Bucs ‘Dismiss’ Jon Gruden, Bruce Allen
January 16, 2009 by David Kindervater
Filed under Tampa Bay Buccaneers
National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Jon Gruden has been fired. The Bucs released a statement today saying coach Gruden and GM Bruce Allen had been “dismissed” (it sounds better than fired) and co-chairman Joel Glazer said:
“We will be forever grateful to Jon for bringing us the Super Bowl title, and we thank Bruce for his contributions to our franchise. However after careful consideration, we feel that this decision is in the best interest of our organization moving forward.”
“Forever grateful” sometimes means “don’t let the door hit you in the butt on your way out.” There were rumblings that something like this might happen, but with the regular season having ended three weeks ago, it took me by surprise. Actually, after what the Bucs did to coach Tony Dungy seven years ago, I really shouldn’t be shocked. I think coach Gruden is one of the more outstanding head coaches in the NFL. Therefore, I believe the Bucs must already have a high-profile successor lined up in order to dump a head coach of this caliber. But who? Speculation has started with Mike Shanahan, but I am doubtful. As for coach Gruden, what about the N.Y. Jets?
Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom
