FAB 3. Gruden Has Real Admiration For Koetter, Winston

Although he wouldn’t make any predictions about the Buccaneers, I got the sense that former Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden believes they are ready to become a playoff-caliber team. As you might expect Gruden to think, it’s because of the Bucs’ dynamic, young quarterback Jameis Winston and offensive-minded head coach Dirk Koetter.

Gruden views Koetter as a bit of a kindred spirit.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston, head coach Dirk Koetter and OC Todd Monken – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

“I like Dirk because he calls the plays, coaches the quarterbacks,” Gruden said. “I like his system of football. They run it. They throw it. They have great play-action. I like the way his hands are in everything. I don’t like it when [head coaches] just rent it out and walk around. I like his every day involvement with Jameis. I like his every day involvement with the players. He’s hired a good coaching staff. I’m impressed with him.”

I told Gruden that Koetter has a bit of Gruden in him, that he’s a bad ass coach that wants to field a bad ass football team and that comes through in his sideline demeanor and his press conferences.

“I don’t see his press conferences, honestly,” Gruden said. “I just know Dirk well enough that he is a very confident guy – not only in himself, but in his program and in his coaching staff. He’s not afraid of the consequences. There are going to be peaks and valleys and there are going to be ups and downs.”

“I’m not worried about whether I’m here 10 years or 10 days. That’s the mentality I had. [I would tell my players], ‘You’re going to bust your ass and you’re going to run to the ball. Either you’re going – or I’m going. I don’t really care. You’ve got to know that about me.’”

Gruden got a chance to get to know Winston during his Gruden’s QB Camp show on ESPN prior to the 2015 NFL Draft and came away impressed. Seeing the former Heisman Trophy winner and national champion at Florida State go to the Pro Bowl during his rookie season and become the first NFL quarterback to start his career with back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons has only caused his admiration to grow.

Jon Gruden and Jameis Winston on ESPN’s Gruden’s QB Camp – Photo courtesy of ESPN

“He’s the best player at the position we’ve had in franchise history,” Gruden said, revealing his bias for the Buccaneers by using the term “we” when talking about the team. “That’s saying a lot. We’ve got World Champion Doug Williams and we’ve got World Champion Brad Johnson, but this guy is a spectacular talent. He’s the number one overall pick in the draft. He has that status, but he also has that talent that he’s lived up to.

“He’s a fierce competitor. He’s a showman. His recognition of defenses is stellar. The way he communicates what he wants is top notch. He’s got this showmanship to go out there, recognize defenses, on the road or at home, third down, red zone, two-minute – he can change a play, fix a play and then he has the talent to execute it. He’s a fierce competitor. He’s a very good athlete. He’s got great playing strength and he can make all of the throws.”

That’s quite an endorsement from Gruden, who helped develop and coach the likes of Pro Bowl quarterbacks Rich Gannon, Brad Johnson and Jeff Garcia, in addition to Hall of Famer Brett Favre. Prior to the 2015 NFL Draft, Gruden actually preferred former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota over Winston for Tampa Bay, but has since changed his tune.

Gruden noted that not only did Bucs general manager Jason Licht draft the right quarterback, but he’s also given Winston, who is going into his third year, some tremendous weapons.

“You have to credit Jason Licht for number one, taking him,” Gruden said. “You have to be a little lucky to have the number one pick when he was out [of Florida State], but he had the guts, the courage and the brains to take him. And he’s also done a hell of a job surrounding him with talent. That Mike Evans is a freak. He’s a freak, man.”

Gruden assembled the greatest offensive talent in Bucs history in 2002 when the likes of wide receivers Keenan McCardell and Joe Jurevicius, running back Michael Pittman and tight ends Ken Dilger and Rickey Dudley joined quarterback Brad Johnson, fullback Mike Alstott and Keyshawn Johnson to help provide balance for a defensive-laden football team.

Bucs WRs Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson and QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I asked Gruden how his offensive arsenal would stack up against the likes of running backs Doug Martin and Jacquizz Rodgers, tight ends Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard and wide receivers Evans, DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries that Koetter will deploy in 2017. Gruden said time will tell.

“We put it all together that year, really,” Gruden said. “We had Jurevicius and McCardell – free agents. We had Dilger and Dudley – free agents. Pittman – a lot of these guys just walked in, learned the offense and did it. Man, O.J. Howard was a good college player. Doesn’t mean he’s going to be good here. He’s got to go out and do it. This ain’t the SEC.”

The one thing that Gruden did well enough in 2002 was manage egos, get players to buy in to his offense and spread the ball around enough to keep everyone happy. Having the wins pile up – a franchise record 12 in the regular season – certainly helped.

“Some of these guys are going to have to check their egos at the door,” Gruden said. “There’s only one ball. We’re not going to throw it every play. Somebody is going to have to do the dirty work. Sorry to have to break this to you, DeSean, but you’re going to have to block. You’re going to have to clear it out here for somebody else. Sorry to break this to you, O.J., but you’re not the best pass receiving tight end on this team. Cameron Brate is. Cameron, we might throw it to O.J. and you’re going to have to block. Doug Martin – which Doug Martin is going to show up? I don’t know. You don’t know. Hopefully he knows.”

Getting to the postseason as a wild card team is one thing, but winning the NFC South division and having a home playoff game, which happened three times (2002, 2005 and 2007) under Gruden is something different altogether. I asked Gruden, who won the most division titles in Tampa Bay history, what it would take for the Bucs to not only make it to the playoffs, but to become the surprise team in the conference this year and rise up to win the NFC South.

“They have to stay healthy,” Gruden said. “They have some really good players, but who goes in if Brent Grimes gets injured? Who goes in for Lavonte David if something happens there? Who’s the next linebacker? Offensive line-wise, do we have the depth? Last year when the right tackle got hurt the Dallas Cowboys exposed the injury. Do you know what I mean? Do we have enough depth? Can we stay healthy?

“Can we really go off at home? Can we do a lot of damage at Raymond James, man? We’ve got to win six or seven games there. That to me says a lot.”

Bucs DE Noah Spence – Photo by: Getty Images

Gruden is right. The Bucs need to play better at home in order to not only make the playoffs, but have a shot at winning the division. In Koetter’s first year as head coach the Bucs had an impressive 5-3 record on the road, but were just 4-4 at home. Yet Tampa Bay has won its last four games at Raymond James Stadium, using strong defensive performances to beat Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans and Carolina to help the team finish 9-7 – the Bucs’ first winning record since going 10-6 but missing the playoffs in 2010.

Aside from staying healthy and creating a better home-field advantage, Gruden said that Winston has to cut down on his interceptions this year. While Winston has thrown an amazing 50 touchdowns in his first two years in Tampa Bay, he’s also thrown 33 interceptions, including a career-high 18 last season.

“Taking care of the ball,” Gruden said. “As great as Jameis is, you’ve got to be careful with some of it. I went through it with Favre [with interceptions]. It’s a fine line. Don’t over-coach it because some of the best plays he makes aren’t scripted. A lot of the yardage you’re making is from him. Don’t kid yourself. He really reminds me of Favre.”

The fact that Winston will have one of the fastest speed receivers in the league to throw to this year in Jackson helps out because of his ability to prevent teams from double covering Evans on nearly every play. Several of Winston’s picks last year came when he was trying to force the ball to Evans.

Gruden coached a similar player in speed merchant Joey Galloway, who had three straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2005-07. I asked if he would pay to see a race between Jackson and Galloway in his prime.

“I wouldn’t pay anything, but I’d like to see it,” Gruden said. “[Jackson] sure does [have speed]. His ability to track the ball is what makes him unique. He’s a centerfielder. He could probably go in and start for the Rays and play in the outfield. If you hit the ball into the gap, he’s going to catch it.

Bucs WR DeSean Jackson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“He’s going to turn his back and find the ball, and then flip his head and ‘wrong shoulder it’ with the best of them. He’s got incredible tracking ability. That’s what separates him. A lot of guys can run right by you and catch the deep pass, but if you throw an errant ball or if you throw a ball that gets caught in the wind he still has the ability to track it down. He’s phenomenal.”

Gruden would know. His brother, Jay Gruden, has coached Jackson for the past three years in Washington. With six games against five playoff teams from a year ago – New England, Atlanta (twice), Miami, Detroit and the New York Giants – the Bucs have a more daunting schedule than they did a year ago. Although Tampa Bay is improved, matching last year’s 9-7 record won’t be easy and getting to double-digit wins and making the playoffs will be quite a challenge.

“You have to really rely on Coach Koetter and the offensive staff and the players to buy in,” Gruden said. “I used to talk a lot about contingency plans for adversity. What are you going to do when we have a first half where we’re shut out or we can’t get a first down in the first quarter? What are you going to do? Stay together? It’s going to be interesting. They have a lot of talent, though. It looks great on paper.”