"What the Bucs' Plan Should Be After Firing Greg Schiano, Mark Dominik Published Dec. 30, 2013 By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell The Buccaneers had to move into a new direction, so their firing of general manager Mark Dominik and head coach Greg Schiano comes as no surprise (check out Walt's coach firing grades). Dominik was 28-52 in five seasons with three seasons of 12 or more losses. He had many blown draft picks that led to losses, including Josh Freeman. He never brought in effective pass-rushers, while a lack of depth hurt the team every season. Freeman's off-the-field problems were known back in the 2011 campaign and were never adequately addressed by the team before his release. Schiano was 11-21 in two seasons and was never a good fit in the NFL. His strict style rubbed players the wrong way. Some of the Bucs' best players told WalterFootball.com privately that they didn't like how Schiano was using them and that he wasn't putting them in a position to do what they do best. As one source said, "He doesn't understand that these aren't college kids where you can threaten to yank their scholarship. These are grown men and many of them are getting paid more than he is. He can't use the college style to get them to play together." The Glazers made the right decision to clean house and start over. Going forward, the Buccaneers should look to some familiar faces to get the franchise righted. Lovie Smith was the Bucs' linebackers coach during their turnaround in the 90s. Considering what he did in Chicago, he would be a huge upgrade as the head coach over Schiano. In the front office, Tampa Bay has some interesting names they could hire. Jerry Angelo helped build the Bucs' Super Bowl roster as well as Chicago's in 2006. He's in Tampa ready to get to work. The Glazers haven't been successful at identifying young up-and-comers as general managers or head coaches. They should go for proven commodities. The Buccaneers should also look to hire Rams director of college scouting Brad Holmes as their director of player personnel. Holmes is a Tampa native who went to Chamberlain High School. He's done a great job of building up young talent on the Rams' roster. For better scouting, Tampa Bay should look to bring back scout Mike Martin. He grew up in Tampa and was with the Bucs during the Bruce Allen and Jon Gruden years before being hired away by the Texans. After leaving the Buccaneers, Martin helped lead Houston to signing Arian Foster and drafting Duane Brown along with many other astute draft picks. Martin would be a top-notch selection head to the Buccaneers' college scouting department, or the director of pro scouting if the new general manager wants to keep Eric Stokes on staff. Why so many local guys? Tampa is a unique place to play. Playing in the heat is tough on a lot of players, especially lineman. You can't just take any offensive lineman from Wisconsin and expect them to perform as well in the hot and humid conditions. Some lineman don't hold up in the Tampa heat. And the party culture in Tampa Bay has ruined some players' careers in the past. The right players have to be brought in to keep these issues from being a problem, but it takes people who know Tampa well to spot the players who don't fit. It can be done as evidenced by the franchise's string of success during the Tony Dungy and Gruden years. Angelo, Smith, Holmes and Martin all know this from their time in Tampa. They would be a great group to lead the Buccaneers back to being a relevant team in the NFL"
Interesting article. Looking forward to seeing how much of this shakes out. Thanks VBF.
sure, no prob. Also looking forward to watching it play out
I can't really comment on GM/Scout hires as I honestly don't really follow closely how folks have done in those positions across the league. But from the coaching side I would not be opposed to Lovie Smith ...he was solid if not spectacular in Chicago, he does have an NFC championship to his name and the clout to bring in solid assistants. Plus I think he would utilize the defensive talent we have here correctly and maximize their skill sets. He would be the obvious upgrade over the past 2 coaches.
I can't really comment on GM/Scout hires as I honestly don't really follow closely how folks have done in those positions across the league. But from the coaching side I would not be opposed to Lovie Smith ...he was solid if not spectacular in Chicago, he does have an NFC championship to his name and the clout to bring in solid assistants. Plus I think he would utilize the defensive talent we have here correctly and maximize their skill sets. He would be the obvious upgrade over the past 2 coaches.
would Cutler come with him?Cutler/Glennon in 2014?
The pundits, Rock Riley and Roy Cummings, have the mindset that the defense is pretty much set. Thus, we only need a strong offensive minded staff. In a Revis presser he stated we definitely need a few more pieces on defense for it to be solid. I am of the mindset we could use better play/scheme design on both sides of the ball. I saw too many completed passes to the flats, too much loss of outside containment and too many defenders ending up in the same places or not there at all. Offensively, the play calling and blocking schemes were just too vanilla and totally predictable.
"solid but not spectacular" is a great description of Smith, just good enough to keep us from getting a decent draft pick. I'd rather swing for the fences. Have no interest in Cutler whatsoever unless he wants to come here for the vet's minimum.
Greg Roman.
I think Lovie could probably get us 8 or 9 wins in a year or 2. Everyone will be happy for a bit then start bitching how we can't get in the play offs or lose our first game.
Who are you hiring that is a "swing for the fences hire"? That's the thing. This man led Rex Grossman to a Super Bowl appearance. There's no amazing college coaches that would come here. There's no coordinator that people point to and are like "that guy is the future of our business". This is a down year. If the Bucs can get Lovie, I don't understand any trepidation about it. The only thing I'm a little bit hesitant on is the OC he's supposedly bringing. Was hoping for someone who has had success coaching in the NFL.
Staying on the Lovie Smith angle; National Football Post is reporting that he has Jeff Tedford lined up as his OC. Here is the link http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Lovie-Smith-has-Tedford-lined-up-as-his-OC.html
Who are you hiring that is a "swing for the fences hire"? That's the thing. This man led Rex Grossman to a Super Bowl appearance. There's no amazing college coaches that would come here. There's no coordinator that people point to and are like "that guy is the future of our business". This is a down year. If the Bucs can get Lovie, I don't understand any trepidation about it. The only thing I'm a little bit hesitant on is the OC he's supposedly bringing. Was hoping for someone who has had success coaching in the NFL.
Maybe a guy like David Shaw. He said he's staying at Stanford, and you probably don't believe he'd come here, but if the money were right maybe he would. I'd try. I'd narrow it down to a few guys that have proven themselves and I would feel comfortable giving the keys for the next 6 or 7 years, then I'd to what it took to get them. You know, the way big boy franchises like Pittsburgh and New England do it. To me, Lovie Smith is a stop-gap caliber coach. The fact that he "led Rex Grossman to a Super Bowl appearance" ignores the fact that there was a ton of talent on that team, enough to compensate for their QB who actually had pretty good stats that year.
Who are you hiring that is a "swing for the fences hire"? That's the thing. This man led Rex Grossman to a Super Bowl appearance. There's no amazing college coaches that would come here. There's no coordinator that people point to and are like "that guy is the future of our business". This is a down year. If the Bucs can get Lovie, I don't understand any trepidation about it. The only thing I'm a little bit hesitant on is the OC he's supposedly bringing. Was hoping for someone who has had success coaching in the NFL.
Maybe a guy like David Shaw. He said he's staying at Stanford, and you probably don't believe he'd come here, but if the money were right maybe he would. I'd try. I'd narrow it down to a few guys that have proven themselves and I would feel comfortable giving the keys for the next 6 or 7 years, then I'd to what it took to get them. You know, the way big boy franchises like Pittsburgh and New England do it. To me, Lovie Smith is a stop-gap caliber coach. The fact that he "led Rex Grossman to a Super Bowl appearance" ignores the fact that there was a ton of talent on that team, enough to compensate for their QB who actually had pretty good stats that year.
I think the chances of a hire for Head Coach being either a College coach is as next to zero as it can be and the chance of an NFLer who hasn't been a Head Coach in the NFL just slightly more possible.
I think Lovie could probably get us 8 or 9 wins in a year or 2. Everyone will be happy for a bit then start **CENSORED**ing how we can't get in the play offs or lose our first game.
I agree here... not so much that I think Lovie will never beat 8/9 wins, or even take more than a year to do it... rather that this fan base has become seriously inpatient (EDIT: impatient, though both fit). When the Glazers look at HC I'm sure they'll look at the long term. That means what warts Lovie Smith has despite decent credentials and the right personality to make this defense nasty. For example he came across as Tony Dungy part two; Dungy is a Tampa legend but people soured on him after our offense stayed pathetic. It's partially the reason Lovie is available. Personally I think it's weird that the links to Smith are so fast and open. We all know one thing about the Glazers: Their compartmentalization would make the CIA proud when it comes to their searches. How in the hell did Smith's name get leaked as such a sure thing, along with "sources" laying out his staff makeup? Sounds like Agent leaks to me drumming up interest from a different/multiple teams. Maybe I'm wrong and the Glazers have changed... but probably not.
Maybe a guy like David Shaw. He said he's staying at Stanford, and you probably don't believe he'd come here, but if the money were right maybe he would. I'd try. I'd narrow it down to a few guys that have proven themselves and I would feel comfortable giving the keys for the next 6 or 7 years, then I'd to what it took to get them. You know, the way big boy franchises like Pittsburgh and New England do it. To me, Lovie Smith is a stop-gap caliber coach. The fact that he "led Rex Grossman to a Super Bowl appearance" ignores the fact that there was a ton of talent on that team, enough to compensate for their QB who actually had pretty good stats that year.
Grossman had pretty good stats that year? I'm pretty sure that he got injured early in the season and Kyle Orton started 12 games or so. Plus they had an awesome defense and Devin Hester in his prime. If Lovie Smith can't find the next amazing offensive coordinator, then he won't win here. Kyle Shanahan or Chudzinski might be good hires... not interested in Tedford at all. We would also need a DC, and I'm not interested in Rod Marinelli at this point. Jerry Angelo can also stay on the unemployment line.... this is the guy that refused to pay Matt Forte... the year after he was 60% of the Bear's offense.
