And in doing that, he's created a team that has lost more than its won.

This season is a perfect example on another level. Even you expected them to suck. But the rest of the NFC South was so pitiful, they won it in spite of all expectations. But they won it by going 5-1 against the NFC South. They were 4-6 against the rest of the league. And that, in a nutshell, proves that Gruden should have been replaced, not rewarded.


You cannot deny that he and this team had a great turnaround this season. Going from four wins to nine wins is great, regardless of the way you look at it. "They win as a team, and they lose as a team", as cliche as it sounds, it's true.

Just because they lost their last two regular season games doesn't mean he's a bad coach. Nor does the fact that he has been under .500 since he won the Super Bowl. He made a great transformation/turnaround. Once again, four wins to nine wins.

About divisional opponents, you still can't deny the potential in that division. Atlanta is the only team that didn't have a chance. Both Carolina and St. Louis are good teams, whether or not they "wanted" it, or they "did good".

Just because the Patriots were 6-0 in their division against Miami, Buffalo, and New York, does that change anything? No one is making a big deal of that. You can't help the talent in your division, nor who is in your division. They can't make them play like they "want" it either.


You call 9-7, and losing 3 of their last 4, including a losing record against everything but the dreaded NFC South a "great turnaround"? I call it an embarrassment.

And of course they make a big deal that the Patriots were 6-0 against their division. Because they were also 10-0 against EVERY OTHER TEAM they played. That's the difference between winners and also rans.

And under .500 since winning the Super Bowl cannot be considered a great turnaround against any standard. Here's the truth: After winning the Super Bowl with Dungy's team, Tampa went 7-9 the next season, missing the playoffs. They then went 5-11 the next season. Then they bounce back the next season at 11-5...GREAT TURNAROUND! Only to blow it first round at home to Washington. The next season? 4 wins. Wow. Then this year, 9-7. Hmm, 5 games more than the previous season, while just two years ago it was 6. Where were you then?

In the end, every real Tampa fan knows that next year its back to sucking. And we're not happy.


First of all, maybe I point out you spell his name wrong? It's "Jon" not "John". Just a little head's up.

I'm a Tampa Bay fan, and I stick by our coach. If we won only four games this season, and Gruden were to have gotten an extension for some odd reason, I would still stick by them. Now thats a true fan. I stick by the organization's decisions.

I know what New England did. All I'm saying is that you can't chose who is in your division. Being that New England was 6-0 against the Dolphins, Bills, and Jets, that doesn't diminish their 16-0 record at all. That means that Tampa Ba being 5-1 against the Saints, Panthers, and Falcons should not diminish their record at all. They still won at New Orleans, at Carolina, at Atlanta. That changes nothing in my opinion.

If you can convince me there is a better, yet reasonable, replacement, I may be a little more convinced. However, if you can find any, I commend you. I feel he is right for this job at this time.

Good luck.

Comments (13) Add A Comment

January 22, 2008  06:48 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

I disagree. I think he has done a pretty good job turning that team around. Still need a QB for the future but I think he can build that team back up.

January 22, 2008  07:01 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

I have to agree w/ Gruden on this one.

January 22, 2008  07:02 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

Turning the team around? From a constant fixture in the playoffs and a Super Bowl, to a losing record every other year and a 1st round playoff loss? I do agree that is "turning it around", but they're now going the wrong frigging way.

January 22, 2008  07:03 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

Here's the funniest part. I said in my argument the same thing CCC has said in emails to me. But he still voted against me. He's such an idiot.

January 22, 2008  07:10 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

I never said Gruden should be fired. I don't think he's a particularly good coach, but who are you going to replace him with? Tampas problems aren't the coaching staff, they are not having solid enough players at the offensive skill positions. You don't make deep playoff runs with mediocre QB/RB/WR unless your defense is all-time good.

January 22, 2008  07:15 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

But since then, he's below .500 and won the NFC South this year simply because no other team there seemed to want it.
John Gruden said 01/22, 06:24 PM

I agree with Gruden 100% on this. Seems like the Bucs were trying to give away the division title but no other team stepped up and took it. If it werent for Saints fumble and playing the horrible Falcons near the end of the season, the Bucs wouldve possibly had a losing record. Since winning the Superbowl, The Bucs have missed 3 out of 5 playoffs. Losing both playoff appearances at home in the wildcard. His teams are 8 games below .500 and he gets a 4 year extension at $4.3 million per year? Big mistake.

January 22, 2008  07:18 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

tryfortomorrow said 01/22, 07:15 PM
"You cannot deny that he and this team had a great turnaround this season. Going from four wins to nine wins is great, regardless of the way you look at it"

The way I look at it is he went from 11-5 to 4-12. THEN, while his division rivals played extremley poorly all year, he posted a 9-7 record. Again, losing in the 1st round AT HOME.

January 22, 2008  09:52 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

I vote to Gruden againt Gruden. He, like Billick, is getting by on his past Super Bowl cred only...and weknow what happened to Bilick.

January 22, 2008  10:09 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

(checking outside to see if the Moon is red and if it is raining frogs and locusts)

man if I made this statement I'd have all kinda hate mail from Gruden

I'm confused

Do I for FOR gruden the person and then gruden the person will get mad becasue I hated on his coach?
or do I vote for gruden the coach and then gruden the person will get mad becasue I voted against him?

AAAARGGGHHHHHH

January 22, 2008  10:53 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

I'd never hate mail you David. You're the best.

CCC, you're a liar, and I've got the emails to prove it. As always. And if you'd check the stats, Tampa's defense was that good.

As for Try for Tomorrow: I'm not Jon Gruden. Why does it matter how I spell the name. I spell it wrong on purpose. Its a tribute to the guy...but I'm not Jon Gruden. If you had been a member here for more than a few weeks, you'd know this, as I've explained it at least a dozen times.

January 22, 2008  10:59 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

"And if you'd check the stats, Tampa's defense was that good. "

You can fondle the stats all you like, Gruden. Massage them for eternity. The 2007 Tampa Bay Bucs defense was NOT...I repeat...NOT all-time good. They weren't even close to the Steelers D THIS YEAR.

I realize homerism is a serious disease around here, but give me a break.

The Tampa D was as close to being all time great as Brett Favre was to winning the MVP. Oh, wait...

January 22, 2008  11:24 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

"CCC, you're a liar, and I've got the emails to prove it."

Do produce mailings from ME saying the Bucs should fire Gruden. You can't. Mostly because I don't care whether they do or not. This TD, however, was that the Bucs made a mistake in signing him to an extension. Absent a viable REPLACEMENT that would be an improvement over Jon, they made the best decision they could.

 
January 23, 2008  11:32 AM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

I'll forward them to you. Not a problem. But then you'll just tell everyone you didn't get them. Because you are a liar.

Comment

Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.


Leaderboard

  Fan W L T Win %
1 Porkins: Tortured by the BCS 154 14 1 91.4%
2 YODA 48 4 2 90.7%
3 Baun-de... 68 7 2 89.6%
4 The Ram 149 17 4 88.8%
5 FoosBal... 84 12 2 86.7%
6 Hyped78 132 19 5 86.2%
7 PhillyE... 78 11 4 86.0%
8 Dookie: Here We Go Steelers 119 19 8 84.2%
9 [The] Coach 106 18 5 84.1%
10 Sooner in WA- Rightful Champ 55 13 3 79.6%

Truth & Rumors

MOST POPULAR

  1. 1
    Plaxico laughs off gun arrest
    Views
    24301
    Comments
    2202
  2. 2
    Giants can get out of Burress contract
    Views
    6489
    Comments
    1562
  3. 3
    Is Pettitte a phony?
    Views
    4831
    Comments
    663
  4. 4
    Tazawa chooses Red Sox over Rangers
    Views
    3664
    Comments
    270
  5. 5
    Marbury rips teammates, coach on way out
    Views
    8409
    Comments
    184

Most Active Users

Comments + Blog Posts + Throwdowns

  1. 1
    _ _ _ _ _
  2. 2
    bcoltrinari
  3. 3
    Epoch1
  4. 4
    Dyhard: Big 10/ACC Challenge
  5. 5
    Mr Fancypants

Message Boards

  1. MMA > Fight Club

    Fight of the year?
    Views
    477
    Replies
    11

  2. NFL > New York Giants

    Let Burress go
    Views
    72
    Replies
    3

  3. NCAAF > General NCAAF

    USC is wearing red at UCLA…
    Views
    38
    Replies
    11

Blogs

SI.com

Swimsuit

Michelle DamonMichelle Damon
Yasmin BrunetYasmin Brunet

SI Photos

College Superfans: Week 14College Superfans: Week 14
NFL Players Who DeliveredNFL Players Who Delivered