Koetter Was Lure For Smith
January 20th, 2016
New Bucs DC Mike Smith speaks today at One Buc Palace.
At one point in his introductory press conference at One Buc Palace this afternoon, new Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith looked down and appeared to be taking notice of the brand new Bucs polo shirt he was wearing.
It was as if Smith had to remind himself he was now part of the Bucs, not the Dixie Chicks.
Smith, the former head coach of the Dixie Chicks, made it perfectly clear he was not interested in any job other than a head coaching gig in the NFL. That was until he got a chance to work with new Bucs coach Dirk Koetter.
Oh, and Smith added, the Bucs also have a quarterback.
Koetter and Smith go back a ways. Smith was a linebackers coach with the Crows when Baltimore won the Super Bowl a couple of blocks away from One Buc Palace at the Den of Depression.
After that Super Bowl, Smith and the rest of the Crows coaching staff spoke at Arizona State University at a coaches clinic, where he met Koetter who was the head honcho of the host Sun Devils.
Smith and Koetter hit it off, and Smith was won over by Koetter’s attention to detail and organizational skills, and how he got along with players.
The two became fast friends on Jack Del Rio’s staff of the Jags, where Smith was the defensive coordinator and Koetter was the offensive coordinator. Later, when Smith took the head coaching job with the Dixie Chicks, he brought Koetter with him when Del Rio was ousted.
Again, Smith made it clear the only defensive coordinator position he would have accepted was with Koetter and the Bucs.
And yes, even Joe thought Smith looked a bit out of sorts wearing Bucs gear just off the rack.
January 20th, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Love that he mentioned a couple of times you have to work with the players you have and find ways to get the most out of them. Something about coaching the players you have…hmmm interesting concept. Hope they get Jonothon Banks back on track!! As well as Verner (ex pro bowler) who has underperformed!
January 20th, 2016 at 1:53 pm
To me he sounded very smart and his answers were genuine. I don’t know much of him, but after watching the presser I have to say I like the decision more to have him as DC.
January 20th, 2016 at 2:03 pm
Feel real good about the staff so far. Think the team will much better next year, BUT, schedule looks to be much more difficult than last years. Not sure if more than 6-8 wins is realistic.
January 20th, 2016 at 2:09 pm
when will we get a receivers coach who can help this team?
January 20th, 2016 at 2:10 pm
I am so excited with the coaching staff that is assembled!! Really hope licht steadies the pipeline of talent and Coach Mike Smith remembers how fun it is to lead a dominate defense and just falls in love with our beloved area here!!!!
If you are not excited right now, Then you need to question if you are a football fan at all!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 20th, 2016 at 2:26 pm
As a bucs fan who had lived in Atlanta for 15 years I can say Smith is still well liked and respected here. He took over after the Vick/ Petrino debacle when the Falcons were a mess. He made the team competitive year in and iut. I think the Falcons had their first years of successive winning seasons ever under Smith and narrowly missed the Superbowl. Much like Dungy in Indy his defensive units were never great, but the team was built around the offense first. He is a great hire, which brings a well respected pro to Tampa.
January 20th, 2016 at 2:36 pm
The crows??? What’s next Joe, calling the Packers, the Putzes?? When Mike Smith coached Atlanta, very few smartmouths called them the Dixie Chicks. They were the Atlanta (Peregrine as in for-real) Falcons. I’m sure Mr. Smith’s Bucs attire fits him now. Looking forward to the 2016 season—Go Mighty Bucs!!
January 20th, 2016 at 2:38 pm
As much as I’m excited to have Mike Smith here, what will probably happen next offseason is he’ll get offered another head coaching job, and then he’ll leave. It’s something to think about depending on how well we do in the upcoming season. Hopefully he’ll stay like Monte Kiffin did (1996-2008).
January 20th, 2016 at 2:42 pm
“As much as I’m excited to have Mike Smith here, what will probably happen next offseason is he’ll get offered another head coaching job”
If that happens then we probably made the playoffs imo. And I could live with that trade off lol. If he does well and gets our defense to respectable levels for the first time in many years he will go on to be a HC in like 2 years max with his already solid HC resume.
Hopefully we have someone that can be groomed behind him for that scenario.
January 20th, 2016 at 2:43 pm
I don’t know about you but Mike Smith LOOKS SEXY AF in that BUCS POLO!! WOOOOOOO!!
January 20th, 2016 at 2:44 pm
As each day goes by, I am getting even more excited! These are going to be a long 7 months..lol…
Just bought a ton of Bucs stuff…Jerseys, car signs, bedding…you name it, it was bought..
January 20th, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Just a hunch you haven’t read Joe before?
January 20th, 2016 at 2:52 pm
orlbucfan Says
“The crows??? What’s next Joe, calling the Packers, the Putzes?? When Mike Smith coached Atlanta, very few smartmouths called them the Dixie Chicks.”
I’ll always call them the Dirty Birds, and not for a good reason. They played dirty when it came to blocking and tackling. They aimed for knees a lot.
Honestly, I’m kind of looking forward to payback. I’m sure Falcons fans are getting nervous. We already beat them every year, but now we have their former head coach and OC leading our team…you know, from when hte3 Falcons were actually a good team.
Going to be FUN!
January 20th, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Mike Smith seems a little…nerdy…in that PC. lol
But that’s okay. He’s excited and its rubbing off on us.
January 20th, 2016 at 3:02 pm
if Koetter fails, we have an interim coach in place at least…it’s all good though, sked looks tougher next year but we should be significantly better…tougher defense, less mistakes and penalties,… and surging offense!
January 20th, 2016 at 3:06 pm
Really excited that Mike Smith has signed on as DC. Perfect complement to Dirk Koetter and should allow Dirk to focus mostly on the offensive side of the ball.
Bucs are now in a great position I think to improve next year. Plenty of money to spend in free agency is a great way to start. Draft should be able to focus largely on defense since our offense is in pretty decent shape. And the coaching staff that Dirk has assembled looks to be top-notch.
Personally expect that Mike Smith will only be here for a year. Always liked him as a HC, and when he gets this defense fixed this coming year I’m sure some other team will offer him a HC position shortly thereafter.
January 20th, 2016 at 3:51 pm
I am also very excited about the way this team is coming together! I wish we could change just one thing….the uniforms…..they are hideous!
Dear Glazer family, thanks for listening to the fans and promoting Coach Koetter, but PLEASE….for the love of God, get rid of the current uni’s and design new ones! There are all kinds of great ideas out there if you Google “Buccaneers Concept Uniforms”! 99% of them are better than what we currently have! I will keep rocking my old school jerseys and hats and not buy new ones until the current outfits are retired! I’m sure I am not the only Bucs fan who feels this way…..
January 20th, 2016 at 4:21 pm
Off topic, but cool story, warning!
My wife met Jaboo today. He was attending East West Shrine practice, which is being conducted at our kids’ high school. She was impressed. “Nice young man” was her take. Truth be told she liked him but loved his labradoodle puppy, “Tootsie.” Too bad we cannot post pics. Oh well. Carry on.
January 20th, 2016 at 4:32 pm
Hey Joe,
I’ve been reading you for awhile. You even have me calling Atlanta “the Dixie Chicks.” 🙂
On a more serious note: BBonzai has a point about the dirty play. The Patriots pull the same crap. They get away with it cos they’re a dynasty. They’re not alone; wish the refs could be more competent and clean the garbage out. It hurts the game, that’s for sure.
January 20th, 2016 at 6:56 pm
Bucs Fan Since ’76 Says:
January 20th, 2016 at 4:21 pm
Off topic, but cool story, warning!
My wife met Jaboo today. He was attending East West Shrine practice, which is being conducted at our kids’ high school. She was impressed. “Nice young man” was her take. Truth be told she liked him but loved his labradoodle puppy, “Tootsie.” Too bad we cannot post pics. Oh well. Carry on.
I had mentioned that where my son works, Jameis has come in and so has Lavonte David and he said that even though David is a lot more low key..he is super..and that Jameis LOVES when kids come up to him and ALL the times he has been there..he ALWAYS treats the fans with a huge smile and never brushes anyone away..I am so impressed by this 22 year QB…I picked his jersey up today!
Unlike an Ex-Buc that I use to wait on ( during my college years) and treated my staff like crapola! And I mean really bad..lol..
January 20th, 2016 at 7:06 pm
Somebody here has already started using the schedule as an excuse. No excuses Buc fans. You did not tolerate excuses from the last 2 coaches. So why this regime? Koetter and company are on the clock. The honeymoon will be over shortly. They had better win or…go fishin with Schiano and Lovie. And Just..tus for all.
January 20th, 2016 at 11:14 pm
Starting to warm up to the Smith hire, but it was tough seeing Schwartz just get hired by the Eagles.