[BlackBeardsGhost]

Former Bucs head coach Jon Gruden had not commented publicly on his dismissal from Tampa Bay on Jan. 17 before Wednesday, which is when he broke his silence in an interview with ESPN.com's Chris Mortensen.

Gruden, who became Tampa Bay's all-time winningest head coach during his seven-year tenure with the team and won Super Bowl XXXVII in his first season with the Bucs, said he was surprised when the Glazers fired he and general manager Bruce Allen after the team suffered a late-season collapse to finish the 2008 season with a 9-7 record and out of the playoffs.

"It was rough the way it ended, losing three or four games," Gruden told ESPN. "This was the first time in my life being on the front line of the firing squad after 11 years. I've just taken a couple days to unwind with my family. A lot of people have called, being very supportive. Some people have taken shots and I understand that not everyone likes or agrees with what I do as a coach."

Some of Gruden's former players, including quarterback Jeff Garcia, wide receiver Michael Clayton and defensive end Simeon Rice, have criticized the former head coach for the way he handled players. Rice went as far as calling Gruden a "scumbag" in a radio interview earlier this week. The player accusations included telling players one thing and doing another, and putting players in the doghouse due to injuries.

"I'm not the first coach to take potshots. Hey, some people were taking potshots at Tony Dungy when I got here," Gruden told ESPN. "Jeff Garcia, Michael Clayton, I wish those guys the best. I hope [new Bucs head coach] Raheem [Morris] gets this thing going again."

Gruden, who likely will sit out of coaching for a year, is proud of what he accomplished in Tampa Bay, including three division titles and the first and only Lombardi Trophy to be hoisted by the Buccaneers organization.

"We won a Super Bowl," Gruden told ESPN. "I got a game ball for winning more games than any Bucs coach in history. I got a game ball for my 100th win [including playoff wins]. There are only six teams [actually seven] in the NFL that had back-to-back winning seasons the past two years and the Bucs were one of them. Again, it was tough the way it ended, but we did some good things and I know some people who think we overachieved.

"The reality is we came in with a bad salary cap situation and we left with some $50 million under the cap, so it's not like we went out and spent a lot of money on players."

[Bette]

Originally Posted by BlackBeardsGhost

Former Bucs head coach Jon Gruden had not commented publicly on his dismissal from Tampa Bay on Jan. 17 before Wednesday, which is when he broke his silence in an interview with ESPN.com's Chris Mortensen.

Gruden, who became Tampa Bay's all-time winningest head coach during his seven-year tenure with the team and won Super Bowl XXXVII in his first season with the Bucs, said he was surprised when the Glazers fired he and general manager Bruce Allen after the team suffered a late-season collapse to finish the 2008 season with a 9-7 record and out of the playoffs.

"It was rough the way it ended, losing three or four games," Gruden told ESPN. "This was the first time in my life being on the front line of the firing squad after 11 years. I've just taken a couple days to unwind with my family. A lot of people have called, being very supportive. Some people have taken shots and I understand that not everyone likes or agrees with what I do as a coach."

Some of Gruden's former players, including quarterback Jeff Garcia, wide receiver Michael Clayton and defensive end Simeon Rice, have criticized the former head coach for the way he handled players. Rice went as far as calling Gruden a "scumbag" in a radio interview earlier this week. The player accusations included telling players one thing and doing another, and putting players in the doghouse due to injuries.

"I'm not the first coach to take potshots. Hey, some people were taking potshots at Tony Dungy when I got here," Gruden told ESPN. "Jeff Garcia, Michael Clayton, I wish those guys the best. I hope [new Bucs head coach] Raheem [Morris] gets this thing going again."

Gruden, who likely will sit out of coaching for a year, is proud of what he accomplished in Tampa Bay, including three division titles and the first and only Lombardi Trophy to be hoisted by the Buccaneers organization.

"We won a Super Bowl," Gruden told ESPN. "I got a game ball for winning more games than any Bucs coach in history. I got a game ball for my 100th win [including playoff wins]. There are only six teams [actually seven] in the NFL that had back-to-back winning seasons the past two years and the Bucs were one of them. Again, it was tough the way it ended, but we did some good things and I know some people who think we overachieved.

"The reality is we came in with a bad salary cap situation and we left with some $50 million under the cap, so it's not like we went out and spent a lot of money on players."

Well Blackbeard, what do you think?
What about the salary cap situation? Excuse or legit reason?
What about the back to back winning seasons the last two years.? Dont they count for anything?
Overachieved? Who thought that? The waterboy???

[BlackBeardsGhost]

Originally Posted by Bette

Well Blackbeard, what do you think?
What about the salary cap situation? Excuse or legit reason?
What about the back to back winning seasons the last two years.? Dont they count for anything?
Overachieved? Who thought that? The waterboy???

I think he's full of crap. We did overachieve thanks to the defense. Our offense was worthy of a 6-10 season every year. It's so blatantly obvious. It is true our defense lost their focus down the stretch with the announcement by Kiffin he was leaving. The defense did falter. But look what happened when the defense didn't show up, the offense couldn't carry the team. Every team has ups and downs, a few times a season a team's offense struggles and their defense carries them. A few times a season the defense struggles and their offense carries them. It's never been that way with the buccaneers under Gruden. 9 times out of 10 if the defense struggled on any given game, the team lost. The defense almost always had to play lights out.

He wants to talk about the salary cap? Well, why didn't we sign Turner? I've been saying Carnell is a bust for 3 seasons now, and he'll never stay healthy. He had 3 great games to start off his career, and he's been nothing but a disappointment ever since. The jury is still out on Gaines Adams, and he appears to be progressing to become a decent player. But Carnell is not good, and we let Adrian Peterson pass right by us in that draft. The QB position is usually one that takes up a large chunk of any teams salary cap. Not ours. Gruden covets these old cheap retread QB. He thinks he's going to turn every old journeyman QB into the next Rich Gannon. When the rumors were swirling that Garrard could be had in a trade, we never made a move. When Schaub was there to be had, we never made a move. Our defense hasn't been the same since Sapp left. Did we make a play for Rocky Bernard or any other good DT that was available? How about WR's did we ever spend any money on WR's? We got lucky as hell Bryant was dusted off, and and ressuected his career. but he was on his way out the door too. He couldn't stand the way "Gruden played scared."

The truth is, in 2002 and 2003 this team was a mess financially. Rick McKay left this team in a ridiculous mess. but we have been in good financial state since 2005, and haven't done a damn thing about it except bring in last chance players, undrafted rookies and retired QB's.