Callahan to the Jets

We told you on Thursday that things didn't materialize between the Bucs and former Nebraska coach and Jon Gruden friend Bill Callahan.

Today, he opted to sign with the Jets, for whom he will coach the running game and serve as an assistant head coach.

Callahan wasn't going to be able to work with the offensive line in Tampa after the Bucs retained Bill Muir as their line coach. In New York, Callahan will get the chance to do exactly that, which is considered his specialty.

Callahan was a Gruden assistant in Oakland and succeeded Gruden as head coach there. He's considered quite adept at running Gruden's offense, which he kept intact after Gruden's departure for Tampa. Callahan was fired by Nebraska late in the 2007 season.

Comments

[John P]

I have yet to meet a soul who can explain the rationale for keeping Bill Muir around. Will someone please explain why in the world the Bucs would be committed to a position coach who consistently produces mediocre results? Does this man have photos of Gruden in a compromising position? Is the man working for free? Or - is it simply an acknowledgement that the players aren't good enough to do any better? It's got to be something - because the vision of Bucs QB's running for their lives last year (and the 5 years before that) is quite vivid inside my mind. Anyone want to take a crack at answering?

[ValricoRick]

You are obviously not paying attention, or you are unable to comprehend how Muir took a ragtag bunch of misfits to the Super Bowl. The Bucs haven't had the means to build a "pro-bowl" caliber offensive line because they didn't have any draft picks, and it's often harder through free agency given that teams don't give up their best offensive linemen. Within the last couple of years they have started to add some players with excellent potential and now there is an opportunity to have something special. These poorly coached, according to you, kids did manage to help block the way for a third-string running back to run for nearly a thousand yards in half of a season. If you think that was all Graham, guess again. You don't even get out of the backfield without descent blocking. You could try asking Graham what he thought of the blocking efforts in front of him if you don't believe me. Run blocking, although not easy, it is easier to learn. It's just a pre-established blocking assignment, in which first you take care of your man, and move forward through your zone. Pass blocking requires a better understanding of variable rush possibilities such as stunts, games, and a lot of blitz packages, and you have to be able to react quickly without thinking. It's much harder to excel at. My opinion is that Muir has done a pretty good job with mostly a bunch back-ups, journeymen, and castoffs. And honestly, I don't think you have a clue what it is you are talking about!!

[Shane]

hey john maybe you weren't watching the offensive line this season but other than penn the line looked pretty solid hopefully luke will come back and solidify the line like it was until week four

[John P]

Bill Muir took the Bucs to the Super Bowl? Wow! That's news to me! I gotta tell ya, I stopped reading your response after getting over the hysterical laughter of your first statement. You're too much!

Shane, I watched them, a lot. When they were playing good competition, they were caved in and immobilized. They were stopped. The measure of success is how a team does against good competition. When they faced good defenses in 2007, they were ineffective. Try this out: against the Saints and Falcons (26th and 29th defensively) last year, the Bucs averaged 31.5 points a game. In their other 12 games, they averaged 17.3. Also, they were 2-4, and averaged 14 points a game against teams with a defense ranked in the top half of the league. I don't know about you, but that seems pretty darn mediocre to me.

[Tom]

I agree with you John P. Bill Muir has had ample time to build an O-Line. That has been our achilles heel for years. These guys have been inconsistent. How Bill Muir still has a job here is beyond me.

[aaron]

bill muir should not have been brought back.

[Jay]

Congratulations to Bill Callahan and his new job. I hope he finds success there.

[shpxjvg]

Draft picks or not, more than half a decade of trying should have produced a better offensive line that the one that got whipped by the Giants in the wildcard round. And don't kid yourself, they've used plenty of their draft picks to address the line.