The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski Thursday, marking the second time that Jagodzinski has been fired in 2009 -- without coaching in a single meaningful game. It's also the second time this week that an NFL offensive coordinator has been fired, following the dismissal of Chan Gailey in Kansas City.
Jagodzinski spent the last two seasons as Boston College's head coach, but he was fired early this year after he interviewed for the New York Jets' head coaching job against the wishes of the BC athletic department. He didn't get the Jets job, but new Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris hired Jagodzinski as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator shortly after.
It's time for football. Instead of coeds and keggers though, today's football players will be getting paid. That is as long as they can stay on the roster.
There are six NFL preseason games on the docket for Saturday, and a lot of questions to answer and position battles to watch over.
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.
Meet The ... Team full of new faces both on the field and on the coaching staff. Since we last played "real" football, Tampa Bay has fired their head coach, Jon Gruden, released fan favorites like Jeff Garcia, Warrick Dunn and Joey Galloway, and saw their defensive coordinator Monte Kiffen head north to coach college football at Tennessee. The team brought in Byron Leftwich and created a quarterback competition, Derrick Ward to share rushing responsibilities with Earnest Graham, and Kellen Winslow, a huge upgrade at tight end. The front office hopes these changes help redefine the offense and give it a new energy; something many felt the offense lacked while being run by Jon Gruden.
We see a ton of player movement every offseason, but it's important while considering new faces in new place to not ignore the effect of coaching changes on teams. No nugget of information should go ignored during your preparation phase. It might be easy to overlook what a new coaching staff means for a franchise running back or quarterback, but without doing the work, you might end up with a team on the field that differs greatly from your perceived value. Today, we'll look at eight offenses that will have to deal with new whistle-adorned men on the practice field.
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it the Summer Scramble, and today we look at the NFC South's looming position battles.
We're entering a dark period of the NFL life right now. Nothing is going on. Players and coaches are on vacation. With that we look at 10 quarterback situations worth looking at before training camps start in late July, because, well, it's always about the quarterback.
The situation: It's the same old argument. Do you start the rookie or the veteran? The No. 1 pick of the draft is Stafford, but the vet with a chance to win a few games is Culpepper. Stafford is the future but you don't want to damage it. For every Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco there's a Ryan Leaf and Vince Young.
Solution: Start Culpepper and wait until 2010 for Stafford.
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.
Heading into this year's draft, Josh Freeman was considered to have the highest upside of any quarterback entering the NFL in 2009, while also possessing the biggest downside. The Buccaneers, in need of a true franchise quarterback for the first time since ... well, they've never really had one, were not only willing to take the chance on Freeman, but they were also willing to move up two spots to get him.
During the NFL draft a lot of fancy buzzwords get thrown around by analysts, bloggers, fans and, well, pretty much anybody watching the annual selection meeting. Smoke screen, reach, tweener, value ... you get the idea. When it comes to smoke screens, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attempted to use one of their free-agent signings in an effort to hide their interest in eventual first-round pick, quarterback Josh Freeman. That is, if we believe Freeman.
Appearing in an NFL.com chat after being selected by the Bucs, Freeman claimed that the Tampa Bay front office informed him that its two-year deal with free agent quarterback Byron Leftwich was nothing more than a giant ruse.
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.
What started off as a promising season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned into an embarrassing finish, as the team lost its final four regular season games in 2008, missing the postseason for the third time in four years. When all was said and done, it was enough to cost head coach Jon Gruden his job, while the team said goodbye to several starters, including Derrick Brooks, Jeff Garcia and Cato June.
After missing the 2008 season with a shoulder injury, it was possible that Alex Smith's tenure as a San Francisco 49er was over. Despite the injury, and the fact his play, when healthy, has been rather disappointing for a No. 1 overall pick, the 49ers seemed interested in keeping the 24-year-old quarterback around under one condition: him being willing to take a pay cut.
On Monday, the 49ers and Smith agreed to re-work his contract, agreeing to a two-year, $6.5 million deal. According to Matt Maiocco of the Press Democrat, the reduced salary is expected to save the 49ers as much as $6 million against the league's salary cap.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski Thursday, marking the second time that Jagodzinski has been fired in 2009 -- without coaching in a single meaningful game. It's also the second time this week that an NFL offensive coordinator has been fired, following the dismissal of Chan Gailey in Kansas City.
It's Saturday in August. 
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all. 
We see a ton of player movement every offseason, but it's important while considering new faces in new place to not ignore the effect of coaching changes on teams. No nugget of information should go ignored during your preparation phase. It might be easy to overlook what a new coaching staff means for a franchise running back or quarterback, but without doing the work, you might end up with a team on the field that differs greatly from your perceived value. Today, we'll look at eight offenses that will have to deal with new whistle-adorned men on the practice field. 
We're entering a dark period of the NFL life right now. Nothing is going on. Players and coaches are on vacation. With that we look at 10 quarterback situations worth looking at before training camps start in late July, because, well, it's always about the quarterback.
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 
During the NFL draft a lot of fancy buzzwords get thrown around by analysts, bloggers, fans and, well, pretty much anybody watching the annual selection meeting. Smoke screen, reach, tweener, value ... you get the idea. When it comes to smoke screens, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attempted to use one of their free-agent signings in an effort to hide their interest in eventual first-round pick, quarterback 
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call 
After missing the 2008 season with a shoulder injury, it was possible that 
