Below is a partial transcription of Warren Sapp's media session.
What do you think or Raheem being the head coach of this football team?
"It's funny because I was on the field looking for Mark Dominik. That was always my dude to talk to, so I look over on the field and he's on the phone talking and doing the G.M. thing. I was thinking, ‘I can't even talk to Mark anymore.' Raheem was a little kid when I was here. I was like, ‘Damn.' It's eye-opening and refreshing. I'm also eager to see him get into it. Nothing about this game is easy, and it has a great way of humbling you. Raheem has worked hard and had a humble beginning from where he started and now he has his team ready to follow him. I'm going to back him and give him as much support as I can, but I know he's going to have some sleepless nights and have some good and bad days."
What do you think of Jim Bates and his defensive scheme?
"I knew of him, and played against him many years, but I don't know that much about him. I know his son really well. He's been in this league, and nothing teaches you this game but this game. He has years of experience and has called the things that need to be called. I'm sure it's going to be a wonderful job for him."
Is the age of the Bucs defense over with you, Lynch and Brooks gone?
"They don't play Tamp 2 anymore. The horses don't pull that wagon anymore. They're calling all different names and terminologies. Sometimes that's good because all these kids are going to learn the same thing at the same time and everybody will be on the same page. I just like the numbers they have. They can come together and learn the game together."
What did you make of the way Derrick Brooks' chapter ended in Tampa Bay? You got to leave on your own terms.
"You know my rule - wives, kids and money you don't discuss. For me, I was a hard ass, so I was going to do it my way anyway. Whenever I got finished it was going to be, ‘That's the way Warren wanted to do it.' I had made up my mind here when (Gruden) told me he'd call me back in one hour. When he told me that I went and cleaned out my locker. You have to make a decision in terms of where you draw the line, and I'm real quick to draw the line. Whatever he has going he has going. I love him to death and typed to him. It's an ugly situation. It's not an opportune time to 30-something in this league right now. It's just the economics of the game. I saw that happen with Hardy back in 1999. He was the leader of our team, and then he was gone. But it's hard to see that guy, in this place, not be here. Forever and a day, that was the one piece that was going to always be here if you asked me."
Do you think Derrick Brooks will play for another team?
"If I had a team I'd take him in a heartbeat, but Warren don't have a team. Or, Warren's team is the media now, and I don't think he wants that."
The Bucs drafted Josh Freeman. Do you like that for this organization?
"He has a great upside, but as far as you can go up is as far as you can come down in this league. That's the challenge to see. Nobody saw Tom Brady at where he was drafted. You never know where treasure will be found. I like it. You're talking about a monster standing in the pocket. If you have a muscle-bound, athletic quarterback that can throw the ball anywhere you teach him the game and see what he can become."
There have been special nights or events for former players, including Mike Alstott. Do you think there will be a Warren Sapp night at Ray-Jay?
"I would love it. It would be fantastic. Everybody should have the opportunity to come back and say thank you for everything the fans have done for me over the years. Just going into the North end zone was an absolute pleasure. It was like being in my living room. It was an absolute pleasure to play in that place."
The Bucs are going to have a Ring of Honor and they are going to wear their throwback uniforms this year.
"Are the Glazers leaving the country? I remember when there was some talk of us wearing those uniforms in New Orleans and they were like, ‘No way. We'll never pull those things back out.' I saw one at the Magic basketball game the other night. It was nice."
Was there a connection in Monte Kiffin announcing that he was leaving for Tennessee in November and the collapse of the Bucs defense in December?
"It was way before that. There was a definite connection. I never heard Brooks so distraught on the telephone, and I've known him since he was 17. Once I knew he was upset I knew it had to filter down because you get your tone from the head man. Brooks was absolutely out of his rock about it. He was like, ‘Oh my God.' I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? He's just making the calls.' But that wasn't his philosophy. That was my philosophy. You make the call and we'll make it work."
What do you think about Brett Favre?
"I did the Trent Dilfer thing and sent him a text message. But I sent him one as a friend, not as a reporter. ‘What the hell are you going to do?' He said, ‘What do you think I should do?' I said, ‘End of conversation.' I have said this more than one time. All of us have the right to change our mind, all of does, too. You have the right to say you don't want to do it anymore. I think it would be a little tougher for you to get your jobs back. But that's the right you have. I just wish he'd make a decision and go with it. I think he gets sick of it. I'm sure he gets sick of being asked about it."
You build a team like you helped build the Buccaneers, and even if it ends like it did for you do you still feel like you have some ownership of that or that you are still part of that team?
"You have to believe that. I'm a Buccaneer until the day I die. That's the only thing I'll ever be. I went out to Oakland and got 15 wins in four years. I know exactly what it is and what I was in the middle of. I'm a Buc, buddy. As I look back on it I spent nine seasons in Tampa and only three were losing seasons. My first two and my last one. That's it. The rest of ‘em we were good. Not many people can say that."
Do you think you will have a tough time getting into the Hall of Fame because of your personality?
"I never played for that. I never played for somebody that didn't play the game to say, ‘I validate your career and what you did for 13 years.' That's never going to be my thing. I played for 55, 47, 53, my peers and who played against me. That's the only way I played this thing. That's the only reason. Those who know know, and those to talk about it talk about it. So go talk about it. I have a battle to get in? They wouldn't let Art Monk in."
What do you think it's like for Ronde Barber? He came here in 1997 and is one of the few remaining from the Super Bowl team and the Dungy era?
"That's got to be a sobering feeling for him knowing he's the last of the Mohicans. He really is. Outside of him and Jermaine Phillips, that's it. He's the last of the Mohicans. Flip didn't really play with us a lot because he was on special teams. He was just a baby at the time. So Ronde is the last of the Mohicans."
The Bucs are holding OTAs right now. What do you remember about those?
"It was a chance for you to see your team come together. We never left here. We always came here to work. Mondays through Thursdays were workdays here. That's how we went about it. That's why I used to get on Keyshawn all the time when he first got here. Bill Parcells would never let you not show up during the offseason. Even if it was just running and lifting he was going to show up. We didn't ask him to run and lift. We were just asking him during those four weeks to be here so we could all come together. He wouldn't do that. It shows your dedication to your team more anything. Are you ready to lay the foundation that will carry us through the season? That's what is going on right now. That's why Kellen Winslow needs to be here so that when the quarterback throws to him when the blitz package is coming, ‘I know you're going to be there for me, Winslow.' Then you get the chance to work with Antonio Bryant and the other receivers. What the hell else are you doing? What else is going on? The Kentucky Derby?"
Do you have a special affinity for Kellen Winslow because he's a Miami Hurricane? When he came here he said he was misunderstood.
"No, I don't. That doesn't give you a free pass with me. Just the school you went to, that's it? When your team fires up OTAs and you're not here you're being misunderstood again, right? Your past doesn't reflect your future, but it does give a refection of what you might do. I'll leave it at that."
