Having logged plenty of time on 620 AM WDAE due to my recent hectic traveling schedule, I heard today on a sports attack in between the Sileo and Ron & Ian shows that the Bucs are close to finalizing our 2010 coaching staff. Most notably, per 620, Raheem Morris will stay as both the defensive coordinator and the head coach, putting the onus on him again to carry the extremely heavy burden of preparing an overall gameplan for each week as well as scheming for and calling the defensive plays each Sunday. Morris confirmed the status quo today while taking a break from scouting some players for the upcoming East-West Shrine Bowl in Orlando. It also sounds like position coaches Joe Baker and Robert Nunn will return.
Gah. I know some coaches get away with handling both the head coaching duties and the defensive scheming and playcalling (i.e., Wade Phillips), but a noob like Raheem spinning multiple plates on his fingertips again, even with a year's experience under his belt, concerns me. I was hoping he'd bring in someone trustworthy that will follow his system and appoint that person as defensive coordinator.
So what does that mean for 2010? Will the same coaching staff lead us into battle with the same perceived warts and flaws that have been discussed ad nauseum this year?
Not necessarily.
One thing that many were concerned with on here was not as much the double-duty being pulled by our head coach, but the double duty of our impromptu offensive coordinator////QB coach Greg Olson. Many wondered how a green offensive coordinator and a supposed-mentor of a brand new QB could co-exist within one body. Way too many responsibilities. Not enough time to devote to our young gunslinger's development, which showed through the growing-pain-laden roller-coaster 2nd half of the season. Well, it appears that the Bucs will bring someone in to take on that task:
"We have the young guy in town," Morris said, referring to Freeman. "We'd like to have somebody be with him for a whole year and it'll be nice to get with him in the offseason. . . It's just more focused attention on Josh."
No kidding. As the season progressed, it appears Josh failed to read basic zone defenses and forced throws into double, triple, and even quadruple coverage. He really needs a mentor to sit with him in the film room and go through the game film in full with him and figure out what went wrong. Someone that can focus all of their attention fully on Josh. I know you probably don't want to take such a tumble from your previous lofty job, but we've got a heckuva job for you, Mr. Jim Zorn, if you'd like to return to your old position!!!
The WR position remains unfilled, and former Buccaneer standouts Keenan McCardell and Ike Hilliard are reportedly in the running for the job. Hmmm...former hardworking, productive stud WRs who ran great routes. Can either of them get Michael Clayton out of his bubble of failure? That might be an impossible task, but if anyone could do it, it might be one of those guys.
Not much word on Bissaccia right now, since the collapse of the University of Tennessee coaching staff and the hiring of Skip Holtz at USF, which eliminated two of the leading positions for him to go. As we are in the hot bed of the year when new coaches fill their staffs, all we can do is wait and hope we are lucky enough to hang onto him for 2010.
So what do you all think? Are you upset about things remaining relatively unchanged? Do you think Raheem can carry two duties successfully this year? Who would be a good candidate to bring in as Josh's mentor?