Who would agree that Raheem got a RAW deal?

[MiltonMack21]

Raw deal my butt.  He made millions to turn our defense into possibly the worst in franchise history.  Clubbing with the players, playing rap music at practice, chest bumping players, etc.  He was no leader at all.

I've never seen a worse head coach than Raheem.   If anyone got a RAW deal, it was the fans.

The fans got the raw deal by the Glazers.

[PreferNFL]

If you don't understand that what Abuccs and DTG mentioned is what really got Raheem booted, then you are getting a RAW DEAL !!

[MiltonMack21]

I know Morris had to go.. now it is time for the players to pay as well, half of the roster needs to go as well.

[PreferNFL]

Look, I'm not saying he is an elite player...BUT....had the 2011 Bucs given HALF the effort coolectively as Tim Tebow and had HALF the heart, Raheem may well still be employed in Tampa.

[tonto]

Raw deal?  Seriously?   Baloney.

[buchead]

Sure he did. We all did. But say you got a job one day and then the next day you're managing the company. You run the company into the ground because you just dont have the experience to no what your doing. Sure the owner could have done things better, brought in more competent workers. But how could you be mad when you had no business being in charge in the first place. You just got rich doing a job you didnt earn, and weren't qualified to do anyway. Not only that, your resume now shows that you held this position, wich will help you land similar, less demanding jobs. Count your blessings and move on. Wich it seems like Rah has.

[ABuccsFan]

I backed Coach Morris. Unfortunately, I don't think it was a matter of lacking veteran players, but more it was his lack of organizational skills and his lax approach to player discipline that ultimately cost him his job. He needed to grow, he needed to take control, and he just didn't do that.

And you think the Upper Management really really cared about that? He was a pawn and the upper management knew his talent. He was just a pacifier till they got out from under Gruden's Pay...JMVHO...OBD

If that was truly their motivation, and winning or the team didn't matter at all, then why fire Gruden in the first place? Let him finish out his contract then go looking. This conspiracy theory is so illogical. No matter which way you try to spin it, it still cost them more money to fire him than keep him. So obviously money was not a motivation in that situation at all.

[Morgan]

He was put into a tough situation and it's not all his fault. But I'm sorry, if anyone thinks it didn't turn out as bad as it did because of Raheem, they are crazy IMO.

Raheem took a talent depleted roster and made them worse by not enforcing discipline, demanding effort and trying too hard to be their pals instead of their boss. I'm sorry, going clubbing with your players is unacceptable.

I hear what your saying and agree 100%, but why did the FO allow this? It was wrong to allow him to have all that responsibility in the first place. We talk about how young Freeman is, but this dude was in his early 30's as a HC/DC of young professional athletes. I'm in my late 30's and the manager of a healthcare organization and I said wow when I first heard of the promotion.

I said "wow", as well. Anyone that has been in charge of a large group of people recognized that he could be in trouble and over his head. You don't put the mid-level employee in charge of the entire organization and expect success.   What really concerns me is that the same individuals who hired him are making the next hire.  And the GM who was responsible for fielding the team is still in his position to try it again for next season. Fool me once.....

[BTownBucFan]

I backed Coach Morris. Unfortunately, I don't think it was a matter of lacking veteran players, but more it was his lack of organizational skills and his lax approach to player discipline that ultimately cost him his job. He needed to grow, he needed to take control, and he just didn't do that.

+1

He wasn't ready.  He should have been a Coor'd for a few years first to learn those skills, but thats not his fault, its the Glaziers for putting in someone who wasn't ready and they could pay CHEAP.

[Rusty]

The Glazers are at fault. I can't remember the exact quote from them but it was clear that Dom/Rah and the fans had to have the patience to build through the draft long term. The Glazers didn't have the guts to stick to the plan long term. Errors in thinking on their part that a defensive backs coach with no coordinator experience, let alone no head coaching experience and could come in and win was naive at best. Couple that with someone's error in thinking that Raheem didn't need strong coordinators was another mistake. The third mistake was no free agent veterans in the locker room and on the field. Where everyone got fooled was 10-6 last year and 4-2 this year after beating Atlanta and New Orleans in those two wins this year. Then because of all of the aforementioned errors in judgement, the house of cards came crashing down, the players lost the energy, there was no one to lead the way (vets/coaches) and the 10 losses in a row were eerily the same, 21-0 in the first quarter and the game effectively over. You could throw in that Raheem couldn't discipline certain players but that would be piling on.
So in summary, in hindsight (20/20) the hire should never have happened or the Glazers should have kept their publicly stated mantra of staying the course. Ultimately I believe that Raheem will be a successful head coach in the league and I think he learned a lot.
What is alarming to me is that the Glazers are not neophytes in the NFL. They have been around the block a few times and they should be learning from their mistakes. They hit the lottery with Gruden, when it seemed they crapped the bed with Parcells fiasco. IMVHO what they really need to support Dominick, much like the Rays have in Hunsinker (sp) to support Friedman, is a savy, senior FOOTBALL guy, not to bang heads with anyone but to lead the way....and that includes advising the Glazers as well as Dominick. The Glazers own the team and I admire their business acumen, however going through another retooling has the fan base turned off. As I have said in another post, pick the right guy, subscribe to the vision, communicate it to the fans and stay the course....long term. They can adjust as they go because no plan is perfect but every three years fire the coach, retool, new philosophy, 20/25 new players, 3 wins in the first year, etc.puts us back to the Yuccaneers days.

[JavaRay]

I've never seen a worse head coach than Raheem.   If anyone got a RAW deal, it was the fans.

Were you in a coma from 2003 to 2008?

You know darn well that I was around and watching great moments like this 2005 win over the Falcons.

[dalbuc]

The Glazers are at fault. I can't remember the exact quote from them but it was clear that Dom/Rah and the fans had to have the patience to build through the draft long term. The Glazers didn't have the guts to stick to the plan long term.

It is now obvious Raheem was a mistake but to argue that anyone should have had more patience with him is wrong. This team didn't just regress, it collapsed....totally.  This wasn't a building pains kind of season, this wasn't the 8-8 "regression" a lot of people saw coming off a tougher schedule and some regression to the mean. This was a team that was entirely non-competitive as the season went on. You do not see Lousiana-Monroe get down 42 points to LSU let alone one NFL team to another. There was a lack of discipline, coaching, preparation and development happening that wasn't going to get better.  Once a coach loses a team he's lost it. You can't put that genie back in the bottle and Raheem lost this team, no matter the talent, no matter the age, no matter the salary, he wasn't getting the best out of the players he had here. He had to go 100%.

I have never been so sure on any Bucs team, or heck any NFL team at all, that a coach needed to be fired.

[JavaRay]

This was an example of the glory of the Raheem years...

[Rusty]

The Glazers are at fault. I can't remember the exact quote from them but it was clear that Dom/Rah and the fans had to have the patience to build through the draft long term. The Glazers didn't have the guts to stick to the plan long term.

It is now obvious Raheem was a mistake but to argue that anyone should have had more patience with him is wrong. This team didn't just regress, it collapsed....totally.  This wasn't a building pains kind of season, this wasn't the 8-8 "regression" a lot of people saw coming off a tougher schedule and some regression to the mean. This was a team that was entirely non-competitive as the season went on. You do not see Lousiana-Monroe get down 42 points to LSU let alone one NFL team to another. There was a lack of discipline, coaching, preparation and development happening that wasn't going to get better.  Once a coach loses a team he's lost it. You can't put that genie back in the bottle and Raheem lost this team, no matter the talent, no matter the age, no matter the salary, he wasn't getting the best out of the players he had here. He had to go 100%.

I have never been so sure on any Bucs team, or heck any NFL team at all, that a coach needed to be fired.

I never said he shouldn't have been fired, I suggest you read the whole post. The question was that did he get a raw deal. It was a mistake hire, he didn't get the tools, they bailed on him and left him holding the bag. Errors by the Glazers all around. I hope they don't continue to repeat their errors in judgement or they will be selling peanuts to the squirrels at RayJay.

[Bucfan40]

This is what Morris should have done with Dominik after he dumped Ruud and Caddy and decided to hibernate thru the entire Free Agency signing period....

Ruud needed to go. He was already unhappy about the contract thing. No way was he going to "groom" Foster to take over for him. Only reason it happened in Nashville was because the guy was like a 6th round pick and Ruud was benched because he was injured. Titans fans hate him already for the same reasons we did.

Getting rid of Caddy was a mistake, I agree.