Jim Bates demoted, Morris takes over defense

TAMPA BAY Buccaneers defensive co-ordinator Jim Bates has been relieved of his play-calling duties as of today.

Bates, who was hired in the offseason, has overseen a Tampa Bay defense that has struggled badly this season. Tampa Bay is surrendering 29 points and 378 yards per game. It currently ranks 27^th overall in the NFL and last (32^nd) against the run, allowing 168 yards per game. The team has one win and nine losses to date.

Bates, 63, will stay on with the team at least through the end of the season in a consulting role, breaking down film and assisting Morris on game day from the coaching box. Bates' defenses were successful in Miami and Green Bay, and he had a top 10-ranked defense in each of his five seasons with Miami. Conversely, Bates' one-year term with the Denver Broncos is a parallel to his time in Tampa. In Denver, Bates was stripped of his play-calling duties and demoted after Denver's defense struggled out of the gate. At the end of the 2007 season, Bates resigned.

Buccaneers’ head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik met until late Monday to discuss the organizational shift, one day after the Bucs were routed by the unbeaten New Orleans Saints 38-7, one of the worst home defeats in club history.

All defensive play-calling responsibilities have been taken over by first year head coach Raheem Morris. Morris is expected to immediately return the Bucs’ to their former Tampa Two scheme, which will allow their undersized defensive linemen to benefit from their speed rather than reprimand them for a lack of physical size and bulk. The change in gap disciplines and corner coverages (from bump-and-run to cushioned zones) should help the Bucs’ personnel immensely.

Bucs’ head coach Raheem Morris, 33, is the league's youngest head coach. Prior to succeeding Jon Gruden last January, Morris was named successor to long-time defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, only a month before the Glazer family’s Gruden firing.

Morris has never officially handled defensive play-calling duties in an NFL game before, but did serve as Kansas State's defensive coordinator throughout the 2006 season before accepting an offer to re-join Tampa Bay as a defensive backs coach in 2007.

Morris has been more actively involved in the defense in recent weeks. Bates ran a 4-3, two-gap scheme that required the cornerbacks to play less zone and more man-to-man coverage, but the Bucs have been playing more traditional Cover 2 as the season has progressed, attempting to eliminate several big plays offenses have scored against them.