Bucs' Morris likes dual approach to coaching D-line

TAMPA It may seem like overkill to some and a case of micro-coaching to others, but Raheem Morris has had two coaches working with his defensive line since he took over as Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach two years ago and this, he said, is not the time to change.

"The way I see it, we have so much money and so many draft picks invested in our defensive line that it's a great idea to have two guys coaching those players,'' Morris said of his decision this week to hire Keith Millard and Grady Stretz as co-defensive line coaches.

"It's not so much a matter of two heads are better than one. It's more a matter of the more ideas that can be generated from a staff of guys that are able to work together and give me more options - that's just a better working environment for us.''

The Bucs have invested deeply into their defensive line the past two years. They drafted four linemen - tackles Gerald McCoy, Brian Price and Roy Miller and end Kyle Moore - in the top four rounds and another, Tim Crowder, was a second-round pick of the Broncos in 2007.

The dual-coach system is one Morris was more or less groomed in himself. During his early days as a Bucs assistant coach, he worked alongside then-Tampa Bay secondary coach Mike Tomlin. The success he and Tomlin had with the Bucs sparked the idea to have two coaches prep the defensive line.

"When Mike and I worked together in the secondary, unless you were there you didn't know who was doing what,'' Morris said. "Mike was a guy who got so involved in the process of, 'You do this, I'll do that and we'll do this together,' that it was always a good relationship. That's what I wanted to do here.''

Millard's and Stretz's roles seem to be clearly defined. Millard, a former first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings who has seven years of experience coaching NFL defensive linemen, will concentrate primarily on improving the linemen's pass-rush skills.

Stretz, who spent the last five years serving as the defensive line coach at Arizona State, will concentrate primarily on improving the linemen's run stopping skills and on game-planning the Bucs' rush defense.

"When one guy can come in and present run ideas on which fronts to use, which safety to bring down, what kind of movement to have up front, that's special,'' Morris said. "Grady's going to have the ability to come in and do those sorts of things with us and I'm excited about it.''

Morris may be even more excited to have Millard on board. The former Vikings standout was highly recommended by former Bucs tackle Warren Sapp. Millard proved during his job interview to be just about everything Sapp said he would, Morris said.

"Sapp called me and said, 'Coach, I'm telling you, this is the guy to talk to. He's one of us,' '' Morris said. "And so I called (Sapp) back and he gave me more passion about him, and when I was able to bring (Millard) in and interview him, he lit the room up. He had just the kind of passion Sapp spoke about.''

He has a rather impressive resume, too. In 2004, Millard was with the Broncos and his defensive line was the only one in the NFL to have three players - Bertrand Berry, Trevor Pryce and Reggie Hayward - each produce at least 8.5 sacks.

Millard moved to the Raiders in 2005 and in 2006 helped Sapp become the league's sack leader among defensive tackles with 10. In 2007 Millard's Raiders line featured two 10-sack players, Derrick Burgess and Chris Clemons.

"Keith did a great job in Denver and Oakland,'' Morris said, "and when a guy like Sapp calls you and gives a recommendation, you're obviously doing something positive. If you can affect a guy like Sapp, who is really self motivated and can dissect things and figure them out on his own, you've proven yourself as a real leader of men.''