Tampa BayWatch – My Thoughts on the Bucs

Art Valero decided to have a swipe at Jon Gruden as he left the Bucs for a new role with the St Louis Rams.

Art Valero said he is anxious to leave and work for a coach he “can trust” in St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan. Valero had hoped to take over as the team’s offensive line coach after Bill Muir retired, but head coach Jon Gruden hired Aaron Kromer to coach the offensive line instead. Valero added, “To appease me, Jon was going to allow me to call the plays and call the game at the Senior Bowl. That was when [running back Cadillac Williams] was there, and I never got the chance to. I was prepared. I was ready to go, but he called the plays. I don’t know why I wasn’t allowed to. I told him my displeasure with how they were doing it [with Kromer] and he said, ‘Well, you know that you’re going to be the coordinator here.’ I knew right there that he was B.S.ing me.”

Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune has a more balance view on the situation

Had Valero left for a better job or a better opportunity, it would be one thing. He left for a better situation. That’s not a good sign. It makes you wonder if others would do the same if they could. The good news is that Gruden has bent before. His treatment of Galloway, who has a practice schedule unlike most players, is an example of how he has adapted in the past.Now he needs to adapt again. He needs to make his coaches feel like their opinions matter; he needs to make his players feel like he’s working for them as much as they are working for him; he needs to take no for an answer once in a while.The flaws in Gruden’s coaching game aren’t worth cutting him loose. They will be, though, if he refuses to accept ownership and fix them. Looking at it that way, Valero seems to have done his former boss a favor. The fact that Valero and Gruden didn’t see eye to eye on some issues is not what matters most here. What matters most, especially now, is that Gruden acknowledge the problems and eliminates them.

We have already known that Gruden has an autonomous style of coaching and it’s his way or the highway. However, sometimes Gruden needs to take on board what his team around him are saying. His coaching of the past 2 Giants sum this up. In a windswept Giants stadium, he tried get a QB with noodle arms to pass the Bucs to victory, in this years playoff game we abandoned the run far too quickly despite taking an early lead.I doubt Gruden will take this onboard and it can be seen as sour grapes but it does seem to strike a chord.