The boys over at the Pewter Report relay the Glazers discussion with the media over the firings of Head Coach Jon Gruden and General Manager Bruce Allen:
Do you have someone in place already?
"Obviously with a lot of careful thought and consideration, you think about the future," said Glazer. "In our mind there is a plan of where we want to go, so we are going forward. When we have more to talk about; we’ll keep you updated." - Joel Glazer, the executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Having read the transcripts I get the sense that the Glazers know exactly what they are doing. They havent been vocal over the years, but they are in control. They clearly made these moves with solutions in mind. There's tons of rumors flying around: Raheem Morris becoming the Head Coach, Gary Gibbs (former Saints Defensive Coordinator) to become assistant Head Coach, and Personnel Director Mark Dominik to become the teams General Manager... Joel Glazer when asked reiterated time and time again that the Buccaneers have a course of action in place. Now Bucs fans will sit on their hands with bated breath in hopes of hearing about a good situation coming to fruition. What do think about Raheem Morris as Head Coach and Mark Dominik as General Manager?
Gruden and Allen received extensions after last season, at that time you felt the franchise was headed in the right direction, what has brought you to this point now?
"Again like I said before at the end of every season we sit back and look at everything," said Glazer. "We did that last year and went forward with the extensions. At the end of the day every year we feel we owe it to this football team and this community to do a good honest assessment of our franchise. If at any point we feel that change is in our best interest we feel we have to make that change. That is where we got to in this situation. You can’t let decisions you made a year ago affect your decisions today. You look at it. You look at the totality of the situation and you make your decision." - Joel Glazer, the executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Are you looking for a general manager and head coach, or could one person do both?
"We’ve always had a coach and a general manager. That is something we believe in," said Glazer. "Keep in mind, we have a plan as to where we want to go. Today we wanted to talk about what just happened. There’ll be time to talk about where this is all going. [The Bucs] will keep everybody up to date." (What kind of timetable will be there for making the new hire?) "Not to put any timetable on things, but in our mind, we know where we want to head with this. When it unfolds it will unfold," said Glazer. - Joel Glazer, the executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Will people in the organization get consideration for head coach and general manager positions?
"Again, in our mind we know where we want to go," said Glazer. "It is well thought through. It is carefully thought through, and things will become more apparent as time goes on." - Joel Glazer, the executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Have you spoken with the players about this decision?
"No this is something that you are around the team. You’re around the team on a regular basis. This isn’t a conversation with a player or whoever it is, at the end of the season we take a step back and evaluate the whole situation. We go through all that in our minds, in great detail, great conversation, and just look at the totality of the situation and then you just have to make a decision. These decisions are never easy. This is the toughest decision you can make for an NFL franchise, but tough decisions are never the easy decisions. One thing we know is we owe it to our fans every year to do a good honest assessment of our franchise, and we have to ask the question to ourselves every day are we doing everything we can to bring them a championship. This what we feel we need to do, this change, to head in that direction." - Joel Glazer, the executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After making a financial commitment to Gruden and Allen just a year ago, do this move dispel the conspiracy theories that the Buccaneers won’t spend money due to the Glazers owning Manchester United?
"I don’t know if it dispels it," said Glazer. "I know this much we are just as committed today as we were, I think 14 years ago today we signed a contract to buy this team. I’m as miserable today after a loss as I was 10 years ago. We are as committed today as we have ever been to this franchise, and we will always, have been, have been, and will be always committed to doing what it takes to build a winner. If the right players are there, the money is going to be there, but you have to go about things wisely. Sometimes you can throw money at a situation and it can get you in trouble. We are big believers in building a sustainable franchise that is going to be in competition for many years for the ultimate prize. When you can add something that is going to make a difference, we are all for it. Let’s add it." - Joel Glazer, the executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Do you want a coach that has NFL coaching experience, or will you consider a first-time head coach or college coaches?
"Today we want to focus on what just happened, and then we will focus on the future in the future," said Glazer. - Joel Glazer, the executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers