Tribune Reader's Poll: Best coach in Bay area history

[Bullpride08]

Kiffin is truly the mastermind, with most the major dollars resting on the offensive side of the ball.  To stall like they did throughout the season is pathetic while make Kiffin try to make water into wine with the bag of rag tags they gave him for defense...Kevin Carter is a great DL,- like seven years ago....really pathetic.

As for his 'gameday' ability, ask Art Valero that question, and other assistants.  Many to this day still cannot figure out why he abandoned the run against NYGiants in the playoffs when we were up 7-0 and gashing them for 4-5 yards a pop in the 1st quarter with Graham and Pitman.  Our young talented OL still is much stronger as run blockers than pass blockers, yet we abandoned the run, gained like 20 yards the entire 2nd quarter, only ran the ball like 5 times in the 2nd half, and watched the Giants and their furious pass rush destroy our young OL....thanks for the memories Johnny Boy that game only proved to me that his ego is much bigger than his ability.  He's lucky the Glazers are to ignorant about football, and to worried about how they can siphon more money out of their cash cow- Man U- to figure out they've got a trojan horse on their hands.

I can give you all the script for 2008 season, The Buc's schedule gets upgraded (because incidentally they had one of the weakest schedules in all the NFL- kinda like the Hawaii of the NFL), and they again get proven for being the pretenders they've always been under Gruden.  He'll use all that great salary cap money to spend on more over-aged veterans, maybe bring in a Joe Horn type, or Duece McCalister (two knee injuries is usually the minimum for a Gruden free agent find)...just to make sure our median age doesn't creap to low.  To this day, the reason his arrogant ass never used Thomas Jones despite he was wildly productive is a mystery...well not if Art Valero is your in-law's neighbor (not for long)....suffice it to say someone's ego can't stand players that want even a partial input into ANYTHING!

[Joe]

Gruden a better gameday coach? Gruden is an awful gameday coach who has piggybacked a great defense.

I just think Gruden's west coast offense is terrible and should be banned. He's never been one to stretch the field. His running plays always seems to try and create mismatches to the outside and when he commits to running at the line he seems to try and create diversions by having his blockers go all over.

As Bien said, Gruden was given a gift this year and will be canned when this team goes 6-10; 7-9 next year. It's 2005 all over.

[JrGMan2004]

I've also gotta say that this Poll is lacking by not including Tim Marcum, the coach of the Tampa Bay Storm. 7 AFL Championships... Hall of Famer...

[Triple B]

A bit unfair, if you want to truly compare Gruden and Dungy then you must compare their records since Dungy took over at Indianapolis...

The poll is for "Best Coach in Bay area history".

Not sure how it would turn out but if you want to play your game, you need to throw in Gruden's head coach history before he came here...

[BDYZR]

"in history"  Take a look at some of the University of Tampa coaches over the last 50 yrs.

Football - Curci

B-ball    - Shmidt

baseball - What's his name?

[Bullpride08]

A bit unfair, if you want to truly compare Gruden and Dungy then you must compare their records since Dungy took over at Indianapolis...

The poll is for "Best Coach in Bay area history".

Not sure how it would turn out but if you want to play your game, you need to throw in Gruden's head coach history before he came here...

My game?  You want to compare coaches in the bay area based on non-sensicalness and simply accomplishments while living in the Bay Area.  Then hand the **** trophy over to Russ Cozart and everyone stop acting like it's a competition.  What that guy did is freakish to bad they're not recognizing.

My point of Gruden v. Dungy is Gruden would have been no where had Dungy not gotten us there in the first place.   The overall better coach is Dungy, but in Tampa still Dungy because of what he had to work with in his early going.  That's my vote.

Although my actual vote went to Leavitt....biased personal reasons of course. >

[Triple B]

A bit unfair, if you want to truly compare Gruden and Dungy then you must compare their records since Dungy took over at Indianapolis...

The poll is for "Best Coach in Bay area history".

Not sure how it would turn out but if you want to play your game, you need to throw in Gruden's head coach history before he came here...

My game?  You want to compare coaches in the bay area based on non-sensicalness and simply accomplishments while living in the Bay Area.  Then hand the **** trophy over to Russ Cozart and everyone stop acting like it's a competition.

No problem with that ....

but in Tampa still Dungy because of what he had to work with in his early going.  That's my vote.

That's why i voted for McKay. He took the Bucs just as far as Tony did with a lot less to work with ....

[smazza]

not leavitt

hasnt won athing

[USFFan]

Wow.  Just wow.  I guess time really DOES heal all wounds.  Can you guys please go back and re-live the Dungy years in Tampa?  Doesn't anybody remember how Tony stubbornly refused to open up the offense or bring in an offensive mind?  How excruciatingly bad those offenses were?  Anybody who sat through the 1999 NFC championship game has NO BUSINESS suggesting that Dungy deserves to be considered as one of the greatest coaches in Tampa Bay history.  In truth, he wasted one of the greatest defenses ever assembled and the prime years of Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Derrick Brooks' careers by being so stubborn.  Cripes, Hardy Nickerson should sue Dungy for negligence in costing him a Super Bowl ring.  His unwillingness to bring in any semblance of an offense is what cost him his job.  Fortunately, he learned enough from that (along with Bill Polian's insistance that he keep Indianapolis' offensive coaching staff intact) that he was able to be successful with the Colts.  In truth, he's also underachieved in Indianapolis as well.  OK, he won the Super Bowl last year - against the most one dimensional conference champions in the last decade, and even then managed to pull off one of the ugliest wins in recent memory.  Before that?  Please point to one example where he managed to meet or exceed expectations.  Hell, in 2006, as the #1 seed, he choked away the first round game to the 6th seeded Steelers.  Then this year, he lost to an injured and out-manned San Diego Chargers team, also at home.  He's managed to turn the careers of at least two sure Hall of Fame offensive players like Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison into one measly Super Bowl title.  Color me underwhelmed.  

I'm not necessarily a Jon Gruden apologist, but he DID manage to get the Bucs past the very hump that Dungy never could.  Does anybody seriously believe that Dungy would have gone into Philadelphia and won that NFC championship game with the same pathetic offense he'd rolled out on the field every season?  

I fail to understand people's willingness to crucify Gruden while giving Tortorella a free pass.  The Lightning suck out loud right now, despite TWO ALL STARS!  Both Tortorella and Gruden managed to get their teams to the championship and win it.  Why is it acceptable that the Lightning are "just down right now" while the Bucs, who won their division, are underachieving?  Does anybody think another coach would have taken the Bucs further this year with the players they have on the field and with Earnest Graham as running back?  They weren't going to go into Dallas and win.  Meanwhile, the team that eliminated them is in the Super Bowl, so I guess Gruden's no worse than Mike Sherman or Wade Phillips - especially since those rosters have more talent than Gruden's.  

As others have said, I think the list is short-sighted.  Russ Cozart, Tim Marcum, hell - Lelo Prado.  Look at the sustained excellence UT's baseball team has had.

USFFan

[smazza]

the  tampa arena football coach that never loses