Simms Twists In The Wind As Gruden's World Turns Throw another body in the Jon Gruden bone yard. And count Chris Simms among the fed up. That Simms and Gruden's human relations are kaput isn't breaking news, though Simms has gone public with his disenchantment. He said he feels like a hostage. Yes, he sounded slightly whiny. After all, Simms and Gruden weren't exactly sweethearts when Simms decided to re-sign with the Bucs. And we know this is part of Simms' plan to get away from Gruden and restart a dead career. That said, you can't discount how many men leave Gruden's loving arms feeling betrayed. It's not just bad guys, it's not just sour grapes. You could put together a fine team, both sides of the ball, with Bucs who have left convinced Gruden is a snake. It didn't end with John Lynch. Now Simms is aboard. They're all wrong? I'm sure there are guys on this team right now who'll have their say when their day is done. It'll be like a bakery. They'll need to take a number. We understand that some of this is natural. Gruden is the boss. And business is most definitely business. But this is the Chris Simms, a good guy, liked by teammates, the Chris Simms who bit his lip for months, who gave his only spleen to Bucs football. And this is the Jon Gruden who tells his players he loves them - I love you, bro' - only as long as he needs them. It's not unusual. All kinds of businesses do it. The Patriots do it. They probably even videotape doing it. We're not saying Chris Simms was a great quarterback or ever will be. We're talking about what he's talking about . Respect. Character. Simms says Gruden painted him as healthy when he wasn't. He says Gruden never asked him how he was doing or how he felt, that Gruden even questioned if Simms' problems were "in his head." Ah, the personal touch. There are too many Bucs who leave here thinking Gruden did them wrong. It's Gruden's rival legacy, gaining quickly on his coaching prowess. That's not to say there aren't guys to take the place of the men who leave. Plenty of people want to play for Gruden. Dozens of them were at a Tuesday morning workout. But does another Buc have to leave this way? And Simms hasn't even left yet. Brian Griese has great perspective. Griese can relate to Simms and Gruden. He has spoken his mind during his career. Griese played with Simms as a Buc, was replaced by Simms when he was injured as a Buc, and was discarded by the Bucs. Now Griese is back with Gruden. "Guys say bad things about their teams and coaches everywhere," Griese said. He's right. Then again ... "Chris did what he felt he had to do," Griese said. "I think he had to do it." "I think Jon's a great coach, I think he is. But this is a tough business. I've been on the other side. I understand exactly where Chris is coming from. Chris is going to be a heck of a player once he gets his opportunity. I love Chris like a brother. It's just a shame what he's gone through with the injury. He'll come back. He'll bounce back. He deserves the opportunity." The Bucs did some business Tuesday. They got $3.5 million from Jake Plummer (yes, another quarterback) before Jake climbed back up his tree. Chris Simms twists in the wind. It's personal. Gruden has defenders, like offensive line coach Bill Muir, who told Tampa Tribune reporter Ira Kaufman that people have Gruden all wrong. "... For all the Gruden haters out there, I really don't care," Muir said. "They just don't know what a real football coach is supposed to be like. I've been around a real football coach or two in my life - this is a real football coach. End of story. This is a real football coach." That's not the question. Is he a real person? Take a number. Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune 12 June 2008