Will the Tampa Bay Bucs Look for a Big Name Coach?
The Tampa Bay Bucs entered the season under first-year coach Raheem Morris with great expectations for the 32-year-old.
While he'd only held a coordinator job for one season before getting the head job, it's clear the Bucs thought they were getting a young, energetic coach who could motivate a stagnant franchise and make a seamless transition to being in charge, similar to Mike Tomlin's ascension in Pittsburgh. Instead, they got more Jim Zorn, who was hired in Washington despite no coordinator experience, than Tomlin.
The Bucs are 3-12, among the worst teams in the NFL, and have been anything but stable this season. Morris has fired both the offensive and defensive coordinators, and now his job responsibilities include the titles defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach along with head coach.
A sign of poor leadership is often a failure to empower underlings with trust to do their jobs. Morris's first head-coaching tenure seems to fit this description. Without even completing his first season, the Bucs are reportedly already souring on their wunderkind and looking for a big name replacement:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers officials have reached out to former Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Cowher about possibly coaching the team in 2010, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Cowher, who has been an analyst at CBS since he retired from coaching after the 2006 season, was very close to returning to the NFL last offseason and could come back in 2010 if the right situation presents itself.
Is a 3-12 team without an offensive or defensive identity the right fit for a coach who will likely be able to hand-pick his next job? It's doubtful. For their part, the Bucs have won two straight games and rookie quarterback Josh Freeman has had some bright spots, both positive marks in Morris's favor.
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