Tag: Jon Gruden (Page 4 of 5)

      Whitlock rips Herm Edwards for flubbing draft gig

      April 27, 2009 /

      Never one to shy away from giving his truthful opinion, Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star ripped former Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards for his less-than stellar performance on ESPN’s broadcast of the NFL draft last weekend.

      Herm spent two days on air making damn sure he didn’t offer one opinion that could potentially put him at odds with an NFL owner, general manager or remotely talented player. Edwards isn’t the first former coach to hit the television airwaves determined to pick up an easy paycheck and protect his future coaching prospects.

      If he’s not careful, his ESPN job is going to sabotage his coaching career. In two days of breaking down the draft, Edwards came across as sound and fury signifying absolutely nothing. His commentary was a mixture of Mike Ditka, Sarah Palin and Michael Irvin.

      I fully expect to soon see Edwards standing in front of the pointless touch-screen prop that had promising Michael Smith looking and sounding more like Vanna White than the next Chris Mortensen during the draft weekend.

      For a man who was supposed to be a broadcasting natural, Edwards mumbled, stumbled and clichéd his way through two days of draft coverage. Kansas City’s 2-14 record made sense.

      Unfortunately I didn’t see Edwards’ performance on ESPN because my TV never left the NFL Network’s coverage of the draft, but it would make sense that Herm wouldn’t want to ruffle any feathers if he hopes to get another head coaching gig.

      Jon Gruden was an analyst for the NFL Network all weekend and while I didn’t think he did a bad job, he didn’t give any earth-shattering commentary either. I thought he played his role – talked about team needs, what a head coach looks for in prospects and gave his opinion on the state of certain franchises. I wouldn’t expect him to rip another head coach, owner or team given the fact that he’ll probably be in the league again next year. I would have to assume that NFL coaches share a brotherhood to some extent, which is why Herm probably didn’t feel the need to lambaste anyone either.

      It still would have been nice to see what Whitlock is talking about with Edwards though. Anyone agree with Whitlock’s assessment of Herm’s performance?

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Bucs release Brooks, Dunn, Galloway, Hilliard and June

      February 25, 2009 /

      In one sweeping move, new Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik released veterans Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard and Cato June on Wednesday according to the Tampa Tribune.

      Tampa fans will be outraged at seeing the names Brooks, Galloway and Dunn (even though he played in Atlanta four of the past five seasons), but June is the only surprising cut. The rest are cap casualties whose salaries have exceeded their on-field production.

      Still, this must be a sobering day for Bucs fans, which no doubt will miss what Brooks, Galloway, Hilliard and Dunn brought to the field every Sunday. All four are consummate professionals who are team-first players and in the case of Brooks, he essentially carried Tampa to a Super Bowl victory in 2002.

      With June’s release, it’s clear that new defensive coordinator Jim Bates wants bigger athletes on that side of the ball. June is a sideline-to-sideline player and is solid in coverage. But obviously Bates wants his linebackers to be tough, physical and always thinking run-first. Goodbye Tampa 2, hello more conventional defense.

      With the departures of Brooks, Galloway, Hilliard, Dunn, Jon Gruden, Bruce Allen and Monte Kiffin, it’s clearly an end of an era in Tampa.

      NFL

      Simeon Rice: Jon Gruden is a “scumbag”

      January 28, 2009 /

      In a recent interview with Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan on Sirius NFL Radio, former Buccaneers’ defensive end Simeon Rice blasted his old coach Jon Gruden and even called him a “scumbag.”

      Jon Gruden“You get what you deserve,” Rice said. “That’s what Jon said. He got it now. Everybody gets what they deserve. . . .

      “You look at what he did when Chris [Simms] damn near died on the field he wanted to release him right when he got injured. I get hurt, my shoulder’s torn off the bone. This dude releases me. You know what I mean? I’m your guy. The list goes on. Keenan McCardell, that situation was a debacle. Keyshawn Johnson, another situation [that] was a debacle. Joey Galloway, which was his man, was in the dog house all year because he got injured, broke his ankle or whatever. Brad Johnson that situation was bad. Brings Jeff Garcia in here, oh, he’s going to change things. I helped recruit him [and he] released me, kept Jeff and then put him in the doghouse. Gets rid of Brian Greise, brings him, starts a controversy. It was chaotic. I’m giving you facts.”

      “How I feel personally? I could tell you that, too. I think he’s a scumbag,” Rice said. “I think he’s a scumbag personally. That’s when he’s telling you one thing and… You know what he told me? ‘Simeon you’ll be here in the next five years.’ I got injured [and] this man’s never said one word to me. I won a Super Bowl for you. I got 13 sacks, 12, 15 every year for you. I balled. I got injured [and] you let me go like it was nothing.”

      I don’t dispute what Rice is saying because obviously I wasn’t in the Buccaneer locker room all those years, but unfortunately Gruden probably acted the same way a lot of coaches and teams do when players are injured. A player gets injured and then the coach acts like that player isn’t even on the team anymore because they’re of no use to him. It’s not fair, but most teams go about their business this way because the NFL is so cutthroat.

      Look at Tom Brady last year. The man got the Patriots to four Super Bowls but because he got hurt, speculation started to surface that the team would eventually move on to Matt Cassel. When players get older and suffer major injuries, a team has to start looking ahead. It’s nothing personal and although Gruden might be more cutthroat than other coaches, I don’t know if it merits Rice calling him a scumbag. But again, I wasn’t in the locker room so maybe he is a scumbag. It’s not like Rice is the only player that has taken shots at Gruden since the team fired him.

      NFL

      Fans played a hand in the firing of Jon Gruden

      January 27, 2009 /

      Apparently Bucs’ ownership took into account what the fans wanted when they fired head coach Jon Gruden two weeks ago.

      Jon GrudenCo-owner Bryan Glazer stopped in at the Super Bowl media center today and elaborated on ownership’s decision-making process.

      “We talked to a lot of people, but we not only talked to the players, but (also) out in the community getting a feel for the team,” Glazer said. “We get opinions and we mix them all together. We just took our time making that decision.”

      Asked further about the community feedback, Glazer said, “Our fans are our stockholders. They’re what we play for — the people in our stadium and the ones that watch on TV. That’s what it’s all about: winning and how they feel about the team. If they don’t feel good about the team, then there’s something wrong. . . I think you all know the sense that’s out there. It was time for a change.”

      It was impossible to ignore the venom from the fan base in the wake of the team’s late-season collapse, and many fans were outspoken and vehement in making their feelings known from the team’s own website to local talk radio. And Gruden, in particular, was never considered a very likable personality and had little relationship with the community despite being the face of the franchise, something the Glazers no doubt were sensitive to.

      Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank also refers to fans as “stockholders”, which is definitely a unique way to view things. But the fact remains that fans should have zero input on what sports teams operate in terms of player and coaching personnel. Fans are irrational, emotional and often have no idea what’s really going on behind the scenes. (Not unlike sports writers.)

      Not that the fans played a huge role in Gruden being fired, but they shouldn’t have been factored in at all. You want to keep your fans happy? Win. Ultimately, they don’t care if Raheem Morris, Jon Gruden or Sponge Bob Square Pants is running the team – as long as the team is winning, everything is copacetic.

      NFL

      Jason Garrett leading candidate for Rams job

      January 16, 2009 /

      Jason Garrett flew into St. Louis Friday evening to meet for the second time with Rams’ VP of Personnel Billy Devaney, who said the current Cowboys’ offensive coordinator is “the leading guy” for the team’s head coaching vacancy.

      Jason Garrett landed in St. Louis early Friday evening with his wife Brill, and told the Post-Dispatch that he was just here for a second interview and that no job had been offered.

      Minutes earlier, en route to the airport, Devaney was singing the same tune.

      “It’s part of the interview process,” Devaney insisted. “He wanted to look at the facility. We’re not close to moving on Jason Garrett. I’m not even going to say he’s the leading guy.”

      Take that for what it’s worth, but Garrett is the only finalist to visit St. Louis. And he did have his wife with him. Devaney also said that he’d already made his recommendation to owner Chip Rosenbloom on who he wanted to hire as the next Rams head coach.

      Devaney said he hoped to reach a decision by Monday on the next Rams head coach.

      Garrett and Devaney have a lot in common. They’re both from New Jersey. They’re both big Bruce Springsteen fans, and they’re both represented by the same agent _ David Dunn.

      Garrett would be a solid choice for the Rams. I’ve recently taken on the mindset that dome teams are at a disadvantage defensively (you can find my explanation for it here), so it’s wise for them to load up on offense and take advantage of playing on a fast surface eight-plus times a year.

      Garrett is one of the bright young offensive minds in the NFL, although his credibility certainly took a hit with how bad the Cowboys struggled down the stretch. Still, the guy has some innovative offenses and if the Rams can rebuild their offensive line, Garrett’s schemes might flourish.

      What’ll be interesting to see is if the Rams take a flier on Jon Gruden, who was just fired in Tampa. Gruden is another solid offensive coach and obviously has more experience than Garrett and the other head-coaching candidates linked to the St. Louis job (i.e. Leslie Frazier, Steve Spagnuolo and Rex Ryan).

      NFL

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