Lovie Smith Ranked No. 1(B)
February 15th, 2014
Since the dismal 2013 season ended, Bucs fans are trying their best to forget what turned out to be one of the more tumultuous and drama-filed seasons in franchise history.
First there was the MRSA outbreak and a kicker’s wife blaming the Bucs for what ailed her husband, never mind he was getting paid a nice chunk of change to sit on his couch. Then there was the implosion of leaky Rip Van Freeman who tossed enough Molotov cocktails in the Bucs locker room to first get benched and then get run from his team.
The upheaval concluded with both rock star general manager Mark Dominik and commander Greg Schiano being jettisoned by Team Glazer.
Whew, that’s a lot to forget. But if there is salve for the wounds of Bucs fans, it is the typing of Mike Clay of Rotoworld.com. He ranked all NFL head coaches, and while Clay did not include Bucs coach Lovie Smith because he has yet to guide the Bucs in one game, Clay believes Lovie is atop the list of new NFL head coaches.
1. Lovie Smith, Buccaneers
Career Record: 81-63 (.563)Smith headlines what was ultimately an underwhelming group of new hires. Amongst three retreads, three coordinators and one college coach, there were no Marc Trestmans, let alone a Chip Kelly. But there were no outwardly bad hires, and if you’re going to recycle a coach, it might as well be someone like Lovie. A true master of the 4-3, Tampa 2 defense, Smith produced four 10-win campaigns in nine years in Chicago. His downfall was his utter inability to find competent hands on offense. He’s rolling the dice on novice NFL OC Jeff Tedford, who was a quarterback guru at Cal. Smith’s defense will be fine. If Tedford can whip up a good offense — and not get plucked away in the process — Smith should be in for a long stay on the gulf coast of Florida.
That’s pretty much the way Joe is looking at it. Joe has a lot of faith in Lovie — from the defensive side of the ball. Lovie will do fine there, and Joe even thinks Lovie can find a way where defensive linemen not named “Gerald McCoy” can actually breathe on opposing quarterbacks.
The offense? Well, Jeff Tedford has a lot of pressure on him. If he can somehow get the No. 32-ranked offense to average, say No. 12-20, Joe thinks the Bucs will have a very nice season.
But that’s going to be a tough row to hoe.
February 15th, 2014 at 6:08 pm
Still the worst coach in the division….
February 15th, 2014 at 6:17 pm
Bucs need a QB Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
February 15th, 2014 at 6:17 pm
Give the guy a chance first geez
February 15th, 2014 at 6:19 pm
Captain Stagger says nothing worth while
February 15th, 2014 at 6:20 pm
how is he worst than panthers or falcons choachs ? last year falcons fell on their face and pathers were going to fire ron before the went on a winning streak ? i ll take lovie, just my opinion
February 15th, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Lovie Smith Ranked No. 1(B) is like being the first player picked in the supplemental draft.
Even though his reputation precedes him, the jury is still out.
February 15th, 2014 at 6:30 pm
Yep.
February 15th, 2014 at 6:39 pm
I was hoping for Jay Gruden but I do like Lovie Smith so far.
The only bad thing he has ever done was trade for Gaines Adams. Monte probably sold him on that idea.
February 15th, 2014 at 6:57 pm
Ur crazy. “Riverboat” got lucky, Mike Smith had a crappy year and Payton rides the brees to Jimmy show. Lovie isn’t the worst.
February 15th, 2014 at 7:02 pm
I don’t get it? Everybody likes to compare stats from Glennon’s rookie season to Peyton Manning’s…but how could it be that the Bucs offense ranked dead last in Glennon’s rookie year while Peyton’s finished 12th?
February 15th, 2014 at 7:09 pm
The coaching will be there. If we get a good TE, 3rd WR, Nickel CB and some pass rush via draft or free agency, we will be pretty solid. I’m not worried about our O Line they will bounce back. Still not sure about glennon tho.
February 15th, 2014 at 7:10 pm
^^^I haven’t gone to the trouble of stat checking, but I’m guessing it could have something to do with Peyton having a healthy supporting cast around him which included Marvin Harrison? It might sound like excuses from a Glennonite, but the only elite option Glennon had for most of the season was VJax…and he had to face some tough defenses (Panthers, 49’ers, Seahawks…Rams, Cardinals, and Saints were no slouches either).
February 15th, 2014 at 7:11 pm
@Brandon
Try thinking for yourself. I bet if you tried “real” hard you’d probably come up with some plausible answers. You’re question is irrelevant when it comes to a team as a whole and not just the QB. ..smh
February 15th, 2014 at 7:12 pm
And yes tough to argue that out of the available hires this year Lovie and Wisenhunt had the best resumes. Hates to see Schiano get a raw deal by not getting a 3rd year considering the freak adversities last season, but the Bucs could have done a lot worse then Smith. I was pulling for Jay Gruden too, but I can understand the Glazers being gun shy about hiring another 1st time NFL HC.
February 15th, 2014 at 7:20 pm
@Brandon – thanks for getting us back on track. We nearly started talking about something other than the qb position for a moment. Looks like we’re right back on track
February 15th, 2014 at 7:31 pm
@brandon because Peyton had the best rb in the game who also had 86 receptions for 900 yrds..Marshal faulkl in his prime..I dnt love glennon, but Peyton had alot of help.witch he has said made life alot easier for him..
February 15th, 2014 at 8:13 pm
Tedford is the main hire I’m not sold on. I’m not against him, but I’m uncertain of his ability to make the leap.
I suspect we’ll be signing a new OC in a year or two, and not because he upgraded.
February 15th, 2014 at 8:17 pm
Glennon HAD enough tools. He just did not have the right OC.
A bad OC can destroy a good defensive head coach. (Tedford?)
Really, even though Peyton had Faulk, Glennon had a decent stable of runners as well.
February 15th, 2014 at 8:48 pm
I guess that captain stagger knows more than Tony Dungee
February 15th, 2014 at 9:08 pm
@BuccaneerBonzai
You seem like a pretty bright guy. You know the right answer to your slanted questions but with your stubborn stance against Glennon, you come across as smug. i.e. “Really, even though Peyton had Faulk, Glennon had a decent stable of runners as well”. Now where that may be true that each backup RB had some success their offensive line was atrocious most of the season, unlike Manning’s Colts who were ranked in the top ten. But see, I know you already knew that, you just want to ignore these things when it’s convenient to make your argument.
Quit trying to insult our intelligence by acting so naive. And NO Glennon didn’t have enough tools. He had the 4th worst o-line in the division. He was tied with Atlanta for the worst WR core in the division. He had the 4th worst T.E. in the division. He had the 4th worst OC in the division. He had no tools but somehow was able to complete 19 TDs to 9 ints in 3 less games as the other QBs played. He played better than Manning did in his rookie season. Through all that Glennon ended up with the 2nd best lowest interception percentage in the division just behind Brees. Please ..stop the rhetoric and use logic to defend your position.
February 15th, 2014 at 9:23 pm
Smith and Rivera have never got to a Super Bowl. Lovie is second best coach in the Division.
February 15th, 2014 at 9:38 pm
Worst coach?? Wow obviously knows nothing about football.
February 15th, 2014 at 9:46 pm
So in a few years Rivera takes the Panthers from a 2-14 team to a 12-4 division winner and AP Coach of the year…Smith, since taking over the falcons has finished 1st in the division twice, 2nd twice, and until last years injury debacle of a season was 56-24 with two 13-3 seasons and an 11-5 season.
Even including last years season Smith is at a .641 win percentage, Lovie a .563
Take off the pewter colored glasses, and stop playing the glory days song. Right now, today, 2/15/14….Lovie is the 4th best coach in the division.
February 15th, 2014 at 9:51 pm
Lovie is an Experienced Coach. He has proven he can build a winning team
I think all of us would be happy with a few 10 win seasons.
Can he build a successful offense- that can win Playoff games?
That needs a little more proof in the Pudding.
But I am very happy to have an experienced, proffesional, proven coach!
I’ll be happy to live thru a few winning seasons, before I start to expect more.
Not lowered standards – just winning games is first step to a winning program
February 15th, 2014 at 9:52 pm
And if we are using superbowls as the end all stat, and not winning percentage or coach of the year awards, or the ability to put a balanced product on the field (Rivera has stacked that D, and that offense is getting scary) the we must give Mike Smith and Rivera the same number of seasons as Lovie.
February 15th, 2014 at 9:56 pm
Ha… I’ve seen some dumbass comments before…
Payton
Lovie Smith
Rivera
Mike Smith
In that order
February 15th, 2014 at 9:59 pm
mac…welcome to JBF.
February 15th, 2014 at 10:01 pm
It’s Dungy. Not Dungee. As in Bungee. It’s Dungy!
February 15th, 2014 at 10:05 pm
Lovie is a proven NFL Coach and as I said last season if you pair a Successful Veteran NFL Coach with a Good QB who can keep plays alive by being mobile, the Bucs can win like Kansas City did this year after a bad season. The only fly in the ointment is Lovie picked a novice NFL OC who thinks he can fix Glennon and does not need a top QB. I don’t think he is going to be able to pull it off with Glennon who has too many flaws that aren’t fixable. Tedford need to hedge the great risk that Glennon will be a failure again by picking a good mobile QB in the first round of the draft!
February 15th, 2014 at 10:38 pm
Looking at total body of work there’s no doubt Lovie is at least the 2nd best coach in the division. Rivera had one good regular season w/ an awful post season. Mike Smith’s team was one of the sorriest teams in the league last season, and the excuse is he had a few injuries, to positions other than QB. Yeah ok
February 15th, 2014 at 11:22 pm
Going to a Super Bowl is not a good measure of the quality of a coach, otherwise Bill Callahan, Jim Caldwell and John Fox are better coaches than Marty Schottenheimer, which of course is absolutely absurd to suggest.
The better gauge is playoff appearances. You can’t win it if you aren’t in it. Lovie was a 33% playoff coach. Not awful to be sure, but not Andy Reid, who was a 64% playoff coach in a much, much tougher division. Lovie’s solid, but uninspiring. And now he’s in by far the toughest division he’s ever coached in. Will we be better than under Schiano? Almost certainly. Will we be a consistent playoff contender? Not even close to convinced.
February 15th, 2014 at 11:25 pm
Lovie’s worst record as head coach (his first year, 2004 5-11) is still better than our record last year. What exactly are we whining about? Look, I know we have a lot to complain about after last year’s debacle but please shut the pieholes until Lovie at least gets a few games under his belt with us.
February 15th, 2014 at 11:30 pm
@Me First
When the f@$k did Peyton have Faulk????
February 15th, 2014 at 11:45 pm
Oh I’m not whining…and I’m hoping the year off was good for Lovie and he learned from his mistakes in Chicago. I think it’s a good, not great, but good hire. But my hope does not cloud my judgement.
February 15th, 2014 at 11:49 pm
Going to the Super Bowl is more of a measure of coaching than playoff appearances. Until year before last Smith was eliminated in first round every year.
Rivera is 0-1 in playoffs and only been once.
Lovie has won an NFC Championship and is 3-3 in playoffs. 2nd appearance in NFC Championship game.
Easily the second best coach in the Division only slightly behind Sean. Only separation is Super Bowl win by Peyton.
February 16th, 2014 at 12:21 am
@Captain Stagger Says:
“…Still the worst coach in the division….”
I don’t normally like to get personal, but that is just stupid
I would grade Lovie out as 2nd best coach in NFC-S, only behind NO’s Payton. Not that Lovie is 1-on-1 behind Sean Payton, but because Payton has the O and D working pretty darn good between himself on O and Ryan on D. Lets see if Lovie can bring the O with Tedford.
February 16th, 2014 at 12:35 am
Right now our team is the 4th best team in the NFC South which is last. That’s all that matters to me.
February 16th, 2014 at 12:38 am
Yeah whatever Atl is better too, blah blah blah I don’t care if the Bucs beat them. The Bucs are the worst team in the NFC South.
Get to work Lovie!
February 16th, 2014 at 12:56 am
I bet lovie has at least a two year verbal commitment from Tedford to remain as OC…no matter how well he does, or poorly the first year. Sorta like staying in college…then entering the draft if good enough after the second year!
February 16th, 2014 at 3:48 am
Tedford is going to rock it out.
And he loves being an offensive coordinator, he’s planned for this, I suspect he’s committed and desires to be here as a tag team with Lovie for more than just a year or two.
February 16th, 2014 at 3:48 am
And I would put him in the top 2 of our division.
February 16th, 2014 at 3:49 am
Lovie that is
February 16th, 2014 at 3:55 am
need a new qb at the helm. otherwise we will sink like the pocket statue that is glennon.
also, lovie suck against teams over .500. look it up. it is atrocious. woulda rather had jay gruden also.
February 16th, 2014 at 3:57 am
Captain Stagger Said:
February 15th, 2014 at 11:45 pm
“Oh I’m not whining…and I’m hoping the year off was good for Lovie and he learned from his mistakes in Chicago. I think it’s a good, not great, but good hire. But my hope does not cloud my judgement.”
this is the correct thought process. +1
February 16th, 2014 at 5:13 am
I believe Lovie to be an excellent hire. As with any job a lot depends on “the fit”. Lovie fits well in Tampa Bay. He has a strong connection to this team and this city. He brought in and is attracting an excellent coaching staff and both he and the staff he has hired will attract needed players at valuable positions. This is a huge asset over the “Ragtag Rutger’s Regime”. Give credit to the Glazer who went all out to make sure that they got him. An improvement in the coaching staff makes all the difference to a team ….(Payton in New Orleans). Who thought at the end of last season tampa bay fans would have something to look forward to. Thank you Glazers for doing your part so well. Your a most welcome sight Mr. Lovie Smith….and welcome back to Tampa.
February 16th, 2014 at 8:54 am
Lets stop with all the comparing Peyton/Glennon crap. Neither side is gonna give in. Glennon will get some competition in camp.
Hey!! Why don’t we give Lovie a chance before we burn him. What an idea.
.
February 16th, 2014 at 9:32 am
anyone who compares Glennon to Payton is an idiot. There is no comparison; its the perfect example of “stats are for losers”.
February 16th, 2014 at 9:59 am
Lovie is a huge upgrade…..HUGE!
And whoever said lovie is the worst coach in the division is crazy…
As head coaches, I don’t believe Mike smith or Ron rivera have reached a super bowl. Like lovie did with a good defense and rex Grossman
February 16th, 2014 at 10:23 am
Pete C and Bill B are prime examples of what happens when a quality coach gets the chance to learn on the job and fail, only to reflect and adjust their “games” to be quite successful on their next go round.
Lovie will be the next example of this…his weakness in CHI – offense – he studies and teams with someone who has repeatedly developed NFL level QBS, rbs and receivers and has a big chip on his shoulder to prove he can hang in the NFL…I think a great move that gives us hope on offense
Too early to rank them, I think, we haven’t even had an off season work out yet, but no reason to believe by the end of this season he isn’t at minimum, #2 on the list…
February 16th, 2014 at 1:16 pm
@CLW JB, you’re right on. No doubt Lovie did a lot of soul searching as any of us would do after getting fired, especially after a 10 win season. Like Dungy, he’s a humble man that is not afraid to critique himself, do some soul searching and find out where he needs to grow and then take that on with passion. He knew the lack of a solid dependable offense cost him his job and no doubt decided “Never Again”. No doubt he’s determined to turn that alleged weakness in to a strength.
And how does he do that? First off, this time around, he found himself an OC he believed in BEFORE he became a head coach and just to confirm he was the right one, he spent an offseason discussing offensive strategy and preparing with him for when his next opportunity came. That seems pretty unique when coaches now-a-days are usually only loyal up to their next opportunity to advance. This combo of HC/OC is different and I expect they will be together for quite a while.
I also think that if Tedford says Glennon is not the answer and he needs another QB that Lovie will do all he can to give Tedford his preferred choice in the first round, free agency or via trade, even if it means moving up in the draft to get the right guy. Lovie KNOWS he can build a solid defense with what he already has by adding pieces through free agency. He also knows he has to trust his OC to know what’s needed and then go get it. And if Tedford’s a go with Glennon, then look for Matthews or Watkins to be the selection in the first round. Either way, the first pick in the Bucs draft, regardless of no. will be on the offensive side of the ball.
February 16th, 2014 at 3:34 pm
@pewter_power his rookie season 98 then faulk was traded to rams in 99
February 16th, 2014 at 6:58 pm
Anyone need a Snickers???
February 17th, 2014 at 2:10 am
Lookout for a breakout year for Mason Foster! You heard it here first 🙂
February 17th, 2014 at 8:31 am
@Me First
Oh my bad. I thought you were talking about Sean Payton coaching Faulk.
February 18th, 2014 at 12:57 am
We were all high on Freeman, and we were wrong.
Many are down on Glennon too, so perhaps we’re wrong again?