Does Dirk Koetter Need A Slogan?
July 9th, 2016
Ex-Bucs reflect on driving forces in the last winning Bucs season, 10-6 in 2010.
Legions of Bucs fans will run for their nearest toilet bowl if the Buccaneers open the season 0-2, or 1-3. There’s a very weak stomach for losing around Tampa Bay after years of abuse.
Joe’s looking for solutions. So Joe explored six years back to a great time in Bucs history, the “Race To 10.”
For those unaware, the “Race To 10” was the 2010 public slogan for Bucs head coach Raheem Morris, one born from his lessons in psychology delivered by former Tampa Bay Rays skipper Joe Maddon. The two were very close.
Coming off a 3-13 season, Raheem had the stones to pump overconfidence into his ridiculously young team, which started 10 rookies in 2010. Raheem demanded the Bucs become the first NFL team to win 10 games that year. Hence, the Race to 10 was on, and Raheem wanted everyone to know about it.
Contrast that to Lovie Smith last year. When Joe was first in the media to learn “California Dreamin'” was the team motto. (The Super Bowl was hosted by the 49ers last year.) Joe approached Lovie privately after practice to confirm what Joe was told by then-rookie Kaelin Clay. Man, Lovie’s face puckered like he just sucked on a lemon he thought was an orange.
Raheem pumped his Race To 10 message over and over, and the Bucs jumped out to a 2-0 record, which they inflated to 5-2.
Joe talked to 2010 Bucs defensive tackle Roy Miller and wide receiver Arrelious Benn about the Race To 10 after their Jaguars finished a minicamp practice last month. Joe wanted to know if the Race To 10 was a bunch of goofy BS that players dismissed as talk.
On the contrary, Benn said, the Bucs bought into Raheem’s message. Young players didn’t know any better, Benn said, and they saw veterans all-in with the talk.
“You had guys pushed to be ready to go and just take control, something guys this age you wouldn’t think would be doing,” Benn reflected. “The big thing with us was that we were hungry. We didn’t know anything. Everything was new to us, and we just wanted to go out and compete hard, and that’s pretty much what we did, banded together and played with good coaching.
“Guys really bought into it. Coach Raheem was like the ultimate players coach. He was a guy that was going to be in the locker room with you, joking with you. Being young himself, he made things kind of easy for us, but not in a bad way, made it more comfortable and intense at the same time. [Jags head coach] Gus Bradley kind of reminds me a little bit of Raheem as a personality, the way he interacts with the team. Chip Kelly, (laughs heartily) when I was with him [in Philly] it was something different.”
Miller, now a veteran of 106 NFL games, says Raheem’s message had players so ramped up and filled with swagger it was almost impossible to not peak early that season.
“More than anything we fed off Raheem’s confidence,” Miller said. “We were saying things you normally wouldn’t say. We were telling people that we were going to be good, and they had to deal with us. You know, players are an image of their coach. And I think we just fed off his energy and it allowed young players like Josh Freeman to go in there and play lights out with confidence.”
Dirk Koetter is 57 years old and old school in many ways. Raheem Morris was 34 when the Bucs kicked off that 2010 season. Different coaches. Different approaches. But Koetter desperately needs what Raheem got in 2010 — a fast start.
Joe’s not pining for Raheem and saying Koetter better come up with a good one-liner soon, but Koetter must find a way to have his team extraordinarily ready to play their best football — mentally and physically — on opening day.
Everyone associated with Tampa Bay was humiliated by last year’s opening day debacle. It was the most disgusting display Joe has seen in decades, to a Titans team that eventually earned the No. 1 overall pick. That tells Joe that Koetter might need a radical mindset shift leading up to September 11, this year’s opening kickoff at the raucous Georgia Dome.
July 9th, 2016 at 10:22 am
Attack that’s all we4 need agressive attacking defense and offense.thats all we need.and when get near the twenty think TD.kicking field instead of touchdowns is like stopping 1 yard short of a first down.if you try for two TD’s
and only get one your still a point ahead of 2 field goals.
July 9th, 2016 at 10:41 am
Everyone associated with Tampa Bay was humiliated “in every game that coach my scheme was a part of”!!!!
as far as a slogan, how about,
“No more incompetence”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 9th, 2016 at 11:04 am
I thought he already had one “the only thing anyone gives a damn about is Wins”
Best coaches in recent TB history?:
Gruden
Raheem
Dungy
Schiano
Smith
Koetter
July 9th, 2016 at 11:09 am
Just win baby!!!
It’s available now that Crazy Al Davis is worm dirt…
July 9th, 2016 at 11:38 am
“Do the opposite of whatever Lovie said”
July 9th, 2016 at 11:58 am
That team got totally shafted. Ten wins with basically a college team, and all they had to show for it was an apology from the comish.
July 9th, 2016 at 12:12 pm
Stupid A$$!
July 9th, 2016 at 12:36 pm
How about “We fired loser Lovie because we love winning”…
Go Bucs!
July 9th, 2016 at 12:42 pm
How about “come out swinging”?
July 9th, 2016 at 1:11 pm
Nice “I am Naughty” ad on the side of the page. Didn’t see that one coming. Lol!
July 9th, 2016 at 1:46 pm
“siege the day” doesn’t work for you, Joe?! lol
July 9th, 2016 at 2:49 pm
Personally, I like – “Every game matters”
July 9th, 2016 at 2:50 pm
Regain home advantage and win at home…..for the love of God please!!!!
The sun and needs feel hotter in that stadium over the past years………The crowd for that Panthers game last year was loud and energetic at the start yet the minutes waned on with absolutely nothing to cheer about. The players have not rewarded our support or fed from it for the better part of the last decade. It has become a depressing place to be at and beginning to feel like a chore and a waste of energy to create noise to help this team.
I could literally write paragraphs about how disappointing it has been to visit Ray Jay. I’m bringing my brown bag back to the stadium this year and I hope this team doesn’t force me to wear it.
July 9th, 2016 at 2:51 pm
**sun and beers***
July 9th, 2016 at 2:55 pm
Imagine the publicity if the Bucs allowed everyone in for free for the whole season! Other owners would snuff that out in a heartbeat before it could happen.
July 9th, 2016 at 5:31 pm
“Coming off a 3-13 season, Raheem had the stones to pump overconfidence into his ridiculously young team, which started 10 rookies in 2010. ”
Raheem also had the weakest strength of schedule in recent team history and 5 of those 10 wins were by 3 points or less.
That season was a total freaking mirage.
July 9th, 2016 at 10:25 pm
“We got balls baby, off and on the field”…
July 9th, 2016 at 10:37 pm
how about every d lineman adopt the race to 10 slogan. Who is first to 10 sacks?
July 10th, 2016 at 12:16 am
How about: “Just shut up and win?”
July 10th, 2016 at 8:44 am
Damn it. We had so much going forward. And it carried into 2011 starting 4-2. Then, it all ended as abruptly as it started, like waking up from a beautiful dream. Smh.
July 10th, 2016 at 9:46 am
How about “Past Bucking”, played to the tune of “Space Trucking”.
July 10th, 2016 at 10:47 am
Yeah Koetter needs a slogan. And it goes like this, “Lord help me win some games so I will not be joining Lovie and Schiano at the local fishing hole in 2 yrs”. He should repeat this slogan daily on his hands and knees with cape and mask off!
July 11th, 2016 at 12:56 am
How about “Jason is the licht”.