Why Gruden Is On The Hot Seat - Part One Of A Series

Everything you read about the Buccaneers re-iterates that Jon Gruden is in the "hot seat" this season and needs to win a bunch of games in order to save his job. I think there's a lot of truth to that, but it isn't just about the number of games he has won or lost. The players have to take their share of the blame for a good number of those losses; they weren't lost because of anything Gruden did. Much of the reason Gruden may be fired in December has to do with some larger issues that he was brought into address and, for whatever reason, they haven't gotten done.

GRUDEN HAS NOT DEVELOPED A FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK: Even in 2001 when he arrived, everyone knew Brad Johnson wasn't the future of the franchise. He filled the role that Jeff Garcia is filling now: a veteran quarterback who is better than the younger option currently on the roster. And there's nothing wrong with that if you're doing it while you're looking for the player you can build the offense around. But Gruden, a coach known for developing quarterbacks, is in a perpetual state of flux with the position. He loved Rob Johnson, the human sack magnet, until he actually saw him play. He loved Brian Griese but let him walk in favor of Chris Simms. He never loved Chris Simms. He loved Bruce Gradkowski and probably still does, but doesn't have enough confidence in him right now to keep him under center. And you'd think that if you're going to pick a guy to be your ten-year starter, you would try to find more raw material to work with than a sixth round draft pick.

But some of the blame has to lie with Paul Hackett. Hackett has been with the team as quarterbacks coach for the two years when a young player could truly step up and take over. Yet he couldn't coach Chris Simms out of getting his passes deflected or speeding up his delivery and he couldn't coach Bruce Gradkowski into making better reads or improving his long ball. As Gradkowski started putting his work on film and getting experience, he actually got worse last season. I would have hoped that Hackett would review the tapes, help Gradkowski improve his technique or at least hide his deficencies and he would get better. But that's not how it happened, despite Gruden's assessment that Gradkowski is an extremely smart player with a good head for the West Coast system. Now that I think about it, what quarterbacks does Hackett have on his resume that make him really qualified to develop a young quarterback? Carson Palmer is the only name that comes to mind. If he tries to take credit for Joe Montana's success, he's crazy. He left Dallas before Troy Aikman got there. Chad Penninton is pretty good, but you'd think you would have heard more regret from him about Hackett's resignation from the Jets if he was really sorry to see him go. Who's left? Anyone know?

But Hackett's employment with the team is ultimately Gruden's responsibility, as is his quarterback's performance. Maybe Gruden is taking more heat than he should for the stagnation of the quarterback position because he has never refuted the "quarterback guru" title that has been glued to him ever since Rich Gannon came into his life. At some point in the last few years, it seems like a trade could have been made or a draft pick used on a guy higher than the sixth round. Kellen Clemens, maybe? Charlie Whitehurst? I don't know much about those guys, but I know they were drafted in the second round last year and the teams that got them seem pretty high on them. In any case, failure to develop a long-term quarterback that the team could hang its hat on and make the face of the franchise is a major reason why Gruden's job is on the line this season.