Raheem Morris is young, energetic and confident he’s the right choice as new coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 32-year-old oozed enthusiasm during a news conference to introduce him as Jon Gruden’s successor on Saturday, even if he did not offer specifics about his plan to help the Bucs climb back among the NFL’s elite.

Morris paid homage to Gruden, who led Tampa Bay to its only Super Bowl title six years ago, and said his predecessor sent him a text message earlier in the day wishing him well in his new job.

“He told me to take this thing and run with it,” Morris said. “That’s what I planned on doing. That’s what I want to do.”

Morris takes over a team that won three division titles under Gruden but hasn’t won a playoff game since capturing the franchise’s only NFL championship in January 2003. The Gruden era ended with four consecutive losses that denied the Bucs a postseason spot following a 9-3 start.

“He’s a leader, commands the respect of the team … and his peers,” team co-chairman Joel Glazer said.

“Raheem can relate to today’s NFL player,” Glazer added. “The game has changed a lot. It’s always changing. … If you don’t adapt to those changes, you can’t compete.”

Although he has no previous head coaching experience, Morris doesn’t believe owner Malcolm Glazer and sons are taking any more of a gamble on him as they did when Tampa Bay traded a pair of No. 1 draft picks, plus two No. 2’s and $8 million cash, to obtain Gruden after the 2001 season.

The Bucs promoted Morris to defensive coordinator on Christmas Day, and he recently interviewed for the Denver Broncos coaching vacancy.

“The Glazers took a great risk trading away draft picks to hire Jon Gruden. Risk is involved in everything,” Morris said. “We went out and won a Super Bowl that year, and I’m very proud of it. The Glazers are not afraid of risk, obviously. And, neither am I.”

Nevertheless, Morris conceded that even he’s a little suprised by his rapid ascension, especially considering he was defensive backs coach less than a month ago when it looked as if the Bucs probably would get into the playoffs, thus likely saving Gruden’s job.

“It’s really hard to even imagine right now. It’s all happened so fast,” Morris said.

Mark Dominik, who has been with the team since 1995, takes over as general manager, replacing Bruce Allen, who also was fired Friday.

“Both of these men have Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their DNA. … They’re youthful and energetic, and both rode a clear and steady path from the bottom to the top,” Glazer said during a news conference at the team’s headquarters.

“Mark understands everything it takes to be a champion. No one knows this organization’s roots and history better.”

Morris, a former Hofstra player and assistant coach, has been with the Bucs for six seasons over two stints.

He initially joined Gruden’s staff as defensive quality control coach for the 2002 Super Bowl run and was assistant defensive backs coach for two seasons before spending 2006 as defensive coordinator at Kansas State.

He and former Bucs assistant Mike Tomlin, now the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, helped develop one of the top secondaries in the NFL. Both accepted other jobs after Tampa Bay led the league in total defense in 2005, and Gruden lured Morris back when the Bucs dropped to 19th against the pass the following season.

“He’s one of the more young and dynamic coaches in the league,” running back Earnest Graham said. “He’s a guy that everyone in the locker room has looked up to for a long time for the way he knows this game, and for the way he approaches this game.”

The 37-year-old Dominik joined the Bucs in 1995 and served in a number of personnel and scouting positions under former general manager Rich McKay before becoming director of pro personnel eight years ago.

Morris said he and the new GM have had a good relationship ever since he joined the team and began picking Dominik’s brain about what kind of players Tampa Bay was interested in taking in the draft.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time. We just didn’t know it,” Morris said. “We’re going to make the decisions together. We, we, we. That’s how we do it.”

NFL scores week 4

It’s all systems go for both the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will open their respective 2008 seasons with a key NFC South clash Sunday at the Superdome.

This showdown between division rivals had been in jeopardy of being moved to another location due to Hurricane Gustav’s arrival on the Gulf Coast earlier this week. However, the Superdome was able to withstand the storm without any structural damage, unlike the devastation Hurricane Katrina heaped upon both the facility and the city of New Orleans three years previously.

Gustav did manage to alter the Saints’ preparation plans for Sunday’s tilt, however, as the team was forced to spend the past week practicing in Indianapolis after evacuating its home base as a precautionary measure.

This Week 1 matchup will pit the winners of the last three NFC South titles, with the Buccaneers capturing the division crown in 2005 and again last season after producing a 9-7 record. New Orleans took home top honors with a rags-to- riches 2006 campaign in which the franchise quickly rebounded from a 3-13 nightmare to win 13 regular-season games and reach the NFC Championship Game.

The Saints’ unforeseen success that year raised the bar to the highest of heights in 2007, and the team wound up crumbling under the weight of lofty expectations. New Orleans lost its first four games and never could dig itself from its early-season hole, eventually missing out on the postseason parade with a disappointing 7-9 record.

New Orleans enters 2008 with high hopes as well after seemingly upgrading a porous defense that was one of the NFL’s most submissive units a year ago. The Saints acquired former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Jonathan Vilma from the New York Jets via trade in April, right around the time the organization traded up in the first round to grab USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis. Former New England cornerback Randall Gay and ex-Jaguars defensive end Bobby McCray were also brought in through free agency in an effort to help a pass defense that ranked 30th out of the league’s 32 teams last season.

The Saints also traded for problem-child tight end Jeremy Shockey over the summer, with the one-time Giant expected to add another weapon to a dangerous aerial attack that also includes marksman quarterback Drew Brees and prolific wide receiver Marques Colston.

Tampa Bay delivered a worst-to-first turnaround of its own in 2007, putting a disastrous 4-12 season from the previous year in the rear-view mirror by reaching the playoffs. The Bucs’ unexpected improvement was sparked by a resurgent defense that ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed (278.4 ypg) and third in points surrendered (16.9 ppg), along with a remarkably efficient season from veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia.

Duplicating last year’s feat may be hard, if recent history is any indication. Since the NFC South was established in 2002, no team that finished first in the division repeated as champion the following season.

SERIES HISTORY

New Orleans has a 19-13 lead in its all-time series with Tampa Bay, but was swept in last year’s home-and-home with its division rival. The Saints were 31-14 losers when they visited Raymond James Stadium in Week 2, and surrendered a 27-23 decision at the Superdome in Week 13. The Saints swept the home-and-home in 2006.

Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden has a 7-6 career record against the Saints, including 6-6 since taking over in Tampa prior to the 2002 season. New Orleans’ Sean Payton is 2-2 against both Gruden and the Bucs as a head coach.

John Lynch, the nine-time Pro Bowl safety signed by New England two weeks ago, was released Sunday.

“It goes without saying but John is an all-time great safety, one of the league’s classiest professionals and his elite play speaks for itself,” coach Bill Belichick said of Lynch, who turns 37 on Sept. 25. “As has been the case in other situations, I would not rule anything out down the road.”

During their decade-long run of success, the Patriots have regularly signed veterans and often released them, only to sign them again if needed. Belichick’s comments indicate Lynch may be in that category. He has played 15 seasons, 11 in Tampa Bay and four in Denver.

“I have no regrets about my time thus far with the Patriots,” Lynch said in a statement released by the club. “The immense respect that I’ve long held for the organization has been only heightened over the past couple of weeks. I am going to keep all options open and look forward with excitement to see what the future brings.”

New England signed Lynch after he was released by Denver early in training camp.

The Patriots also cut Chad Jackson, their second-round draft pick in 2006 from Florida. The wide receiver from Florida has been plagued by injuries, had 13 catches as a rookie and none last season when he played in only two games.

During the exhibition season, Jackson had seven catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns. His release could be a sign that Wes Welker, who missed the last exhibition game with a rib injury, is healthy enough to play in the season opener Sunday against Kansas City

The Patriots also signed six players to the practice squad—defensive lineman Titus Adams, safety Mark Dillard, running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, linebacker Vince Redd and defensive backs Mike Richardson and Antwain Spann.

TAMPA — With Quinn Gray making his first NFL start, the Jacksonville Jaguars put their trust in a vibrant running game and a sturdy defense.

The plan to help the inexperienced quarterback replacing injured David Garrard worked Sunday, though not necessarily to perfection in a 24-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Gray overthrew open receivers most of the day, but made several key completions when his team needed them most, including an 8-yard touchdown throw to Matt Jones that put the Jaguars (5-2) ahead for good with 11:37 to go.

The Jacksonville defense, which ended Jeff Garcia’s long streak of consecutive passing attempts without an interception, made the slender lead stand by forcing a couple of punts and intercepting Garcia for a third time the rest of the way.

Gray’s inexperience showed when he replaced Garrard during last Monday night’s 29-7 loss to Super Bowl champion Indianapolis. He threw two interceptions and was limited to 56 yards passing, however the Jaguars were confident the seldom-used backup would play better with five days to prepare for Tampa Bay.

The Bucs defense has a history of feasting on young quarterbacks, a group that’s included Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Daunte Culpepper and J.P. Losman among others over the past 12 seasons under defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Gray is 28 years old, but before Sunday had only gotten into five games over four NFL seasons.

Jacksonville was determined to take some the pressure off him by finding the Bucs a steady diet of running backs Fred Taylor, Brandon Toefield and Maurice Jones-Drew, who played despite being limited in practice all week after injuring his left knee against the Colts.

The Jaguars opened the game by running on 15 of their first 16 offensive plays, the lone pass a middle screen that Jones-Drew turned into a 15-yard gain to the Tampa Bay 1. Toefield scored on the next play for a 7-3 lead.

John Carney’s 41-yard field goal made it 10-3 midway through the second period, and it looked like Jacksonville’s game plan had a real good chance of succeeding when Glenn made an excellent break on his interception and raced to the end zone untouched to put the Jaguars up by two touchdowns.

Jacksonville was outgained 385 yards to 219, but was able to help Gray by rushing for 133 yards. Taylor had 68 yards on 24 carries, Jones-Drew gained 48 on 10 attempts and Toefield ran six times for 12 yards.

Garcia was 19-of-41 for 267 yards and was sacked twice. The Bucs, who have lost three of four, fell for the second straight week despite compiling a huge advantage in yardage. They outgained Detroit 422-278 the previous game.