To go along with Raheem's lack of fan approval, reports started to surface that the Glazers had contacted Bill Cowher to gauge his interest in the Bucs coaching gig. Regardless of the casual fans glee, I still contend that hiring Cowher would have been horrific. He is a great coach, but the defense would take a severe blow. The Buccaneers front seven seem ill-equip to run the Tampa 2; they would look even more lost in a 3-4 scheme. Rebuilding takes time, and luckily Cowher didn't take the bate.

Since all the rumors, however, many players, local media outlets, and even a Buccaneer legend have lobbied for Raheem. His supporters included Ronde Barber, Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times, and even Warren Sapp. Some suggested Ronde would retire if Raheem was canned.

In an suspiciously surprisingly quick and short response, Joel Glazer released a statement regarding the direction of the franchise, "We are committed to the plan that we began 12 months ago with Coach Morris, and we look forward to building on the pieces that were put in place this season" 

While JoeBucsFan points out that it doesn't directly say that Raheem will be retained, most think he is safe. There doesn't seem to be any motivation in deceiving the media and fans. There is no benefit of placing a smokescreen of job security in front of Raheem when the only candidate refuses to talk to teams without vacancies. Raheem can sleep easier tonight knowing that he gets one more year to add play makers and get some chemistry going in the walls of One Buc Place. Okay, so the Buccaneers finished 3-13. Big deal. Gruden had a 4-12 year. Dungy's inaugural season was a 6-10 outing. Tampa's new regime made some tough decisions and have learned on the fly. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to improve the team.

To add a little excitement for the disappointed fan, their plan for improvement seems to include the 2010 Senior Bowl.

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