“That’s A Byproduct Of Doing The Job That You Have Right Now Well”
January 7th, 2016
Koetter was a Day 1 risk
Yes, Dirk Koetter has spoken about being an NFL head coach.
At Koetter’s introductory conference call upon taking the Tampa Bay offensive coordinator job last year, it was Joe who asked Koetter about his head coaching future. Yeah, it was a bit of a wiseguy question for a man just hired to be an OC, but it really was the question of the day.
Anyone with knowledge of Koetter’s stature and previous NFL head coaching interviews knew potential Tampa Bay success with a rookie quarterback — Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston (thankfully) — would make Koetter a premium head coach candidate in 2016.
Here’s the January 2015 exchange with Joe and Koetter, as transcribed by Buccaneers.com.
(On if he thinks potential head coaching opportunities will continue to be available for him in the future, and what it’s like to prepare for Gerald McCoy)
“Haha, that’s the easiest question I’ve had all day: What it’s like to prepare for Gerald McCoy? It’s hard, that’s what it is. It’s hard. When you prepare to face Gerald McCoy, you always are aware of how you can get an extra guy over there because you never want to have one of your guards or center one-on-one with Gerald McCoy. As far as the being a head coach thing, I was fortunate enough that I’ve been a college head coach for nine years, I was a head high school coach. I love being an offensive coordinator in the NFL and the part about being a head coach, I mean, just look around at what’s happened in the last 48 hours in the NFL. Being a head coach in the NFL is very unpredictable. [I am] extremely, extremely happy being an offensive coordinator in the NFL and if something like that is to come, that’s a byproduct of doing the job that you have right now well. So I’m going to come down to Tampa and just try to do the best job that I can and whatever happens after that happens.”
Credible national reports have the 49ers, Dolphins and Eagles pursuing Koetter for their vacancies. So Koetter is in exactly the position he earned. Hiring Koetter was a risk worth taking, and now Team Glazer’s chickens have come home to roost.
It’s only a problem if Team Glazer doesn’t pay Koetter and move very quickly.
January 7th, 2016 at 1:00 pm
We need a President of Football Operations. I don’t trust the Glaziers. Is that a spot Coughlin would accept?
January 7th, 2016 at 1:10 pm
@Mike
That was my suggestion as well.
January 7th, 2016 at 1:12 pm
If Koetter does take the head coaching job, I would like to warn him right now. The Tampa2 mafia is out and out for blood!!! You can hear them and their comments right now. Who ever is going to be the head coach will have to contend with those who think that only the cover2 defense works and you have to have a dungy tree coach!!!
January 7th, 2016 at 1:13 pm
I trust licht to find a HC more than the glazer bros
January 7th, 2016 at 1:19 pm
HIRE KOETTER…”simple as that”…def coor has to be a cover 2 guy…our current roster dictates that….need a tweaking and add talent now, not an overhaul…remarkable progress on offense, just need a “decent” defense to contend…
January 7th, 2016 at 1:31 pm
Hi!!! There really isn’t much substance in what I have to say, but if I use enough exclamation points I give the impression that I say it with conviction!!! Go bucs!!!
January 7th, 2016 at 1:38 pm
@ bucco brice
The defensive roster doesn’t dictate we keep a cover 2 defense as base. We have 3 players on that side of the ball worth hanging on to, and any of those 3 would thrive in any 4-3 defense.
Switching to a 3-4 defense would be painful, but any style of a 4-3 should work with the core defensive players on this team.
January 7th, 2016 at 1:42 pm
“Simple as that.” Now there’s a phrase that has been overdone, one I hope to hear a lot less of with Lovie’s departure. Nothing is ever just “simple” – perhaps it was Lovie’s inability to understand the complexities he was facing that led to his downfall.
January 7th, 2016 at 1:42 pm
Most of the D players on the roster are not cover 2 specialists. I believe the D players will adjust well to a non-cover 2 D.
January 7th, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Somewhere GMC is having fun!
January 7th, 2016 at 2:08 pm
“Who ever is going to be the head coach will have to contend with those who think that only the cover2 defense works and you have to have a dungy tree coach!!!”
Once again more deranged delusions substantiated only by a troubled mind.
Who the f*ck are these people? I’ve never heard of a single person on any bucs forum / any bucs site / any bucs fan in person / etc saying they want a cover2 defense with a dungy tree coach. Seriously. Links weirdo?
“realist” once again living in some weird a$$ fantasy world
January 7th, 2016 at 2:10 pm
You have to be able to run hybrid defenses in todays nfl. Im not advocating an all out switch to 3-4, but the de/olb tweaners coming out of college far outnumber the straight up 4-3 de’s.
Look at the programs Licht scouted and talent evaluated for and it’s pretty obvious where he’ll want to go. New England and Arizona, both hybrids.
January 7th, 2016 at 2:11 pm
“Most of the D players on the roster are not cover 2 specialists. I believe the D players will adjust well to a non-cover 2 D.”
Exactly and we didn’t run all cover 2 any way. All we need is a 4-3 coordinator. And if we wanted to go to a 3-4 it’s not that insane. The only real pieces on this D that are special are McCoy/David/Kwon right now. Everything else is either potential / mediocre / or bad
January 7th, 2016 at 2:19 pm
Lovie is gone and Licht is in charge of finding the new HC. This couldn’t of turned out any better. GO BUCS!!!
January 7th, 2016 at 2:23 pm
I don’t have any problem with any defensive scheme switch. If we were even “good” in a Cover-2 based, I might have qualms, but what we have right now is a terrible defense.
Switching to a 3-4 would put GMC at DE and put Kwon and Lavonte at OLB (positions I believe all three would excel at and they are three of the top players, possibly the only good players, on defense). Bodies at ILB, a big, bad-ass NT (draft?) and better corners/safeties through draft and FA.
January 7th, 2016 at 2:23 pm
Hire Dirk as HC, Mike Smith for DC, Tom Coughlin president of football operations.
January 7th, 2016 at 2:26 pm
I know some will question the Mike Smith DC pick…here’s his resume
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1982 San Diego State (graduate assistant)
1983–1985 San Diego State (linebackers)
1986 Morehead State (defensive line)
1987 Tennessee Tech (defensive line)
1988–1995 Tennessee Tech (special teams)
1996–1998 Tennessee Tech (defensive coordinator)
1999–2001 Baltimore Ravens (def. asst/ def. line)
2002 Baltimore Ravens (linebackers)
2003–2007 Jacksonville Jaguars (def. coord.)
2008–2014 Atlanta Falcons (head coach)
January 7th, 2016 at 2:28 pm
@ Ghost. My thoughts exactly. I’m not so sure Coughlin would take the position but I think Mike Smith would be interested in reuniting with Dirk. I definitely think that Dirk gets the job.
From Rotoworld:
Bucs GM Jason Licht calls OC Dirk Koetter a “very strong” candidate to replace Lovie Smith.
Speculation has run rampant that the Bucs fired Smith in part to keep Koetter, and Licht didn’t exactly quiet it on Thursday. Koetter is also reportedly a candidate for the Dolphins and 49ers jobs, but perhaps there’s already an implicit understanding he’ll be the man in Tampa. The news could be official by the weekend.
January 7th, 2016 at 2:48 pm
The very reason Lovie was was “HIS” guys couldn’t run the T2, let alone guys who weren’t well versed in it. Our best two CBs are Press guys, Banks and Verner. Our best LB is not fast enough to go sideline to sideline, but he excels at blitzing, our new MLB can’t drop back into coverage fast enough but again is a great run stopper. These are not T2 guys, their skill sets were not used correctly because you had a HC who either couldn’t or wouldn’t change his scheme to fit his talent, instead he tried to force square pegs into round holes, now he can do it while playing Madden….
January 7th, 2016 at 2:48 pm
The very reason Lovie was fired was…
January 7th, 2016 at 2:58 pm
flmike Says: now he can do it while playing Madden
I wonder if he will play as the Jets or Patriots and bench Revis for a 2nd or 3rd stringer who has the skills he seeks to run his version of the Tampa 2?????
January 7th, 2016 at 5:03 pm
SMH, some of my friends think Koetter is not interested in a head coaching opportunity, for some strange reason. Here is some info abut him.
Here are five things to know about Koetter:
Koetter has been a head coach before, just not in NFL. Koetter was the head coach at Arizona State for six seasons, compiling a 40-34 record and three bowl appearances before being fired in 2006. He also was the coach at Boise State from 1998-2000, where he was 26-10 and developed a reputation as an offensive genius. Koetter talked to Boise State about as the head-coaching job in December 2013 but opted to keep his position as the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator.
Koetter has discussed NFL head-coaching positions before. He talked to the Cleveland Browns in January 2014 before the Browns hired Mike Pettine, who just was fired. Koetter also interviewed with Denver in 2011 before John Fox was hired, and in Kansas City in 2013 before Andy Reid was hired.
Koetter’s Buccaneers offense, guided by rookie quarterback Jameis Winston, finished fifth in the league with 375.9 yards per game. The Bucs were 30th in the league in 2014 before Koetter’s arrival with an average of 292 yards per game. Koetter was the offensive coordinator for the Jaguars (2007-2011) and Falcons (2012-2014). Koetter’s offenses in Atlanta ranked in the top eight in both 2012 and 2014, while his Jaguars offense ranked seventh in the league during his first season in Jacksonville.
Koetter, who turns 57 Feb. 5, is from Pocatello, Idaho, and owns a cabin in the resort town of McCall, which is about 110 miles north of Boise. He played for Highlands High School in Pocatello and went on to play quarterback for Idaho State.
Koetter’s first coaching job was as the head coach at Highlands High in 1983. He was 24. ESPN analyst Merrill Hoge not only was Koetter’s running back on the football field, Hoge also played for Koetter on the high school basketball team.
January 7th, 2016 at 9:56 pm
Dang Chris you had me really excited for a minute there…I went to Highlands High!!! Alas in Fort Thomas Ky and not Idaho. LOL
We do have Chris Collinsworth as our most famous citizen and his kids were all star athletes at Highlands.
@LordC…thanks for saving me the time with Realist. He’s far from the only one and he’s not as bad as lurker or some who making stuff up out of whole cloth…but to see the dislike of one person drive another to such an obsession just seems sad. And I like Realist which makes it sadder.