Campbell's Plan to Rebuild the Bucs

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.