Bucs Hire Lovie’s Old Defensive Backs Coach
January 16th, 2016
New Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter and defensive coordinator Mike Smith have paid homage to Lovie Smith.
Per Alex Marvez of FOX Sports and SiriusXM NFL Radio, the Bucs have hired Jon Hoke to be their defensive backs coach.
Hoke was pegged by Lovie to coach Bears cornerbacks in 2009. Hoke, 58, stuck with Chicago after Lovie was fired following the 2012 season. He was one of just two assistants retained by Marc Trestman and later the Bears in 2015, following Trestman’s firing. Hoke became co-defensive coordinator of the University of South Carolina last season under Steve Spurrier, who he worked with at the University of Florida.
Hoke also coached the Houston Texans’ DBs from 2002 through 2008.
Joe likes that Hoke will understand what he must coach out of the heads of the Bucs cornerbacks, the few that remain this season.
Joe is open-minded about Hoke. Sure, he was a former Lovie assistant and Lovie’s secondary was atrocious with the Bucs. But Joe’s heard rumblings from trusted sources that the gaggle of Bucs secondary assistants weren’t, well, shall we say, in harmony with Lovie’s philosophy this past season.
January 16th, 2016 at 12:32 pm
So far, I’m liking what’s happening 👍
January 16th, 2016 at 12:41 pm
Another improvement.
January 16th, 2016 at 12:53 pm
Not in harmony with Lovie’s philosophy? Well said Joe, that’s such a genteel way to put it. My personal preference would’ve been that they sank the USS Lovie all by themselves.
January 16th, 2016 at 12:59 pm
What I find interesting is the amount of times he was kept on staff of the new head coach when another head coach was fired. Also, I amimoressed by the amount of times he followed associates to a new place. These signs point to a special coach. Good hire. Also most of these coaches are 4-3 and 3-4 diverse.
January 16th, 2016 at 1:24 pm
I’d much rather have Lovie’s coach than Lovie’s Son….
January 16th, 2016 at 1:25 pm
At least he’s not getting the job because of nepotism. He’s not related to either Koetter or Mike Smith…yeaaaaaa
January 16th, 2016 at 1:32 pm
As a South Carolina fan, I don’t know how I feel about this. Our defense was terrible last year under Hoke. I hope it just was lack of talent and not poor coaching. I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t watch much because we were so bad, so I’m not sure which it is.
I realize he’s DB coach and not DC, but still.
January 16th, 2016 at 1:36 pm
I am so glad that Joe reported this. I said earlier this year that there was rumblings from players and coaches about Lovie!!! The truth shall be told!!!!!
And I would rather have lovie’s old db coach then lovie!!!!
See Buc fans, Dreams do come true!!!! Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 16th, 2016 at 2:26 pm
Jeez, Louise, it’s not even 48 hours since Koetter was hired and he is being second-guessed. Let.the.new.coach.pick.his.staff…..period.
January 16th, 2016 at 3:31 pm
The Bucs are hiring Atlanta Falcon retreads. They never won a superbowl with the Falcons..and won’t win one with the Bucs. Say hello to the new..Tampa Bay falconeers. How pitiful.
January 16th, 2016 at 3:47 pm
mike, you are just bishing to bish. when was this guy ever with the falcons organization? he wasn’t. just sit back, shut your hole, and enjoy the ride. there is nothing to complain about, yet.
January 16th, 2016 at 4:16 pm
We have really good coaches on both sides of the ball.
Have not had that since Chucky/Monte
Provided we keep drafting well we are on our way IMO.
January 16th, 2016 at 4:31 pm
What I also love is that we haven’t hired an OC. You remember that when we won the Super Bowl we didn’t have an OC either–Chuckie called the plays. Koetter should do likewise. You know that is what Jamesis would want! Our new DC was a much better DC before he took over Atlanta as HC. I am pumped by the way this is sorting out!!!
January 16th, 2016 at 4:37 pm
Say hello to the new..Tampa Bay Falconeers baby!
January 16th, 2016 at 4:38 pm
Koetter said Friday he will call plays.
January 16th, 2016 at 4:46 pm
Koetter also pointed out that 3 of the 8 teams still in the playoffs have HC’s who call their own plays. He clearly does not want to give this up!!!
January 16th, 2016 at 4:52 pm
Soaking in all the Bucs coaching happenings pumps me up. It’s a high all over the place. How anyone could think things will be worse is beyond me.
January 16th, 2016 at 5:38 pm
What we are seeing is competence, and personally, I think it starts with Jason. The staff is solid and coming together fast. We should be totally ready to go by the Senior Bowl, which should be hugely helpful from a player evaluation standpoint. This is really exciting.
January 16th, 2016 at 6:07 pm
So far, I’m liking what’s happening too👍
January 16th, 2016 at 6:09 pm
My next door neighbor is a life-long Falcons fan…..he told me that he was jealous….that they are great coaches that simply ran into a cyclical downturn….happens to many…happened to Payton, Coughlin, Ryan, Fox….
I was particularly complimentary on the Mike Smith DC hire.
January 16th, 2016 at 6:13 pm
Koetter retains Embree and Spencer….no word on Andrew Hayes Stoker….he may be history…..
January 16th, 2016 at 7:47 pm
I think they should have kept hardy Nickerson….He did a great job
January 16th, 2016 at 8:12 pm
At least we have another year to attempt to restore Verner, Banks, McDougald etc… to where everyone expected them to be.
If Lovie would have remained here we would have had to blow out almost the entire secondary and surely drafted for need instead of BPA.
It’d be great to be a ‘fly on the wall’ in Jason, Dirk and Mike Smith’s discussions about the talent on this defense and how badly it’s been squandered/maximized.
#nomorepu**ies!
January 16th, 2016 at 8:27 pm
Lovie’s philosophy was to sham and scam someone out of millions to play pretend HC….well played fker, glad you’re gone now.
Im loving the way things are coming together for us.
Btw, anyone else notice the Guard for Arizona, Ted Larson? hah! another misused talent by failed coaching I guess.
January 16th, 2016 at 8:51 pm
me want championship. me want smash panthers
January 16th, 2016 at 8:53 pm
Max….I’m telling ya. 1 part of me thinks that was what WAS actually going on.
I could sit here and explain my reasoning for this but why bother?
The only short way to explain my reasoning is, I thought Lovie tanked 1/2 of 2014 to get Jameis. It wasn’t until 1/2 way through 2015 that I realized how wrong I was. He really WAS just here to collect that money. You can’t suck THAT bad not be doing it on purpose.
January 16th, 2016 at 9:01 pm
Yes Sir 87….. “tanks” for getting us Winston, job well done, move along now.
January 16th, 2016 at 9:10 pm
Rest In Pease
Ted Marchibroda
(March 15, 1931 – January 16, 2016)
One of the Greatest Teachers of our time.
January 16th, 2016 at 9:14 pm
Now I see part of your molding LUV. You bring some great perspective here.
January 16th, 2016 at 9:17 pm
Thank you Max
U do as well Sir
January 16th, 2016 at 9:23 pm
Lol.
Winston is a talent magnet.
Howard doesn’t know what to think anymore. He’s used to being pissed off about the Bucs. What the hell is going on? This team is making all the right moves.
January 16th, 2016 at 9:29 pm
Mike Smith being able to focus exclusively on defense will pay off. The guy is so intense. Trade anyone but Kwon for draft picks. Im so ready for this defense to give opponents a hard time.
January 16th, 2016 at 9:56 pm
I am so excited for the new coaching staff. I hope the offense can build of their 2015 success, and the defense should improve too.
We have a boat load of cash for Free Agency. Let’s hope we don’t strike out this year. This will be a really pivotal off season for Jason Licht, as he has full control over free agency and he has lost his right hand man, Jon Robinson, to the Titans.
I hope we can make some really solid signings. I hope we can sign a big name defensive end.
January 16th, 2016 at 10:11 pm
I am not against getting rid of Hardy Nickerson. Only one linebacker played above expectations–Keon Alexander. All others played below or way below expectations. This talk of taxing away players is nuts. Let’s see what good coaching and scheme can do. Let’s fill holes before creating new ones.
January 16th, 2016 at 10:14 pm
Mario Williams please Licht get him!
January 16th, 2016 at 10:15 pm
How could Lovie allow his assistants to not be on the same page with him? More “lack of discipline” that was manifested with all of the undisciplined penalties, and childish behavior in the season’s final game.
January 16th, 2016 at 10:27 pm
I am starting to believe that Lovie didn’t tank for Winston…..Lovie simply lost trying to win.
January 16th, 2016 at 10:49 pm
TBBF…..I’m serious too actually.
He did’nt really care win or lose and I think some of the players were starting to catch on. I could be wrong, but to show NO emotion for those dumb penalties game after game was too painful to watch.
In other news Mikal Smith just got hired at Steak n Shake to work the shake machine, but so far it doesn’t look good.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:11 pm
at least lay off the man’s family.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:14 pm
Btw, I said it before but want to reiterate it….Cardinals will win SB 50! Those DB’s. Thats why I hope we move up for Jalen Ramsey. Its a passing league and we need to shut that down!
Cards vs NE….Cards win…..I dont gamble but for those who do, play your Cards right big boys (you’re welcome).
January 16th, 2016 at 11:26 pm
OMG this game!!! This will be the play of the game at the end! Thats a catch!
January 16th, 2016 at 11:27 pm
wtf is going on in the game? that was crazy.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:28 pm
why did the defensive backs allow that hail mary?
January 16th, 2016 at 11:31 pm
Unreal!!!!
January 16th, 2016 at 11:35 pm
crazy. starting with that last arizona td that was tipped.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:35 pm
FITZ!
January 16th, 2016 at 11:36 pm
a non-flipped coin toss add to the craziness.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:36 pm
And the coin didnt flip, that was crazy too!
January 16th, 2016 at 11:36 pm
and then that escape and catch…
WHAT A GAME!
January 16th, 2016 at 11:38 pm
BOOM!
January 16th, 2016 at 11:38 pm
Whatta game! Cant wait to see JW3 lead our Bucs to wins like this.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:39 pm
un-friggen-believable. and fitzgerald gets it anyways. lol
January 16th, 2016 at 11:40 pm
Yeah guys. Amazing game. I had no dog in the fight. Just really enjoyed watching 2 good teams. Larry Fitz still the best WR in the game IMO.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:40 pm
i hope AZ does win it all. palmer and fitzgerald are consummate pros.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:41 pm
evans should be taking notes.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:41 pm
mmmmm packer fans tears 🙂
January 16th, 2016 at 11:43 pm
AZ going all the way….its in the “cards”
January 16th, 2016 at 11:43 pm
Lurker….the man’s family coached our secondary. So that kid is far from off limits.
Crazy playoff games this season. Wow!
January 16th, 2016 at 11:44 pm
Boo hoo Packers fans. that coin must have been real heavy not to flip.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:46 pm
i knew that would be your retort, 87.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:47 pm
let’s see some more great games tomorrow.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:47 pm
Eh….I was only going for the Cards, because my new neighbors just moved here from Zona.
Plus I get tired of watching the same datum teams every season. Even though I appreciate the fact GB is owned by the fans.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:50 pm
“Plus I get tired of watching the same dayum teams every season. Even though I appreciate the fact GB is owned by the fans.”
i agree!
January 16th, 2016 at 11:52 pm
Yes I keep waiting for the Seahags luck to run out. I’m glad it’s 1 pm game.
I hate these iPads. I’m such a speed typer and this makes me feel handicapped.
I don’t know how you kids use these things.
January 16th, 2016 at 11:57 pm
The Cards DB’s….thats why Im focused in on them.
January 17th, 2016 at 12:15 am
eh, not much of a resume.
January 17th, 2016 at 5:57 am
“In other news Mikal Smith just got hired at Steak n Shake to work the shake machine, but so far it doesn’t look good.”
Well, you see sometimes the shakes come out on an angle, sometimes also known as a ‘slant’. In these instances, Mikal Smith remains dumbfounded, unable to grasp what causes this crazy angle to begin with, let alone being smart enough to actually do anything to stop it. So the slants continue, piling up until the sh!t is so thick that m. Smith and his comrades are left drowning in their own sorrow, excrement, and incompetence.
This story is brought to you through a joint partnership of rye whiskey, sexy dancing SoCal girls, and some of Cali’s finest buds! Goodnight fans, go Bucs!
January 17th, 2016 at 8:50 am
Im so stressed Im losing my hair over my Bucs….Im serious….the last 2 years Ive lost at least 30%, maybe its because im 43, not sure yet. But all I want to see is disciplined quality play from our guys.
Is that too much to ask? NO! IT ISNT!
January 17th, 2016 at 9:22 am
The Buc Realist Says:
January 16th, 2016 at 1:36 pm
“See Buc fans, Dreams do come true!!!! Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Realist…. you don’t have to tell me that, the Bucs got Jameis Winston for me.
Max…my family swears that is one of the reasons why I have so many health problems. Stress. They say this site and this team are contributing to it.
January 17th, 2016 at 11:25 am
Jon Hoke is known as a teacher and has all the experience you can think of. Best of all he is only one, one secondary coach.
January 17th, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Cannot say I am too pleased with the moves made on defense so far with the coaching. Leys at least hope they guys are smart enough to hang onto and start our three best corners rather than bench them. And to also have them line closer then 10 friekin yards off the reciever every snap.I dont care if thats scheme, by design or what. ITS STUPUD!!!!!My two year old could provide better coverage than that
January 17th, 2016 at 7:40 pm
I don’t see why people are excited about this scrub. In 2014 his secondary allowed 30 points per game while giving up a whopping 107 qb rating to opposing QB’s.this coach is atrocious at best just like most of these defensive coaching moves.
January 17th, 2016 at 7:48 pm
@MadMax why would we move up to pick another safety? And before you say anything stupid thats the position he’s slated to play in the NFL cause he’s so damn slow.
January 18th, 2016 at 5:59 am
LOL, are you kidding me? SPEED? He has 4.4 speed can jump and most of all is his mind speed….he’s another Revis in the making, you’ll see