New Blood: A Look at the 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneer Coaching Staff

To say that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a turbulent offseason is a vast understatement.

While some turmoil was expected upon the announcement of long-time defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin leaving for Knoxville, few were prepared for the utter chaos that would take place after head coach Jon Gruden was fired.

With the promotion of a new head coach and general manager from within, it was a given that the coaching landscape would completely change in Tampa. 

New coordinators and position coaches were brought in to parallel the mass arrivals of new personnel to create a very new and fresh Buccaneer atmosphere.

As we are now in the middle of OTA's, I see now as a proper time to provide both an introduction to and analysis of the current Buccaneer coaching staff.

Head Coach: Raheem Morris

Nobody symbolizes the strange offseason that the Bucs have had quite like new head coach Raheem Morris. 

Just one year removed from being the defensive backs coach for the Bucs, Morris received two major promotions this offseason without coaching a single game.  Announced as Monte Kiffin's replacement at defensive coordinator in December, Morris would be promoted to head coach just one month later when Jon Gruden was fired. 

Just 32-years-old, Morris has the unique circumstances of running an NFL team before ever serving as an NFL coordinator.  His highest authority experience was his one season as defensive coordinator at Kansas State in 2006 and his only head coaching experience came during a college spring game.

Along with new general manager Mark Dominik, Morris has quickly brought in his own rounds of players and coaches that will truly make this "his team" right from the start.

Offensive Coordinator: Jeff Jagodzinski

One of the few popular offseason moves made by the Bucs was the acquisition of new offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski. 

Head coach last year at Boston College, the Bucs benefited by attaining a guy that many viewed as a prospect for an NFL head coaching job.  With experience as an offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers and college head coaching experience, some may argue that he is more qualified to lead the Bucs than Morris. 

He promises to bring a more simple, power-run based offense to Tampa that will be much more player-friendly than what Gruden had in place.  It will be interesting to see how Jagodzinski handles his time in Tampa as this seems to be a short-term stepping stone for him until he can garner a job as a head coach.

Defensive Coordinator: Jim Bates

The addition of veteran defensive coordinator Jim Bates is a somewhat peculiar move by the Buccaneer front office. 

Fresh off being a key part of a notoriously bad Denver Broncos defense, Bates does not seem to be a hot commodity right now to say the least.  His scheme, which focuses heavily on plugging the middle with defensive tackles and containing the run, officially brings the departure of the "Tampa 2" scheme that made the Bucs defensive icons. 

Morris claims that he will be able to lay back and allow Bates to have full control of the defense.  However, I am still curious of how well the two will work together.  I'm sure Morris had things drawn up after he was declared defensive coordinator in December that he is dying to contribute. 

Morris may have trouble keeping his defensive ideas to himself if Bates' defenses begin to look more like what he left in Denver than the Miami defenses that he made his name coaching.

Special Teams: Richard Bisaccia

One of the few remains from the Gruden era, special teams coordinator Richard Bisaccia, is becoming a Buccaneer mainstay and it is well deserved.

For many years, the Buccaneer franchise was haunted by absolutely horrific special teams play.  This is no longer the case as special teams now appear to be one of the few sparkling bright spots in Tampa.  Bisaccia has earned the franchise's loyalty by creating the best special teams unit that the Bucs have ever seen in 2008.

Bisaccia played a huge role in ending the kickoff return curse and that alone should be worth an extension of a few years.  Able to work with talent such as kick returner Clifton Smith, kicker Matt Bryant, and punter Josh Bidwell, Bisaccia has a stable core to build his unit around. 

He seems to take great pride in his portion of the Bucs on-field product and he has become an extremely valuable member of the coaching staff.

Position Coaches

Morris and Dominik have brought in a fairly anonymous mix of position coaches.  Included are coaching veterans such as new offensive line coach Pete Mangurian and NFL rookies like new running backs coach Steve Logan.  Being somewhat inexperienced himself, I do find it intriguing that Morris has gathered a mix of knowledgeable veterans and men that are closer to his experience level.

Few times in Buccaneer history have been more uncertain than the upcoming season.  Most are not sure what to think and that can be expected with an almost entirely new coaching staff in place. 

Regardless, Morris and Dominik have already made some firm decisions that will have a significant impact on how long they are granted to stay in Tampa.