Marcum Needs To Go

Adam J Locascio
Monday June 16, 2008

And with that, the Storm are once again doomed to mediocrity.

With their 73-70 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm on Saturday night, the San Jose SaberCats locked up the Western Division title. The Storm, on the other hand, locked up another non-winning season and a darn-near impossible trip to the playoffs. 

And, if by the grace of God, what if they get to the playoffs? How much confidence can anyone really have in a miraculous run to the Arena Bowl? 

The Storm’s front office has a sweetener for season ticket holders by giving them the first home playoff ticket for free with their paid invoice. Those tickets are about the finest quality, most expensive toilet paper in the Western world.

In their history, the Storm have missed the playoffs only one time. If, by chance, they miss the playoffs this season, that will be two of the past three years. That won’t cut it in Tampa Bay, home of the first AFL dynasty.

Somewhere, Stevie Thomas is puking in a toilet. Somewhere, George LaFrance is drowning his sorrows. Somewhere, Sylvester Bembery is eating a box of chocolate bon bons. 

For the Storm, this is unacceptable. For the fans, this is ludicrous. 

Since their last Arena Bowl victory in 2003, the Storm are an uninspired 42-39 (.519). Win some, lose some. Some wins on the road, some wins at home. Maybe they win, maybe they lose. It just depends on what Storm team shows up. It’s almost a coin flip. 

And for some reason, there seems to be very little call for accountability. Why?

On the first page of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers message board, there are two threads calling for head coach Jon Gruden’s job, and this is the off-season. Gruden has gone to the playoffs two of the past three seasons with a largely non-spectacular offense.

How come no one ever asks for Coach Tim Marcum to be replaced? 

No one’s going to ask, so I’ll ask. I’ll be proud to be the first person to do so.

This is a team that just put up 70 points on the road against San Jose and it wasn’t enough to win. Ten touchdowns and you lose? This is a team that swept its rivalry with the Orlando Predators, even winning on the road in one of the toughest road venues in the AFL and they’re going to finish no better than tied with the Preds? The Predators spotted the Storm TWO GAMES in the standings and can still tie them in total wins? 

This Storm team gave up two two-point conversion to the Arizona Rattlers on two fake extra points. Sound impossible? The Rattlers ran the same play twice and the Storm couldn’t stop it. The second was on the final play of the game which gave them a 63-62 win. Ray Charles saw that play coming and he’s blind AND dead. 

Coach Marcum is the head coach AND the general manager of the Storm. That means that he can decide what he needs on the field AND have the ability to go out and get the players without argument or push-back. His only opposition is the salary cap. With his incredibly pedestrian win/loss record since 2003, isn’t it apparent that he isn’t getting the  job done? 

But yet, no one says anything? Why? 

Where’s the outrage? Where’s the anger? 

There was another coach in Tampa Bay that had a similar record to Marcum. He was 54-42 (.563) in six seasons as a head coach. He had two playoff wins but his teams largely underachieved because the offense couldn’t get it done late in the season, especially in the playoffs scoring 32 points TOTAL in four playoff games (8.0 points per game). Who was that coach?

Tony Dungy. 

Dungy, who’s laid back style was immensely popular with players and fans, had to go because he lacked the fire to get his team over the hump. The Bucs went with a coach who epitomized “fiery” in Jon Gruden, and the change netted immediate rewards with a Super Bowl XXXVII victory.
 
Dungy resurrected the franchise from its 0-26 start and for that, he will be a legend in Tampa forever. But he was accountable for laying an egg in Philadelphia in the playoffs for two straight years.

But in the land of the AFL, there’s no such accountability. Why? 

Marcum is virtually bullet-proof when it comes to criticism about how the Storm are assembled and run. He can’t blame his GM for not getting him the players he needs (he’s the GM). He can’t blame his owner for not giving him the cash (both Woody Kern and Dr. Robert Nucci kept the Storm near the salary cap limit). He can’t blame the coaches for calling the wrong plays (Marcum wears the headset on offense). 

As the head coach and general manager, there’s no one to blame for the team he assembled except himself. But since he’s the GM and the head coach, there isn’t anyone to answer to except the owner. And since Marcum owns part of the team…

Um… isn’t this the literal definition of “communism?”

As a season ticket holder, why should anyone want to go see this product? Seriously, isn’t this just shelling out money to see the pet project of one individual? Marcum spends his money on his players and calls his own plays with (seemingly) no accountability to anyone at all? 

And as a fan, we’re just supposed to accept this?

This is a team that hasn’t won a playoff game in five years. This is a team that has been barely better than .500 in the regular season. This is a team that is run by a coach who can get any player that he needs to run his offense and defense his way. Even with that autonomy, the Storm routinely dig an early season hole for themselves, only to barely pull themselves out and slip into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth only to bow out in the first round of the playoffs. 

Not to be Negative Nancy over here but… um… what else do you need to be successful? 

Marcum judges the talent. Marcum picks the players. Marcum calls the plays. Marcum decides who stays and who goes. And when the team falters, there’s really only one place to point the finger. The Arena Bowl might as well be on Neptune, because that’s how far away it feels for this once-proud franchise and its fans.

And yet, no one says boo about what’s going on in the bowels of the St. Pete Times Forum. Well, my season ticket bill just came in and the price is almost $2,000. I’ve gotten free tickets to four playoff games – three of which didn’t happen, and one home loss to a bottom-seeded team. With gas prices going through the roof, I’m sick of flushing my dollars on this franchise. I want some return on my investment here.

No one else is going to say it.

I want some results and, dammit, I want them now.

I’m going to say it.

Marcum has to go.