Tampa Bay Bucs Coach Raheem Morris: Mutiny on the Bounty

While I'm not privy to the details of what went on behind closed doors in the ascension of former Buccaneers defensive backs coach Raheem Morris to head coach, the whole thing smacks of Mutiny on the Bounty.

The ambitious young master’s mate Fletcher Christian (Raheem Morris) leads a revolt against the hated Lieutenant William Bligh (Jon Gruden) and kicks him off the ship, settling down in a tropical paradise and ruling with his own iron fist. Add kidnapped Tahitian wives as necessary.

Sea-faring references aside, the hiring of Morris is based more on hope than proven results. Morris is only 32, and while he is well-liked by the players, his lack of experience could be a real detriment to the team. For every John Madden, there are two or three David Shulas...

I see what the Bucs are trying to do: capture some of that young, up-and-comer, Mike Tomlin-style magic. Hey, who doesn’t want some of that? The difference is that the Bucs are not the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tomlin inherited a team three years removed from a Super Bowl victory.

The Bucs are only slightly above-average and face a myriad of roster concerns, including an aging defense and no quarterback. That’s right, I’m hating on Luke McCown!

Morris worked his way up the Bucs’ staff from defensive quality control assistant to defensive backs coach, with only a one-year detour as defensive coordinator at Kansas St.

As DBs coach, Morris helped the team achieve a top ranking against the pass in 2007, and fourth in 2008. The blossoming of first-round draft pick Aqib Talib into a solid CB is also a feather in Morris’ cap. That the team is hot to re-sign CB Phillip Buchanon is another.

To run the offense, Morris brought in deposed Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski. In his two years at B.C., Jagodzinski took the team to the ACC championship game twice. The highlight of his resume is his coaching of 2008 NFL Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan to the best statistical year in school history for a quarterback.

In Tampa Bay, Jagodzinski will run a West-Coast offense similar to Gruden’s, but his first order of business is the installation of a zone-blocking scheme. The scheme should work well with the Bucs average-sized line, if they have the speed and smarts to execute it. The first year could be rough, but there is a lot of talent on that line, and the switch should work out long-term.

The zone-blocking scheme paid enormous dividends to the Falcons a few years ago, so it’s definitely effective against NFC South teams. Whether there is enough talent in the backfield for that scheme to put points on the board is a different story. Expect the team make a move at RB in free agency.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jim Bates takes over for the beloved Monte Kiffin, whose departure basically precipitated the mutiny. Word is that use of the “Cover 2” scheme, invented in Tampa Bay, will be curtailed.

Bates prefers more man coverage and blitzing. This could eventually signal the ascension of Talib into the starting lineup over Ronde Barber, as Talib is more proficient in that area, and a lot younger.

Bates’ overall scheme is based on funneling runners from the outside in, so if you’re looking for a stud in IDP fantasy leagues next year, MLB Barrett Rudd is your man.

Bates has a star-crossed career. As the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator from 200-04, he led that unit to four top-10 finishes, and even took over as interim head coach when Dave Wannstedt quit in 2004. He served as Green Bay’s DC in 2005, helping the team improve to seventh in overall defense, versus 25th the previous year.

After being passed over for the head coaching job in favor of Mike McCarthy at the end of that season, Bates was out of football in 2006. He resurfaced as DC in Denver in 2007, but couldn’t turn chicken feathers into chicken salad, and was fired.

Again, he sat out in 2008. Is it just me, or isn’t sitting out of the football two of the last three years a giant question mark? You have to wonder about Bates’ level of commitment to the game…

All of the Bucs’ coaching moves sound good on paper: a young go-getter, popular with the locker room, as head coach, and two coordinators who have solid, if quirky, resumes. Throw in that Tampa Bay has more salary cap dollars available than anybody and is making noises about an active free-agency period, and you could be looking at a renaissance on the Bay.

Of course, Morris might also be flipping the switch on the Large Hadron Collider and sucking the entire franchise into a black hole.

Mike Gilbert is a staff writer at RotoExperts.com and co-host of “Sports Smack” on Blog Talk Radio every Friday from 7-8 p.m. ET. You can reach Mike at [e-mail] or follow on Twitter: @Rotoboom.