Why Jerry Grey Should Be High on Tampa Bay Buccaneers' List for Next Head Coach

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to find a strong defensive-minded head coach that is not going to let his players walk all over him.

According to Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times, the Bucs are on the right track to finding their man:

Gray played safety for Tampa in 1993 and played for nine seasons overall. He is well respected among his peers and players and is ready to take the next step in coaching.

The big problem with the end of Raheem Morris’s tenure was his lack of control over his own team. No squad quit on its coach more than the Bucs, and that responsibility falls on the head coach's shoulders.

The Bucs have the youngest team in the NFL and need a coach who can stick his foot down and demand maximum effort regardless of what’s on the line.

Gray has been coaching since 1999 and was in charge of the Buffalo Bills defense from 2001 to 2005, during which time it was routinely one of the top units in the league.

After stints with the Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks, Gray spent the past year as defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.

The defense finished eighth in points allowed (19.8 per game) and was the main reason that a mediocre Titans team was one win away from making the playoffs.

Gray clearly made his mark on the team and squeezed as much as he could out of a defense that didn’t have a single star player.

ESPN is reporting that Mike Sherman (right) is another coach that will be interviewing for the job.

The 57-year-old went 57-39 as the Green Bay Packers' head coach from 2000-2005 but has been out of the NFL for the past four seasons. Sherman was fired last month as Texas A&M coach after a highly disappointing 2011 season.

Is that what you want, Tampa? A coach that was just fired by a college team?

Sure, Jeff Fisher would be nice, but odds are that he is St. Louis bound.

The Bucs need a younger coach (Gray is 49) who can whip this undisciplined team into shape and who doesn't have the big ego that comes with a high-profile coach with NFL head-coaching experience.

Tampa Bay could do a lot worse than securing Gray as the man to turn around this talented but troubled young Bucs team.