Dissecting some of Bucs' coaching candidates ...

Mike Sherman
The leading candidate in the Bucs' head coaching search, he interviewed with the front office last week. As former head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the height of the Bucs- Packers NFC Central rivalry, Sherman is best known for leading Brett Favre and a prolific offense, along with an infamous altercation with Warren Sapp.

In 2001, his role with the Packers expanded to general manager, making him the only candidate in the Bucs’ head coaching search with front-office experience. In his next coaching stint, he made vast improvements with the Houston Texans' offense, including a win over Tampa Bay. The Texans finished 8-8, their best record in Houston's short franchise history.

His offenses are primarily West Coast, stemming from his background working with Mike Holmgren, a disciple of Bill Walsh who also gave Jon Gruden his first NFL coaching gig. If Sherman wanted to employ more West Coast packages, which include a heavy dose of screens, it would require some changes for Josh Freeman and his receivers, but could also mask the fact that they do not have a true deep threat who can win a foot race against the elite cornerbacks of the league.

The Bucs are scheduled to interview former Vikings head coach Brad Childress possibly as offensive coordinator. Considering Childress worked with Andy Reid, also a Holmgren disciple, in Philadelphia (and gave Bucs headaches for years), the two share the same offensive philosophies, and could be a strong indicator that Bucs have found their guy.

Pros: Known for being a strong disciplinarian with a dry personality, he's the exact opposite of the effervescent Raheem Morris. His GM experience is a plus, as long as he doesn't clash with Mark Dominik when it comes to evaluating talent. Can likely assemble strong coaching staff with more than 30 years coaching at both the pro and collegiate level. Went 57-39 in six seasons as Packers head coach and three consecutive NFC North titles. In other words, he's proven he can win as a head coach.

Cons: He could not match NFL success at the college level, finishing 25-25 at Texas A&M and ultimately being fired after just one winning season. Known for strange motivational tactics, including a 2010 incident where he set the Aggies' Missouri game plan on fire in a trash bin. His players responded by winning six straight games. Could be heavy turnover of players as Sherman has zero tolerance for garbage.

Verdict: Proven winner, but may struggle to relate to young Bucs' players.

Mike Mularkey
Mularkey is a solid candidate with a lot of upside, including the ability to develop and refine a quarterback, as he did with both Tommy Maddox in Pittsburgh and Matt Ryan in Atlanta.

Mularkey has been with Ryan as offensive coordinator since day one. Since the beginning of Mike Smith's tenure (also when Mularkey arrived), they took Bobby Petrino's 4-12 disaster and churned it into a playoff contender. And considering Smith’s a defensive-minded coach, this offense has Mularkey’s fingerprints all over it.

Pros: Gets the most out of his quarterbacks, which you can see with consistent year-over-year progression of Ryan, who now does a lot of his own play-calling and operates out of a no-huddle with ease. If Glazers insist that developing Josh Freeman is the No. 1 priority, this would be a plus, although getting Freeman up to speed will be the work of an offensive coordinator and a quarterbacks coach.

Strength is personnel management and creating special packages highlighting the strengths of his weapons, which coined him the nickname "Inspector Gadget" up in Pittsburgh. Considering Greg Olson’s play-calling did nothing to highlight the skill sets of the Bucs' young receivers, Mularkey could be huge asset, but how much play-calling would he actually do as head coach?

Cons: His head coaching gig in Buffalo lasted two seasons, although his team posted a 9- 7 record during his first year. He resigned due to philosophical differences with ownership, particularly because they couldn't settle on a quarterback. This could also be an indicator that he's a better coordinator than head coach.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that if Mularkey were to get a head coaching gig, he'd bring Colts’ offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen with him. While Christensen got himself a Super Bowl ring under Tony Dungy in Indianapolis, Christensen’s play-calling wasn't viewed favorably during his lone season in Tampa.

Verdict: Insight into NFC South is a plus, but if he’s dead-set on bringing Christensen, it could be a deal-breaker.

Wade Phillips
Fresh off the Texans’ first ever playoff win, Wade Phillips emerged as a potential candidate Sunday. The Bucs have been granted permission by the Texans to speak to Phillips about Tampa Bay’s head coaching vacancy. The Houston Chronicle reports Phillips could interview Friday.

Just last season, he was let go by the Dallas Cowboys but landed on his feet in Houston, taking the Texans' defense from 30th in the league in 2010 to 2nd in 2011. He says he would love another opportunity to be a head coach. The only problem -- the Texans operate out of a modified 3-4 defensive front.

Before we get ahead of ourselves -- Phillips' version of a 3-4 becomes a 4-3 on passing situations. Would he be adamant about using one in Tampa? If so, that negates two draft classes featuring first- and second-round picks, and one massive headache for middle linebacker Mason Foster. Not to mention Phillips' defense calls for the outside linebackers to be the strongest tacklers on the team, not the interior as we've seen in Tampa.

Pros: Can't argue with the result Phillips has produced, including an 82-59 record, leading the Cowboys to the playoffs, and most recently with Houston's playoff win. Coming off the Bucs' worst season, defensively, in franchise history, having a defensive engineer at the helm could shift team priorities.

Cons: Scheme doesn't suit current crop of Buccaneers that have been deemed the "future of the franchise." Had to take a temporary leave of absence from defensive coordinator duties following gallbladder surgery. There's no denying he’s a warrior for working through his recovery, but coaching is stressful. Is this a red flag?

What's also a bit puzzling is that just one year ago, Phillips said he'd probably never be a head coach again. What changed? And you can't forget the late-season collapses that have plagued the Dallas Cowboys. Why has this coach struggled to motivate his players? Isn’t that the very reason Raheem Morris and his staff were canned?

Verdict: Nothing against Phillips or the great defenses he’s produced ... but this has "bust" written all over it. Nothing about his defensive schemes would work with current Bucs' personnel who are under contract.

For Buccaneers news on Twitter, follow @Buccaneers_Live and follow me on Twitter @JennaLaineBucs.

-- JENNA LAINE
NFL Blog Blitz powered by SportsFanLive.com

In a season gone disgustingly awry at 4-12, the final blow was a 45-24 obliteration by the Atlanta Falcons. Even Leeman Bennett couldn't have conjured up something so agonizingly awful. In fact, his teams played better than this --better than the 30 points per game surrendered by the Buccaneer defense, the most in team history.

Raheem Morris should have sent Ronde Barber home so he wouldn't have to watch. Instead it was Raheem Morris who was sent home, on the one-year anniversary of the day his Bucs' achieved their improbable "Race to Ten" finish.

A complete house-cleaning was in order, although general manager Mark Dominik's job was spared. But things shouldn't stop there. A complete gut check is needed by the entire organization, starting with ownership and moving down to the players.

Regardless of who was leading practices or calling plays, never should this type of play be accepted ... never ever again.

I challenge you to find anything remotely positive in a season where directionless receivers came crashing into one another, and linebackers dangled at the heels of unimpeded running backs who effortlessly trotted into the end zone, time and time again.

A defense once regarded as one of the most physical in the NFL repeatedly shot the wrong gaps and whiffed on every tackle. And arm tackling ... Arm Tackling!

The organization insisted upon running a man-to-man nickel defense without a solid trio of corners, and a rookie middle linebacker who had no business being on the field on third down, let alone starting, at least not without the tutelage of a veteran.

Instead they let Barrett Ruud walk, although if you knew half the saga, you wouldn't blame Ruud for moving on. All he wanted was to be wanted. The former captain of the defense was not shown respect by his peers.

So the front office gave Quincy Black a mega-contract and expected him to lead, yet he was absent on the field throughout the season. Black did little to help his younger teammates, including Dekoda Watson, who should have and probably will beat him out as the true edge-rusher next season.

I challenge you to find an offense filled with such promise last season, yet repeatedly tried to fit square pegs into round holes this year. Mike Williams is not a No. 1 receiver. Kregg Lumpkin is not a third down back.

The team's top receivers both split time at the "Z" position, while nobody who lined up in the slot could get open. The exception to all this was Preston Parker, although he's not quite ready to handle a heavy workload, which was seen when he tried to handle both receiver and returner duties. He faded toward the end of the season.

I challenge you to find a team filled with more excuses, including "we struggled to make plays because our opponents played cover-two zone," "they stacked the box against LeGarrette Blount" or "we have no answers for teams who continue to pound our D-line's interior."

By season's end, the team appeared to be completely numb to the pain of losing, entirely apathetic to this level of unforeseen sloppiness, chaos, and clutter, which was suddenly the norm.

Perhaps it was because the locker room was filled with "double standards," as I was told. Certain guys were given preferential treatment. They arrived late to meetings, and weren't held accountable, even when “loafing." That's when players started losing respect for one another and the coaching staff.

The greatest thing that could possibly happen to this organization -- a total gut check, and now is the time for it -- when emotions are raw and wounds are fresh. But how can they stop the bleeding?

First, attitudes need to change dramatically. The Bucs need to hire a head coach who will provide structure and discipline, with zero tolerance for guys who try to bend the rules. In other words, someone who lays down the law, and as one player puts it, can be "the meanest coach possible." A coach's job is to push, and push, and push, not to be a friend. Perhaps that's where Raheem and his staff went wrong -- his greatest asset contributed to his demise.

Slackers need to be shown the exit sign. Keep the Davin Joseph's and even Elbert Mack's around because they fight to the finish, regardless of being down by 42 points in the first half. They need to get rid of guys who can't handle a lick of adversity, or who jeopardize their team with selfish mistakes. You cannot build a winning culture in a toxic environment.

Those types of players are not cut out to be Buccaneers anyway. Their lack of respect is a complete slap in the face to fellow teammates, and to guys like Jimmie Giles, Richard Batman Wood, Scot Brantley and the late Lee Roy Selmon -- guys who were part of losing teams but played with pride.

That's what this is really about -- taking pride in what you do. We didn’t see it this year. Meeting rooms need to be filled with veterans who can show these young players what it means to prepare at this level, and not guys who are simply chosen to lead but won’t embrace their roles.

Lastly, ownership and the front office need to hold themselves accountable for the mistakes they made as well. We heard some conciliatory remarks from Joel Glazer and Mark Dominik, but they need to put action behind their words. They need to invest in quality coaching and talent, while weeding out the garbage.

For Buccaneers news on Twitter, follow @Buccaneers_Live and follow me on Twitter @JennaLaineBucs.

-- JENNA LAINE
NFL Blog Blitz powered by SportsFanLive.com