Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. ó The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ late season collapse cost Jon Gruden his job.
Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen were fired on Friday after the Bucs lost their final four games following a 9-3 start and failed to make the playoffs for the fourth time in six years.
Gruden, who led the Bucs to a victory over Oakland in the 2003 Super Bowl, was Tampa Bay’s coach for seven seasons.
The Bucs were tied for first place in the NFC South heading into December, but finished with losses to Carolina and Atlanta on the road and San Diego and Oakland at home, where they had been 6-0. One more win would have landed a NFC wild-card berth.
The 9-7 record this season gave Gruden consecutive winning records for the first time since arriving in Tampa Bay, yet still left the Bucs out of the playoffs and prompted the Glazer family to reevaluate the direction of the franchise ó a process that took three weeks to complete.