Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris has apparently decided that if he's going to be fired, he's going to go down with guns a'blazing. Morris was anonymously criticized by an anonymous Buccaneer just a week or so ago for being too lenient with Aqib Talib, sending a message to the team that talent is more important than, you know, being a decent human being. According to that player, Morris had to convince GM Mark Dominik to bring Talib back for another year, and that decision has rankled with some players.
Despite that comment, though, Morris went above and beyond to praise Talib following his (potentially) season-ending injury in last weekend's game against the Cowboy.
"Aqib is a really good football player,'' Morris said. "If we can get Aqib back healthy and get him going, get him stronger, get him faster, get him better -- all those things he'll do this off-season, we can't wait to go back to war with him and get him back on our football team. So he's always one of those guys like that.'' (Rick Stroud, St. Pete Times)
That comment makes it clear: Morris wants Talib back next season, making him just about the only person to think that way. According to a poll conducted over at Bucs Nation, only 14% of Buccaneers fans want him back in a Bucs uniform next season regardless of what happens this offseason. He's been reported to have "anger management issues", and he doesn't come across as an easy fellow to work with.
If it's any consolation to Buccaneers fans, Morris appears headed out the door as soon as the season finishes. And once that happens, you can almost guarantee that Talib won't be back with the team in 2012. What new coach could possibly want to take on a case like his?