Did Mark Barron Doom Lovie?
January 24th, 2016
Did Mark Barron’s play in St. Louis stoke Team Glazer’s fire to run Lovie Smith?
Sure, at the end of the day, Lovie Smith was 8-24.
Only if your name is Gus Bradley and you have compromising photos of the Soup Nazi, Jags owner Shad Khan, in a safe deposit box, can you not only get away with a pitiful record but get an extension!
Team Glazer pulled the trigger to jettison Lovie. But was Mark Barron the straw that broke the camel’s back?
Barron, a 2012 first-round pick, played just OK with former Bucs commander Greg Schiano. Oh, he could hit. That’s about it. With Lovie, the dude couldn’t cover himself with a blanket. Barron was traded to St. Louis for a fourth- and a sixth-round pick, the fourth was used as ammo to trade up to grab Ali Marpet last May. So it’s not like the Bucs got nothing for Barron.
But in a recent interview with WHBO-AM 1040, the Custodian of Canton, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, referenced Barron as an example of Lovie’s inability to either be flexible with his defense or unable to get the most out of his players. Or both.
Playing in St. Louis for another defensive guru, Jeff Fisher, soon to work in his fourth city as an NFL head coach, Barron moved to outside linebacker and blew up, racking up 118 tackles this past season with four forced fumbles (takeaways!).
Interviewed just days before Lovie was jettisoned, Kaufman believed how Fisher was able to identify and mold Barron from a rotten safety into a damned good linebacker damned Lovie and his future with Tampa Bay.
“Look, I think you have to adjust your defense to your players, that’s Coaching 101,” Kaufman said. “And for example ,I give you Mark Barron. Discarded by the Bucs as a bum, we know he’s not very good in coverage and I’m not here to say he is.
“But the Rams found a way to use him. And he has been quite effective for a defense that, by the way, has been better than the Bucs defense. He is a hybrid linebacker and he is playing it very well. He’s a heck of a tackler and has a nose for the football, just don’t ask him to cover a tight end 30 yards downfield.”
Of course, Barron had eight tackles and a forced fumble against the Bucs on a chilly December Thursday night in St. Louis, the final NFL game in the Gateway to the West, before a national TV audience and the ever watchful eyes of Team Glazer.
Kaufman added that because of Barron, because of cutting Darrelle Revis, because Lovie was unable to get the most out of Johnthan Banks and Alterraun Verner, among others, Kaufman thought Lovie was on a short leash.
Only Kaufman didn’t realize just how short that leash was.
January 24th, 2016 at 7:51 am
Lovie didn’t believe in change, but we did. That’s why we got rid of him
January 24th, 2016 at 7:59 am
I’ve always thought the Jags owner Shahid Khan looks like that porn legend the great Ron Jeremy.
January 24th, 2016 at 8:07 am
Lovie doomed himself……Dominick doomed the Bucs with the Barron pick among others……where are they now…..sure, Barron may be a good linebacker….but we drafted a safety #7…..
January 24th, 2016 at 8:09 am
Wow. Everyone here wanted Baron gone. Now you are all going to blame Lovie for getting rid of him.
OHHHHHH, by the way. I doubt Lovie Smith called up the Rams and negotiated a trade. Who actually did?????
JASON FREAKING LICHT!
Lovie Smith was not the GM! He did not do trades! How many times are you people going to blame Lovie for things Licht does?????!!!!!!!!
January 24th, 2016 at 8:29 am
From my sources, Lovie just wanted to “Cut” Barron, Licht had to plead with him to at least “get some value”!!! Same thing was going to happen to Doug Martin this time last year. Luckily Koetter asked lovie to let him have another year!!!!
January 24th, 2016 at 8:34 am
@Bonzai
Lovie is gone and we’re a better team because of it. Get over it
January 24th, 2016 at 8:44 am
I’m sure Licht was chomping at the bit to trade a first rounder for peanuts. Even if he didnt draft him.
The point is Lovie had 3 acclaimed players in the secondary who were benched or launched for Chicago dumpster finds. Biff is convinced Lovie had no plans to change his staff and cited personell as the problem. (Yeah, like Mike Jennings was a solution? )
Can’t wait to see what Mike Smith can do with some of these players.
January 24th, 2016 at 8:50 am
For those blindly supporting Lovie, both here and afar, please be sure to remind us when Lovie gets another meaningful gig as a head coach.
January 24th, 2016 at 8:56 am
Go read my past comments!!!
I was calling for Barron to be converter to LB last year!!!
I also wanted us to take Vontaze Burfict in the 7th. We took Drake Debsmore.
I wanted Tyranne Mathieu in the 3rd to replace Ronde. We got Glennon.
I wanted us to draft Luke Kuechly. We got Barron.
I also said Aaron Donald next to McCoy would be nasty! We got Evans (who I like).
Anyway…..
January 24th, 2016 at 8:58 am
Iam with you’all tampabaybucfan and buccaneer bonzia …..I liked Lovie but he failed and so did Barron…Barron also wasn’t very good under Schiano either
January 24th, 2016 at 8:58 am
Never ever trust a man named “Lovie” with football decisions. Who does he get advice from the professor?
January 24th, 2016 at 9:00 am
Danny lansannah didn’t play well this year. maybe barron could have fit in there.
@bonsai Glazers knew exactly what Lovie did and what Jason Licht did and that is why he is gone.Licht was in charge of stellar draft.When it comes to 53 men Lovie wanted, Jason Licht’s job was to go out and try to sign them.
Josh Mckown,Anthony Collins,Michael Johnson, Howard Johnson,Major Wright,TimJennings and Mike Jenkins are just some of the costly mega million
personnel mistakes that were under lovies authority.
January 24th, 2016 at 9:11 am
So who told Licht he did not want Barron to start with? Or he would have kept him on the team. Lovie HAD control over who he KEPT. Quit crying Bonzai. Lovie is gone.!
January 24th, 2016 at 9:27 am
I am aware that everyone has their own opinion however, Lovie fail and he was fired but I I i I will not criticize or bash, bash Lovie until Nov 16…then we will know how improved the bucs are. Remember we still need a good defense to make and win in the playoffs and iam not sure of what Mike Smith can do with this particular group of players. Another thing is I did hammer and bash Schiano and look where we are 2 years later after Lovie….I like the Koetter hire but many coordinator have fail their first time around as a HC just see the o coordinator in New England and the last 2 d coordinator from Seattle mainly the guy in Jacksonville …over all iam with whoever the bucs HC is although a lot of the hiring make me want to grab a bottle of jack I want to see my team win
January 24th, 2016 at 9:29 am
Teacher. That’s what happens when you organizationally draft for need vs Bpa. If we don’t stop with that we are destined to keep having the same conversations.
January 24th, 2016 at 9:41 am
Tnew & teacher are the smartest guys in here…
January 24th, 2016 at 9:51 am
A bad GM with a bunch of failed draft picks can make a mediocre coach look terrible….
Let’s hope the success of the last two drafts continue this year….and we should soon be on firm footing and out of this mess.
The good thing about Lovie being gone is that we aren’t saddled with a huge mess…we can add players…change scheme and change direction.
The mess a GM leaves you can last for years.
January 24th, 2016 at 9:59 am
This represents several issues for me. First is what happens when an HC gets total control. It’s not good!! Some can survive it…most do not…downfall of both Chucky and Lovie. Neither of these guys were very good at spotting talent.
Second is the issue we’ve been beating around since Mike Smith revealed he would style is defense to fit the players he has instead of forcing players into his schemes.
I understand why a coach would want to use his scheme no matter what. It’s his comfort zone. Then he needs to stay in college ball. It’s no problem for Nick Saban, Urban, or Jimbo to simply recruit the style of player they want to fit their scheme. Not really that tough in college.
But in the NFL with the draft and parity it’s not always possible to build a great scheme and start drafting for it. Of course you try but it doesn’t always work out…Mark Barron is a prime example.
I tried to defend Lovie..at least in the sense I thought he deserved another year until that final four game humiliation. He was gone then. But there is a lot to dislike about Lovie’s performance when you look back.
Nepotism!! What part of our defense..in fact what part of our entire team sucked the most? The part that Lovie turned over to his two sons!! They were beyond incompetent and the fact that he wasn’t professional enough to admit that JUSTIFIABLY condemned Lovie to his firing!!!
The talent in our d backfield may not be the best in the league but they weren’t nearly as bad as Lovie’s kids made them. Verner…all pro…Banks…top DB in college when he came out…did a great job on Megatron when Revis went down…he clearly has some talent…Sterling Moore had a nice run against several of the top receivers in the league…there was far better talent back there than showed up in the results…..Lovie may be a nice guy and a wonderful father….but he needs to give it up and retire and spend all the time he wants with his boys…just don’t foist those loser kids on any other team!!!
January 24th, 2016 at 10:00 am
Yah. Whoever blamed that move on licht in his comments is clueless. Lovie clearly was in charge of roster and Barron did not fit in lovie ‘ outdated basic version of the Tampa two system and since barron was going to be benched and was not in lovie’s future plans (and a former top ten pick), licht was able to get something for him. Saying it was licht decision is idiotic and that person should not be making comments in this site. Guess who used that 4th round pick to move up and get marpet? Licht. Leave licht out of the free agent signings from years past cause that appears to be lovie as well. U think Jason licht wanted ever single one of lovie’s past players or rod marinelli tampa two players. Cmon guys. Leave licht alone until he brings in his guys starting this year since he has the power now. I hope his right hand man Robinson wasn’t to much of a loss and he still is the man and has another great draft and bring in some free agents cause the bucs schedule is going to be much tougher this year which koetter has to face in 1st year
January 24th, 2016 at 10:10 am
Bonzai, give it up. Lovie had final say on the roster no one got signed, traded or released without his approval. He was responsible the most for 8 wins in 2 years and the team getting out coached weekly
January 24th, 2016 at 10:17 am
Lovie was stubborn and in way over his head, all that talk about him watching football in his basement and learning what he did wrong was BS he didn’t change a bit, In fact he might have gotten worse.
January 24th, 2016 at 10:19 am
I think we should go after Andrew Billings and put him next to McCoy, Billings looks like this years Aaronn Donald.
January 24th, 2016 at 10:37 am
Hey the bottom line and I am sick of dealing with these players that dont want to play for Tampa but get a fire lit under their ass when they go someplace else. If they dont want to apply themselves and do what is needed to be great here in Tampa we dont need them! Players always look at Tampa as if they will always have another chance someplace else if it does not work out here and we are the farm system for the NFL. Until we get rid of that losing culture and those type of players you will still have this! If you dont want to do what is needed here in Tampa to be good then to hell with you! Send them to Cleveland!
January 24th, 2016 at 10:42 am
@BB Don’t be delusional, Lovie kept putting round pegs in square holes on defense and it just didn’t work. At least the Bucs have a DC now who will make the holes round.
January 24th, 2016 at 10:44 am
@Biff Barker BB above not meant for you, you’re comments were right on.
January 24th, 2016 at 10:47 am
Speaking for Pablo
“Pablo is disappointed with all the Smiths…..Pablo wants someone who’s name ends in a Z either coaching on the Bucs or playing…..Pablo wants diversity….now Pablo is a loyal Buc fan and Pablo will get over it when the games start….but Pablo is depressed.”
January 24th, 2016 at 11:00 am
the mark barron situation categorically established lovie as an inferior coaching mind to the likes of jeff fischer. outside of one season of riding career peaks from steve mcnair, eddie george, and jevon kearse to a supernbowl run, fischer has been the gold standard of coaching mediocrity…just good enough to not get fired. kudos to the glazers for choosing not to live in that zone of sub-mediocrity
January 24th, 2016 at 11:03 am
So I guess we should have moved to a 3 safety system so he could play linebacker really you guys make it seem like Barron was the second coming of John Lynch. So who do you replace Lavonte. Lovie was correct Barron is not a starting safety in the NFL he is a linebacker
January 24th, 2016 at 11:16 am
For montgs I’ve said to try Barron as LB…
January 24th, 2016 at 11:26 am
Imo, three players doomed Lovie, Revis, Mccown and Banks. In a year with zero room for error, benching your best corner and starting trash for most of the year and going 6-10, 0-4 in the final qtr as a result did Lovie in.
Of course, Lovie’s peer Jeff Fisher took Lovie castoff Mark Barron and utilized him as part of one of the best defenses in the league.
January 24th, 2016 at 11:34 am
from the look of it, Barron probably had more ability at the LB position than the likes of danny lansanah, orie lemon, and whoever else was taking snaps on the strong side all of 2014. overall, lovie simply ignored everything that might have been working when he arrived in Tampa and just trashed it all. that is how a team goes from bad to worse in a year. Lavonte was playing like a defensive MVP under schiano as an attacking LB. Revis was here to help with coverage in a scheme like that. mason foster was nearing pro bowl form as a run stopper and blitzer. however bad he was in coverage, the team was able to protect him more in his rookie season than lovie ever attempted to.
lovie only looked at one thing – 4 wins – instead of the more nuanced lens he used to justify his on spotty results.
January 24th, 2016 at 11:36 am
*was able to protect mark barron
January 24th, 2016 at 11:42 am
Lovie is a dinosaur who couldn’t adjust to the new NFL and certainly couldn’t get the most out of his players. He has a rigid scheme that even his old Bears players couldn’t play well. Back to your basement Lovie.
January 24th, 2016 at 1:01 pm
The lack of talent and depth in certain positions were caused by the drafting of Dominik and the poor player personnel decisions made by Lovie Smith. No first round pick in 2013 because of the Rivas trade only to see Lovie release him? The Jets using the pick to draft DT Sheldon Richardson. The 2013 draft was bad enough not having a number one pick then we drat Johnthan Banks over Tyrann Mathieu? Then Mike Glennon in the third and Mike James in the 6th. Enter Lovie Smith in 2014 and his next move after releasing Rivas is to have a wholesale restructuring of the offensive line. Donald Penn and Ted Larson were not re-signed and Jeremy Zuttah was traded to the Ravens. After the OL he went after the defense. Did not re[sign Mason Foster, Adrian Clayborne and then traded Mark Barron and Dashon Goldson. That makes two years in a row where we have nothing to show for our first round picks. A testament to Lovies inability to teach or get the best out of his players are Patrick Omemah, who now starts for he Bears and Leonard Johnson, who is starting for the Patriots. It is going to take two or three drafts to compensate for the bad decisions made.
January 24th, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Go ahead keep bashing Lovie Smith y’all. And what do you expect next year? Playoffs right? And when this team succeeds you won’t even realize how much Lovie did to get us there.
And yes, Lovie failed from the sidelines and his firing was justifiable. But he did build more then anybody wants to give credit for. And when this team starts to win Lovies fingerprints will be all over it, whether you want to acknowledge it or not.
Without Lovie we don’t have Jamies……..Or Mike Evans…….or Donavon Smith…… Or Jason Licht……or Charles Simms……… Or Ali Market………. Or Dirk Koettet….,.. Or Qwon Alexander. And the list continues. You guys maybe just think assembling a good front office and quality drafting is easy. Very foolish
Thank You Lovie for building our team. And may I say, sir, job well done!!
January 24th, 2016 at 1:16 pm
@Buccanneers
And may I say, sir, job well done!!
Of course you may say that. It’s just an opinion blog. But you must realize you lose a lot of crediblity with a majority of posters here.
Perhaps you’re cool with that because you feel so strongly about Lovie you wish to still provide some support. Well I at least give you an A for loyalty.
January 24th, 2016 at 1:24 pm
Ghost Johnson is a starting DE on a playoff team and a decent player, but Losie couldn’t “fit” him into his defense.
January 24th, 2016 at 1:48 pm
Haha St Pete. I could care less about credibility on a chatroom. People may read me say “good job” to Lovie however they wish. But if they paid attention they will realize I realize his many failures. But I also realize he did a fine job assembling a front office which, in turn, resulted in great drafts.
I’m just sorry that there is few people here who see this. In fact most commented have resulted to disrespectful name calling. Much of the hate towards Lovie is incorrect. Lovies successes deserve a voice as well, so yeah, I go a little over the top with it.
The thing is this franchise has waited a decade to get a front office that had a clue and could give us a respectable team to watch. We may not be there yet but I believe we are headed there and it is Lvie that set up all the pieces.
Thank You Lovie for all you did for Our Bucs!!!!
January 24th, 2016 at 1:53 pm
@ buccaneers Lovie should get credit for: Hiring Jason Licht, being convinced by Licht that Jameis should our number 1 pick when they went to an FSU game
and Jason showed him what he liked about him.Stepping aside and letting Licht,Robinson and scouting department do their job.
He also was a good influence on Jameis.
But he failed horrendously in free agency and building a good defense.
January 24th, 2016 at 2:15 pm
Actually I think Russell Sheppard doomed Lovie. According to Chris Landry’s article lovely’s passive attitude and church mouse ways doomed him.
There’s no cussing in Football. – Lovely Smith
Jdub told us after the game that the loser mentality was going to change over the offseason. Was he talking about Lovie? I say yes.
I’ve always said that a good craftsman never blames his tools. Lovie blamed everyone and everything except for himself. Now I take as much pride in wishing him good luck as he did to our best players.
January 24th, 2016 at 2:31 pm
Barron was a backup! only reason he was even on the field was because of injury not a coach being flexible or better LOL and ghost johnson just didn’t play worth a damn because he didn’t care had crap to do with fit or scheme… he’s a DE all he had to do was rush the passer ROFL
January 24th, 2016 at 3:01 pm
Barron should have never been picked for our defense. We should have chosen Keuchly. Now that’s a great linebacker. I’m hoping Kwon keeps improving without PED’s and we finally start moving up in the division.
January 24th, 2016 at 3:19 pm
Yeah Bob your spot on. He also brought in Koetter. Even if Dirk fails as a HC Lovie picked and real good OC in Koetter.
January 24th, 2016 at 4:28 pm
M.Stevbobucfan Says:
January 24th, 2016 at 9:27 am
I am aware that everyone has their own opinion however, Lovie fail and he was fired but I I i I will not criticize or bash, bash Lovie until Nov 16…then we will know how improved the bucs are. Remember we still need a good defense to make and win in the playoffs and iam not sure of what Mike Smith can do with this particular group of players. Another thing is I did hammer and bash Schiano and look where we are 2 years later after Lovie….I like the Koetter hire but many coordinator have fail their first time around as a HC just see the o coordinator in New England and the last 2 d coordinator from Seattle mainly the guy in Jacksonville …over all iam with whoever the bucs HC is although a lot of the hiring make me want to grab a bottle of jack I want to see my team win
–It seems like you’ve ALREADY hit the bottle of Jack.
You were trying hard to make some cogent points, and I think some of them found their mark, but you sure do make it difficult. Try this: Instead of just bashing away at the keyboard and hitting “Submit Comment”, simply SLOW DOWN and think about what you want to say, THEN type it, revising as needed. None of us needs to win an essay contest here, but if you would just take your time, your posts would be much improved. After figuring out what (I think) you meant to say, here’s my takes:
Yes, everyone has their own opinion.
Yes, Lovie DID fail, on many levels. That’s pretty much a given for any HC that has been fired.
He also had successes, but that’s an unpopular opinion, so it’s not worth mentioning. *sarcasm*
I’m almost afraid to ask this, but why is November 16th the day when “we will know how improved the bucs (sic) are.”?
I’m pretty sure that all of us know that we need a good defense to make and advance deep into the playoffs. Unless you’re, say, the the 2002 Raiders.
That’s right, YOU don’t know what the new DC can do with this roster, but I know that the GM & HC have a very good idea of what he can do, and that’s enough for me. I have learned to trust this GM, and more recently, our HC.
So, you bashed our last two HCs and…what? Please clarify your point here. Thanks.
I, too, like the HC hire, mostly because of how the GM felt about the process. His enthusiasm about the hire eases my mind, but it is indeed healthy to be skeptical.
So…Cheers to you, my fellow Bucs fan! Make yourself a Lemmy, and I’ll raise my Newcastle, and let’s make a toast: With a new Head Coach, a blossoming General Manager, and an Alpha QB, our Buccaneers will soon make Sundays how they were meant to be: COMPETITIVE!!
GO BUCS!!!
January 24th, 2016 at 7:25 pm
So…Cheers to you, my fellow Bucs fan! Make yourself a Lemmy, and I’ll raise my Newcastle, and let’s make a toast: With a new Head Coach, a blossoming General Manager, and an Alpha QB, our Buccaneers will soon make Sundays how they were meant to be: COMPETITIVE!!
GO BUCS!!!
Yeah Piratic! That’s how I sum it all up too!
Go Bucs indeed!
January 24th, 2016 at 9:59 pm
The glazers don’t even know who mark barron is. They dont watch a lick of football or keep close tabs on the team. That is why they had licht doing his reports for them. They are less than average fans of the sport. I wouldnt expect them to know what the overtime rules are these days. Dont make it seem like the glazers know football. We all know they don’t thats why they go after splash coaches or promote assistants. Because thats all they know. Big names and people already in the building.
I understand licht is kinda in this role already, but i think the glazers need to hire a “president of football operations”. Someone that can be the bridge between the glazers and bucs football. Someone that would be an equal in their eyes, but actually knows football.
January 24th, 2016 at 10:00 pm
This is getting ridiculous; so why in the hell would Lovie turn Barron into a Will when he has 1 or the best in the league already?Moving on from Barron was the right thing to do, can we just move on!!!! The Glazers decided to move on from Lovie; they had their reasons. A case can be made either way whether they brought him back or fired him. Either way it is a done deal.
January 25th, 2016 at 12:55 am
Buc realist —
Your sources ???? LOL
Good one.