SB Nation Tampa Bay - Raheem Morris Fired: Buccaneers Fire Head Coach, According To A Reporthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49019/tb-fave.png2011-12-16T08:57:15-05:00http://tampabay.sbnation.com/rss/stream/24044012011-12-16T08:57:15-05:002011-12-16T08:57:15-05:00Raheem Morris Coaching Future: Buccaneers Coach Focused On Football
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hlPUf0ehTFoOiFlLADBIPosvqRo=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828137/large_tampabay.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>Raheem Morris' future with the Buccaneers organization is shaky at best, but <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bucs/content/morris-not-distracted-cloud-over-his-future">according to Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times</a>, Morris isn't concerned with his future, and is focused instead on football.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I know there's a cloud outside the organization,'' Morris said. "But when you come into this building, there's a bunch of rays of sunshine. You see these guys and how they react to each other and how they play. You guys make it gloomy and doomy for us, but we do our best to keep rain away"</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Morris also understands why the heat has come down on him and the coaching staff following their breakout year last year and their disappointing season this year.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It's pretty much the same staff. We went out there and won 10 games. Everybody loved us. This year, we came out and we're not having the same success, we're not as good. so obviously, it starts with the coaches, it goes to players and then it goes to management. That's how it works in this business. It's something we grew up doing, we trained that way. For those who are given a lot, a lot is expected. It's just the nature of the beast we live in.''</p>
</blockquote>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2011/12/16/2640362/raheem-morris-coaching-future-buccaneers-Jordan Ruby2011-12-15T08:51:23-05:002011-12-15T08:51:23-05:00Raheem Morris Almost Fired By Buccaneers After Blowout Loss
<figure>
<img alt="GREEN BAY, WI - NOVEMBER 20: Head coach Raheem Morris of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on from the sideline in the second half against the Green Bay Packers on November 20,2011 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/phh0Mi6xLe_PbAZcpRUgG_SfL60=/0x37:937x662/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/4787173/133596610.jpg" />
<figcaption>GREEN BAY, WI - NOVEMBER 20: Head coach Raheem Morris of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on from the sideline in the second half against the Green Bay Packers on November 20,2011 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to John Clayton from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers nearly fired Raheem Morris this week, but they don't have a deep enough coaching staff to do so.</p> <p>There has been much debate among <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> fans on if head coach Raheem Morris should be fired for the team's performance this season. The common consensus appears to be a hearty "Yes." The Buccaneers have taken steps backwards this season and <a target="_blank" href="http://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-buccaneers/2011/12/14/2635414/raheem-morris-buccaneers-aquib-talib-criticized">players are now speaking up against him</a>, so it increasingly seems like a matter of <i>when </i>Morris will get canned...not if.</p>
<p>According to <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/ClaytonESPN">John Clayton</a>, Bucs fans may have to wait until the end of the season. He reported on ESPN last night that the <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/#!/Commish620wdae/statuses/147156002297487360">Buccaneers would have fired Morris</a> after last weekend's<a target="_blank" href="http://tampabay.sbnation.com/jacksonville-jaguars/2011/12/11/2628703/buccaneers-vs-jaguars-maurice-jones-drew-scores-4-touchdowns-as"> blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars</a>, but the Buccaneers have too few coaches on their staff to replace him adequately in-season.</p>
<p>There have been no further reports corroborating this rumor, but as Sander at Bucs Nation points out,<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bucsnation.com/2011/12/15/2637834/john-clayton-raheem-morris-was-to-be-fired-monday"> it makes sense</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Not only would they have to replace Raheem Morris as head coach, they would need to find a defensive coordinator, and replacements for the two promoted coaches. That's a lot of turnover, and the Bucs don't even really have a viable candidate as interim head coach.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So for better or worse, Buccaneers fans are likely stuck with Morris for the remainder of the season. If things don't improve dramatically by then, though, it seems a foregone conclusion that Morris will be on his way out.</p>
<p>If Morris is fired, all three Florida football teams will have open head coach vacancies. The <a target="_blank" href="http://tampabay.sbnation.com/jacksonville-jaguars/2011/12/1/2602668/jaguars-seeking-high-profile-head-coach/in/2359865">Jaguars fired Jack Del Rio a few weeks ago</a> when they announced Shahid Khah was purchasing the team, and the <a target="_blank" href="http://tampabay.sbnation.com/miami-dolphins/2011/12/12/2631224/tony-sparano-fired-miami-dolphins-dismiss-coach">Dolphins fired Tony Sparano this past Monday</a>. All three clubs have had losing seasons in 2011.</p>
<p><i>For more on this story or to join in the conversation about the news, head over the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bucsnation.com/2011/12/15/2637834/john-clayton-raheem-morris-was-to-be-fired-monday">SB Nation's blog on the Buccaneers, Bucs Nation</a>.</i></p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-buccaneers/2011/12/15/2637873/raheem-morris-fired-rumor-tampa-bay-buccaneersSteve Slowinski