Schiano Listened To McCoy
November 24th, 2013
Gerald McCoy explains that he had enough
One of the coolest, nicest guys you can ever meet in the national NFL press corps is Peter Schrager of FOX Sports, who is simply a workaholic. You may be familiar with Scharger’s work for FoxSports.com or his Sunday hits on Fox News Network. Schrager really is a cool cat.
How so? Last week, Joe found an e-mail from Schrager in his in-box. Schrager recently started a weekly NFL podcast and he wanted to tip Joe off to a podcast he did with Bucs stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (the podcast also recounts a visit Schrager made to One Buc Palace and some behind-the-scenes stuff that is really cool).
Anyway, GMC stated that before the Seattle game, he finally had his fill of all the crazy stunts Bucs defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan had the Bucs dancing around in, which rendered the Bucs pass rush listless.
Joe will let GMC explain the Schiano meeting in his own words to Schrager.
“Great thing about Coach Schiano, his door is always open. He’s always open to suggestions from his players. He knows what makes us comfortable with the gameplan. I made the decision, ‘You know, I am going to Coach. He will hear me out.’ [Schiano] made some changes and [starting with] Seattle, we have done a lot less stunting and he has let us go more often.”
So let’s starting connecting dots, shall we? In recent weeks, Schiano has made it clear that his coordinators are the ones calling the shots in-game. Schiano may offer a suggestion here or there but when the bullets are flying, Schiano leans on his coordinators to do their jobs. Schiano, in so many words, has said when the game is live, he’s got too much on his plate to be calling defensive or offensive plays.
Now two weeks ago, Bucs defensive tackle Akeem Spence told Joe that the defensive linemen have been begging defensive coaches (Spence was not specific who these coaches were but he did not mention Schiano’s name, either) to knock off the stunts and, in the words of Bucs icon Warren Sapp, let the defensive linemen hunt the quarterback.
So it sure smells like Sheridan is the culprit for all the stunts and that he was turning a deaf ear to the pleas of his linemen to let them go after the quarterback.
And Sheridan didn’t stop this nonsense until GMC went over his head and straight to Schiano about it.
The podcast with GMC and Schrager is roughly 35 minutes. McCoy also says NFL Films told him he was going to be mic’ed up almost a week before the Dixie Chicks game and never talked to him again because they wanted the real GMC to come out, not an acting job.
Lastly, about the Bucs’ recent turnaround, GMC said the following:
“It’s nothing to throw a parade about. But we know the talent on our team, the players we signed and the players we drafted and it just wasn’t showing.”
Until GMC went to Schiano to have him put a stop to the crazy defensive line stunts.
November 24th, 2013 at 9:26 am
You mean McCoy tells him again and……. Schiano listens again. I recall McCoy having this same conversation with Schiano last year and McCoy played better temporarily. Schiano evidently forgot because we opened the season with McCoy and the DEs stunting as usual.
I’m searching for the press conference where after McCoy’s rushing success, Schiano was asked what did he change? He flatly denied that anything had changed and that the ratio of straight-on pass rushing to stunting was roughly the same.
Maybe this is the time he listens and adapts permanently, but put me in the group that doubts he will change. That would be like admitting that he was wrong and that’s not going to happen!
November 24th, 2013 at 9:28 am
Not sure the picture you drew after connecting those dots make sense. It is my understanding that this is Schiano’s defense, not Sheridans. Unlike the the offense, the defense and it’s many wacky schemes are Schianos from, all together now, Rutgers!
Sheridan may make all the game day defensive calls but it is Schiano that ultimately decides what defense they run week in and week out. Most likely gmc went to schiano because he is the guy forcing the ridiculous stunt scheme to begin with. Sheridan just uses the plays provided
November 24th, 2013 at 9:28 am
I could swear I thought this same thing happened last year when McCoy went to Shiano on all the stunts and Shiano gave in…for one game. Am I wrong or maybe it happened the year before under Raheem. Regardless, let’s see how many of those daggum stunts are run today with sack-elusive Stafford at the helm.
November 24th, 2013 at 9:45 am
That is AWESOME to know about Schiano. Maybe all we need in the off season is to get rid off Sheridan. Not having a need to get a complete new coaching staff is music to my ears. I’m loving the new aggressive offense. Playing to win rather than not loose. Put the foot to the metal!
Go Bucs!!!
November 24th, 2013 at 10:13 am
If no one else, Sheriden has to go! He’s not a good DC.
November 24th, 2013 at 10:15 am
NY Giant defensive linemen absolutely hated Bill Sheridan for this exact reason. Coughlin kicked him to the curb and I have a feeling Schiano will too.
November 24th, 2013 at 10:18 am
Giants fans complained about Sheridan time after time. Hard to believe he can’t look at his own work and realize it’s not working.
November 24th, 2013 at 10:29 am
I am now hoping Schaino succeeds. I like the fact that he has held through adversity, and so has the team under him. Perhaps the corner has been turned…..
November 24th, 2013 at 10:38 am
Probably less upheaval replacing one or both coordinators than the HC (which will almost assuredly bring in their entire new staff). As underachieving as it sounded at the beginning of the year 6-10 was the prediction most pundits had the Bucs finishing this season at, so maybe that’s the magic number ownership has in mind for determining whether Schiano gets the chance to run the ship in 2014 with his QB and perhaps his first choice for OC (McNulty?) and/or another DC?
November 24th, 2013 at 10:41 am
“That is AWESOME to know about Schiano.”
What this tells me is that Schiano is too stubborn, let alone Sheridan. The stunts flat out DON’T work, at least against the pass. And posters are absolutely right, they did stop the stunts for a game last year, think it was the season closer against the dirty birds…and the D line had a good game. All this says is that the dynamic duo, Schiano & Sheridan, are too obsessed with the way it’s done & not actually getting it done. I can understang having a way you want to do things, but good coaches can see something’s not working and adjust…it doesn’t take 8 losses to make the light come on. IMO, we could have 5 or 6 wins, at this point, if the defence had been better at the pass rush. Don’t go crazy here, in no way do I absolve Free, but the D couldn’t get a 3 & out in the 4th, to save their lives.
November 24th, 2013 at 10:50 am
@Scotty in Fat Antonio
Yes you are correct, the exact same thing did happen last year and the players were complaining about all of the stunts. Read up on Sheridan’s 1 year as the DC in New York, the players hated him and eventually he was fired after 1 season. I personally was calling for him to be fired last season. A lot of the losses last year were because of the defense.
November 24th, 2013 at 11:44 am
Sheridan did get run from NY because the defense just collapsed under his watch. The players did know him prior to being named DC as he was the linebackers coach.
I don’t know whose defense he was running though.
November 24th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
So a coach needs to be told by his players how to coach? Hardly a reason for praise.
November 24th, 2013 at 5:56 pm
Uncle Deadly, would you expect anything else from this overmatched, dull witted, inexperienced joke for a HC. Jesus, 5 turnovers and a blocked punt, and all the Bucs do is win by 3 points! But you have to hand it to the defense and special teams. Is it possible that other teams are taking them to lightly?
November 24th, 2013 at 11:45 pm
no, but I am shocked at the people who act like we should be praising him for it.