Licht Will Want Rookie-Friendly Head Coach
January 13th, 2016
It wasn’t long ago that Bucs general manager and new overlord of football operations Jason Licht raved publicly about Lovie Smith.
Last month, Licht grabbed hold of the Buccaneers Radio Network airwaves and talked about how the famed grand slam — rookies Donovan Smith, Ali Marpet, Kwon Alexander and America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston — doesn’t happen without a head coach possessing the fortitude and conviction to start rookies at key positions.
That head coach was Lovie, and Licht praised Lovie’s willingness and desire to play those rookies from Day 1.
It was Lovie who made the bold moves to bench expensive Bruce Carter for Alexander in early August, and to let Ali Marpet dive in head first. from Division III.
Heck, back at the NFL Owners Meetings in March, Lovie told Joe that left tackles typically succeed or fail as rookies and they really shouldn’t need development time if they’re any good. Not every coach thinks that way. For the Bucs, the approach paid off.
Joe thinks Licht was affected significantly by Lovie’s approach to rookies, and Joe suspects Licht will want to know that his next head coach is willing to go all-in on draft picks.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:05 am
One of the few things Lovie did right,
However, with how much of an impact Kwon was, it had to be obvious in training camp he was better than Carter. Still. one of the only things I will credit to Lovie. Marpet and D.Smith on Oline. with a rookie QB, and a rookie Defensive QB in Kwon. Ballsy
January 13th, 2016 at 11:07 am
Depends on the Rookie
January 13th, 2016 at 11:11 am
Hey Joe – if Koetter is the HC, do you think they’ll bring someone in or promote someone to OC since the HC job is so time consuming and demanding. If so, who?
January 13th, 2016 at 11:14 am
It was pretty obvious our 4 rookie starters were head over heels better than who they replaced. Any idiot coach would have figured that out.
Marpet>>>>>>>>that bears back up
Winston>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>glennon
Kwon>>>>>> Carter
D. Smith >>>>>Pamphile or Dotson when healthy.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:24 am
Hence why I have been cheering for Koetter since Lovie got canned. Continuity for our offense, while not dominant, is still the second best offense in Buc’s history.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:29 am
@LargoBuc
Second best? Which is first?
January 13th, 2016 at 11:31 am
BTW…anyone else feel that the Rams returning to LA is justice fulfilled? St Louis did steal them away from LA in the first place.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:47 am
BuccaneerBonzai
Hopefully they go back to the Ole Skool Boy Blue & White theme
January 13th, 2016 at 11:53 am
Wow, still waxing poetic about Lovie.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:54 am
The team will have between 50-70 million dollars to spend under the salary cap.
January 13th, 2016 at 11:54 am
Ole Skool Blue & White theme
January 13th, 2016 at 11:58 am
So they’ve gone from Cleveland to LA to St. Louis back to LA.
Luvmy- Those blue and white unis remind me of the Movie Heaven can wait.
January 13th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
Would be nice to get to a point in the near future where we don’t have to rely so heavily on rookies to make an immediate impact out of the gate. If anything, Lovie was fired for the exact opposite, he couldn’t or wouldn’t fit veterans into his scheme.
The next head coach needs to be able to find rolls for the middle of the road FA players to excell at. Every team needs to find contributors in free agency on a yearly basis and the schemes need to be adjustable to outsiders coming in.
January 13th, 2016 at 12:25 pm
“However, with how much of an impact Kwon was, it had to be obvious in training camp he was better than Carter.”
I’m not so sure, Bucs history is littered with training camp heros who dissappear in the regular season. My guess is that any coach would be leery, at least early on. Credit to Loveyfor taking that chance, as early as he did.
January 13th, 2016 at 12:39 pm
every one of those rookies on offense was a substitute for an existing player he closed the book on or shipped out of town upon his arrival in 2014, and whiffed bigtime on replacing in free agency. if mccown, EDS, anthony collins are who they were paid to be, this draft is filling different holes or perhaps isn’t under pressure to do the improbable and perform to NFL standard out of the gate. i can’t complain about the things that culminated in Jameis, but let’s not falsely credit lovie for trusting in rookies when he is the guy who stripped the team of viable veteran alternatives.
January 13th, 2016 at 1:24 pm
Looks like my favorite HC candidate is off the board. Hue Jackson is finalizing a deal to be the Browns HC. Poor guy… Good luck Mr. Jackson you’re gonna need it.