Raheem Morris Almost Fired By Buccaneers After Blowout Loss

There has been much debate among Tampa Bay Buccaneers 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 players are now speaking up against him, so it increasingly seems like a matter of when Morris will get canned...not if.

According to John Clayton, Bucs fans may have to wait until the end of the season. He reported on ESPN last night that the Buccaneers would have fired Morris after last weekend's blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the Buccaneers have too few coaches on their staff to replace him adequately in-season.

There have been no further reports corroborating this rumor, but as Sander at Bucs Nation points out, it makes sense:

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.

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.

If Morris is fired, all three Florida football teams will have open head coach vacancies. The Jaguars fired Jack Del Rio a few weeks ago when they announced Shahid Khah was purchasing the team, and the Dolphins fired Tony Sparano this past Monday. All three clubs have had losing seasons in 2011.

For more on this story or to join in the conversation about the news, head over the SB Nation's blog on the Buccaneers, Bucs Nation.