Why Gruden could have been a bad fit

#1
sMi.Spite

sMi.Spite

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#1
I know, I know, everyone is tired of hearing about Gruden. I just wanted to share this insight I found in another forum on why he possibly could have been fired (and wether his players turned on him), and it seemed spot on. It also didn't seem like something that would have worked well here:

I think Gruden's mistake was buying into all the hype about his so-called genius.

He did a great job of taking middle-of-the-road journeyman QB's (Rich Gannon, Brad Johnson, Jeff Garcia) and turning them into highly productive, successful players. But then he'd tear them down just as quickly, openly criticizing them in the media and making them fear for their jobs.

It just never made sense to me. The QB is supposed to be the leader of the team.... the one guy that everyone has complete confidence in. But how can they believe in him when the head coach is constantly taking shots at him and suggesting that he's one step from being released? Considering that this is Gruden's MO, I'd say his reputation as a QB killer is well-deserved.

I almost think it's his defense mechanism...insecurity masquerading as machismo. Gruden just can't stand to share the spotlight with anyone, and wants to make sure everyone knows that he's the one responsible for the team's success....not the QB.

The guy goes through QB's like dirty underwear, and I don't know of a single one that had anything good to say about the experience. With the way he constantly rolled his guys under the bus, it's not hard to picture them turning on him at the earliest opportunity.
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After our QB issues this year, Gruden as our HC might have just exacerbated that. He does the same kind of thing that Spurrier does, rotating them in and out, calling them out in the media, etc. Spurrier hasn't gotten a lot of results out of his QBs either.

I just thought this was some interesting insight and that I would share it with y'all.
 
#2
#2
College coaches are like pitchers in MLB. Some are closers some are middle relief some are starters. I think Gruden is a closer, he is great at taking a football team that's almost there but not quite all the way. A football team thats anywhere else like the Vols are would meltdown with him. We were very fortunate he was so arrogant that he thought his services were too rich for the recipe, geez I wanted chucky in orange. I wasn't a Kiffin supporter day 1...but I am now. Go Vols!!!
 
#3
#3
dan4vols said:
College coaches are like pitchers in MLB. Some are closers some are middle relief some are starters. I think Gruden is a closer, he is great at taking a football team that's almost there but not quite all the way. A football team thats anywhere else like the Vols are would meltdown with him. We were very fortunate he was so arrogant that he thought his services were too rich for the recipe, geez I wanted chucky in orange. I wasn't a Kiffin supporter day 1...but I am now. Go Vols!!!
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As a Baccaneers fan and Tennessee Alum who has been in Tampa since Leeman Bennett, Wyche, Perkins, Dungy, and Gruden, , I can say that Tennessee got the best man in Monte,,, the meltdown here on the team after he announced he was on his way to UT was incredible. Also, since there are seemingly hundreds of stat junkies on this site,,, I would bet good money that Gruden never produced on the offensive side of the ball. I think most of his offenses ranked somewhere between 20th and 30th in the NFL year in and year out.

I think Tennessee got the best man in Lane Kiffin
 
#5
#5
Tampavolz said:
As a Baccaneers fan and Tennessee Alum who has been in Tampa since Leeman Bennett, Wyche, Perkins, Dungy, and Gruden, , I can say that Tennessee got the best man in Monte,,, the meltdown here on the team after he announced he was on his way to UT was incredible. Also, since there are seemingly hundreds of stat junkies on this site,,, I would bet good money that Gruden never produced on the offensive side of the ball. I think most of his offenses ranked somewhere between 20th and 30th in the NFL year in and year out.

I think Tennessee got the best man in Lane Kiffin
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I was interested in this as well:

YR (Team) OFF RANK Based on Yards
95 (Philly) 25...Playoff
96 (Philly) 4...Playoff
97 (Philly) 5
98 (Oak) 18
99 (Oak) 5
00 (Oak) 6...Playoff
01 (Oak) 7...Playoff (Tuck Rule)
02 (TB) 24...Super Bowl Champs
03 (TB) 10
04 (TB) 22
05 (TB) 23...Playoff
06 (TB) 29
07 (TB) 18...Playoff
08 (TB) 14
 
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#6
#6
I initially wanted Gruden, but the thing that bugged me about him at the time was his overly abrasive manner. I just didn't know if 18-22 year old kids would respond favorably to his style. Kiffin is obviously no push over either, but I believe Kiffin has a bit more tact than Gruden, and I think this would be particularly evident when recruiting.

In the end, I'm happy with Kiffin and I'm not looking back. He's got a plan and he's been following it so far with great success. I have no reason to believe he won't make our program great again.
 
#10
#10
Like a lot of football fans, I have a favorable impression of Gruden because he won a Super Bowl and because he's got a kind of endearingly tough personality that seems to fit the job of football coach. But in truth, he's probably overrated--he was only one game over 500 during his years in Tampa, 59-58. Since the Super Bowl year, Tampa has been an average football team--as his record indicates. And yes, I think he's pretty hard on players--there were a former Tampa player on the radio two days ago, and he was plain about not liking Gruden because, he said, the guy was always in players' faces, asking them why they weren't performing. It annoyed him. That said, Gruden is experienced and still young and a pretty impressive guy--and the bottom line is he will get a very good job, in college or the pros, when he wants to work again.
 
#13
#13
Well the main thing with me if reported correctly, he did not want to come here, plain and simple. Being a big Falcons fan I was shocked how the wheels came off when CMF said be was going to TN even a couple of weeks before he announced. Maybe that tells you something, who knows.

Mike Hamilton did the right thing.
 
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