Rice blasts Gruden

[keeponbucn]

Rice Has Harsh Words For Gruden
Skip directly to the full story.
By IRA KAUFMAN The Tampa Tribune
   

CELEBRATION - Simeon Rice may not be healthy enough to sack a quarterback, but he took down a head coach Thursday.

Hours after the Buccaneers cut the three-time Pro Bowl defensive end, Rice reflected on his six years in Tampa and sharply questioned the sincerity of Coach Jon Gruden.

"He's the phoniest [expletive] in the world," said Rice, who helped the Gruden-led 2002 Bucs to a Super Bowl title and registered 69.5 sacks in his six years in Tampa. "Jon Gruden didn't have the decency, after all these years and all we've been through together, to talk to me face to face. I know he's happy today."

General Manager Bruce Allen informed Rice of his release on reporting day after the 33-year-old veteran failed a club physical. Rice acknowledged he is not fully recovered from surgery to repair an injured left shoulder that limited him to eight starts last year.

"The only fall-off year I had came when I was hurt," he said. "I came here for a million dollars in 2001. I took a pay cut to come to Tampa just to show the world what I could do, and I'm going to come back full throttle. I'm still not 100 percent. I played two games last year with one arm and I'm not right yet. If another team out there respects me, I'll be right in three or four weeks.

"I'm the most consistent thing they ever had in Tampa. I'm excited about the future, because I believe in me. I always bet on black, baby. The next step is to let my body heal up and then I'll be a maniac. I'm an ageless wonder."

Rice said he was heading back to his native Chicago to complete his rehab before seeking a new employer.

"Whoever gets me is gonna be happy," said Rice, who is No. 3 in sacks in franchise history behind Lee Roy Selmon and Warren Sapp. "I'll be grabbing my crown back. I'll miss [Derrick] Brooks, Brian Kelly, Ronde Barber … those are my guys forever."

Former Bucs defensive lineman Dewayne White, who signed with Detroit as a free agent in the offseason, hopes to be reunited with Rice.

"Sim was a great mentor for me and a great leader," White said. "The guy's a future Hall of Famer, a guy who leads by example. If you're willing to follow his pace, you can do great things. Wouldn't that be something if Simeon ended up here? That would be awesome."

Rice has often spoken of his immense respect for Lions second-year coach Rod Marinelli, who guided Tampa Bay's defensive line from 1996-2005.

"I love Rod, I love [secondary coach] Raheem Morris and ownership's been great down in Tampa," Rice said. "Monte Kiffin and I may have had our differences, but we did big things together. Now it's time for me to really step on the gas.

"All the Bucs did today was give me an adrenaline shot in my arm."



Same was said about Gruden when he left Oakland. All the players were pissed because he didn't say good-bye to anyone when he left.

[alldaway]

People told me that letting White walk was okay becuase keeping Rice was a better option.  Let the flood gates open with this.

[Boid Fink]

Jesus.

They really should not have cut Rice.

[keeponbucn]

You can't blame Rice for being pissed off but Gruden doesn't cut players, Bruce does. That's what the GM's job is so to hit on Gruden for not saying anything to his face is a bit silly. I love what Rice brought to the Bucs over the past 5 years but the doc's must have saw something they didn't like. It's not like Gruden just gets his jollies cutting players.

[Boid Fink]

You can't blame Rice for being pissed off but Gruden doesn't cut players, Bruce does. That's what the GM's job is so to hit on Gruden for not saying anything to his face is a bit silly. I love what Rice brought to the Bucs over the past 5 years but the doc's must have saw something they didn't like. It's not like Gruden just gets his jollies cutting players.

YEEEEAH....but in essence, if Gruden wanted Rice gone, you have to say that he is a big factor in how much of a chance he has of sticking around...

[Groovatron]

From the above article..."Monte Kiffin and I may have had our differences,..."

I never heard Sim and Monte had differences. I only heard it was between Gruden and Sims. Interesting...

[Boid Fink]

From the above article..."Monte Kiffin and I may have had our differences,..."

I never heard Sim and Monte had differences. I only heard it was between Gruden and Sims. Interesting...

No big deal.  WHo hasn't had a heated, or mild discussion with their boss before? 

[BTownBucFan]

it was to be expected ... Have you ever seen a good/nice breakup?  Right now he needs it to sound like we're all crazy and it's all the coaches fault, he's the best DE in the league still and he'll help someone win another championship.  He wants one last big payday.

[bradentonian]

This is not the first time a departing Bucs player has felt this way about the manner in which they were terminated. 

[orlandobuc]

If I just lost 7 million I might be yelling too.

[Boid Fink]

This is not the first time a departing Bucs player has felt this way about the manner in which they were terminated.

Not a good way to spread info about the people in charge at 1BP.

[CeriousBuc]

It's emotional BS. If he wanted to be with the team or had even an ounce of compassion as a team mate he would have done what was best for the team by restructuring his deal, healing up and playing lights out by the end of the season.

Ever hear what Jerimiah Trotter had to say about the Eagles when they cut him a few years back? Specificall about Andy Reid? He said some pretty bad things about his former coach, but guess what? He ended up going back to Philly after a two year stint in Washington. Back to the same team and coach that he hated.

[keeponbucn]

YEEEEAH....but in essence, if Gruden wanted Rice gone, you have to say that he is a big factor in how much of a chance he has of sticking around...

I really don't think Gruden has total control over moves like this, he might have in the past, but not now. If Rice doesn't come back and play for another team until the middle of the season this was a good move as painful as it may seem. When players get cut it's always messy, this is no different. You have to trust that the docs saw something that they didn't like and the price tag was just too high to watch him sit for 8 games.

[alldaway]

Rice did not need to take a paycut as he was in the last year of his contract.  The team did not need the money generated from a pay cut.

They were under the cap when Rice was on the roster and would gain more cap space once Plummer fails to report.  

[mjs020294]

It's emotional BS. If he wanted to be with the team or had even an ounce of compassion as a team mate he would have done what was best for the team by restructuring his deal, healing up and playing lights out by the end of the season.

Ever hear what Jerimiah Trotter had to say about the Eagles when they cut him a few years back? Specificall about Andy Reid? He said some pretty bad things about his former coach, but guess what? He ended up going back to Philly after a two year stint in Washington. Back to the same team and coach that he hated.

All great points ^^^^