Gruden...

[panthers55]

Yup and on top of all that he had a knack for rubbing players the wrong way... made Tampa a place guys didn't want to go.

That is the biggest negative in my book. I would only hope that getting fired for that reason would give some room to grow and change. I think that he was so successful so fast was a negative for him. He got really cocky and thought it was his way or the highway. He found out that he was given the boot to the highway.

But on the other hand he is probably the best offensive mind in the game right now. Seriously..

[panthers55]

Saying that players didn't want to play for him is hearsay, you guys don't know for a fact that every player hated him. Personally i only watch Monday Night Football now because of Gruden, he has a personality that is contagious, so i disagree that players didn't want to play for him.

Actually players have said it all along. They admit he is a good coach. They talk about 2 sides. The brilliant tactician and the psycho side.

Here is a good excerpt:

http://books.google.com/books?id=iIiuBLdcI10C&pg=PA45&dq=Gruden+disliked+by+players&hl=en&ei=cyrbTInTJo-u8AaF-oGOCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

[Dpantherman]

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-top-ten/09000d5d810aec9a/Top-Ten-Motivational-Coaches-Jon-Gruden

[Mr. Scot]

Saying that players didn't want to play for him is hearsay, you guys don't know for a fact that every player hated him. Personally i only watch Monday Night Football now because of Gruden, he has a personality that is contagious, so i disagree that players didn't want to play for him.

Jon Gruden's troubles with players, late-season collapse led to coach's firing

Excerpts:

Jeff Garcia, addressing last week's firing of Jon Gruden for the first time Wednesday, said the Bucs "needed the change" and believes the coach's poor relationship with players played a key role in his dismissal.

"I know for me, personally, going through that with him was a very difficult time, disappointing time," Garcia said before a community relations appearance in Tampa, according to WTSP-Ch. 10. "But the one thing that I always tried to look back on or reflect on was that I wasn't the first and I won't be the last. If it continues to be this way with players, it is going to get to a point where somebody who is above or in control will say, 'Enough is enough.' I think that's what it got to.

"There are players who were here … before I got here who had their own experiences of how they were treated or how they were misled. For the two years that I was here, I enjoyed my experiences on the field with Coach Gruden. But there were some things that obviously rubbed me wrong. And I'm sure they were not easy to deal with."

Garcia's assessment of Gruden's handling of players mirrored receiver Michael Clayton's sentiments hours after the firings were announced Friday.

[brandon_87]

We don't have any qb's that would fit his style of offense, so it would be a while just for us to get a new qb adjusted, unless he went after a vet....who cares, as long as hurney is still here we will continue to go downhill

[Baschski]

who cares, as long as hurney is still here we will continue to go downhill

Give me a friggin break..

[ladypanther]

Gruden has found his niche....MNF. He would be wise to stay there. My guess is he will not be on JR's radar.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

As QB coach? Absolutely

As HC? F#@K NO

[rippadonn]

Best offensive mind out there like 55 said.

[Captain Obvious]

Why don't we just get Gruden(O) and Dungy(D) and Schottenheimer as HC (referee) and Special asst. Head coach Cowher. Super Bowl Bound year after year.

[Davis83]

I'd rather have someone in between Fox and Gruden - not the extremes.

[mav1234]

I heard bill belichick was actually the favorite to win our DC spot, Captain Obvious.

also Gruden sounds great on paper until you start looking into his past...

[Kevin Greene]

Gruden also helped build Oakland into a superbowl contender.

Fwiw, Gruden with a solid QB is a very good coach. Much like Cowher, John Fox, or most other NFL coaches not named Wade or Norv.

Gruden was best with a veteran, playoff tested Tony Dungy/Monte Kiffin defense in place. The Defense was #1 in points allowed his 1st year in TB, the Super Bowl year. His offense? 18th in points scored. It was all downhill after that. Just say no to Chuckie.

As far as Norv as a Head Coach, check him out in Washington without a top 3 QB like Phillip Rivers. In 7 full years he had a total of 42 wins.

[panthers55]

So the question may be do we want a guy who is an offensive genius who is fiery and a great motivator who rubs some people the wrong way but generally gets a good result, or a player's coach who everyone likes similar to Fox but doesn't seem to kick butt and isn't fiery enough.

Sure the easy answer is we need to find someone who is a great tactician and a great motivator who is a player's coach, but honestly who is out there who is available who can do that??

I like that we have a defense but honestly it's been over a decade since we had a passing game to speak of and a good offense. And honestly it is hard to find a guy who is an offensive prodigy who isn't already a OC or who wouldn't want to be the HC. If we go defensive head coach, who can we get who can resurrect this offense. I would love to have a team that can score 30 points a game.

Would you rather be us who have a good defense and crappy offense or a team like New England who have the 29th ranked defense but a offense that scores 27 points a game.