Coaches

RAHEEM MORRIS

Head Coach

Raheem Morris—named the eighth head coach in team history on January 17, 2009—enters his third season leading the Buccaneers in 2011.

Morris is currently in his second stint with Tampa Bay, having first joined the team’s defensive coaching staff in 2002. He served on staff from 2002-05, then spent the 2006 season as Kansas State’s defensive coordinator before returning to the Buccaneers to serve as the defensive backs coach from 2007-08. Morris has quickly risen through the coaching ranks during his time with Tampa Bay, serving as defensive quality control coach in 2002, defensive assistant in 2003 and assistant defensive backs coach from 2004-2005 before taking over as defensive backs coach in 2007. During his first stretch with the club, he worked closely with former Buccaneers defensive backs coach and current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in the development of one of the NFL’s top secondaries.

Morris, the youngest head coach in the league in 2010, also directed the season’s youngest team, with Tampa Bay’s final 53-man roster featuring 29 players in their rookie, first or second years in the NFL. In fact, the Morris-led “Young Bucs” became the first team since the merger in 1970 to start 10+ rookies and finish the season with a winning record, as the team turned in an exciting 10-6 performance, narrowly missing a playoff berth. The seven-game swing from a 3-13 season in 2009 marked the best single-season turnaround in team history and the best turnaround in the NFL for 2010. Six of the Buccaneers’ wins were on the road, including a 21-0 shutout at San Francisco in Week 11 and a 23-13 victory over NFC South rival New Orleans in Week 17 to close the season.

While Tampa Bay was beset by injuries throughout the 2010 season, with eight starters—including some of the team’s most productive players—being placed on Injured Reserve, Morris’ “next man up” philosophy was fully embraced by his team. Rookies and backups heeded Morris’ call, filling in and stepping up whenever needed, as evidenced by the offensive line, which fielded eight different starting lineups throughout the season, but still kept QB Josh Freeman on his feet and paved the way for a 1,000-yard rushing season by rookie RB LeGarrette Blount, while also earning Madden Most Valuable Protector honors in Week 16.

In his inaugural head coaching season in 2009, Morris took over the defensive reins after the first 10 games of the season and dramatically improved the performance on that side of the ball. Prior to its 11th game, the team ranked 27th in overall defense (378.9 ypg), 32nd in rushing defense (168.9 ypg), 14th in pass defense (209.4 ypg) and 31st in scoring defense (29.4 ppg). In the final six weeks of the season under Morris’ direction, the team ranked 15th in overall defense (356.0 ypg), tied for 26th in rush defense (140.3 ypg), 12th in pass defense (204.0 ypg) and most impressively, ninth in scoring defense (17.7 ppg). The Buccaneers finished the year 10th overall in pass defense, marking the sixth time in seven seasons with Morris on the staff that the Buccaneers defense ranked in the Top 10 in pass defense.

Morris led the Buccaneers to two wins in the final three contests of the 2009 campaign, including a 20-17 upset victory over the eventual Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints at the Superdome on December 27. Trailing 17-0 in the second quarter, Tampa Bay scored 20 unanswered points to win in overtime. The 17-point comeback tied for the second-largest comeback in team history, and it also marked the first time in NFL history that a team that was 10 or more games below .500 defeated a team that was 10 or more games above .500.

Morris has helped shape one of the NFL’s best defenses over the past decade. Since 1996, the Buccaneers defense has produced 36 Pro Bowlers, the second-most in the NFL, and finished as the NFL’s top-ranked defense twice (2002 and 2005). The past 14 seasons have also seen the Buccaneers defense rank in the Top 10 on 11 occasions and in the Top 5 eight times.

During his nine seasons in Tampa Bay, the Bucs have finished ranked in the Top 5 in the NFL in total defense five times, including No. 1 rankings in 2002 and 2005. Additionally, the defense finished as the top-ranked pass defense on three occasions (2002, 2004 and 2007) and seventh or better in seven of nine seasons with Morris on the staff. In 2002, his first season as a coach in the NFL, Morris helped guide the Buccaneers top-ranked defense as they captured the franchise’s first world title in Super Bowl XXXVII.

In Morris’ final season as the defensive backs coach in 2008, Tampa Bay’s defense finished the year ranked fourth in the NFL against the pass. At the time, the accomplishment marked the fifth time in six seasons with Morris on the staff that the Buccaneers defensive unit ranked in the Top 5 in pass defense. After Tampa Bay fell to 19th in the NFL in pass defense in 2006, Morris led a resurgence during his return in 2007, guiding the Buccaneers pass defense to the league’s top ranking en route to the NFC South division title. The Buccaneers secondary helped limit opposing quarterbacks to a 76.2 rating in 2007, ranking eighth in the NFL after previously ranking 29th in 2006.

In his lone season with Kansas State in 2006, Morris coordinated a defense that displayed improvement in several statistical categories from the previous season, including total defense, scoring defense and pass defense. He oversaw a Wildcat defense that included seven players who received conference recognition, including two first-team All-Big 12 honorees and one second-team selection.

Morris joined Tampa Bay after spending the 2000 and 2001 seasons as defensive backs coach at Hofstra University. He also spent time in the fall of 2001 with the New York Jets, serving a defensive minority internship.

Morris began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Hofstra in 1998, where he was responsible for coaching the offensive scout team, developing scouting reports and handling video breakdown and computer input and analysis. He then landed at Cornell University as defensive backs coach and special teams assistant for the 1999 season.

Morris has focused his community efforts on education and promoting the importance of academics amongst Bay area youth. In 2009, Morris started his “Be the Ultimate Character Student” (BUCS) program. The initiative is designed to teach students lessons on education and athletics as they relate to leadership, determination and character. Throughout the regular season, students from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are recorded asking Morris’ opinion on a variety of on and off-the-field topics. Morris then records video podcasts on the Monday following each home game, utilizing his own experiences during the football season to answer the questions and relate messages about perseverance, integrity, commitment and, ultimately, the importance of making the most of one’s educational opportunities. The video podcasts air in middle and high schools in Hillsborough and Pinellas County School Districts, where teachers can display the podcast on the classroom monitors and work Morris’ message into their day’s curriculum. On the weeks during the Buccaneers’ away games, schools work on their own character education curriculum, which is reinforced by Coach Morris’ character-building message.

In May 2011, Morris and Buccaneers Director of Player Development Eric Vance hosted the inaugural Buccaneers University Student-Athlete Transition Program. The free, interactive event was created for high school athletes preparing to play college football and focused on career development, decision-making, media preparation, time management and other important skills to help students succeed at the next level of play. Students learned from Morris, assistant coaches, team officials and former college players as they discussed real-life issues to prepare for college.

Morris’ commitment to youth development extends through a variety of outreach efforts. In 2010 and 2011, he presented “Bucs for Books” scholarships to graduating high school students to assist with academic-related costs for college. Morris has also visited Middleton High School, Sulphur Springs Elementary School, and Walton Academy for the Performing Arts to reinforce the importance of scholastic achievement and encourage high performance in the classroom. In the past two years, he has dedicated a new Play 60 Zone at LaVoy Exceptional Center and Carver Exceptional Center in Tampa to support the physical fitness and academic development of Tampa’s neediest students. Additionally, he has helped surprise two deserving single mothers with a brand new car through the Buccaneers’ “Road to Success” program, been a guest speaker at the Hillsborough County Public Schools SERVE awards for local teachers, and helped dedicate the grand opening of the First Tee Learning Center at the Rogers Park Golf Course in Tampa.

Along with his passion for youth education, Morris helps raise funds and awareness for cancer research, heart disease, and youth athletics, among many other causes. He actively supports the charitable efforts and player foundations of current and former Buccaneers, and regularly volunteers for team community relations events and initiatives throughout the year.

Morris played collegiately as a safety at Hofstra from 1994-1997, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education. Morris, who hails from Irvington, New Jersey, was presented the Key to the City in his hometown during “Raheem Morris Day” on June 5, 2009.

MORRIS AT A GLANCE