The Coaches: Desperate To Win

[yuccaneers]

Different opinions abound about Jon Gruden. Some still remember the Super Bowl victory his first year and are crazy about "Chuckey." Others believe he threw in the towel last year when Simms went down. Pewter Pirates aren't too big on the idea of turning tail and surrendering.

Will Jon Gruden Survive This Year as Head Pirate or Will He Walk the Bloody Plank?

Jon Gruden has been head coach of two teams in the past nine years. He has compiled a regular season record of 77-67-0 and a post season record of 5-3-0 with one super bowl win during his first year with the Bucs. Despite having an offensive genius for a head coach, the 2002 Bucs won the NFL championship largely due to one of the best defensive teams to ever play the game, coached by mastermind Monte Kiffin.

Since that memorable year, two losing seasons followed until 2005, when the Bucs went 11-5 and won the Division behind QB Chris Simms. Last year, after Simms was pounded in the first three games due to poor play by the O-line, he had emergency surgery to remove his spleen. Gruden opted to hand the reins to a 6th round rookie instead of experienced journeyman, Tim Rattay and the Bucs went 4-12.

Tony Dungy was fired after taking the Bucs to the playoffs 4 out of 6 years. This is Gruden's 6th year and he'll need a playoff bound season to make it 3 times in 6 years.

http://www.pewterkrew.com/news/199.php

[T]

Jon Gruden,Jon Fox,Jack Delrio and Tom Coughlin will all start the season off in the hot seat. I don't think Gruden has to make the playoffs to keep his job just show the Glazers a big jump in improvement from the 4-12 campaign.I do think the other three coaches I listed must make the playoffs or they will potentially be looking for new jobs. Gruden has had to deal with some very unique situations here in Tampa and I think the Glazers realize that he took over an aging team with it's window of opportunity to win a Super Bowl closing. Gruden helped the team capitalize on that window of opportunity. Then came the salary cap hell, and finally the lack of premium draft picks caught up with the Bucs. I think as long as Gruden(love him or hate him) shows some increased improvement with this club he will be around in 2008.I can't remember any other coach in the NFL who has had to deal with unique situations that Gruden & company have had to deal with. I'm very anxious to see what happens this upcoming season.

[DefenseWins]

Gruden will be gone after this season. My prediction

[BTownBucFan]

Gru is still a good coach.  How many teams wish their coach took their team to the SB in the last 5 years?  And we're only 1 year removed from a playoff showing.  How many Cleveland fans wish they'd given Belichick more time?

Funny thing is most of my outside Tampa friends [who are not Buc's fans] think Gru is still one of the best coaches in the league -- and I agree, but with that said it is time he needs to show he's taking this team upward and if he doesn't, weather some of us Gruden fans agree or not, he will be gone --so I agree with The Coaches should be "desperate to win."

[dbucfan]

Odd that I would hope the coaches are desperate to win every year - about a month before we have new topics I suppose. 

[Feel Real Good]

Gru is still a good coach. How many teams wish their coach took their team to the SB in the last 5 years? And we're only 1 year removed from a playoff showing. How many Cleveland fans wish they'd given Belichick more time?

Bellichick himself will say he was a different coach in Cleveland and getting fired made him into the coach he is in New England. Sometimes coaches need to leave their baggage behind and get a fresh start elsewhere.

[dbucfan]

And here I was thinking he lucked into getting a 6th round pick from heaven, or did he learn that in Cleveland?

[keeponbucn]

This is Gruden's 6th year and he'll need a playoff bound season to make it 3 times in 6 years.

Yet that 3 years of playoffs in 6 would include a SB victory, don't leave that little nugget out of the equation. Dungy was fired for not winning a SB so 4 years of 1 and out is awful. 3 in 6 with a SB victory? Ohh sooo much better.

[BTownBucFan]

Gru is still a good coach. How many teams wish their coach took their team to the SB in the last 5 years? And we're only 1 year removed from a playoff showing. How many Cleveland fans wish they'd given Belichick more time?

Bellichick himself will say he was a different coach in Cleveland and getting fired made him into the coach he is in New England. Sometimes coaches need to leave their baggage behind and get a fresh start elsewhere.

That's Coach talk ... HC's rarely change their style or coaching philosophy.  The only baggage he left behind in Cleveland was the owners.

[bradentonian]

This is Gruden's 6th year and he'll need a playoff bound season to make it 3 times in 6 years.

Yet that 3 years of playoffs in 6 would include a SB victory, don't leave that little nugget out of the equation. Dungy was fired for not winning a SB so 4 years of 1 and out is awful. 3 in 6 with a SB victory? Ohh sooo much better.

I'm not a Dungy-ista, but to be fair, the Bucs were only one-and-done twice (50%) in the playoffs under his leadership...  The same percentage they are under Gruden.

[dbucfan]

And all his new knowledge enabled him to find the qb that can lead better than all others.  That one little nugget there enables a HC to really show all he knows.

[Feel Real Good]

Gru is still a good coach. How many teams wish their coach took their team to the SB in the last 5 years? And we're only 1 year removed from a playoff showing. How many Cleveland fans wish they'd given Belichick more time?

Bellichick himself will say he was a different coach in Cleveland and getting fired made him into the coach he is in New England. Sometimes coaches need to leave their baggage behind and get a fresh start elsewhere.

That's Coach talk ... HC's rarely change their style or coaching philosophy.  The only baggage he left behind in Cleveland was the owners.

Belichick acknowledges he has grown significantly since his first head coaching stint in Cleveland. He is more accessible to the media than he was in Cleveland, where he would do interviews while riding a stationary bike – a turnoff he figures contributed to a negative image.

He handles his players better, too. His handling of Brady and Bledsoe has been described as masterful, a stark contrast to his decision to abruptly cut popular Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar when the team was in first place in 1993. The Browns nose-dived from 5-3 to 7-9 after the move.

In Cleveland, he wore down his squad with demanding physical practices; the Patriots mix full-pad sessions with shorts-and-shells days.

"I was a little harder than I needed to be on the players," Belichick reflected of his Cleveland years. "You can have discipline and they can get the message without going as far to make a point.

"The other thing in Cleveland was that I thought I was too patient with players who were a problem ... and it wasn't fair to the team. Now, I'm not going to make a snap decision. I'll give them a chance. But if they get too many chances and they are still not coming around, nothing against them, I just think they'd be better off in a different environment ... regardless of their talent."

Yet Belichick has become more creative in getting his messages across without slamming an iron fist. After an ugly loss at Miami early in the season, Belichick held a "funeral" on the practice field and buried the so-called "game ball."

http://www.allthingsbillbelichick.com/articles/2002/bdefensive.htm

[Fresh]

Look what happened recently. Marty posted a 47- 33 record and they went to the playoffs twice out of 4 years. Then got replaced just like Dungy the following year.

[dbucfan]

Belichick on Belichick - and how he is better after Cleveland - great proof of how much better he thinks he is.  

For just an instant - take the magical pick off his team and reinsert Bledsoe - who might feel he received the Cleveland treatment.  And now how wonderful does Belichick think he is.  

[Fresh]

Belichick on Belichick - and how he is better after Cleveland - great proof of how much better he thinks he is. 

For just an instant - take the magical pick off his team and reinsert Bledsoe - who might feel he received the Cleveland treatment.  And now how wonderful does Belichick think he is. 

^_^