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Gruden: No Such Thing As Rebuilding

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 2, 2008

PALM BEACH - Don't use the dreaded R-word around Jon Gruden.

Tampa Bay's seventh-year coach bristled Wednesday when a media member used the word "rebuilding'' during the NFL owners meetings.

"I don't think you ever use that word, man,'' said Gruden, who has led the Buccaneers to three NFC South titles. "There's no such thing as rebuilding. We were $40 million over the cap four years ago, now we're $40 million under the cap. We had no draft choices there for a while. We won a couple of division titles in the last few years while we were adjusting things. You hire the right people and you sign the right players and the guys on the field will turn it around. The players will get it done.''

Gruden said Tampa Bay depth at quarterback should provide stability if starter Jeff Garcia is sidelined for an extended period.

Veteran Brian Griese returned to Tampa after a two-year absence and Chris Simms has declared himself fully recovered from a spleen injury that kept him off the field for most of the past two seasons.

Simms has chosen not to participate in Tampa Bay's offseason workout program.

"We've got five quarterbacks that have all won for the Bucs as starters,'' Gruden said. "If he (Simms) volunteers to be there, we'll work with him. If he doesn't, we'll work with the other quarterbacks. Chris is under contract and we expect him to compete. I like Brian. He's smart. Above the neck, he's rare and I'm happy to have him back. He'll compete. He'll make it interesting. Luke McCown has shown some promise. If he can eliminate some of the boneheaded plays -- turnovers deep in our territory, taking a couple of sacks he didn't need to take – he'll improve. Luke helped us win a championship last year.

"It's hard to accommodate everyone's wants and wishes. We paid Chris Simms $7.5 million. We want to win. He's part of our plans and we want him to compete. We're going to keep our best quarterbacks, I promise you that. Right now, we've got five quarterbacks and he's one of them.''

Gruden spoke with optimism about the rest of Tampa Bay's offense.

"We hope Cadillac makes progress and we know Michael Bennett can run fast. In fairness to Mike, our offseason program will help him learn the offense. Warrick Dunn still had 800 yards rushing last year and caught the ball effortlessly. Inside of him, there's a war daddy. He's one of the great NFL men we have in the league. He is a threat. He can run it, catch it, pick up a blitz and I love him. We've deepened our backfield. B.J. Askew is a force for us. I consider Askew as good a fullback as there is in the NFC.

"Hopefully, one of our young receivers can step up. We're going to need somebody to start hitting the ball out of the park consistently. We've added Antonio Bryant. Garcia played with him, McCown played with him and I did a lot of research on him. He's got a lot of talent. He had a 1,000-yard year in Cleveland and he averaged 20 yards a catch with the 49ers in 2006. He's had his problems sticking around, but he's a talented, big player. He could be a really good player if he gets confidence and he trusts us. I'm excited to have him.''

Gruden was asked about a blossoming offensive line, which added center Jeff Faine as a free agent from New Orleans.

"Jeff's 26 and we think he's a heck of a center,'' Gruden said. "He makes all the calls. To have him in there with Davin Joseph and Arron Sears gives us an inside three that can rival anyone in the league. I don't know about his contract, the highest salary ever for a center. I just hope he doesn't start acting like a quarterback.''

Gruden looks back at the 2007 season with pride.

"I don't have any regrets, really, other than we didn't win the Super Bowl,'' he said. "We had a lot of injuries. I don't make excuses, but we had legitimate injuries. Ike Hilliard still can't practice today. Joey Galloway isn't ready to go. Cato June was hurt and he won't practice in these OTAs. Cadillac Williams and Luke Petitgout … those are real injuries. Jeff Garcia got hurt. Sears was hurt in the playoffs. I don't regret what we did, I regret how we finished. I regret the fact we got hurt, but that's football. I like our team. I like what we have. I like the nucleus and I'm excited abut the upcoming season.''

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