Lovie After Two Seasons
January 2nd, 2016
Quick review of Lovie Smith.
Even if the Bucs pull off a miracle tomorrow and beat the Stinking Panthers to end the 2015 season, with the Stinking Panthers needing a win to secure home field advantage through the playoffs, Joe still believes Bucs fans won’t ease off the gas pedal with their frustrations over Lovie Smith.
Despite Lovie successfully overseeing (at worst) the second-biggest franchise transaction in the past 20 years (the drafting of America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston — the trade for Chucky would be the No. 1 transaction in the past 20 years), the head coach is expected to win at the end of the day. And the area where his coaching strength lies should see an uptick in production.
Lovie, a defensive guru by nature, has taken over the Bucs defense and his secondary has been nothing less than a sieve, despite the assembly line of cornerbacks he has tried out over the past 31 games — guys he handpicked.
In a look back at Lovie’s 2014 class of head coaching hires, John Keim of BSPN takes a quick peak at how each is doing after year two seasons and writes the following about Lovie.
Lovie Smith, Tampa Bay (8-23): He was one of the hot hires during the 2014 offseason, but his first season in Tampa was disastrous as the Bucs finished 2-14. They’re 6-9 this season, having lost three straight after climbing to .500 and appearing to be on the rise. The Bucs do have a quarterback of the future in Jameis Winston. But while their defense ranks ninth in yards per game allowed, they’re 23rd in points allowed.
While Lovie has not done much if anything with his defense, he made up for it by his handling of Jameis and guiding the franchise quarterback’s transition into the NFL. Lovie has handled this maneuver perfectly. He couldn’t have done any better with Jameis, and one could argue the chances of screwing up Jameis were greater than a smooth transition.
For this, Lovie not only deserves kudos, but it earned him a return in 2016. Yes, Joe understands Lovie’s return will not be very popular in some circles.
Now if Lovie’s defense, specifically his secondary, is still woeful after three seasons and the Bucs do not have a winning season in 2016, Joe’s confident all bets are off as far as Lovie’s job security.
If Lovie cannot turn around the defense after three seasons, then there’s no reason think he can.
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:15 pm
Lovie’s “expertise” is defense, which has been a failure. And as a HC, he is also responsible for team discipline, but most likely setting an NFL record in penalties is yet another indication of a Lovie failure.
Come on Joe, the man was NOT successful at the two most obvious responsibilities he had, coaching the team and the the defense. I must disagree with you relentlessly crediting Lovie for Jameis’ success and give the credit where its’ due, Koetter as OC and QB Coach Bajakian.
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:18 pm
I think you are highly overestimating Lovie’s impact on Jameis. Jameis isnt a bad kid. He would of acted right under just about any coach because thats who he is and wants to be with or without Lovie. I guess you need to give Lovie credit for something that doesnt involve the draft since he hasent done anything else right. I mean you cant endorse a 3rd year if you have nothing logically to hang your hat on so lets make stuff up to keep the Imcompetent one!
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:27 pm
With Koetter, I could have coached Jameis this year with some success.
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:31 pm
Lovie agreed to draft Jameis when there was heavy pressure not to. Lovie hired Koetter and left them alone. Lovie’s fingerprints all over Jameis.
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:37 pm
There we go again with this “handling of Jameis” nonsense again…
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:41 pm
I never thought Couch and I would agree so much these days, but we do and you’re spot on Couch. Spot on.
Sorry Joe it’s just not going to fly no matter how much you want to spin your reasons for keeping Lovie.
Lovie was great for Jameis? Yet as far as the rest of the team….well.
C’mon man. Is this going to be the narrative all offseason long.
“Jameis is a great kid”- Jimbo Fisher on numerous occasions
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:43 pm
Being intellectually honest….you can’t credit Lovie with all the failures and not give him credit for the successes….and we have several….Jameis being the primary success…..of course he is greatly responsible for Jameis being drafted and his success on the field.
I give him some credit for the two drafts….which so far are very successful and have created a floor for a strong team going forward.
As for the failures…..I think his main failure is with his communication style….he avoids accepting responsibility and won’t answer a question honestly. Sure his record is horrible….but he could mitigate some of that by being more forthright.
I do believe he will fix this defense through FA & the draft this year.
You can scream for him to be fired but it’s not going to happen….you might as well join me and root for him to succeed……if he doesn’t, I’ll join your chorus.
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:47 pm
Lol So you’re saying that since Lovie didnt make yet another Imcompetent decision and drafted the guy, that anyone with 2 eyes could see, who was the best QB to come out in a long time, and then left him alone for someone else to coach, “has his finger prints all over Jameis” ?
Not seeing any logic in that, but hey dont let me stop the Lovie parade!
@87 this is actually worse than how people use to try to life Freeman onto some pedestal LMAO
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:47 pm
lift Freeman*
January 2nd, 2016 at 1:51 pm
The gas pedal ain’t even been floored yet.
January 2nd, 2016 at 2:00 pm
I think Jameis handles himself mostly. Yes, Lovie probably wasn’t too thrilled about drafting a QB with the 1st pick, and he also has not turned Jameis into a turtle like he likes to do with the offense and Koetter. Good, but doesn’t it worry you that Lovie, the head coach, has to “leave them alone” for them to be successful? Lovie could very easily railroad Jameis’ career.
Needless to say, if Lovie’s only worthwhile accomplishment as head coach is drafting Jameis and nothing more, then he hasn’t done a very good job.
January 2nd, 2016 at 2:03 pm
The only way I think lovie gets fired is if the bucs get blown out tomorrow but if the bucs are competive or win tomorrow he will be back
January 2nd, 2016 at 3:04 pm
While everyone is crowing about what a turn around we had going from 2 wins to 6 maybe 7 wins, we should remember 1 thing. Our strength of schedule was the weakest in football. ! While that’s good for draft day, it’s not so good for the coach.
January 2nd, 2016 at 3:10 pm
I don’t understand this speak of Lovie hand picking his players. Yeah, he hand picked them out of the trash heap remaining. Leftovers. Drafting defense should help.
January 2nd, 2016 at 3:12 pm
I think there is a 50/50 chance lovie is fired. I think a lot of it will come down to replacing “FRIENDS N FAMILY ” on his staff and there is a lot of them on that defensive staff. His son coaches the dbs or the safeties. I have 4 sons and i dont think i could fire them and lovie is very family orientated. So either he gets fired and that staff and still be payed 10mil or he stays and fires his son and the rest of his close people .
January 2nd, 2016 at 3:12 pm
He’s staying regardless of being blown out tomorrow. The Panthers blow a lot of teams out. It’s more about continuity.
January 2nd, 2016 at 3:17 pm
CalBucsFan –
I agree that Lovie’s defense was disappointing this year but the talent on that side of the ball has been lacking for years and we’ve had a number of injuries (and a suspension) that made the problem even more glaring. I think if we give Lovie 2 years of defense heavy drafts, we’ll have an above average defense in Tampa.
In regards to his team’s discipline, its hard to argue your point however I don’t think it’s fair to praise Koetter for offensive success while ignoring the fact that a majority of the penalties came from the offensive side of the ball.
January 2nd, 2016 at 3:39 pm
I absolutely agree with 87 and couch on this one. Lovie is getting way to much credit for Jameis development when I feel it’s all Jameis. Just a stand up guy trying to look out for his coach. That being said this thing is far from over and tomorrow everything is on the line for Lovie. If it wasn’t the Glazers would have already come forward and said Lovie is safe for the 2016 season like others owners have already done. I say he is fired if the Bucs have more then 10 penalties tomorrow or more then two personal fouls. His job is on the line and deservedly so. Im sorry I hate to see coaches being fired so often but he has shown absolutely nothing as far as progress. Go Bucs!
January 2nd, 2016 at 3:44 pm
Lovie will be back next year..The Glazers are tired of paying two coaches.
I love the argument of we haven’t draft a defensive player in two drafts…What about Alexander?
And does Lovie have the say on draft…Oh and didn’t Lovie get rid of Revis , Baron these are two key pieces in a Defense and it is where we are hurting.
I hear that the players don’t fit the scheme…When you have a Revis you fit your scheme to the great players..
January 2nd, 2016 at 4:40 pm
The headline of this article should be “Lovie Gone after two seasons”
January 2nd, 2016 at 4:45 pm
The Glazers have made such a huge commitment to Lovie, financially and organizationally, that not only is he guaranteed 2016, but I would bet 2017 as well.
So get use to it fellow Bucs fans, for better or worse, Lovie is going to be around for a while
January 2nd, 2016 at 4:49 pm
ATrain –
Wish we could have kept Revis but I’ll admit I was on-board with dumping his salary and getting Verner, MJ and Collins for the same price. Hindsight is 20-20 I suppose.
Baron on the other hand was a decent tackler but was constantly getting burnt in coverage and wasn’t as sad to see him go.
1* defensive player in 2 drafts is notable and it’s difficult to build a defense through FA in my opinion.
January 2nd, 2016 at 4:56 pm
Well, BrianBucs, if you are right and you probably are. it is a pity the sincere hard-working and basically loyal fans have pay through ticket sales for owner’s stupidity and ineptitude.
January 2nd, 2016 at 4:58 pm
If anything, JAMEIS has been great for Lovie. You’re looking at the same 2 win team of last year if not for Jameis and Lovie gets fired for being the guy that led his team to 2 straight #1 picks!
January 2nd, 2016 at 5:31 pm
JBF, if the “handling of Jameis” argument made any sense, then it would also apply to Evans and ASJ and it has not so all we’re left with is a stubborn coach that fails to adjust and leaves his team with his same bland personality.
January 2nd, 2016 at 5:36 pm
Alright I agree, we shouldn’t be impulsive. And by firing him and hiring a new coach, we put ourselves back. But what the hell, why do we have to sit and wait another year to delay a turnaround. If you don’t like what you have at HC, you gotta move on ASAP. There’s a fine line between smart and impulsive, and I haven’t seen anything to believe Lovie will turn this around.
Not to mention, were about to pass up on Koetter. I really wish our owners were fans of the team.
January 2nd, 2016 at 6:31 pm
“Lovie agreed to draft Jameis when there was heavy pressure not to. Lovie hired Koetter and left them alone. Lovie’s fingerprints all over Jameis.”
——————————————————————
what heavy pressure? licht is the gm, in charge of the draft. have you seen any contract that states otherwise? the gm also hired koetter. your guesses are just as good as mine because no one knows one way or the other. the glazers ain’t talkin.
January 2nd, 2016 at 6:40 pm
“We were 4-12 last season” – Lovie Smith repeatedly and SMUGLY said when he was hired in 2014 only to go out and put up 2 W’s the whole freaking season with NO home wins.
January 2nd, 2016 at 6:41 pm
The repeated assertion that Incompetent Lovie Smith masterfully handled Winston is utter nonsense. If by masterfully handling Winston you mean he got the eff out of the way and let the competent offensive coach do his job and the superstar QB do his then I am terribly amused by the stretch of reason you are peddling.
And when did we start attaching the word “guru” to people who simply try. It’s amazing how language gets used in such a way that words themselves simple carry no meaning. Incompetent Lovie Smith a “defensive guru”???
I tried to make pancakes from scratch once and failed miserably. Does this make me a breakfast guru?
January 2nd, 2016 at 6:44 pm
“Couch Fan Says:
January 2nd, 2016 at 4:58 pm
If anything, JAMEIS has been great for Lovie. You’re looking at the same 2 win team of last year if not for Jameis and Lovie gets fired for being the guy that led his team to 2 straight #1 picks!”
Said this a million times. No truer words ever spoken.
January 2nd, 2016 at 6:59 pm
DallasBuc…he’s been peddling for a week now.
January 2nd, 2016 at 7:03 pm
Joe is not going to divulge confidential information and private conversations but if you didn’t know how badly Father Dungy (just to name one guy) was squeezing the Bucs to take Mariota, and Father Dungy and Lovie are very tight, you were not reading JoeBucsFan.com in the months leading up to the draft.
No, you don’t have to trust Joe. But you’d be wrong.
January 2nd, 2016 at 7:08 pm
No, because the smart move was to do what Lovie did. Worked perfectly.
To suggest Lovie has nothing to do with Jameis’ development means one believes Lovie has zero power at One Buc Palace. That cannot be further from reality.
Look, Lovie has done a terrible job with the Bucs except for the second-most important transaction in the last 20 years for the Bucs. Pulling that move off carries a lot of weight and bought Lovie another year. Rightly so.
January 2nd, 2016 at 7:23 pm
Vanilla…Have we up graded from Barron or Revis…
We are again top 3 in cap room..
We could have kept Revis and Verner.. Revis gives you talent and Experience.. Someone who knows how to win unlike McCoy.
I keep hearing who will we replace Lovie with? Why start over
But Lovie did and bright in CRAP PLAYERS…
January 2nd, 2016 at 7:42 pm
Couch said: “drafted the guy, that anyone with 2 eyes could see, who was the best QB to come out in a long time”
This is not entirely true. There were quite a few coaches, executives, and analysts saying they would not draft JW in the first round, especially with the 1st pick. Mostly due to character / off-field concerns, and his alarming amount of interceptions that year. Obviously they were wrong, but it certainly was not a unanimous consensus.
Personally, I don’t give Lovie a ton of credit for the development of JW, but you gotta at least give him some… Same with Licht, and same for the drafting of Smith, Marpet, and Kwon. It remains to be seen what Kenny Bell can do.
Anyways, he’s our coach and will be through 2016, so as a fan all I can do is hope he can figure out how to put a real defense on the field next year. And if he can’t, I’ll be calling for his head with most of the rest of you. I wasn’t even excited about his hiring in the first place, but it is what it is. Thank you Glazers.
January 2nd, 2016 at 7:53 pm
I like shooting pool but I’m not very good at it. Just call me a “billiards guru”
January 2nd, 2016 at 8:24 pm
Whether you support or are against Lovie is not really the question.
Let’s simply examine some FACTS!!!
The Glazers are not going to fire Lovie before next year! That is a fact!!! Why is it so hard to accept.
So realizing that FACT…here are some others.
The ONLY way for Lovie to get fired is for the Bucs to lose next year.
The ONLY way for many of you to get what you wish is for the Bucs to lose next year.
IE…Many of you are rooting for the Bucs to lose next year which is what makes it hard for many of the rest of us who are actually Buc fans and want the team to win.
January 2nd, 2016 at 8:42 pm
There goes StPete again with his fanboy fan police whiny lectures.
Listen, we all want the Bucs to win we just don’t all think it is going to happen with incompetent Lovie Smith “trying” guru style.
Incompetent Lovie Smith is not a championship HC and never will be. His record 1/4 win percentage as Bucs HC proves that. It doesn’t mean we want him to fail it just means it is expected. Stop making sht up again to fit your lame crying arguements.
January 2nd, 2016 at 8:48 pm
I’m perplexed why so many think it’s so far fetched to see another coaching change. The NFL is a business, coaches are paid to win, not to make excuses about injuries or to tell the fans and media that the team is “relevant” and then proceed to lose 3 games in a row when you have a possible shot at the playoffs. Especially when guys like Ryan Mallett or Case Kasam are the ones tearing up your defense.
The problem I see with Lovie is he doesn’t get the hustle out of the majority of his players. There are only a couple of players on this team that week-in, week-out are putting in hustle and effort. Winston, Alexander and Martin are the only players that I watch every week that are playing their asses off.
Alexander’s effort when Julio Jones was off to the races for a TD and he chased him down and wrestled the ball away, that’s “want to”. Martin, every run that he is stuffed, those legs keep churning, he’ll break tackles and turn a 2 yard loss into it a positive gain. Then of course Winston, risking his body and leaping into the end zone for scores and his run against Atlanta, getting first down on 3rd and 19 all by himself.
“Flat” starts, poor execution against inferior competition, penalties, drops, fumbles all show the viewers that this is an unprepared and unmotivated ballclub. Lovie has shown enough in 2 years that he can’t coach.
January 2nd, 2016 at 9:01 pm
CalBucsFan Says
“Lovie’s “expertise” is defense, which has been a failure.”
Allow me to set you straight. Lovie was hired and all of the haters and trolls said (from day one) that he could not build an offense. All we heard then was “Defense does not win championships anymore!”
He came in and focused not on defense, but on offense. In his two years, he has completely proven naysayers wrong. If he were an offensive-minded coach, you all would consider him a success!
In these two years, he relied on JASON FREAKING LICHT to bring in defense in free agency…where Licht signed the low budget, injury prone, overaged washouts UNTIL THEY FINISHED THE OFFENSE AND COULD FOCUS ON DEFENSE IN THE DRAFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good god, people. If is so hard to grasp??? Lovie Smith did what everyone said he could not do…he built a solid offensive unit! He ignored his natural tendency to draft defense for two years (outside of Kwon, who is a great player). Why?
Consider the wisdom in building offense first. It takes longer to groom a QB, to assemble and develop an offensive line, than it takes to develop drafted defensive players (outside of CBs, who usually take 3-5 years; see Ronde for example).
So stop your freaking belly-aching and get a grip. Lovie is doing this right, and next year, when the defense starts off slow in the first quarter of the season but then comes together and dominates, you’ll be jumping on his bandwagon by the end of the season.
We only need 7 great players minimum to excel on defense. 7 of 11 on the field. We have 4. 3 more and then the remaining 4 just have to be solid.
Given the drafts LOVIE has pulled off, don’t you think its safe to say that we can get 3 great defensive players out of the next draft? H3LL yes!
Get a grip.
January 2nd, 2016 at 9:02 pm
Ed Says
“The problem I see with Lovie is he doesn’t get the hustle out of the majority of his players.”
Name one player on offense that is starting and that does not hustle.
January 2nd, 2016 at 9:33 pm
^^^ASJ, Mike Clayton Evans
January 2nd, 2016 at 9:55 pm
The Glazers are not going to fire Lovie before next year! That is a fact!!!
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I agree odds say Lovie will stay and get fired next year. But how exactly is that a fact? Have the Glazers said this?… Prove its a fact.
January 2nd, 2016 at 10:02 pm
What a shame Lovie had no say in the Free Agents. Guess Licht held a gun to his head and told him they will be on the team like it or not!! Last I knew LOVIE picked the final roster.
January 2nd, 2016 at 10:07 pm
Dallas.
I disagree with both the players you mentioned. Mike Evans may not catch every ball thrown his way and might not always keep his cool but to say he doesn’t give full effort is inaccurate in my opinion.
January 2nd, 2016 at 11:12 pm
@spbf
really? what field did you say you worked in before? you don’t know the definition of a fact? those are all your opinions…lmao
even if lovie is here next year, those are not facts.
it is crazy how many people do not know the difference between a fact and an opinion.
January 2nd, 2016 at 11:19 pm
@joe
so lovie was under pressure…ok
are you saying, also, that lovie is in charge of the draft and all personnel decisions including the hiring of koetter and bajakian? even after the failed first free agency and releasing of revis, zuttah, et al that the glazers allow him carte blanche over every team decision?
January 2nd, 2016 at 11:27 pm
By far top rated comment on a PFT article about potential fired coaches:
“How does Lovie Smith continue to remain employed as a head coach?”
lol
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/02/black-monday-whos-safe-who-isnt-whos-already-out/
January 2nd, 2016 at 11:33 pm
Lets give Lovie the blame for cutting Revis and replacing him with Verner. Cutting Revis was dumb. But Verner was a pro bowler when he was signed. So how exactly did Lovie “ruin” him. Is it scheme? No, because we actually run quite a bit of man and Verner gets burned in man and zone. Its probably because we have no pass rush, but that problem started long before Lovie. But it needs to end. Verner is not Revis and is not that guy that can make a defense better. Dumb move.
Most of the reasons Lovie has failed are due to personel. It dosent matter who the coach is, most of the defense will suck regardless. But again, Lovie picked them. Thats the issue. We had an all pro but replaced him with average. But most of the defense was still pretty bad before he git here, and the teams resources went to building an offense instead. But was it worth it? Has it translated to more wins? So far, yes, it has translated to more wins. 2-14 vs 6-10. And we finally got a qb. Something Raheem, Schiano, Gruden and Dungy did not. When you have a qb, you have a shot. But alot of ppl are saying “oh Lovie wouldn’t have those wins without Jameis”, so what! How many wins would Mccarthy have without Rodgers? How about Arians and Palmer? Lewis and Dalton? Most head coaches wouldnt look so smart without a good qb, so why is it a crime when Lovie does it? And you cant give all the credit to Koetter for the offensive production, yet give Lovie all the blame for penalties when a lions share of those penalties are on offense. And havent we been plagued with penalties for years now? You think we’re just going to hire some all powerful hc and our penalties will drop drastically? NO! We have a young offense, penalties are a given. And when we draft defensr next year, we’re going to get more penalties there too, but if we draft well those penslties will drop season by seadon, unless you just sign a team of all pro’s this spring. Look we have been bad the past few years. The fact that we got six wins and had an outside shot at the playoffs after Thanksgiving is pretty good. I dont know why im wasting my time typing this, its not going to change anyones mind on here. I know it sucks that we have a roster filled with bumbling, fumbling losers. It sucked six years ago too. But no hc is going to come in and change that over night. You just gotta hope we keep drafting well and hope our coaches dont lose the locker room. When you can check off both off those, it usually signals winning football will be here sooner rather than later.
January 3rd, 2016 at 12:06 am
tldr
learn to use paragraphs.
January 3rd, 2016 at 12:22 am
For the Lovable Lovie lovers that love to insist that Incompetent Lovie Smith is going nowhere anytime soon fail to grasp the sad irony that their Bucs are also not going anywhere anytime soon because of that. Careful what you wish for warnings cut both ways.
January 3rd, 2016 at 12:45 am
BuccaneerBonzai Says:
January 2nd, 2016 at 9:02 pm
“Ed Says
“The problem I see with Lovie is he doesn’t get the hustle out of the majority of his players.”
“Name one player on offense that is starting and that does not hustle.”
Bonzai are you on some kind of new meds or something? Why does he have to name a player on offense, when Lovie’s a defensive coach? Why not ask a question about the defensive hustle?
I’m just going to skip over your posts this offseason. I think your head’s not screwed on right lately.
From you saying Licht is the one that picks all the FA’s and that’s why the FA’s have sucked. Then we have this, you trying to say Lovie instills “hustle” in the offense.
DUDE YOU’RE GRASPING A STRAWS TO DEFEND THIS GUY DAILY. You don’t even have valid points to defend him. You just make stuff up and run with it.
January 3rd, 2016 at 1:20 am
I can make a decent whiskey sour. I guess I am a bar tending guru.
January 3rd, 2016 at 1:25 am
Taught my dog not to eat small children. Fair to assume I am a dog training guru as well.
January 3rd, 2016 at 3:28 am
BONZI
We just had this conversation on another post u slow minded fukc. LOVIE wanted all of the ex bears/cowboys retreads. Not LICHT. Don’t blame Licht for LOVIE making him sign every player in free agency that ever played in the Tampa 2.
#FIRELOVIE
January 3rd, 2016 at 10:14 am
Fair to say Lovie’s grade out:
FA acquisitions F
Draft acquisitions A
Defensive Results D
Offensive Results B-l
Special teams results C-
Clock management C
In game adjustments F
Win/Loss record F
Year to year improvement B
My conclusion, Lovie is exactly what he is, a mediocre coach whose results in his first 2 seasons has been characterized with some improvements offensively, digression defensively.
His wins over Atlanta and Philadelphia were his teams highest moments. The losses to opponents using backup quarterbacks is a sign that he lacks the ability to change his game plan to take advantage of those opponents.
Loss at home to Titans on opening day in a blowout was seeing an unprepared team making errors that preseason should have eliminated. Houston loss, Rams loss with 2nd and 3rd string QBs was disturbing. Those teams had punch less offenses but Bucs were unable to get them off the field. Smith’s defensive game plans didn’t confuse these inexperienced QBs.
There was some improvement during certain games but collapse with 24-0 lead at Washington and the “flat” performances at home games appears to show the coaches weakness to prepare his team to play at a high level week in and week out. The fundamentals that a veteran head coach was hired for have not been effective taught to the team as witnessed by being the most penalized team, poor tackling and a lack of physical play from interior defensive linemen and defensive backfield.
There isn’t anything in the 2 years of his tenure that indicate the ability to improve on glaring weaknesses. What you see is what you’ll get if team continues to invest in this level of coaching.
January 3rd, 2016 at 10:16 am
Fair to say Lovie’s grade out:
FA acquisitions F
Draft acquisitions A
Defensive Results D
Offensive Results B-l
Special teams results C-
Clock management C
In game adjustments F
Win/Loss record F
Year to year improvement B
My conclusion, Lovie is exactly what he is, a mediocre coach whose results in his first 2 seasons has been characterized with some improvements offensively, digression defensively.
His wins over Atlanta and Philadelphia were his teams highest moments. The losses to opponents using backup quarterbacks is a sign that he lacks the ability to change his game plan to take advantage of those opponents.
Loss at home to Titans on opening day in a blowout was seeing an unprepared team making errors that preseason should have eliminated. Houston loss, Rams loss with 2nd and 3rd string QBs was disturbing. Those teams had punch less offenses but Bucs were unable to get them off the field. Smith’s defensive game plans didn’t confuse these inexperienced QBs.
There was some improvement during certain games but collapse with 24-0 lead at Washington and the “flat” performances at home games appears to show the coaches weakness to prepare his team to play at a high level week in and week out. DThe fundamentals that a veteran head coach was hired for have not been effective taught to the team as witnessed by being the most penalized team, poor tackling and a lack of physical play from interior defensive linemen and defensive backfield.
There isn’t anything in the 2 years of his tenure that indicate the ability to improve on glaring weaknesses. What you see is what you’ll get if team continues to invest in this level of coaching.
January 3rd, 2016 at 11:31 am
Lurker:
Not saying Lovie has done a good job. He has not, except for one move which holds significant weight with the folks cutting the checks at One Buc Palace: Jameis.