BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

In Raheem Morris’s first season as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team finished with a 3-13 record. During his second year, the team surprised everyone by finishing 10-6 and just missed the playoffs.

This season, the Bucs started off with a surge, piling up a 4-2 record. A trip to England to play the Chicago Bears left them with a 4-3 record, and the team would continue that slide by not winning another regular season game, finishing the season 4-12

During the course of the season, there were rumblings that Morris would be fired at the end of the season. As it turned out, those rumblings were right when the organization announced that Morris and his entire coaching staff were getting pink slips.

A few sports enthusiasts in the area gave their opinions on the head coach’s firing.

High school football coach, Charles McDonald: “I think Raheem is a good coach, but he was thrown into a position he wasn’t ready for. He didn’t have any power as far as personnel is concerned, and that hurt him. The Bucs were the youngest team in the league, and it showed.

“I was hoping they wouldn’t fire him, but from the team’s performance, you could see Raheem had lost the motivation of his players, and there were no veterans on the team to bring stability. Whoever takes Raheem’s place will get more veterans on the team, and a lot of the young guys will find themselves without a job.”

Former Boys And Girls Club Director, Bobby Wilds: “I saw this coming. It’s all part of being a professional coach. Even when the team finished 10-6, they thought he was too close to his players. They were waiting for him to stumble, and that affected his coaching on the field.

“This is a w hat have you done for me lately league. Because Raheem is still under contract, they will probably buy him out, and mandate he not coach for a year. There’s no longevity as a head coach in the NFL. You really have to do well to stay.”[private]

Fred Hearns: “It’s unfortunate he had to take the blame for what happened, especially when there was a lot of blame to go around. I hope he lands another job with a better group of players than what he had here. I think the players stopped listening to Raheem and there was no respect in the locker room. Because Raheem is so young, I’m sure he’ll get another chance to be a head coach in the NFL.”

Season ticket holder, Bobby Scott: “I think the general manager (Mark Dominik) should have been fired along with Raheem. I know he did the best he could, but his hands were tied with all the kids on the team. I think a lot of the young guys weren’t mentally into it. They were just counting their money. I’m still a season ticket holder, and I want to see some veteran players on the team. The owners have got to start spending more money to get quality coaches.”

James Ransom: “I think the Bucs were being conservative with the payroll in not hiring a high profile coach. I think they were just biding their time while saving a lot of money. Raheem was paid far below the normal rate for an NFL head coach. I’m not sure if it’s right to fire the entire staff, but I do believe they already have someone in mind for the job.

“I also think the payments they were making to Jon Gruden caused them to hold back on the payroll. Raheem was never given everything he needed to create a great team. Now, I think the Bucs are rebuilding, and the foundation is there.”

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback, Super Bowl MVP, Buc executive, and Grambling State head coach, Doug Williams: “I think it was hard not to terminate Raheem. Unfortunately, the talent he was working with was overrated. I also feel the entire administrative section should have been terminated, not just the coaching staff.

“The Bucs tried to make it look like Mark Dominik did a great job of selecting the talent and Raheem did a poor job of coaching. At the end of the day, he had a great opportunity. From an economical standpoint, Dominik was hired on a certain level. Raheem was hoping to improve on last year’s 10-6 record, and get a new contract. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.”

Williams said longevity isn’t a given in this sport.

“I had to let a couple of people go from my staff at the end of the season. It just comes with the territory.” [/private]