You can criticize Greg Schiano for not having won the Big East, but you wont be getting the Big Picture. Rutgers was never used in the same sentance as Winning anyways.

You can criticize Schiano for being one game over .500 in a weak conference. Again, the word Rutgers and .500 were not used in too many articles, except in the terms of how far under.

Imagine the lowest program you can think of, that was Rutgers. Then suddenly, slowly, they become a program that puts players in the NFL, and compete each year against the big boys.

You can criticize Schiano's record against good teams in college, but youd be missing the point that those good teams used to only   schedule Rutgers for homecoming. Under Schiano, they were winning some of them.

Problem is Rutgers didnt win a lot of game vs top quality opponents, but then again, your still not getting the big picture. Were talking about Rutgers here. So if you want an accurate way to judge Schiano, you have to look at Rutgers teams going against similarly talented ball clubs. Those are called Bowl Games. You get invited to Bowls to play teams in other conferences that are similarly ranked as you, fall into a similar standing as you (3rd place, 4th place, etc) and thats the best way to determine how good or bad a program or its coaches are.

Schiano and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights have won thier last 5 bowl games in a row. No, they didnt go to the Rose Bowl, or any major BCS bowl, but Rutgers wasnt that kind of team...yet. But they finished off their peers when they faced them in the big games.  

It starts in 2005, 4 seasons after the new coach took over the program. Rutgers hadnt been to a bowl game since 1978 when they lost to Arizona state by 14. That was their only bowl game in history.

Greg Sciano guided them to the 2005 Insight Bowl vs Arizona State again by some odds. They lost in a shootout, 40-45, and both teams finished 7-5.

In 2006, probably Schiano's teams best season, Rutgers beat Josh Freeman's Kansas State team 37-10 behind the running of Ray Rice. One of Freeman's Targets in that game was none other than Jordy Nelson. Rice ended up as the MVP of the game.

2007 International Bowl, Rutgers destoryed Ball State 52 to 30, with 280 yards for Ray Rice. Rutgers set 9 bowl records at the International Bowl.

2008 Rutgers beat NC State 29-23 on the strength of a come from  behind win, erasing an 11 point second half deficit. Rutgers would finish the year 8-5.

2009 here in the St. Petersburg Bowl, Rutgers tore apart UCF 45 to 24 and finished 9-4. Rutgers scored touchdowns in all three phases of the game, Offense, Defense, and Special Teams.

Five teams that were competative with the Rutgers team, and five victories against them. Dont compare the names or bowls to the likes of Florida or Florida State. Rutgers attracts a different athlete, has a different history, its like comparing a 2A school to a 6A team. But when you compare like terms, Rutgers and Greg Sciano always came out on top.

" I don't want people to be worried we're not going to spend in free agency..."

There you have it; in Black and White! Mark Dominik, General Manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has said so in front of the press in those exact words; "We're going to do it in free agency, I dont want people to be worried we're not going to spend in free agency."

Look, you cant blame Dominik, Raheem Morris, the Glazers, and heck even us the fans, for getting caught up in a 10-6 season based on youth. The problem was we didnt see the contributions Barrett Ruud made, or Cadillac Williams, in the lockerroom. Their veteran presense helped the young Bucs. But instead, the Bucs got even younger, and for a start it worked.

Beating Atlanta and New Orleans at home, the Bucs were 4-2 and tied for first place with a 2-0 divisional mark. But then something happened, and Morris and Company tried to correct it, but playing the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau is not an ideal place to get a "W". Then it all fell apart again.

Hindsight has been, and always will be, perfect 20-20 vision. Thats an old saying, and its never rung truer than today. Looking back the Glazers, and Dominik, were wrong to go so young. They wont make that mistake again.

But actions speak louder than words. So far, the Glazers have listened to what the Bucs fans have been asking for.

Raheem Had to go, he was gone within 24 hours.
NO more London trips. The Bucs let the Rams be the team that goes for the next three years.
Hire a young charismatic coach, they get Greg Schiano, and went after Chip Kelly.
and finally, spend money in Free Agency.

We wil see.
Now I hope they dont go too far in the other direction; you dont want to be the Philadelphia Eagles, that didnt work either. Bring in one, two, or three top tier free agents at various positions. Linebacker, Wide Receiver for starters. Then augment each area with a veteran player; Running back, QB for Josh to talk to (I was against this, but have changed my mind, like with other things), probably two new guys in the secondary, a Defensive lineman or two for depth and locker room.

There is a lot to choose from, but more importantly than building the Bucs, this will bring back the Bucs faithful into a family again. It will restore the Glazers image among Bucs fans who matter.  

John McKay was one of the first successful college coaches to make it in the NFL. Photo property of Pewterplank.com.The list of College Coaches since 2000 who have tried to make the jump to the NFL is not a pretty one. Of course not many have won at Oakland, or Cleveland. Or the 49ers until the single success story, Jim Harbaugh, made it this year to the NFC Championship game.

So your going to hear people say the Bucs made a stupid move because college coaches cant make it in the NFL.

I hate those that are ignorant to history. Tampa Bay is the birthplace of "Coaches from college can make it in the NFL" John McKay was a college coach back when it was considered FACT that a college coach cant make it in college. That didnt last long when John McKay took the expansion Bucs with his college football offense (i formation) and college 3-4 defense and in 4 years won a division championship and made it to the NFC Championship game vs LA Rams. McKay and his college offense made the NFL Playoffs 3 of 4 years. 

And add to the fact that the LAST college coach to come in made it, Harbaugh again.

Besides, dont we pretty much have a college all star team anyways? 

Of course nothing is cemented yet, in fact Greg Schiano is being 'sworn in' at 1pm today, but you can get a little preview as to what kind of Bucs team the Bucs will be under Schiano. After listening to Dan Sileo who knows him well, and examining footage of Rutgers under him, and Miami Hurricanes circa 2000 when Schiano was the Defensive Coordinator there, we can determine what type of defense you can expect under the new regime.

Schiano runs a 4-3 attacking style of defense. Its a one gap system, similar to what the Bucs defensive lineman were drafted for. Clearly the Bucs did not want to bring in a coach that would change from the talent that is on the team. The system he uses is all about applying great pressure on the QBs, and you can expect Gerald McCoy and Adrian Clayborn to really excel in this system.

As for offense, Schiano is all about running the ball, and he has LeGarrette Blount to use for that, but expect the Bucs to add to the arsenal with more backs. Perhaps Trent Richardson? Or someone in Free Agency. 

Expect a busy offseason as the Bucs coaching staff gets players ready to learn the system. By hiring a new coach, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also get an extra mini camp, which you get when you hire a new head coach. 

With the  hiring of Greg Schiano from Rutgers, don't be too suprised if winning is not that far away for the Bucs franchise. The reason being he is a perfect fit for the Bucs locker room. The lockerroom fell apart midseason this past year, and while no one really knows why, its clear something happened and Raheem Morris and his staff were unable to correct the steering. The Bucs went off the road.

But now a new coach who is relatively young, yet is a no-nonsense guy, will work with the Bucs kids who are not that much older than the 'kids' he's been working with at Rutgers. He will be a teacher, and a motivator, and a disciplinarian, all together, which is what a team that gives up 42 points in the first half of a game needs.

Surely by now we all realize the  Bucs are not as bad as their 45-26 loss to the Falcons in their last game. They may not be as good as their 10-6 season of 2010, or maybe they were. The Bucs lost a lot of leadership going from 2010 to 2011, and they will gain some of that back picking up some veteran players through Free Agency, and before you say anything about the subject, the Glazers WILL BE spending a little dough when March comes around. This pick up proves it, this is the old Glazers, this is 'Jon Gruden", perhaps to a lesser extent, but its still an outside the  box hire. 

Of course your saying "But Nick college coaches since 2000 have totally failed", and your right, for the most part they have, but you have to look at why. First of all, a lot of those college to pro gigs were bad organizations to begin with. I mean come on, the Raiders? The Browns? Heck even the 49ers. But then Jim Harbaugh comes along, DELEGATES authority, which is what the Bucs will have for the first time since 2001- an offensive and defensive coordinator to do their jobs while the Bucs coach can just COACH! Petrino, Saban, Spurrier, and numerous others, Tried to call their own plays. Its too many hats to wear in the NFL. Raheem Morris was able to do it for a short time, but then the Defense completely fell apart. Then the team fell apart. Its probably to suprise looking back in hindsight: Both coordinators were never really replaced.

TAMPA BAY is a football community that is about defense and running the ball; our football genes are about playing defense (and according to Dan Sileo, its a pressure type defense) and LeGarrette Blount, Mike Alstott, Warrick Dunn, Errict Rhett, Reggie Cobb, Lars Tate, James Wilder, Ricky Bell; running the football for first downs and big applause from the Bucs fans. Its about linebackers crushing ball carriers, and defensive linemen like Sapp, Selmon, Rice, crushing QBs.

Assitant coaches will be rounded up, and a new era will begin; Its truly a new day in Tampa Bay again, the ties to the Tampa Two, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden are behind us. 

 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have agreed to a 5 year contract with Greg Schiano, the head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Glazers have proved they do think outside the box, and the smoke screen they put up interviewing the oldest coaches possible was a brilliant move to gather info from respected sources and throw away attention from the two college coaches the Bucs went after. 

Schiano took over a Rutgers team that was a laughing stock of a football program. Rutgers was a joke when Schiano took over in 2001, and he turned them into a respectful program.

Dont worry about his over all record of 68-67, most of that from from the first 3 years when Rutgers was a joke. He has been coaching at 56-28 over the last 6 years. To compare, Rutgers was lower on the todem pole than UCF is in the state of Florida. 

Schiano is a defensive coach, much like the hire of Tony Dungy, the Glazers are going defense again. But the best part of the hire? Its past time to move on past the "tampa 2", Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden days of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is a clean slate; no assistant coaches are left, its a clean cut from the Bucs past, but it doesnt alienate any former Buccaneers like the hiring of Sherman would have been.

Schiano comes with the glowing review from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Many others have given glowing reviews, including the one Buc who played his college ball with the new coach, Jeremy Zuttah. Another great review came from future free agent Ray Rice of Baltimore, who played for the man.

Schiano was the U of Miami Hurricanes Defensive coordinator during the Hurricanes last national championship run.  

Bullwinkle's famous line "Nuthin up muh sleeves.....Presto". Lets hope the Glazers are the ANTI Bulwinkle, and DO have something up their sleeves. Because hiring Mike Sherman would be a complete joke compared to what the Raiders and Broncos just did. They went out and hired producing defensive coordinators. Mike ZImmer would be similar.

Marty Schottenheimer would be the only retread the Bucs fan will identify with. Mike Sherman to the Bucs faithful is nothing more than a guy who was a pretty bad coach at Texas A&M, mediocre at best.

The Glazers surprised everyone with the Chip Kelly move, and I feel they have someone else in negotiations with while they bring back Sherman as the ultimate smoke screen. Lets hope thats what it is, and we will find out quite soon, because there is only one NFL team left without a head coach, and that is your Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Glazers, the Bucs fans are watching, and this is only the beginning. BEcause no matter who the Glazers hire, they will have to spend money this March in Free Agency to start dumping the notion they are cheap and dont care about the team anymore. Any attempt to circumvent spending money this offseason, and the Glazers may as well sell the team, fan apathy will be at an all time low. We've already had the Culverhouse regime, Bucs fans know far too well what its like.

Lets keep our fingers crossed. 

Scanning all the comments on all the sites on a regular basis, you can get a pretty accurate feel for the pulse of Bucs Nation. It didn't take a Rhodes Scholar to get that Bucs fans wanted Raheem Morris fired, and while they didnt feel he was the only one at fault, it didn't really matter. Morris had to go, and the Glazers let him free less than 24 hours after the last game. 

With the word that former Packer HC and Texas A&M HC Mike Sherman was brought back for a second interview reaching the bay area, Bucs fans have made themselves quite clear. 

Mike Sherman is not wanted by Bucs fans in Tampa Bay. He does absolutely nothing to excite Bucs fans in any way.

His teams at Texas A&M were not really anything to write home about. One can only imagine what former Kansas State QB  Josh Freeman thinks of Sherman's offensive prowess from his time in the Big 12.

What can we take from Sherman's Texas A&M teams?

Well they finished 3rd in points for in conference play behind OK State and Baylor.
They were 5th out of 10 teams in scoring defense in  conference play.
Texas A&M was 8th in home records in conference play (2-3), only winless Kansas and Texas Tech finished worse.
Sherman's team was 1-4 vs Top 25 teams. Thats not good.

What about past seasons? Sherman was Head Coach from 2008-pres.
                                                                                                                                 
2010 Tied for best conference record at 6-2.
5th place in Conference scoring points for.
4th place in Conference scoring points against.
Again, 2-4 against ranked teams.

2009 3-5 in conference play
3rd in conference points for
Dead last in conference points against!

2008, Sherman's first year- Tied for second worst record in conference play.
Only three teams scored less conference points for in 2008.
Dead last in conference points against.

So Sherman was not able to make an immediate impact, but he has over the course of 4 seasons, thats quite a bit of time however. What does that say about his ability to turn around the Bucs in 2012 and beyond?

Lets look at the Packers while Sherman was coach there from 2000-2005.

2005  18th Offense ranking in NFL,
7th passing, #30 Rushing. (Ahman Green Injury)
7th ranked Defense

2004 #3 Offense in the NFL,
3rd Passing, #10 Rushing
#25 Defense

2003 4th best offense in the NFL,
16th passing, #3 rushing.
#17 Defense

2002 12th best Offense in NFL, 
10th Passing, #12 Rushing.
#12 Defense

2001 
6th overall offense, #3 Passing, #21 rushing
12th Ranked Defense

2000 Brett Favre was the 5th ranked QB.
Packers 8th Passing, 23rd rushing, 15th offense overall. 15th Defense.
                                                                                                                                                                                                              The Packers under Sherman were led by Brett Favre playing in arguably his prime years. In 2003 and 2004, the Packers were one of the best offenses in football, and they did it evenly: running and passing the ball with balance. But there was always something missing when Sherman was head coach. If the team was running and passing, the defense fell. If the Defense was highly ranked, and the passing game, Ahman Green was lost for the year in 2005 and the Packers rushing attack ground to a halt. Green Bay had its worst season in years, and Sherman was fired at the end of the season.

In the end, even more injuries plagued the 2005 Packers than just Green. WR Javon Walker, Robert Ferguson, RB Najeh Davenport and Green's Back up Samkon Gado went down too!
Green Bay lost three games (weeks 2, 3 and 4) by a combined 6 points, including a one point loss to the Bucs when an extra point was missed that cost the Packers the game to the bucs. 

Then they cruised over the Saints 52-3 which caused the Packers to have a positive point differential most of the year in spite of a 4-12 losing season.

So you have to make the call Bucs fans. If Sherman is hired, obviously its not the exciting hire that will generate some champagne bottles popping their corks; but could it result in a 9-7 season in 2012, morphing into   winning trend? Isnt that what really matters?

Or is it beyond Sherman's ability?       

It was a forgettable season, it was a respectable showing, but for LeGarrette Blount in week 10 at Green Bay, it was the Best effort, and best play by the Bucs of the 2011 Football season.



It needs no introduction, enjoy it in HD by clicking this link.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

I hope I'm not the only Bucs fan who thought "What-choo talkin bout Ira"?Yesterday on 620 WDAE, Ira Kaufman, who is the Bay Area's senior most leading newspaper writer for the Bucs, and the sole owner of the Bay areas vote for hall of fame, spoke about Chip Kelly's change of mind regarding the Bucs coaching vacancy. He reminded us of how Bill Parcells  'left us at the alter" in 1992 and 2002 a decade later. 

"It's one thing to be turned down by Bill Parcells, who is going in the hall of fame in 10 days, but Chip Kelly? This is another low point for the franchise"

I have to ask Ira what he was doing on Jan 1st, because I was watching the same Atlanta Falcons that got destroyed by the Saints and Giants on the road, put 42 points on the Bucs in the first half alone! THAT Ira, was the lowest of low points for this franchise. Not getting a change of mind from a college football coach who realized that its a diffderent ballgame in the pro's than it is in college.

Chip Kelly is an offensive mastermind, an innovator. But we dont need another experiment here in Tampa Bay, we need a proven motivator, teacher, and leader. In fact it may have been an even lower point for the franchise HAD Kelly accepted and failed at the task.

So now the Bucs will go back to doing what they planned on doing, reinterviewing the candidates they are serious about, and Mike Sherman is first up. I suspect Schottenheimer and Zimmer will be up too. Both of those guys will be master motivators and teachers. Im not so sure about Sherman, but I suspect he will be able to bring in a group of awesome assistants, which could be just as important as the main guy himself. 

Think about Tony Dungy without Monte Kiffin. 

After the events of last season, a lot of people are changing their opinion on the Bucs from an overall standpoint. People like Dan Sileo feel the Bucs gig is a less attractive one at ths time.  I dont see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers job as a lower level one; in fact, I think  its as close to a perfect gig as you can get.

The headquarters are second to none- They are lavish, State of the art, and top of the line. If there is a better HQ somewhere, there is only one or two.

You have a top 5 Draft pick to get an impact player with.

You have a TON of cap room, and the Bucs owners will HAVE TO spend that money in 2013, next season. Even still, the Bucs offered 6 million dollars for Chip Kelly, showing me they are serious about spending some money.  

You build a team from the Lines out. The Bucs have the lines invested in properly. The offensive Line is a veteran unit, with everyone  having played since at least 2008. Donald Penn 2007, Jeremy Zuttah 2008, Jeff Faine 2008, Davin Joseph 2006, Jeremy Trueblood 2006. Defensive Line has the no.1 and no.2 picks from the last two seasons. DE Da'Quan Bowers  2011 2nd round, DT Brian Price 2010 2nd Round, DT Gerald McCoy 2010 1st round pick, Adrian Clayborn 2011 1st round pick.

A First round pick at QuarterBack who is entering the early stages of his prime while yet only 23 years old. Josh Freeman has 9 come from behind 4th quarter victories, and had a 25 TD and 6 INT season only one year ago, the last time he had a full offseason.

A running back who has the top 10 yards per carry in the NFL over the last 2 seasons combined 4.64 yards per carry. The knock on LeGarrette Blount is he hasnt mastered the playbook. However, this offseason, will be the FIRST Offeseason OTAs Blount will go through as a Buccaneer. Something to think about huh?

Then we have pay again, and Florida has  NO state sales tax.

So this Bucs job is not just peanuts, It's actually quite attractive.