Don’t Fire Greg Schiano
October 21st, 2013
Yes, you read that headline correctly. Joe doesn’t think it is prudent to fire the Bucs commander today, despite the ugliest of ugly tailspins the franchise is in, losing 11 of 12 games and One Buc Palace enveloped in drama and controversy.
Just what good would it do to release Schiano this week? You mean the Bucs might be propelled to win three games? Oh, good! Kiss goodbye to Jake Matthews or Jadeveon Clowney or Teddy Bridgewater.
It seems ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas is of the same mind, sort of. He doesn’t think it is smart at all to let the embattled Bucs commander loose.
But the alternative that so many fans want — an interim coach — isn’t the answer. Sure, the Bucs could make special teams coordinator Dave Wannstedt their interim coach. He has been an NFL head coach before. Or the Bucs could turn to Butch Davis, who is a special adviser to Schiano. Davis also has been an NFL head coach.
What good would either of those moves do the Bucs, who have to turn around and play a Thursday night game against Carolina? Firing Schiano and replacing him with Wannstedt or Davis would only throw this team into more disarray — and, yes, that is possible.
Going the interim route never is the answer. You only do that when things are totally out of control and you’re only prolonging the inevitable — the arrival of a new coach.
Now to be fair, Joe and Yasinskas want Schiano to stay for far different reasons. Joe wants a damned good draft slot. Winning games for the Bucs at this point is like going to a clothing optional establishment where you can’t touch the hired hands. I mean, what’s the point?
Yasinskas thinks there is a chance — albeit, a very, slim chance — that Schiano, with three years left on his contract, can still turn the Bucs around.
Either way, bouncing Schiano now just for the sake of doing something accomplishes nothing except to pacify AngryFan. If anything, it could scare away potential coaching candidates thinking Team Glazer will not support them through tough times.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:12 am
I’ll say what everyone said about Freeman. You can’t get worse than no wins
October 21st, 2013 at 8:15 am
The problem is that AngryFan spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on season tickets. AngryFan isn’t going to attend the games making RayJay look like the Jacksonville’s upper deck. Isn’t going to pay for parking. Isn’t going to buy merchandise or food. AngryFan isn’t going to renew those season passes.
AngryFan doesn’t want to sit through another embarrassing loss. Not one.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:15 am
Can’t say that I agree Joe. Ditching schiano now tells “AngryFan” that there is change coming. It says that this will not be tolerated. It says that we don’t have to see schiano take the podium every game and spew his nonsense and talk to the fans and media as though we’re morons who should just believe in him because he has all the right answers. I honestly don’t care who the coach is going forward. Let’s do special guest appearances every week where Buc favorites from years past each get a week as the head coach for the remaining games. Who cares. We want to lose. We just don’t want to see schiano here every week as a reminder of who is responsible for this travesty. The fact that he still has a job after he’s screwed it up this badly is insulting
October 21st, 2013 at 8:17 am
Agree!!!!!!
October 21st, 2013 at 8:21 am
If they get straight up humiliated Thursday thats the only way I see him getting fired in season because you then have the 10 days to work in the interim coach. But yeah firing him now pretty much accomplishes nothing. He’ll be fired at the end of the year when it makes more sense.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:27 am
Hatred is born out of fear….most fear Schiano may somehow hang in there so they want a steak through his heart now.
We are not getting blown out of games and it looks like the team hasn’t quit. I just don’t see how an interim helps. If Schiano has any “change his ways” in him…we will start to see it soon.
I do believe he should be fired…just not now.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:27 am
I think after we get blown out by Carolina at home that will be enough. At that point it is time to pull the plug on this mess. Who says and interim coach gives us a better record at the end of the year?
October 21st, 2013 at 8:31 am
Not sure if I completely agree with Joe’s logic ( certainly the premium draft pick will be nice) but I sure don’t agree with Precious Patty’s take. He claims that the team will run amuck sans Schiano. I believe if anything the team will play better. After the suddenly hot Panthers give the Bucs a proper rogering on Thursday night…all bets are off.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:32 am
Dead man walking. After Carolina have 11 days ’til the stomping in Seattle. Sure, wait ’til Friday then. I don’t think it will matter either way. Some of us do, gasp, want to see a game won. I think the defense is making a statement silently getting 31 points scored against them with only a starting TE (who didn’t do much) playing the game for Atlanta. If NYG loses tonight, then we know they’re using the Colts theory of losing every game purposely.
You have a dilemma, do we scare away coaching candidates or scare away player candidates with a terrible record, infected facilities and leaks abound. I’d rather have the good players. I don’t have faith in Clowney, why he is so talked about I don’t know. Has he even made one sack this year? I think he did, just can’t remember it.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:34 am
I do not agree and after reading your blog posts of late on Schiano I’m not convinced you wholeheartedly believe this either. That same message of ownership not supporting the coach through tough times is going to be sent whether he’s fired today or at the end of the season. I know you don’t believe for one second Schiano is going to coach this team in 2014. What the Bucs are going through right now hardly qualifies as a tough time. A tough time is a 3-4 game losing streak. This sort of losing has been going on for nearly a calendar year.
All coaches in all major sports know that when they are hired they are, in almost all circumstances, going to be fired. I say fire Schiano after the Thursday night game when they lose to Carolina.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:36 am
Fire the jerk today. Please.
I’m offended we’re even talking about keeping him. Fire him out of principle. Put in an interim. Clean the rest of the house in the offseason, starting with Dom.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:37 am
And, AGAIN, Joe calls for a tank job.
Just offensive as hell to those of us who pay to see this team.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:40 am
Schiano will be fired after the Panthers game. The interim HC will have more than a week to settle in. I could tell you, or er – suggest the interim coach, but then why spoil all the fun?
October 21st, 2013 at 8:41 am
“Going the interim route never is the answer. You only do that when things are totally out of control and you’re only prolonging the inevitable — the arrival of a new coach.”
THAT GAVE ME A GOOD LAUGH! AHAHA
This writer literally contradicted his entire statement with that last paragraph. Such an idiot.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:43 am
“If they get straight up humiliated Thursday thats the only way I see him getting fired in season because you then have the 10 days to work in the interim coach.”
I have to agree, the earliest I’d dump him would be Friday, but I’m inclined to, sort of, agree with Joe. The only advantge I see in dumping coach durimg the season, MIGHT be to give 2014’s coach extra time to evaluate the roster & decide who he wants to dump, or keep. Not sure how much value that would have if they chose an ‘interim’ guy for the rest of this season.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:50 am
@ d-Rome well said, @meh I agree I’ve paid for mostly a mess since Gruden was let go. There home record since then is a joke.
The Falcons basically trotted out a pre-season team with Matt Ryan and we still mostly got it handed to us. Tell me again why Revis wasn’t on their only experienced receiver. Why L Johnson is covering Douglas let alone anyone is flat out poor coaching. If the team gets blown out in Thursday it’s time to pull the plug. 10 days is time enough to repair. Don’t get me wrong I don’t like any other option they have on the team but this debacle has to end.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:57 am
The only thing that will make me happy now is for Josh Freeman to have a horrible game tonight.
This time, I will be rooting for him to fail.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:59 am
Wannstedt will finish the season as head coach but the win loss column won’t change. The problem with the Buc’s is systemic and installing a new scheme this late in the season won’t work.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:00 am
@DomsAdvisor – Not sure how that makes anything better. That’s like hoping an ex girlfriend gets dumped by her next boyfriend. It’s a useless thing to spend your time thinking about, much less rooting for
October 21st, 2013 at 9:03 am
With a top pick our first pick has to be a QB
October 21st, 2013 at 9:05 am
Hey we should hire a superbowl winning coach! Dungy? oh yea thats right we fired him, Gruden? Oh yea we fired him too. Hmmm maybe would should try and get a supberbowl winning qb in here. Dilfer? Williams?Young? oh yea we fired them too. If Im the Glazers Im going to give Schiano a chance to turn this thing around. History says to do the opposite of what ignorant, inpaitent fans say to do…
October 21st, 2013 at 9:07 am
That’s a strange thing to say. The Bucs are not 0-6 this year because of Josh Freeman.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:09 am
Ian@
October 21st, 2013 at 9:11 am
Turn this thing around? That’s rich, givemebalz!
Signed,
Impatient & Ignorant Fan
October 21st, 2013 at 9:21 am
“Yasinskas thinks there is a chance — albeit, a very, slim chance — that Schiano, with three years left on his contract, can still turn the Bucs around.”
More proof that Pat Yasinskas doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about.
However I agree that this is not the week to fire him. If they lose against Carolina I could see it happening with the long week after the thursday game.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:24 am
Yesterday was ugly. Thursday night against the Panthers with one of the best front sevens in the NFL and Doug Martin out, will be uglier. The Seahawks, with arguably the best secondary in the NFL, is going to be the ugliest. At that point, my best guess is that we get some kind of an announcement following the Monday Night Football game against the Dolphins.
The day long regurgitation of everything that has gone wrong with the Bucs on all of the major sports networks and the nationally-televised embarrassment of another Buc loss will be too much humiliation for the Glazers to bear. Anything longer than that would be considered intentional cruel and unusual punishment!
October 21st, 2013 at 9:24 am
Look at it this way on Freeman tonight….if he does well for the Vikings…there is one less team looking for a QB…if he doesn’t win tonight…then the Giants pick up a win and we go ahead of them in draft pick position.
Either way, we do well.
I think most hope that Josh succeeds or fails base on their feelings about Schiano. They blame Schiano for getting rid of Freeman.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:26 am
Meh,
I know it sounds cruel but that’s the only silver lining in this situation – if you start winning you accomplish nothing and set yourself back for getting the best qb you can.
Also that’s a bargaining chip for a real coach not this nincompoop!
October 21st, 2013 at 9:33 am
Freeman should’ve have been benched but not ousted! He was not playing well at all and his issues run deep as well. Can we move on from him BTW?
October 21st, 2013 at 9:34 am
I agree with you Joe. People may not want to hear this but picking 6th in the draft doesn’t get you the impact player you need. We need an impact QB and a new coach. An interim coach that wins a few games would probably be offered the job and I don’t want that.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:36 am
“The only thing that will make me happy now is for Josh Freeman to have a horrible game tonight.
This time, I will be rooting for him to fail.”
Not me. I’m hoping Josh lights it up….takes the Vikings out of the QB sweepstakes for the 2014 Draft, and gets a long term deal at the end of this year….THEN turn back into the Josh we all know and love.
Trust me…knowledgeable Vikings fans are crapping their pants over this scenario.
Rob in Land O’ Lakes
October 21st, 2013 at 9:39 am
The Glazers will have no choice but to fire Schiano mid-season if the fan outcry gets too intense. It’s already at a boiling point.
As for a new head coaching candidate being turned off by the Glazers firing the head coach mid-season, I don’t completely agree. Any head coaching candidate would have to agree that the situation has gotten so bad that ownership had no choice but to make a move. There are only 32 of these jobs available.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:50 am
Easy to not want him fired when you do not pay for tickets. Those press passes are pretty nice especially from the sidelines where Joe sits, watching the game on the Glazers dime. I don’t think by firing Schiano we are going to see a huge change in our draft positioning. From the looks of it the whole coaching staff is not making the right adjustments, are not getting the players to stop committing stupid personal fouls, and don’t look capable of coaching in the NFL. I could be wrong and Schiano could be holding them back, which I imagine is true to some degree but this guy need to GO!! NOW!! At least give “angry fan” some hope.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:51 am
JonBuc:
Glad you agree with me and admitted to your impatients and ignorance.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:57 am
Architek, if the team isn’t trying to win they’re stealing money from the fans. If they keep Schiano, then they aren’t trying to win.
The draft is a crapshoot, even at the top. Jostling for a couple draft slots doesn’t make stealing money from fans’ pockets ok.
October 21st, 2013 at 10:14 am
Poor preparation. Poor game management. Poor play. Only the owners can decide how much longer they will tolerate the continued destruction of their franchise. This is the point where special advisors are brought in and quietly assert control or poor leaders like this one develop family or medical issues that require them to step aside. The longer the Glazers wait, the worse it will get and the harder it will be to find a quality replacement. I want to believe they’re already looking and haven’t locked in the guy they want. Nothing else makes any sense.
October 21st, 2013 at 10:15 am
I don’t disagree with this thought process. At this point, I’m numb to the losses and I hope the team can secure a top three draft pick while the core players remain healthy for next season.
Three things need to happen when the season is over:
1. Release Josh Freeman: This one we can check off the list, and even if he turns into Fran Tarkenton on MNF, he needed to go. The regression and the poor attitude helped to torpedo the team. I was one of Josh’s biggest supporters, but he really let the team and the fanbase down.
2. Terminate Greg Schiano: We all know the media is like a shark in the water and a winless coach is a wounded man bleeding out, but the Bucs need to put an end to the shame that has fallen upon this organization. Forget the rumors about tossing Dexter Jackson from watching practice or the coaching staffs inability to implement second half adjustments even though there seems to be more coaches than players on the team, the man needs to go. It’s not personal and Schiano may still be a productive professional coach one day, just like Josh Freeman may still be a productive QB, but it’s not going to be here. The leaks, the losses, the drama, the inability to adjust in the second half, the lack of discipline, the MRSA, the talent that is not being maximized, it goes on and on. A change would be good for both parties, IMO.
3. Mark Dominink needs to follow Schiano out the door: This one is the toughest for me, because Dominik has had some good drafts, has signed elite talent, pulled off the Revis trade as well as the trades for Doug Martin and Lavonte David in the draft, and is a man that is doing the best he can based on the circumstances. Sure, he has doled out his fair share of bad contracts and he ultimately failed in securing a franchise QB in the draft with the Freeman implosion, but no GM is perfect. He did however bring in Greg Schiano, and again, it’s nothing personal, but the mess this team has been in has become so toxic that the Glazers will have to put on hazmat suits before handing out pink slips.
It’s time for this team to both figuratively and literally delouse themselves of this mess and offer an experienced professional coach, be it a top assistant or a ‘retired’ great, the keys to this ship. I’m telling you, with the right coaching staff, this team will have a turnaround next year just like Kansas City is experiencing now. Barring an immediate turnaround that results in an 8-8 season, this organization needs to clean house, period.
October 21st, 2013 at 10:48 am
John Mackay’s 0-26 team had better coaching.
October 21st, 2013 at 10:56 am
He will be fired this team is not disciplined they make stupid penalty’s there has not been any half time adjustments it is very hard as a die hard buc fan to watch this every week I know change is coming but hope it happens fast fan base is falling fast SAD
October 21st, 2013 at 11:00 am
We need a experienced coach and GM time to clean house and let them run the ship glazers sit back cut checks and let’s make this happen this team has talent just not being lead in the right direction we can be the Chiefs next year time to make the move
October 21st, 2013 at 11:17 am
Keep Schiano and the “Rutgers South” staff on board and we will get “Get slaughtered for Bridgewater”
October 21st, 2013 at 11:42 am
I’m not defending anybody but i do think its a little disingenuous to always speak of loosing 11 out of 12 haven’t they played 22 games, that being said he is 7 out of 22 which is a little worse than raheem
October 21st, 2013 at 1:31 pm
“1. Release Josh Freeman: This one we can check off the list, and even if he turns into Fran Tarkenton on MNF, he needed to go. The regression and the poor attitude helped to torpedo the team. I was one of Josh’s biggest supporters, but he really let the team and the fanbase down.”
Amen thegergwitful
But to somes logic firing Schiano and Dom like you suggested as well just isn’t allowed… It HAS to be one or the other lol. SmH, good job
October 21st, 2013 at 1:48 pm
Rob is right, I’m hoping Josh lights it up in MN, take them out of the QB sweepstakes. There’s not that many teams that need a 1st round QB. The Giants or Pittsburgh don’t. Think about it, what teams besides Jax and TB do? There are about 6 or 7 very good QB’s available in the draft and only 3 or 4 teams willing to bite the bullet with their #1.
That means Johnny Football just joined the Jadeveon Clowney Project (JCP).
I didn’t think the Little General would suck this bad, although I had him pegged as incompetent, he’s outdoing my expectations.
The Glazers might be forced to give Greg their OFFICIAL VOTE OF CONFIDENCE (beso de la muerte) on Friday. I was hoping the announcement would be much later in the season, like the day after the MNF loss to the Phins.
The JCP is difficult to keep on track but it is beautiful to behold, like a Cat 5 Hurricane.
October 21st, 2013 at 2:36 pm
We may have pass on Clowney for a bigger position of need, say QB?
If Glennon doesn’t work out?
Don’t you think so Miguel?
October 21st, 2013 at 2:39 pm
Screw all you “fans” who want to lose. You play to win the game aholes.
there is no guarantee that any draft pick will succeed.
October 21st, 2013 at 2:48 pm
I have never felt so strongly about firing a coach in the middle of the season. The longer Schitler is leading this team, the further we are set back. Players are going to continue to get hurt (ahem, Doug Martin), and they are going to try to do too much and put on bad film, which means we are probably going to get rid of some good players. He is clearly losing the locker room, if he hasn’t lost it already. Things are only going to get worse as the injuries mount. If getting rid of Schiano helps us win a few meaningless games, then I’m more than ok with that. I’m sick of losing, aren’t all of you? I’ve seen Bridgewater play a ton. I’m not sold he’s a sure thing. He’s not Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck. I’ve seen Mariotta play since high school. Great player, not sure it will work in the NFL. I just don’t think there’s a sure thing, so I don’t want to lose just for the opportunity to draft the popular player. Let’s win some games, because I’ve forgotten how that feels. I do vaguely remember that I enjoyed it.