Koetter Lining Up Assistants?
January 13th, 2016
Lining up assistant coaching staff? But for what team?
This is sort of a non-story, story. However, Joe trusts the guy tapping the words on his keyboard because he is very plugged in.
Per the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio, Bucs offensive coordinator (for now) Dirk Koetter is lining up a potential stable of assistants in preparation for being named a head coach.
Presumably, for the Bucs, that is.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is lining up staff members in the event he gets the job. This dynamic resulted in a rumor leaking from Tampa that Koetter is actually telling assistant coaches he’s getting the job, an obvious byproduct of the friend-tells-a-friend-tells-a-friend chain of information that quickly can be warped into something that lands in the wrong pew of the right church.
Negotiations between Koetter and the Buccaneers have not yet begun, according to the source.
Which means he doesn’t have the Bucs gig. Yet.
Kind of hard to get a job if you haven’t even begun to negotiate terms.
This smells, to Joe, that Koetter is preparing to hit the ground running if he is named head coach, whether it be in Tampa, or somewhere else.
This is just being smart, proactive and prepared.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:34 pm
Wow, this is good news or bad news as the intrigue builds.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:39 pm
I still think that Matt Patricia is the next great nfl coach. But I’m ok with the koetter hire. As long as he brings in someone like Jim Schwartz for Dc. Idk about Joe Cullen. What kind of defense would he run? Blitz heavy? Zone cover? Man cover? These are things that we need to know.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:40 pm
Looks like The Dom was almost right with his prediction, but as usual……wrong again.
January 13th, 2016 at 9:49 pm
What does his agent day? Joe? You have him on speed dial.. Yea?
January 13th, 2016 at 9:51 pm
I heard a rumor today that Lovie Smith won the Powerball Lottery, and immediately bought the Bucs franchise from the Glazers, and then fired them on the spot. As he left One Buc Palace, he screamed at the assembled reporters,
“You Like That”!!
tickrdr
January 13th, 2016 at 10:04 pm
IF Koetter cannot turn this franchise around..which he won’t, This will go down as one of the worst HC decisions in NFL history..which it will. You take a guy with a so so college coaching record and no NFL HC experience, and pray..wish he creates a winner? Its no wonder we are the laughing stock of this league. I’m not impressed with Koetter. This is not like the team Gruden inherited from Dungy. But then again we are known for..spinning the wheel. I can’t wait to hear the excuses next year and the mediocrity which follows.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:04 pm
@tickrdr considering Lovie would have to buy the bucs from the Glazers in the first place, that wasn’t funny at all.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:06 pm
It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to line up assistants for another city…..How would that go…..
“Mike, I’d really like you to be my QB coach somewhere…..you in?”
It would have to be Tampa…..a more like…..don’t be tempted by other job offers….”I’m staying and you’re my choice for asst.”
January 13th, 2016 at 10:06 pm
I don’t know I think it’s pretty funny 1.5 billion is FU money
January 13th, 2016 at 10:45 pm
I think people should adjust expectations on the possible Koetter hire…the main objective was to keep Winston in the same system…It’s more about protecting there investment in him then Koetter turning the franchise around. Koetter’s strength is grooming QBs, as Jameis goes, so will the Bucs. Jameis was the deal breaker between keeping Lovie vs Koetter. Jameis could develop fine and we could still be a mediocre team…look no further then the Saints with Drew Brees.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:47 pm
Well, I don’t see what’s so wrong about beginning to work on his staff, in case he’ll end up getting a job as an HC. Whether it’ll be in Tampa or somewhere else, we shall see.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:54 pm
Kind of like the game played as children whispering into the persons ear next to you and on down the line until something entirely new is revealed.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:55 pm
Just offer Koetter the gig already. The suspense is killing me plus I’m scared to death of losing Koetter altogether.
January 13th, 2016 at 10:55 pm
Koetter is only getting interest from the 9ers and the Bucs. I can’t see the 9ers hiring him. They are going to go big, imo. That leaves the bucs. If i were licht, i would try to convince a top notch DC to be our HC. We already have Koetter under contract. No point in promoting him if we dont need to. What we do need is a DC worth a crap. So leveraging the HC title to bring that guy to tampa is a far better plan.
If Koetter gets the HC job, we have to find an unemployed DC to fill in for us. History tells us that no teams will let us pick off their coaching staff, so it leaves the unemployed losers to pick from. Im not excited about that idea.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:03 pm
@Bobby M.
You mean the Saints that won a Superbowl with Brees and were perennially solid, yeah, I’ll take that.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:26 pm
49ers are trying to lure Shanahan rather than hire Koetter.
He isn’t getting a head coach gig unless we hire him. Giants are promoting their own OC.
So, no rush.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:26 pm
Mike Johnson you’re an idiot. Nothing will be worse than the schiano era, and I doubt koetter will win less games, 8, than lovie did. I predict Koeter, assuming he becomes Bucs head coach, wins 9-11 games next year.
January 14th, 2016 at 12:15 am
One thing has me scratching my head – as good as everyone thinks this guy is, as good as he was with Matt Ryan – as good as he’s been with the wünderkinde here…why is it that he’s never been seriously considered for a head coaching position anywhere else in the NFL?
Like I said, the way they got rid of Lovie speaks of a prior commitment, so I’m convinced that Koeter has ALWAYS been the guy.
But one thing I may have missed – the article references Koetter secretly interviewing assistance? Doesn’t he already have offensive assistants? So that pretty much means he’s interviewing defensive assistants, right?
As far as why he’s not getting a lot of love right now – that’s pretty understandable – could be that other teams assumed the Glazers already had a prior arrangement with Koetter. The length of time and the interview process – I suspect this is the timeline preferred by the NFL, and regardless of a teams past hiring practices, they’ve pretty much tightened up on the Rooney Rule for all new hires. I don’t think teams/owners get a “buy” – or get to sidestep the rule.
…but I’ve gotta think that this is the worst kept secret in the NFL.
January 14th, 2016 at 3:47 am
I’m not impressed with Mike Johnson.
January 14th, 2016 at 7:51 am
Reread the article tiger
January 14th, 2016 at 8:48 am
The following is something posted in the comments section of the linked article on PF T. I don’t know how true it is. Just thought I would share it here:
“Here in AZ, we were sold the “dream” of Dirk Koetter, who became head coach at Arizona State, only to prove he was incapable of managing even a Div.-1 college team. He was obviously in over his head.
He had two players that left the team after sexual assaults, and two other players were kicked off the team for secretly filming a coed disrobing. Another player was dismissed after pulling a knife, and another for firing a gun.
But his masterpiece was star running back, Loren Wade. who for two years exhibited increasingly erratic and threatening behavior toward female athletes, including his girlfriend. Instead of reporting Wade’s serious misconduct to ASU campus police and to student affairs officials, Koetter kept mum, endangering the entire student body.
Had he reported the behavior, his star player surely would have been kicked out of school. He kept it a secret and before Wade’s senior year, he shot and killed 25-year-old Brandon Falkner, a former ASU football player who had the gall to talk to Wade’s estranged girlfriend in the parking lot of a Scottsdale nightclub. “
Now, clearly, Koetter would not be to blame for the off field behavior of his players. That said, the concern this raises for me (if true) is discipline. After the experience with Raheem, I’m concerned Koetter might be the offensive equivalent.
Not real concerned…heck, maybe even “concerned” is too big a word. Maybe a passing thought?
Another thing to consider is this: Perhaps his experience at AZ is why he has avoided head coaching offers thus far. Maybe it left such a sour taste in his mouth that he avoided it.
If that’s the case, he would be extremely determined to do things differently (at least I would be in the same shoes).
All I know is this…
It is important that Winston keep working with Koetter.
THAT is the main reason, regardless of what Licht “claims”, I think Lovie was fired a year too soon. I think Licht, maybe rightly, maybe not, was concerned Koetter would take a HC gig elsewhere.
But would he have? If the man has been avoiding taking NFL Head Coaching jobs because of his past experiences, he may not have left anyway. He has interviewed for HC jobs nearly every year since then, but has never accepted any offers.
I suspect Licht might be blowing this. If Koetter is not planning on going anywhere regardless, then we could hire a defensive head coach (Panthers DC?) on the condition that its hands off Koetter’s offense.
Really, that would be the best path for Koetter. Pressure would be off him, and if Winston does well, he’ll still get offers every year. If the defense still does badly, he would still have the opportunity to get the job here later.
Jason Licht has shown in the past that he panics. In the draft, for example, when he trades up on the “assumption” that a player he wanted would be taken. Maybe that player would have…maybe not. It still shows a pattern.
Licht started in Tampa as a rookie GM, so growing pains are to be expected. I just hope it isn’t at the cost of yet another bad coaching choice.
January 14th, 2016 at 8:49 am
White Tiger Says
One thing has me scratching my head – as good as everyone thinks this guy is, as good as he was with Matt Ryan – as good as he’s been with the wünderkinde here…why is it that he’s never been seriously considered for a head coaching position anywhere else in the NFL?
He WAS considered. Multiple times.
He just refused all offers after interviews.
January 14th, 2016 at 8:52 am
The Rooney Rule is stupid. In this world of political correctness, equal opportunity is present always.
If a team has plans to hire someone, they should be allowed to. Forcing them to interview someone else who has no chance of getting the job is nothing but show.
January 14th, 2016 at 8:59 am
@ all I know is this – “Jason Licht has shown in the past that he panics. In the draft, for example, when he trades up on the “assumption” that a player he wanted would be taken. Maybe that player would have…maybe not. It still shows a pattern.”
Licht panics??? Seriously??? He traded up to get Marpet because one of the teams in front of him supposedly was targeting Ali. It’s not like they gave up the farm either to get him. Marpet has turned out to be a stud as well. In your mind though because he has made one draft day trade to ensure he got the perfect guy at a position of need for the team it shows a pattern of panic? WTF dude!
January 14th, 2016 at 10:21 am
OTH if you were Koetter wouldn’t you be calling prospective assistants and trying to recruit them before they signed elsewhere?
January 14th, 2016 at 10:54 am
“This smells, to Joe, that Koetter is preparing to hit the ground running if he is named head coach, whether it be in Tampa, or somewhere else.”
“This smells” is an interesting choice of words, Joe. It kind of makes the rest of the statement sound like a condemnation. Is that what you really meant? I hope not.
All good coaches have their next working partners in mind. It is prudent to reach out and make sure the interest is mutual. In this business, really good assistants get gobbled uo pretty quickly.