Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fire Jon Gruden, Bruce Allen

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fired head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen.

The news, first reported by Adam Schefter of NFL Network, represents a stunning fall from grace for Gruden, who was the toast of the league after winning the Super Bowl following the 2002 season. But in the six seasons since then, the Bucs actually have a sub-.500 record under Gruden.

Buccaneers co-chairman Joel Glazer released the following statement:

"We will be forever grateful to Jon for bringing us the Super Bowl title, and we thank Bruce for his contributions to our franchise. However after careful consideration, we feel that this decision is in the best interest of our organization moving forward."

The 2008 season was emblematic of the problems Tampa Bay has had with Gruden at the helm. The Bucs were 9-3 at the start of December and looked like one of the best teams in the league, but they collapsed down the stretch, finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs, and Gruden and Allen have now paid for it with their jobs.

UPDATE: Raheem Morris will be the Bucs' next head coach.

Also See: Mixed Emotions From Players About Gruden's Exit

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