Joe isnt overly impressed with the list of finalists for the Bucs offensive coordinator position. After some research, Joe is of a mind to just give the job to current Bucs quarterbacks coach Greg Olson.

If various reports are to be believed, the Bucs have narrowed their search for a new offensive coordinator to six candidates. Joe’s going to take a look at each.

Brian Schottenheimer

The Jets offensive coordinator may not be in New York for long as he just interviewed for his current (temporary?) position with new Jets coach Rex Ryan. Schottenheimer, son of Marty Chokenheimer, keeps getting hired but Joe isn’t sure why. Let’s look at his resume:

Offensive assistant with St. Louis in 1997 (the Rams stunk out loud).

Offensive assistant with Kansas City in 1998 (the Chiefs were bad).

Quarterbacks coach with Washington in 2001 (Redskins were 8-8). Schottenheimer should get hazardous duty pay for working with Jeff George, Tony Banks and Kent Graham.

Quarterbacks coach with San Diego 2002-05 (Chargers were good). Nice job tutoring both Drew Brees and Philip Rivers.

Offensive assistant/coordinator with the Jets 2005-08 (Jets were up and down). Not bad. Didn’t have much to work with but seemed to do OK.

[UPDATE: Schottenheimer will stay with the Jets.]

Scott Linehan

Linehan had an impressive resume before he took over the Rams. Linehan improved the Dolphins 29th in the NFL in total offense in 2004 to 14th in 2005.

As the offensive coordinator with the Vikings, then-quarterback Daunte Culpepper enjoyed his best seasons. The Vikings’ offense ranked second, first and fourth respectively under Linehan.

But Linehan became one of the worst coaches in NFL history with the Rams and his ugly side showed through. He often quarreled with players on the sideline, most notably a major meltdown with stud wide receiver Torry Holt when Linehan screamed at Holt after the All Pro suggested a play, “Sit down, I call the plays.”

Linehan also turned quite nasty with the pathetically soft St. Louis media, often picking fights with the glorified cheerleaders (reporters) there. If a coach starts feuds with those lapdogs, for Joe, that speaks volumes. Despite his impressive pre-St. Louis resume, Joe is leery of Linehan.

[UPDATE: Well, it appears Linehan is the Lions’ problem now.]

Rob Chudzinski

The former Browns offensive coordinator has a weak resume. His offense was nothing to speak of in Cleveland and previously, Chudzinski had only been a tight ends coach for various teams. The last time the Bucs hired a tight ends coach for offensive coordinator was Mike Shula.

Also, former Bucs offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen, before he served as a Bucs quarterback coach under Father Dungy, was also a tight ends coach for the Bucs.

Does Joe really need to write any more about Chudzinski?

Chan Gailey

Joe was somewhat impressed with the job Gailey did as the Steelers offensive coordinator for two years in the mid-90s. He tried to turn a wide receiver into a quarterback (Kordell Stewart) and somehow got the team to the cusp of the Super Bowl in 1997. Since, Gailey has done nothing of substance.

Joe just can’t shake the fact that Gailey, as head coach of Georgia Tech, had one of college football’s greatest receivers in Calvin Johnson and still Gailey and his offensive coordinator Patrick Nix couldn’t, or wouldn’t, throw the ball to Johnson. You mean to tell Joe that Gailey was either so stubborn or shallow he couldn’t sit down in a meeting with Nix and diagram plays to take advantage of Johnson? That’s really weak.

Ken Zampese

The Bengals quarterbacks coach has to work with malcontents, hoods and injury plagued players. Still he ran a decent offense if not a good offense, sans this past season. Zampese also logged time with quarterback guru Mike Martz with the Rams in a previous life.

At least Zampese believes in an attack-style offense. Even though the Bengals offense was a mess this year, Joe chalks that up to all the injuries, off-field distractions and headcases Zampese had to babysit.

Greg Olson

The current Bucs quarterbacks coach comes with a pretty good resume. Most important may be his history with Jeff Garcia back with the 49ers when Garcia was at his finest (despite throwing balls to that coach killer of a wide receiver).

With the exception of stints with the Lions and Bears, wherever Olson has been the team has had a decent offense. Joe can’t blame Olson for that. Joe isn’t sure Bill Walsh could mold a quarterback from those two franchises.

Olson was even a quarterbacks coach at Purdue. The quarterback there was some guy named Drew Brees.

Given the collection of (mostly) stiffs that are rumored to be in the mix for the new Bucs offensive coordinator position, Joe is inclined to hand it over to Olson. It’s not as if Chucky ever listened to him.