An odd but intriguing hire for the Bucs

[michael89156]

FEBRUARY 04, 2013


Dave Wannstedt is an odd but intriguing hire for the Bucs







Dave Wannstedt has done it all in his 37 seasons of coaching. But he has zero experience for the job he just accepted: NFL special teams coach.
 
Bucs coach Greg Schiano has brought Wannstedt aboard to replace the fired Bob Ligashesky, reuniting Schiano with the man who gave him his first NFL job (when Wannstedt was the Bears’ head coach in the 1990s).
 
The fact that Schiano would be interested in adding Wannstedt to his coaching staff is hardly surprising. Wannstedt’s wealth of experience is certainly appealing. He’s been a head coach for the Bears, Dolphins and the University of Pittsburgh and he’s got decades of defensive coaching experience (maybe Bill Sheridan can borrow him a bit).
 
But special teams? It’s been a while since Wannstedt’s coached them – like 35 years. Wannstedt coached receivers and special teams in his first full-time position, from 1977 to 1978 at Pitt.
 
So, is this is a good hire given the fact that coaching special teams is something of a specialty (no pun intended)? That question won’t get a firm answer until we kick things off in the fall, but my inclination is to trust that Schiano knows what he’s doing here.
 
One would assume he doesn’t make this hire without certainty Wannstedt can capably do the job. And one indication he can pull this off is his head-coaching experience. Head coaches must stay on top of their special-teams units, just as much as their offenses and defenses, in fact. And some head coaches are more plugged into their special teams than others. Perhaps Wannstedt is among the former.
 
The fact that Schiano didn’t relieve Ligashesky of his duties until last week tells you this was not a kneejerk decision. It was deliberated for quite a while, giving Schiano plenty of time to do otherwise if he had doubts.
 
Regardless of who is coaching special teams, we can all agree that the unit needs work. The Bucs were among 30th in kick returns last season, but their coverage teams were poor, too. Tampa Bay was 24th in covering punts and 25th in covering kickoffs. That’s a lot of precious hidden yardage over the course of a season.
 
Soon, we’ll find out whether Wannstedt is the right man to fix that.
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Posted by Stephen Holder at 12:04:59 pm on February 04, 2013

[The Anomaly]

This has been brought up in another thread.  Is this a return favor?  Unless he takes Sheridan's job midseason this hire is a huge fail.

[DeltaBuc5]

This has been brought up in another thread.  Is this a return favor?  Unless he takes Sheridan's job midseason this hire is a huge fail.

Wannstedt has more experience than a lot of the current staff combined, this is far from a "huge fail". The man knows how to coach football players, that's what matters.

[The Anti-Java]

Good hire,  IMO.  I think he will be fine with the specail teams.   And more importantly, he is an experienced  NFL coach that they could turn too,  if the D implodes.midseason or whenever.

[bucinnj]

Good hire,  IMO.  I think he will be fine with the specail teams.   And more importantly, he is an experienced  NFL coach that they could turn too,  if the D implodes.midseason or whenever.

Agree.  At the very least, it brings a very experienced NFL coach into the fold.
Another good set of eyes and ears for Schiano.

I also feel that Defensive Coordinator may be in Wannstedt's future.

[caradoc]

This does definitely put Sheridan on notice even if it's unofficial.   

[JDouble]

Huge fail? Are you serious right now? Do you honestly believe that a guy who has coached on every level for 37 years can't handle special teams? Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?

[BucNtears]

future DC, that is all

[JDouble]

future DC, that is all

Probably.

All I have to say is that Schiano is a very smart man. It doesn't matter what title they hold, having guys like Dave Wannstedt and Butch Davis in the building, gives a young coach about 80 years of experience.

[BucNtears]

Absolutely, surround yourself with that kind of knowledge is bound to make Schiano better prepared in all aspects of the game.

[JDouble]

Not only that, but a HC can't be everywhere and do everything. He needs to have guys that he can trust to do things right. And now he does.

[JC5100]

It's not odd or intriguing. He's in the Jimmy Johnson coaching tree with Schiano. /thread

[3rd String Kicker]

Love the Wannstedt hire. Pretty sure Butch Davis is going to be looking for a real coaching position in the near future too, so that adds to this. I have no doubt Dave can coach our ST up very well. He's already got two of the best kickers and a solid long-snapper at his disposal. It was unfortunate for Wannstedt he was dismissed but the Bills were changing their entire staff, their defense last season was "respectable", at least in comparison to ours.

[JavaRay]

I've always respected Wannstedt.

[NotDeadYet]

future DC, that is all

Probably.

All I have to say is that Schiano is a very smart man. It doesn't matter what title they hold, having guys like Dave Wannstedt and Butch Davis in the building, gives a young coach about 80 years of experience.

   Totally agree. The HC and his assistants are effectively a TEAM; they all work together, sharing responsibilities. HC's who know how to delegate responsibilites well tend to do very well in the complicated world of the NFL... Assistants' titles don't in the least limit their total responsibilities. Just like the players, any one of the assistants would jump at the chance to do whatever Schiano wants... Besides, no actual assistants' titles have been announced by the Bucs, despite the staff appearing to be complete now