Greg Schiano = Bobby Petrino?
February 6th, 2012
As many of Joe’s regular readers know, Joe is addicted to SiriusXM NFL Radio. Perhaps the most in-depth X’s and O’s show on that channel is “Movin’ the Chains,” co-hosted by former NFL executive and NFL coach Pat Kirwan and former Bears defensive tackle and current FOX NFL analyst Tim Ryan.
For NFL fans more interested in strategy as opposed to ticket sales or how much money an owner spends, this is your show. It is no less than fascinating… riveting in fact.
Last offseason, it was Ryan who beat the drum about how the Bucs were making a grave mistake in letting Barrett Ruud walk. Ryan went on to say that if Ruud were to leave the Bucs, “the Bucs defense would collapse.”
How’d that analysis work out, huh?
Last week at Super Bowl Media Day, Joe had a chance to speak with Ryan, who was gracious enough to give Joe his time while at work during a commercial break. Ryan is not a member of the national chorus that has thus far given the Bucs a thumbs-up for hiring Greg Schiano. Color Ryan skeptical.
JoeBucsFan: Did the Bucs paint themselves in a corner waiting so long to hire a coach?
Tim Ryan: I don’t think so. I think they did their due diligence and talked to guys who have done it before and who have had success in this league. And they decided to go with the young guy, which is very interesting to me, especially when you look at [Schiano’s] track record in pro football. And he may be a great guy, and I will give him the benefit of the doubt. But there are going to be tremendous obstacles to say the least in my opinion trying to be competitive and win games in that division when you start looking at the Saints, you start looking at Carolina, look at Atlanta, the coaches on those teams not to mention who is going to coordinate his offense. He will probably have his mind on defense since he is a defensive guy. I know they are still trying to get John McNulty out of Arizona. They seem hellbent on at least pursing that as long as they can pursue it. I think there are a lot of questions marks left in Tampa after the hiring of Greg Schiano.
Joe: A lot of Bucs fans are concerned about his lack of NFL experience. Sure, he has been with good coaches. Yeah, he worked with Butch Davis. Yeah, he worked with Joe Paterno. Yeah, he worked with Dave Wannstedt, who is a good defensive coach. But he only has two seasons in the NFL and there is talk he’s going to bring a bunch of college guys in.
Ryan: Well, good luck with that and again, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and we will wait and see what happens. I have talked to a lot of guys who have been in this league a long time, and I have seen what this league is all about. This is a league that is won — everyone has athletes — you win with strategy, you win with a “what-if” list that is a mile deep. Pro football is a whole different animal. I have heard from a lot of guys that have been in the business for a long time and I say, “Your thoughts on the Schiano hire?” and they give me one name: Bobby Petrino. And when I hear that, that is what some of the people from the outside looking in kind of are thinking. I know he has promised to reattach to the fanbase. The only way to reattach to the fanbase and fill seats is to win games. So we will see what happens.
Joe: When you reference Petrino, what are you inferring?
Ryan: Just a college guy with limited NFL experience, when you are talking about college guys running both sides of the ball. We will wait see what happens with Butch Davis who can certainly coach defense. I have known him for years, he recruited me in high school. He’s an extension of Dave Wannstedt also from the Cowboys. [The Schiano hire] created for me more questions than buzz and excitement.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:08 am
Just one mans opionion. He wasn’t the only one calling Ruud move a mistake. That was obvious with a rookie anchoring the linebackers. Not gonna give him credit for the obvious.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:19 am
….the results speak for themselves. Imagine if Foster was kept at his natural position and worked into the rotation with Rudd still at the helm at least until you could provide a QUALIFIED upgrade..Imagine the unmeasurable leadership factor. And Ryan called it like so many other free thinkers. And just like some others he calls into question this debacle of a hire. He takes pains to keep it civil and polite but the truth is the decision making is more than a bit suspect and quite a bit of it seems to originate from the GM. a rookie himself. But it is still the Glazer Girls who are ultimately responsible. Starting to look like the old ownership.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:28 am
I’m not sold at all on Schiano. I will support the man because I love my Bucs but Im very skeptical. When Morris was hired he also said that the Bucs would become a power running and take deep shots kind of team. Schiano said the right things at his press conference but I have little confidence in him. If he even would’ve won the Big East once I’d probably think different. Good luck stopping the Saints, Panthers, and Falcons if you couldn’t consistently beat Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, UConn
February 6th, 2012 at 11:40 am
Joe,
One reason the Bucs have waited so long to hire an OC or DC is that they may be waiting for the end of the Super Bowl. NE WR coach, Chad O’Shea may be leaving since the Patriots brought in Josh McDamiels possibly to replace current OC, O’Brien. O’Shea has been the WR coach since ’09, and was thought to be moving up to OC until Daniels came in. Same thing on the Defensive side, with some of the Giants assistant coaches looking for a promotion.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:44 am
I would think that, after endorsing Schiano, the patriots coach would let the Bucs have a shot at one of his assistants. That’s where my money is.
I also think all the staff positions will be filled by the end of this week.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:46 am
I like Foster at MLB.
But its all up to the coach. If he wants to move him, I’ll get behind it.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Pete,
I like Foster at MLB too, except that the better available FA LB’s are MLBs and I think Foster is better playing SAM with a D’qwell Jackson/Tulloch/Lofton type in the middle. I just think that is the better overall way to upgrade the LBs.
February 6th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
@BucFanSouth,
Was thinking the same thing the other day, even down to the O’Shea thought. Scary. LOL Doesn’t have any experience as an OC, but he’s been coaching for 15 yrs. and in the NE system since 2009. Not sure when Gilbride’s contract expires, but he might be another name to watch as OC.
February 6th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Just reading the name Dave Wannstedt makes me cringe.
February 6th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
I can’t defend Petrino for how he exited the Falcons job, but name me a coach that could have stepped into that mess in Atlanta that season. They’d just gotten hit with the Vick fiasco, and they were leaning on Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich as their QBs.
February 6th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
I as most here have been thinking the same. There were still two teams left to look at for coaches. Now that the season is over the Bucs can look into the Pats and Giants for DC/OC jobs.
Im also skeptical of the HC hire, he said basically the same thing Raheem did. Im not fooled by the press conference and will wait for the results to show before i pass judgement on the coach…time will tell.
To bad NY didnt fire Caughlin like the fans wanted them to. 🙁
February 6th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
The assistants are just as important, if not more important, than the HC.
We cannot, cannot bring in an all college staff. (meaning no NFL experience)
Structure, discipline and coaching are key, and I believe Schiano will bring that, but more important is the X’s and O’s of the NFL game. That’s completely different than the college game.
I am curious if we tap the NE or Giants staff.
February 6th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
I can see your point. I have no problem with cross-training Foster either. That way he can step in at MLB later if needed.
Injury is always a concern with free agents…but these days injury is a concern with our whole team.
February 6th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
I didn’t know Captain Tim worked for Fox……………
February 6th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
I agree with FreemanBomb5.
We heard many of the same things in Raheem’s press conference when he was named head coach.
Talk is cheap in this league and means nothing. It only matters what you do. I know Schiano says they are going to stretch the field, but when Josh throws a few picks doing so, and the coaching doesn’t know how to fix it because they are too inexperienced in the NFL, you will see the Bucs cower back to the infamous dink and dunk.
I thought Schiano might be OK if he had highly experienced NFL coordinators. But that’s looking unlikely at this point. Most of his staff will come from the college ranks. Which means we are back to the same problem we had with Raheem….an inexperienced coaching staff that won’t know how to fix the problems of a very young NFL team.
February 6th, 2012 at 1:32 pm
Did I miss the hiring of Butch Davis as DC during Superbowl week? Thought this article mentioned it.
Also, all is not lost on offense until Marty accepts another team’s OC offer.
February 6th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Eric- man, that Tim Ryan is a Genius! No wonder the Bears made him a Team Captain!
Butch Davis would be ( the first) good hire. Quinn looks like it could be a good hire.
Everything else thats happened so far has disaster written all over it
February 6th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
I don’t buy it. Everything we see and read says Schiano’s players are NFL ready. He is a no-nonsense disciplinarian. He isn’t gimmicky. It is about doing the fundementals and donig your job and being accountable… just like the 2 coaches who were just in the SB.
Whether he is succesful or not will be another story, but he appears to the have the correct makeup to be so.
February 6th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Quinn, chose to stay put. I have to say ,Well done. As a college coach dealing with >>>hold on>>>wait for it >>> STUDENT ATHLETES it SHOULD be a decision made much earlier so both the kids and the school can deal. Yes to me the kids DO count vs the NFL where the players are employee’s.
February 6th, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Bulldog. You sound like a man of principles. That is a great and rare thing nowadays.
Sadly, it sounds like the Quinn deal was vetoed due to contract amount, no guaranteeed money, and a poor bonus/Benefits package. I hope the kids were a factor also.
Either way, he was smart to avoid this mess.
February 6th, 2012 at 7:23 pm
Anybody claiming that the Bucs defensive collapse was due to Ruud leaving is a hack. It’s not like our defense had far to fall to begin with. Where did we finish in Run D in 2010? Part of that can be attributed to Ruud’s sorry ass. Maybe he would have provided some veteran leadership but with the defensive schemes that were being implemented Barrett Ruud was not going to right the ship. A whole slew of things attributed to the defensive collapse like a whole slew of injuries and piss poor coaching. Anyone who can tell me with a straight face that Barrett Ruud would have made the difference has been drinking way more than beer. They’ve been hitting the hard stuff.
February 6th, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Bobby- I know being a Homer is a hard job, but don’t you ever get sick of being wrong?? I mean, Dude, youve never been right about anything you’ve posted! I get that you like the team, and pig at on the Glazer stew at the trough every night.
But are you really claiming you know more about Football than Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan?? What do you take to become that delusional? How do you aquire such a false sense of Granduer? It’s gotta be really potent, but it makes your post some funny stuff to read
You realize that between those two, they have played, Scouted, coached, and served as NFL anaylist. Their whole life has been working in theNGL at all the highest levels.
Yet you know better. Thats gotta be the stupidest claim I’ve heard here. Did you play in the NFL? Scout? Coach?
No, I didnt think so.
While you were predicting playoffs last spring, they( and I) correctly predicted the total collapse of the defense. Yes, because of Ruud- pay attention and learn something, kid, yer clueless.
And when they( and I) say that hiring Schiano is a huge mistake- you better pay attention, and believe it.
After all, the only other opinion you have is yours. And that’s proven to be the most clueless one of all.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
Damn Captain, you really need to lay off of some people. It was less than a couple years ago when you were getting criticized for being a homer, now you have turned around and are continuously blasting people for being a homer. What’s next, are you going to start calling us “sheep” too (you’ve already done the unthinkable and put a 2.2 at the end of your name)? That’s great that you predicted a losing season, and you have apparently correctly predicted our fate since the beginning of time, but I think you may be getting a little too full of yourself as a result. Everyone has their own opinion, even the experts. For every “expert” criticizing or doubting the hire, you can find an “expert” praising it. It’s all just opinions until they hit the field. It’s extremely arrogant of you to tell someone they know nothing and you know everything (which is exactly what you are inferring). I mean, maybe I should just skip watching the games, because according to you it is going to be catastrophic? It’s f-ing February for God’s sake! Are you going to become the new Thomas, because I really don’t think I can take 7 months of all this negative crap. To me, it really takes away all the fun of the offseason. The offseason is all about having hope, but apparently you enjoy being the negative, know-it-all character now (as if we really needed another one of those). Fact is, you don’t know any more than my 7 year old daughter until the season actually starts. Neither does myself, Kirwan, Joe, or anyone else. Stop pounding your chest and relax a little.
February 7th, 2012 at 7:11 am
HawaiianBuc- if you read these post post, and the ones under the next, Bobby gets very insulting and throws out same vulgar names. The kid gets the stick. He’s clueless anyway
If you remember last spring, I was bitching that they didn’t resign two critical veterans( Caddy and Ruud). Was also jumping up and down that we didn’t sign FAs at CB and LBer. For good reason, as the defense collapsed without Ruud. And Talib, Hayes, and Black sucked like ussual
When the season started, I tried to be positive.
This year, the Glazers are hiring cheap, inexperienced coaches. Go to Wiklopedia. Read P J Flecks tiny lil resume. There is no way you can honestly say you believe we hired the best man available to teach our young WRs how to succeed! None!
I’m sick of these guys going cheap, and then complaining people won’t support the team! Lowest payroll in NFL for multiple years. Lowest paid coaching staff for multiple years.
Come on! Enough is enough
Two years ago, this team had promise- and o defenfended them to the tees. And we won 10 games.
Last year, I watched them go cheap and stupid. I bitched about it all a
Spring. Everyone told me Ruud sucked. And our LBer who wasn’t a total %ussy walked . No FAs at all. Everyone here shouting about going to the playoffs. Even you said I was nuts, and the team would at least match it’s previous record
4-12
This year- small school coaches, no NFL experience worth mentioning. Throwing these guys in over their heads. Gonna hurt the team- gonna set our young players development back years
You wanna bet I’m wrong?
February 7th, 2012 at 12:45 pm
@Capt. Tim…So you’re actually saying that Ruud…Barrett Ruud…the same guy who was getting carried down field by runners and was the MLB on a defense that finished at the bottom of the league in run defense….THAT Barrett Ruud would have made the difference in our defense this year?????? And you base that on what?? Don’t ever call me clueless. I am absolutely convinced that you never played a snap of football in your life. Don’t start telling me about how much Pat Kirwan and others know about football if you think you know better than all the analysts on the Schiano hire. You believe anyone who supports your point of view….period.
February 7th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Don’t put words in my mouth Captain. I have never made a prediction on our record. I never say more than i feel good about out chances. I said nothing either way prior to last year. Either you have me confused with someone else or you are delusional, because it’s simply not true.
I really don’t think you understand the point of my previous post. It’s not always about being right or wrong. We simply don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t even have any idea what our team is going to look like next year. It’s all speculation. Even if we are terrible this coming year, why would you feel the need to pound your chest telling everyone how right you are. Trust me on this one, that gets very annoying and takes away from some really good posts that you make. Nobody likes a know-it-all.