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BY IRA KAUFMAN
Despite getting fired by the organization he grew up cheering for, Jon Gruden remains in love with the Buccaneers. As the franchise approaches its 50th NFL season, I caught up with Gruden at his lair in Tampa.
He’s very bullish on the Bucs in their quest for a sixth consecutive playoff berth — and fourth under Todd Bowles.
“You talk about a franchise that was rescued,” Gruden says. “We came out of a trailer in 2002 to win the Super Bowl. The Glazers came in and built a brand-new stadium and a brand-new facility. I grew up at One Buc Place. I remember the team training at the Wide World of Sports in Orlando.
“Through it all, these Buc fans have been great. It’s fantastic to see the awesome support this team has. When I go to the stadium, I still see some of people I saw when I was coaching there. It’s a great organization.”
Bucky draws a comparison from Chucky.
Gruden is impressed with the talent Jason Licht has assembled, particularly on offense, where running back Bucky Irving is determined to improve after a dynamic rookie season.
“Bucky reminds me of (former Raider) Charlie Garner,” he says. “I love Bucky Irving. I also like Rachaad White. He can really catch the ball and I like Sean Tucker, too. Licht has done a great job.
“They’ve also got four or five real good receivers to go along with those backs. Add in a hell of an offensive line built to go 15 rounds if they have to. They can take you the distance and knock you out. I’m excited to watch them.”
Like the rest of Buc Nation, Gruden was stunned by the narrow home loss to Washington in the opening playoff round.
“I was disappointed we jumped offsides in short yardage and I was disappointed we can’t hand the ball off on a jet sweep,” Gruden says. “But it turned out Washington had a really good football team that was well coached.”
It should come as no surprise that Gruden took a poke at the print media that covered him during his seven years coaching the Bucs.
“The sportswriters have gotten a lot better,” he says. “They’ve gotten rid of some of the bums who were walking around.”
Although his dismissal after the 2008 season came as a shock, Gruden says he harbors no ill will toward ownership. He looks back at his time at One Buc Place with a mixture of pride and some regret.
“We went through a lot here, but we won our share of games,” he says. “We won three division titles with three different quarterbacks and we won a Super Bowl. It wasn’t perfect … don’t get me wrong. We had plenty of games where I wish we had a mulligan.
“This is a strong, stable franchise. Mr. Glazer is no longer with us, but his family has taken the torch and done a great job with this football team.”
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