Just minutes after his team had finished off one of the most shocking comebacks of the season in beating the Saints in overtime 20-17, Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris did his best to quash any talks of him being fired in the off-season and replaced by former Pittsburgh head coach Bill Cowher.

We brought you that story earlier today, discussing the possibility of Cowher heading south to coach the Buccaneers.

According to Jim Flynn of the Pewter Report, Morris was asked almost immediately about the Cowher rumors upon entering the press conference in New Orleans, and quickly made it clear that he feels he will be the coach in Tampa Bay next season.

“I have a great relationship with my owners. The thing I know about those guys is they didn’t hire me last year in a meeting. The thing I know about these guys is I’ve had a seven-year relationship with them. They interviewed me for seven years, and I’ve been around these guys. So, I’m pretty sure if I was getting popped, fired or whatever you want to call it, my owners would come tell me like men because that’s who they are and that’s what they want to be. I’m sure Bill Cowher [wants this job]. Everybody wants this job – it’s the best in football. I want it, too.”

– Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris

Obviously the decision on who will be roaming the sidelines next fall in Tampa will not be made by Morris, but rather by the Buccaneers ownership group and front office, and it is entirely possible that they could decide to pull the plug on Morris in favor of bringing a superstar coach in like Cowher. But given the relationship with the powers that be in Tampa that Morris mentioned, the chances of a firing anytime soon seems to be  remote, at least for the time being.

As always, we’ll keep you posted when more information becomes available.

No related posts.