Leaning On Bill Belicheat
April 2nd, 2012
When the Bucs hired Greg Schiano to replaced jettisoned Raheem Morris, a lot was made about Schiano’s relationship with Bill Belicheat. In fact, word was that Belicheat strongly lobbied Team Glazer and Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to hire Schiano.
How close are the two? It seems that at the NFL owners meetings last week in Palm Beach, Schiano was spotted often with Belicheat as Schiano is trying to pick up any nugget of information he can from the three-time Super Bowl coach, so reports popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, beer-chugging Peter King, the NBC Sports guru and Sports Illustrated scribe.
To start each work week, Joe inhales King’s must-read Monday Morning Quarterback column. Today, King puts forth the belief that Schiano is so close to Belicheat, that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Schiano could someday replace Belicheat as the Patriots coach when Belicheat decides to retire.
Mentor and mentee were together a lot in Palm Beach. “He knows every player in the National Football League,” said Schiano, the new Tampa Bay coach. “When you’re a young coach you go to clinics with a pad full of notes. As you get on in coaching, you know who you are and what you believe in, so maybe you’ll go someplace and come away with a note or two. He’s the one guy still when I sit with him, I still have two pages of notes. That shows you how bright he is. He’s treated me very well.”
I wondered the other day, when Belichick retires, is Schiano the kind of guy he’d recommend to be his successor as Patriots coach. You never know what the future could bring.
Well, for now, Schiano is the Bucs coach. And today, he actually for the first time gets to coach and meet all his players. Schiano will be in meetings this morning with Buccaneers and on the practice fields of One Buc Palace.
April 2nd, 2012 at 8:15 am
And so the journey begins…
April 2nd, 2012 at 8:37 am
Admittedly, I like the guy, but plaudits and kudos aside, the guy’s got some work to do here before we put him in the HOF!
April 2nd, 2012 at 8:39 am
I would love to be a fly on the wall in the Bucs auditorium today, when Schiano gives that first speech. It’s gunna be a rude awakening for a lot of guys on this team!!
April 2nd, 2012 at 8:45 am
I don’t think there will be any chest bumps between coach and player….thankfully!
April 2nd, 2012 at 9:06 am
OMG, our savior is leaving us already!
April 2nd, 2012 at 9:12 am
Now that we can start early due to new coaching staff, can we do everything, that we might do in OTA’s and training camp?? We can do more than just sit in a room for meetings, right?!?
April 2nd, 2012 at 9:42 am
Gotta bear down and win the Big East this year.
Heard we were co-favorites if we can just stop Ucon’s offense.
Wasn’t Mike Tomlin Rah’s mentor?
Maybe one day we will hire a guy that doesn’t need one…………..
April 2nd, 2012 at 9:57 am
@ bucbelevr
At this time, with the doors open to the facilities, that means players can come in, work out and sit with coaches to discuss systems, break down tape, and simulate game plans. They cannot be on the field doing any kind of practice (this would not mean that after getting on the same page with Mike Sullivan, Freeman couldn’t try to get the WRs and RBs together to start throwing balls and working on concepts).
Once OTAs start, (mid April for the Bucs), the team can get the players on the field for drills, but there can be no pads (other than helmets) and no contact what so ever.
Training camp is when players will be able to put on the pads and start hitting one another.
April 2nd, 2012 at 9:58 am
Happy First Day of Offseason Workouts everyone!
April 2nd, 2012 at 10:05 am
@Eric I take it someone had a bad weekend? Jeez man at least give the guy a chance to actually coach before you start hammering him.
April 2nd, 2012 at 10:11 am
Name calling aside, Bill Belichick is one of the best Head Coaches the NFL has seen and his apparent willingness to help and endorsement of Coach Schiano is a good thing.
Of course this opinion comes from a guy who actually likes and follows the Buccaneers and the NFL so what do I know?
April 2nd, 2012 at 10:18 am
@clayburn,
More hammering Peter King and his following Belicheat comments.
Heck even guys who coached with Belicheat for years have been failures as Head Coaches.
They guy hasnt coached a game and King is puting out he could be following Belicheat as coach of the Patriots?
Me thinks he overmunched his popcorn.
I am unimpressed with who the guys mentor is. Rah worked directly under one of the best defensive coordinators in history and sucked it up.
That being said, Schiano will do a fine job IMO, on his own merits.
King’s an idiot IMO.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:50 am
Let me qualify my following remarks with the fact that I really like Schiano…and I believe the staff assembled to support him is top notch…
…and not to rain on anyone’s parade…
…but didn’t Belichik also similarly endorse Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weiss, Josh McDaniels, Eric Mangini, Nick Saban, and Jim Schwartz?
April 2nd, 2012 at 12:23 pm
You know…a fantastic incentive to get season ticket buyers would be insider videos of the meetings…edited of course, to leave out top secret content.
THAT would sell some season tickets.
April 2nd, 2012 at 12:26 pm
@BucBuckeye
Another question…did Bill ever offer Schiano a job? You would think so if he saw such potential in the man.
Alas…the destiny of the Buccaneers is to always try to defy the odds in regard to coaches.
April 2nd, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Every once in a while I read a comment and just shake my head in wonder. Eric took the cake today. “Maybe one day we’ll hire someone who doesn’t need a mentor”…??? Just how stupid is that. First of all, in the history of the NFL has there ever been a HC who didn’t at some point in time have a mentor? Of course not. It would be impossible to learn all the nuances of the game without studying not only the game itself but the way the game is implemented by others and learning under others better than you as you progress. Wisdom is not waiting for experience to teach you lessons that you can learn from others who ‘already have’ that experience.
April 2nd, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Such dribble, why are we talking about Schiano coaching the Patriots? I rather read nothing over that garbage.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:54 pm
Peter King, he’s all or nothing for me.. Guy hasn’t even cooached a game and he’s predicting a future change? cmon, thought that was Urban’s spot:)