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TAMPA - Jon Gruden was a little annoyed, to tell you the truth.
He rose off the metal chair, walked a few paces, wheeled around. His face was twisted into the grimace of a man accused. His voice, raw and wounded, bounced off the walls of the small dressing room next to the Bucs locker room.
"Exactly what am I on trial for?" Gruden said.
Why, Jon, you should know the answer to that.
You're on trial for, well, everything.
A half-hour had passed since Gruden's Bucs had beaten the Houston Texans 16-3 (yea) for a second straight victory (yippee) that evened the team's record at 7-7 (whee). Gruden ran off the field with his fist in the air, and it should be noted the few fans who lingered over the tunnel continued to cheer his sight.
Still, it has been a tough patch of road for Gruden. Not long ago, he was the favorite son, the homecoming hero who put rings on everyone's fingers. The town was in a love affair with Gruden who, it seemed, could do nothing wrong.
These days, Gruden has become the designated bad guy. Over the past month, after Keyshawn Johnson was made to walk the plank, and after Rich McKay dived over the side of the ship on his own, Gruden has worn a target around his neck.
He has been portrayed lately as power-mad and ego-driven, as out of control and over the line, as a hit man and a head hunter. These are harsh allegations. By profession, Gruden is in charge of the Bucs' teamwork, and suddenly, he has been charged with having none of his own.
"People think I'm some kind of ghoul who sits in a cave and tries to get everyone's (expletive) job," Gruden said. "People who know me know the truth. I'm not after power. I'm not trying to push everyone off the cliff."
It irritates him, okay? He's worn out by the questions, beaten down by the insinuations, blindsided by the prevailing opinions. Nobody likes disapproval. Nobody likes blame. A little while ago, everyone wanted to be Gruden's buddy. These days, people just want to see if Gruden can get their boss fired, too.
Gruden stood in the white room, and for a few minutes he let you see his frustrations over what he says are misrepresentations. His voice grew louder. His chin jutted out like a boxer's.
"Look, I'm the same as any other football coach," he said. "I challenge people. I want to win.
"If there is a player out there who can help us, I want to know what our opinion is on that player. I want to have a meeting. I want to bring him in to see if he can do for our team what he's done for his previous teams. If it takes it, I'm going to go to the office to ask the next day and the next.
"If that's wrong, then you can lock me up."
Perhaps it isn't wrong. Perhaps, however, it is the clearest picture we have had of why McKay and Gruden could not co-exist.
By his nature, Gruden is a pusher, a prodder. He is going to challenge and confront. At times, he is going to irritate. And the next morning, he's going to be back in the office door.
McKay's own nature is more orderly, less prone to confrontation. After a while, the different approaches were as big a conflict as McKay's preference for young players and Gruden's for veterans.
Here's the thing. In his mind, Gruden doesn't believe he was over the line. Even now, when McKay has packed his bags, when the controversy swells over a team that has seen too much of it, when the questions come with barbed wire attached, Gruden seems a little flabbergasted to find himself at the end of pointed questions.
"I've heard all the reports," he said. "People say I wanted Darrell Russell and Jeff George and Reggie White and Don Hutson."
Don Hutson? The receiver who played with the Packers a thousand years ago?
Gruden grinned. He shook his head.
Already, there are sides being taken. Those who take Gruden's will point out how little talent there really is in the Bucs' offensive huddle. They'll talk about lousy drafts and unsatisfactory free-agent hauls. They'll suggest this isn't about Gruden's ego, it's about McKay's.
It will be interesting to see the next couple of hires. When the Bucs hire a general manager, it will be interesting to see how much power he wields. When the Falcons, McKay's preferred destination, hire a coach, it will be interesting to see if he has any say at all in which players he coaches.
In the meantime, the unseemly nature of the Bucs' season continues. Even Sunday's game passed without any real interest. To tell the truth, it was like watching a Bucs game from the early '80s. There were 20,000 empty seats, not a lot of noise and, hey, McKay was in the Bay.
More and more, there is a quality to this season that is like Nero fiddling away while the buildings are aflame. Things just keep getting hotter.
In the meantime, Gruden is on trial for the departing general manager and the wayward receiver. He's on trial for a bad kicking game and a lousy short yardage game. He's on trial for seven defeats. He's on trial for an offense that struggles when it gets near the end zone and a defense that has lost too many leads.
Also, he's on trial regarding the future of the franchise.
When it comes to power, isn't the real question whether the Bucs have any of their own?