Two recently fired head coaches, who each have won at least one Super Bowl, were victims of some verbal bullets this week. First it was former Bucs DE Simeon Rice, who sounded off on Jon Gruden’s dismissal, calling Gruden a “scumbag,” during a radio interview on Tuesday.

“You get what you deserve,” Rice said. “That’s what Jon said. He got it now. Everybody gets what they deserve.”

In a story that ran in the Denver Post on Friday, former Broncos QB Jake Plummer called out Mike Shanahan, telling the Post that Shanahan’s firing was “past due.” Plummer, who retired before the ’07 season after he was traded to the Bucs, said Shanahan became obsessed with the Broncos’ statistical rankings rather than the team’s win-loss record.

It’s interesting that we get such candid talk after the coaches were fired. While some bitterness may be involved in both cases, these two players haven’t completely been alone in criticizing their former coaches, although the Gruden-bashing has been far more widespread.

It doesn’t appear that either coach will be in the league next season, but they’re likely to return to the sidelines by 2010. After all this airing of dirty laundry, it will be fascinating to watch how their new players receive them down the line.