Morris On The Broncos Interview: "It Went Really Well"

Bucs defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is a candidate for the head coaching jobs in Denver and St. Louis

Bucs defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is a candidate for the head coaching jobs in Denver and St. Louis

Raheem Morris, who has only been Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator for two weeks, spoke with PewterReport.com about his interview for the vacant head coaching position in Denver. Morris said that the interview went "really well." Find out what else Morris had to say about Denver and the St. Louis coaching vacancy in this article.



 

Newly named Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Raheem Morris may be the only Bucs defensive coordinator in team history to never give up a single yard – if he winds up becoming a head coach this offseason.

“I kind of like that stat, and I think I’ll take it and run with it!” Morris told PewterReport.com after interviewing with the Denver Broncos for the team’s vacant head coaching position on Monday.

Morris met with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who fired long-time head coach Mike Shanahan last week, and members of Denver’s brass at the team’s facility and also dined together on Monday night. Bowlen has suggested that he wants to go with a young, charismatic coach and the 32-year old Morris, who has six years of coaching experience at the NFL level, mostly as a secondary coach or an assistant secondary coach, certainly fits the bill.

“It went really well,” Morris said of the interview. “I feel pretty good about it. I’m not sure how they feel. I guess we’ll know more information in the coming days.

“The interview was a little bit of everything. You go in and talk about some personal stuff and your philosophies go as far as offense, defense and special teams. It was mostly about philosophies and how you feel about personnel issues, the draft and things of that nature. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

In addition to Morris, the Broncos have also interviewed New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and are expected to meet with Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and Minnesota defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

Morris said that playing the Broncos in Week 5 of the NFL season helped him prepare for the interview because he had a base understanding of the team’s existing personnel and schemes, but he admitted that he did do some cramming once he was contacted regarding the interview last week.

“I kind of did that even though we had played the Broncos before,” Morris said. “You think you know them, but I went back over some tape and looked to see if they added some stuff.”

Bowlen indicated that quarterbacks coach and offensive play-caller Jeremy Bates, who was a quality coach in Tampa Bay with Morris from 2002-04, would remain on Denver’s staff. While it would seem that their previous working relationship might give him an edge in Denver’s coaching search, Morris downplayed that angle.

“I’m certainly glad that Jeremy is there, but I’m not sure he’s going to help me in this process,” Morris said. “It would just be a bonus for me if something positive were to happen for me in Denver and I would end up working with Jeremy again. I don’t know if that is going to happen, but I put on my best suit and my best self and went out there and gave it my best effort. I think it went really well. Obviously I have nothing else to compare it with. I’ve never interviewed for a head coaching job anywhere else, but I’m just going off of general knowledge and hearing from different people. I think it went pretty well.”

Morris was not given any indication by the Broncos regarding when and if they would get back with him or when they planned to make a decision on a head coach.

“No, they didn’t give me a timetable,” Morris said. “They haven’t hired too many head coaches in their history, which is a good thing for them. They are going to go through the process and feel it out and figure it out. If they call me back, I’d be more than happy to go back out there, but in the meantime I’m going to go back to the office and be the defensive coordinator for the Bucs.”

Morris landed in Tampa Bay on Tuesday afternoon where he just learned that his name was also being linked to the open St. Louis head coaching position. According to NFL Network, Morris is among six other candidates that include Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, former New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel, Green Bay assistant coach Winston Moss, Dallas assistant coach Ray Sherman, Minnesota defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and former interim head coach Jim Haslett

“I haven’t heard anything about St. Louis or anybody else for that matter,” Morris said. “I just got back in town and I’m settling in to become the defensive coordinator of Tampa Bay.”

Part of Morris’ duties may include not only finding a defensive backs coach, where it seems former Bucs defensive backs assistant coach Jimmy Lake and current quality control coach Ejiro Evero are the front-runners, but they may also be hiring a linebackers coach, too. Tampa Bay linebackers coach Gus Bradley’s contract is up and although he has told PewterReport.com he would not mind returning to the Buccaneers, he was interviewing for the defensive coordinator position in Seattle on Tuesday.

“I can’t comment for Gus, but whatever Gus wants to do for he and his family, I’m happy for him,” Morris said. “We got pretty close as friends and co-workers.”

The young and energetic Morris appears to be quite level-headed throughout this process despite the whirlwind month he’s had from being named as Monte Kiffin’s replacement on Christmas to finding out that he is one of the most sought after head-coaching candidates in the NFL just after the New Year.

“Just how everything has gone for me since I’ve been in the NFL, nothing shocks me anymore,” Morris said. “I just take it all in stride, be myself and remain grounded. That approach has taken me this far, so why not just take it and ride it?”

 

 

Comments

hoaglin1

Morris still seems awfully young and inexperienced to take on such a big task, It seems to me he and the bucs might be better served if he got some experence as a defensive cord first. just my opinion.

6:53pm, January 6, 2009

Hamburgler915

gruden has been throwing back some beers check out his gut this year hahaha thats what im talkin bout!

11:17pm, January 6, 2009

bucfan4ever

While all this interviewing is going on I'm sure Bruce Allen is doing his own interviewing in case Morris gets lured away. Wonder who HE's interviewing?

12:00am, January 7, 2009

cremdonado

exactly bucfan4ever-with all this talk of coach migration,where is the talk of who might be heading our way ??We have lost quite a bit this season,but where will it end ??If Morris is on the way to Denver or to St. Louis,where does that leave the Bucs ?What is our plan B ??Is a player migration soon to follow?

I guess we will just have to wait...

2:36am, January 7, 2009

surferdudes

I hope Raheem told these owners how his secondary was part of the Bucs biggest defensive collapse in team history. When P Rivers was torching our guys with 4 TD passes, they were running around the field with question marks over their heads. Job well done Raheem. It amazes me that you become the next hot caoching canidate without actually accomplishing squat. If I were the Bucs I'd withdraw my offer to Raheem now. Chances are we'll be looking for a new D caoch again next year. I want someone who'll be here for awhile, say like Marinelli, I don't think he'll be getting any H.C. job offers for awhile. I also hope that Raheem gets his head out of the clouds, and won't be to dissappointed being the Bucs D coach if he does'nt become a head coach. Try to finish what you haven't even started.

5:10am, January 7, 2009

scubog

Denver will hire Jason Garrett just to stick it up Jerry Jones' nose-job.

6:57am, January 7, 2009

buc4life76

i like RM 4 r defense C but if he leaves marenelli perfect fit but this is all here say LETS GO TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1:09pm, January 7, 2009

bucs8024

hey surferdudes, stick to surfing. raheem is a great coach and you can't blame him for the collapse. the front seven were missing just as many tackles and looking just as tired as anyone on that field. and please don't forget that there was absolutely no penetration along the d-line...so much so that they are all proud v-card holders again. and don't even get me started on sabby piscitelli. if you know football at all, you should have noticed that when flip went down, the team went down. the opposing teams (carolina, san diego and oakland) all ran right at flip's side and sabby was the one out of position not playing his gap and therefore getting gashed by the run. thanks for the comment brah! kelly slater did win his 6th pipe masters and 9th world title this year though!

11:04pm, January 7, 2009

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