Coach’s Corner: Gruden had it coming
Editor’s Note: Below is a questions and answers column running each Tuesday called “Coach’s Corner.” Sports editor Josh Koehn and former Gavilan football coach Bob Garcia, father of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia, will talk about all things football.
Koehn: Bobby, it’s Josh Koehn
Garcia: Hey, Josher. What’s going on?
K: Not much. How you doing?
G: I’m doing good. I just got a haircut (from my wife, Linda). How about that?
K: I heard. I heard you’re ready to go. I heard you’re all ready for the Inauguration, looking sharp.
G: I couldn’t make it over there (to Washington), but I’m having a big party at my place?
K: Are you having a party?
G: No. (laughing)
K: Well, I know you’re a big Obama guy and you know I am, so we’re both excited for this.
G: I think it’s going to be great. I hope everything works out for him.
K: Yeah, he’s going to have a tough road, but I think he’ll do a great job. I have a friend out in Washington right now and he was at the big concert they had on Sunday—
G: Wasn’t it beautiful. I watched it on TV. Did you watch it?
K: I saw some of it and it was just huge. My friend said there were 400,000 people there, the biggest crowd he’s ever seen. And he said [today] they’re expecting 2,000,000.
G: Yeah, especially as cold as it was, and everybody out there, and all those songs that all those artists sang, it just gave me goose pimples — just so proud to be an American.
K: Yeah, it really is a great time to be an American, no doubt about it.
G: But anyhow, my Steelers are still rolling.
K: They are rolling and that was a tough, physical game. Guys were getting knocked out from the very first play.
G: Oh, I know it. I told you, those two teams show up, you better bring your boxing gloves because it’s just a big slugfest. They whacked each other, but there’s too many playmakers on Pittsburgh’s side. (Ben) Roethlisberger, I thought he played really well. And that defense, especially (Troy) Polamalu, that guy is amazing.
K: He basically broke the game open with that interception for a touchdown.
G: And just coming over the top, he does things you don’t see other players do. I was telling someone [Sunday] night, instead of telling him, ‘OK, here they come. Slip in with your right hand and right shoulder (and get in position) … instead the guy is just all over the place, slipping around the end and all of a sudden you see a guy come out of nowhere and it’s him.’’ He’s an instinctive player. You don’t have to tell him, ‘Here’s how to get to the ball.’ He already knows.
K: Yeah. He is a cut above everyone else on the field when he gets out there. And that Arizona game, wow, was that a great game?
G: You know, I was happy for (Kurt) Warner. I was unhappy for (Donovan) McNabb, who came out to Jeff’s fundraiser. What a neat guy. Jeff only played with him for a year (in Philadelphia), and not going on sentimental things, but I just thought at the time, the way Philly was playing on defense and all their weapons on offense, they would be able to overcome. But all of a sudden, Superman, Larry Fitzgerald — that guy should be outlawed.
K: We talked earlier in the season about Houston’s Andre Johnson being the best receiver in the league. I think that title has to go to Larry Fitzgerald now.
G: God, he’s just a man. And the way he goes for the ball. It’s never waiting for the ball coming to him. He is always going up after the ball. The guy must take an invisible ladder when the ball is coming, because the way he can sky for the ball is unbelievable.
K: Anything near him and he’s going to snag it.
G: What’s going to happen in the Super Bowl? I don’t know. But then you got (Anquan) Boldin on the other side. I don’t know what happened with him on the sidelines. It looks like they had a little disagreement or whatever. They were really getting into it.
K: Boldin wanted in on the final drive to seal it and Todd Haley, the offensive coordinator, didn’t have him in for that package. I thought it looked a little contentious, but they won the game, they sealed it, and now he’s got two weeks to get really healthy.
G: That was the whole deal to me, his health, right?
K: I think that was part of it, plus they were doing fine without him. And now I think everyone is going to have the Steelers as the favorites, but the way Arizona is playing, I think they have a very good shot.
G: Well, that’s why they play the game. I’m not one of those guys that figures out points, I leave that to the experts and they’re pretty good at figuring three, three and a half points or whatever. But when you look at the No. 1 defense in the NFL, those guys come out and they have a swagger and they also back up [the talk]. So, I like to think Pittsburgh will take it. But then you got Warner and Fitzgerald, and even the running backs are running well. And the defense, shoot, they’re playing great at times, too. It’s gonna be a great game.
K: We mentioned before that the game is in Tampa, and the big news out of Tampa is (coach) Jon Gruden and (General manager) Bruce Allen are gone.
G: Well, how about that? You know what, I don’t want to throw oil on the fire, and you don’t necessarily want to shout with a lot of delight over a guy getting fired, but there were a lot of things going on with that team. I think Jon has gotta reevaluate his life as far as coaching: The way he treats individuals, the way the offense is totally him, no input from anybody else, even his assistant coaches. Maybe this will be a wakeup call. Maybe he’ll get another opportunity down the road and maybe he’ll realize the way he was doing things is not the way you do it — dealing with human beings. They’re not machines or robots, or whatever. You know I don’t want to get all ecstatic and whatever, but he had it coming.
K: Yeah.
G: That’s why that one time you called and told me (Mike) Shanahan had been fired (by Denver), that’s why I said, ‘You gotta be kidding. What about Gruden?’ If that was the case, that was a scenario where he was just as guilty as those other guys—
K: (Eric) Mangini would be a great comparison in the AFC because both of those teams, (Tampa Bay and New York), collapsed at the end of the season.
G: Right. And was it all Gruden’s fault? Well, I don’t know if it was all Gruden’s fault, but going from one of the best defensive teams in the league to one that couldn’t even tackle itself in the mirror if it had to, it was ridiculous. Why? What happened? And maybe it’s a good chance for him to sit back and reflect and say, ‘Hey, what did I do wrong? Maybe we made the decision to talk about (Monte) Kiffin leaving.’ And it did affect them. And you know that one guy, he’s supposed to be the guru of the NFL? Clayton?
K: The writer on ESPN? John Clayton?
G: You know who I’m talking about?
K: The professor. He’s kind of a strange-looking older guy.
G: Yeah, the older guy. He comes out (on TV) and the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I’m blindsided. Getting rid of an offensive genius…’ And I’m going, ‘You know, the next time somebody says that I’m going to reach through the TV and grab them by the damn neck. Put up the numbers you stupid experts. Where was Tampa Bay? Hell, they were at the bottom of the pile. What are you guys talking about?’
We couldn’t score in the red zone. All of a sudden you label somebody in the NFL, that label stays with them. It makes no difference, no matter what they do.
K: Yeah, it’s a big reputation thing. Look at Mike Martz. Mike Martz is considered a genius and he’s been fired from both of his last two jobs in the last two years.
G: That’s right. It’s dealing with people, people wanting to play and the emotional aspect of it. I don’t care what they say. They say it doesn’t mean anything, but guys still play for their coaches. That’s the way it is in sports. Hey, ‘Let’s do it for the coach.’ Even if you don’t say anything, you’re there because [the coach] is there. You want to show him that you can play. That you can do the job for him.
K: So do you think this increases the chances, decreases the chances or doesn’t change if Jeff is going to re-sign with Tampa Bay?
G: You know what, I really couldn’t tell you. I don’t know what the thought is behind this young guy (at coach) —
K: Yeah, Raheem Morris. He was [Tampa’s] defensive backs coach, which is a bit surprising because their defense, maybe not the secondary as much as the guys up front—
G: Well, the secondary had all those guys missing tackles. That’s the defensive backfield coach isn’t it?
K: Yeah.
G: Hell, isn’t the name of the game to tackle in the National Football League?
K: Yeah, well, he’s 32. He’s six years younger than Jeff. Would that be strange for a guy like Jeff, being 38, playing for a coach six years younger than him?
G: Not really. If the guy comes in and he’s enthusiastic about it and surrounds himself with people who have knowledge, gets an offensive coordinator that could work with the quarterbacks. I don’t think that would make a really big impact. I think the most important thing is how the guy approaches the game. If he’s a defensive guy, what’s his approach to offense? Is he a guy who has a good understanding of the offense. I tell you what, all that playcalling they had with Gruden will be out the window.
K: I would not expect them to be running the dreaded flex set, which you hate so much.
G: Well, maybe some form of it. Pittsburgh runs it, but they have one guy split out. It’s not everyone in there all tight. But whatever. I don’t know if Jeff’s going back. Who knows? Do they want him? Who knows? I know that there was, with Gruden, even though he didn’t approach [Jeff] himself, there was some interest in him coming back. I’m not even going to get into that because last time I said some things and I got my butt chewed out and I got demoted to second team. So, I want to play. I want to be a player. I don’t want to be sitting on the bench.
K: Haha. We don’t want you on the sidelines either.
G: Haha. Hey, whatever happens, I’m sure we’ll all find out come March.
K: Real good. Well, thanks Bobby. We’re gonna take a week off and then we’ll have our last talk the day after the Super Bowl.
G: Sounds good.
K: You and Linda have a great day. I’ll talk to you real soon.
G: You, too. Take care.
