The pride of Hofstra has arrived

Posted Jun 15, 2009 by Tom McEwen

Updated Jun 15, 2009 at 08:42 PM

New Tampa Bay Bucko Coach Raheem Morris has a bio full of reasons to make this great shot at his new job work, all of which began with that early knowledge he had to get out of his hometown of Irvington, N.J., where he played good enough football to win a scholarship to Hofstra University and play enough pro ball and coach well enough to qualify for the Malcolm Glazer Family to hire him to succeed the still puzzled Jon “Why Me” Gruden as head coach of this NFL team of ours.

  But, none of that can match the need he (and comedian Jerry Lewis) had to say so long to Irvington, N.J.

  This is straight off the Internet on Irvington: Demographics: “As part of the 2000 Census, 81.66 per cent of Irvington’s residents identified themselves as African American. This is one of the highest percentages of African Americans and Caribbean Americans statewide statistics report.  The police said Irvington had a rate of 22.4 violent crimes per 1,000, highest of all the urban areas in the state.

  Welcome to the invitation to advance in Florida, Raheem. You can thank the Glazers and us season-ticket holders by putting this newest Buc group together and into a playoff contender.  Looks like a good assembly of talent, though not yet a team.

  And, Raheem looks like the young man (gee, only 32) who can do it. Had some good teachers along the line—Gruden, Monte Kiffin, Herm Edwards, Mike Tomlin, Joe Barry, and the rest of the Bucs during their good times, their Super Bowl times. Raheem also knows the fun of having a winner here, or at least winning at Raymond James. He has no desire to return to New Jersey, except for a day in his honor as the champion coach of the Super Bowl champion Buckeronies. 

Morris grew up unpretentiously, a major understatement, in a poor section of town, with working parents who had split for a time. He’d surely praise them both, mom and dad. Mom was there during the earliest times of trouble and guided him through even the most threatening times.

Fights? Sure he was in them. Plenty. Ground-rolling fights.

Clean fights. Dirty fights.
 
He first came to the Bucs in 2002 to coach cornerbacks for defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, then went to Kansas State for a year as defensive coordinator before coming back to Kiffin in 2007-08. He developed some of the Bucs’ best and the Bucs’ best at times were the NFL’s best—how about Ronde Barber? How about Phillip Buchanon? Tarnard Jackson? Sabby Piscitelli? Aqib Talib? A proud bunch.  A Super Bowl bunch some of them. Defense in Tampa has always been a long suit.

That will not be changed, with the final vote now in the hands of the head coach.

  Also, the best defense has always been a goal of the Buccaneers, since John McKay arrived and made All-World defensive end Lee Roy Selmon his first overall pick. The cry here has always been, simple as it is, if the other team does not score, they cannot win.
 
You can be assured, Raheem Morris will start his Buc career with a first look at the defense, surely sighing each time he remembers linebacker Derrick Brooks is not now scheduled to run anyone down again for Tampa.
 
Everyone, said some well-known Wauchula philosopher, will one day have to give way to youth.