“Glazers Had To Do What Was Best For Jameis”
June 30th, 2017
Chris Hovan weighs in
When your Buccaneers had the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense in 2005, there was defensive tackle Chris Hovan in the center of it for 16 games.
The Bucs’ No. 2-ranked defense in 2007? There was Hovan again for the entire season.
Hovan also made an appearance recently on Lunch With Real Rock Riley, which posts exclusively on JoeBucsFan.com every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. (If you’re not watching, you’re foolish.)
Hovan, who lives in Tampa, chimed in on the 2017 Bucs and served up his take on winning head Dirk Koetter. Interestingly, the 39-year-old veteran of 11 NFL seasons felt compelled to throw in his two cents on Lovie Smith’s demise in town.
“I think he’s done great,” Hovan said of Koetter. “He’s had success in Jacksonville, had success in Atlanta. But let’s just be honest, I respect Lovie Smith to the 10th degree, but at the same token, when you take a quarterback No. 1 overall, you’re not going to let your offensive coordinator go who has that kind of relationship with him. The Glazers had to do what was best for Jameis. That was the main factor in the end because Coach Koetter was getting looks across the league.”
Intriguing take from Hovan on the heels what Team Glazer did to retain its current defensive coordinator, Mike Smith. A secretive deal was hatched that locked in Smith to the Bucs for 2017 and 2018, one that keeps him from leaving for a head coaching job. That’s highly rare in NFL circles.
Joe will go out on a wild limb (sarcasm) and say that agreement was about Mike Smith getting a very, very fat bag of cash to stay put.
Couldn’t Team Glazer have made a similar deal with Koetter — to have him stay put as offensive coordinator? Absolutely. Everybody has a price. But Team Glazer opted to send Lovie packing.
Wise move.
June 30th, 2017 at 4:52 pm
The Glazers were worried that Head Coach Koetter was on the radars!!!!!! They knew they could replace the scrub defensive coordinator that was masquerading around as a head coach, and most likely easily upgrade!!!!! And Boy were they right!!!!!! It was so apparent to all how antiquated and passive the scheme was and the incompetent one was going to do nothing to change it!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank the Glazers that they step up and Got a “REAL” head coach!!!!!! That they would not accept garbage defensive coordinator and went out and got the best one they could find!!!!! Thank the Glazers they stepped up and we all are seeing the benefits of all the coaching upgrades!!!!!!!!
This reminds me of when I pleaded with the Glazers to save the franchise of our beloved Bucs!!!!!!!! OMG Its a “Realist Repost”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Buc Realist Says:
January 3rd, 2016 at 8:35 pm
@ The Glazers
These are not tough times!!! It is time to be Tough!!!! Stand up and pull this Franchise out of the garbage!!!! Do not do what is easy and keep the status quo and watch your business flounder!!!!
Now is time to lead!!! If you do what is hard and make the right decision, years from fans will talk about how the owners took over the situation when it looked so bleak, And carried this Franchise back to greatness!!!!
You have to take that chance Mr Glazers!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 4:52 pm
Stop bashing Lovie Smith, Joe! In order to what was best for Jameis, the Bucs had to first lose lots and lots of games. Team Glazer couldn’t have done that without Lovie.
June 30th, 2017 at 4:58 pm
theodore is right!!!! Losing and lovie go hand to hand!!!!!! Coach my scheme is so good at “losing” that he even brought his incompetence to that third rate college team that he is running into the ground!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 5:04 pm
That’s one silly looking ginger
June 30th, 2017 at 5:07 pm
bash lovie all you want too….we have a new HC in town….any bashing needs to be on dirks shoulders….
what’s best for jameis is better play calling!!!!!!…..GO BUCS!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 5:12 pm
BS and realist go hand in hand…..
if I were new to this area, I would’ve thought dirk went 19-0 and won a superbowl with all the “praise” he’s getting….
he’s off to a good start….happy for the team….happy for the city….
remember dungy only had 1 losing season with the bucs….dirk has a long way to go….GO BUCS!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 5:18 pm
I hope we don’t get punked like MIA…..
As a first-year head coach, Sparano led the 2008 Dolphins to an 11-5 mark, finishing one vote behind Mike Smith in balloting for NFL Coach of the Year.
Fame proved fleeting, however, for Mr. Sparano. He didn’t make it through the 2011 season after losing 27 of his next 45 games.
GO BUCS!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 5:44 pm
They had to make DK a HC, i do not think any amount of money they offered would have compared to an NFL coach job when you have never been one
June 30th, 2017 at 5:46 pm
LOVIE…LOVIE…LOVIE…LOVIE…I’ll be glad when THE TASTE OF LOVIE’S BALLS goes away!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 5:56 pm
bighogheinous brought up a great discussion talking point!!!!!!! That maybe we should always remember one of the worst era’s in football for the Bucs!!!!! Maybe years from now there should be a “Statue of Incompetence” as to not make those mistakes again!!!!! They could have the statue of coach my scheme staring blankly at the jumbo tron as his defensive scheme was shredded time after time!!!!! Or a statue of the incompetent one asleep at the scout combine!!!!!!!!!!! With the words ” Never Forget”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!! and they will, with all those great coaching upgrades!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 6:18 pm
I will always be happy that we sucked so bad with Lovie since that scored us Jameis Winston who will be before his career is over one of the best QB’s to ever play in the league. I also will always be glad that Lovie was sent on his way after that.
June 30th, 2017 at 6:23 pm
This will make Realist’s weekend.
Mark Dominick was a worse GM than Lovie was a Coach……Dominick was so bad he made every coach’s job impossible.
We are now just finally recovering from his awful, disastrous draft picks.
June 30th, 2017 at 6:25 pm
No Lovie – No Licht. No Lovie – No Dirk. No Lovie – No Jameis Winston.
The Glazers were like bad coaching addicts – gotta hit rock bottom before you can start to turn your life around. Lovie was our rock bottom. And now we have a Franchise Quarterback….
June 30th, 2017 at 6:27 pm
Amen TBBF. Dom was terrible. We had to hit rock bottom with the GM as well. Boy did Mark Dominic ever qualify…
June 30th, 2017 at 6:32 pm
Joe(s),
I respectfully disagree. Koetter would have taken less money for a HC job. He’s always wanted it (at the NFL level) so I truly don’t think money was a factor. I think Jason Licht saw what a lot of us saw, and that was a coach ready for a HC gig. Lovie on the other hand, was on the decline, so it made sense all around. Koetter was Lichts guy. Lovie was not. They came in at the same time, and after 2 years, Licht had definitely seen enough.
June 30th, 2017 at 6:35 pm
@Tampabaybucfan
I go back in forth with those two!!!! dominik had a longer tenure, so there was more collateral damage, But coach my scheme coached this team staight to the bottom!!!! there is an argument both for “worst ever” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I give lovie credit for firing dominik when he interviewed for the job in October of 2013!!! and he hired licht, He gets credit for being the worst coach that dragged this team to the very bottom to get the # overall draft pick!!!! But that is it!!!!
word on the street is after 2 of lovie’s pick for replacement OC (one of which allegedly would not even interview) that NFL GM Licht suggested Mr Dirk Koetter!!!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 7:04 pm
@ Realist
You always have to give a man credit when he hires his replacement…..
June 30th, 2017 at 7:11 pm
Not sure Koetter would have went for that. He had never achieved becoming a head coach, while Smith was like, “been there done that”
Im expecting our defense to get picked apart unless Smith has made some.drastic changes this offseason. I heard last offseason there would be changes and.for the majority of the year it looked like Lovie Smith 2.0 was up there calling the D.
I hear there are some changes this offseason as well,. but I will belieive what I see not what I hear. I will not put money on this team defense in any game until I see.some consistency
June 30th, 2017 at 7:13 pm
HOOOOOOOOOOE!
My man!!! Love that guy!!!!
Check this out….
This is how we know life is good in BUCCANEER World…
Any one check the price of corn these days? ??
Its a Buck an Ear!!!!
Dont despise the little things if your a TRUE FAN OF INSPIRATION! !!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2017 at 7:27 pm
Lovie who??? Oh ya, the guy who tanked for Jameis… I respect him for that because now we got “the Franchise QB” jabooooo wins!!! I had high hopes for Lovie, but to b real… He really helped us become this budding beast!!! Not much else. Thanks for Koetter n Jameis love. Now let’s get r a$$ into the playoffs and do work jerk!!! Go BUCS baby!!!!!!!!!
Sidebar… Hovan was underrated, no?! Ya he was! Loved that ginjaNinja
June 30th, 2017 at 7:43 pm
BigHogHaynes Says:
June 30th, 2017 at 5:46 pm
LOVIE…LOVIE…LOVIE…LOVIE…I’ll be glad when THE TASTE OF LOVIE’S BALLS goes away!!!!!!!!!!!!
_________________________
LOL!
C’mon, Big Hog!?
Lovie was so darn incompetent. You can’t deny it.
I will be glad when the taste of Mike Glennon’s Balls, wins more NFL games than the Incompetent One wins NCAA games this fall in the state of Illinois.
Steve, Lee, Ira, Justin, Rock: Can you all do a do a poll on who will win more football games in the great state of Illinois this fall: Lovie or Glennon?
LOL Big Hog! Why so salty over Lovie. Dude was the worst, and he refused to change. He is a good person, bad coach. We would be worse than Cleveland if he were here for one more year.
June 30th, 2017 at 8:03 pm
@Joe … “Team Glazer opted to send Lovie packing.” Team Glazer chose the path they did because Lovie had put together what was probably the worst coaching staff in the NFL and it was negatively impacting their business. Lovie might have tanked 1 game to get Jameis, but reality is that he & his coaching staff weren’t improving. Matter of fact, they were in full retrograde (not unlike Realist with his Always Looking Backwards comments). No prophecy involved to see after year 1 where ‘The Lovie Show’ was headed. And to all those who say that Licht torpedoed Lovie, I’d call BS … the only one who torpedoed Lovie was Lovie.
But that’s all still water under the bridge. Sounds simplistic, but ‘You are where you are’. Too many folks spend far too much time looking backward instead of forward. Regardless of how we got where we are, our present-day Bucs have an excellent coaching staff and some very promising player talent. And ya, we face a tough 2017 schedule but as several have written on JBF … ‘Iron sharpens iron’. Bring it on!
June 30th, 2017 at 9:36 pm
well said pickgrin
June 30th, 2017 at 9:37 pm
and defense rules…
June 30th, 2017 at 11:49 pm
Too bad Hovan had to play during the lean years of Glazer neglect. Howard thinks that defense was underrated. Monte created a top 5 defense with bottom 5 money.
Thankfully those days are over.
God Bless America! Carry the Stick!
June 30th, 2017 at 11:54 pm
Lovie Smith….just let it go…..breaaathe….
……just let it go……when you open your eyes you will remember nothing about Lovie…..just….let it gooo…
July 1st, 2017 at 5:20 am
Since there are 360 degrees in a circle, trusting Lovie to the 10th degree sounds about right.
July 1st, 2017 at 7:42 am
‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’
July 1st, 2017 at 7:49 am
Funny how everyone is bashing but the fact is they still haven’t gone to the playoffs and being a better loser isn’t much to brag about. Yes winning record but no playoffs. Make a playoff damn. Potential means zip. Scoreboards don’t lie.
July 1st, 2017 at 8:51 am
The taste of Lovie’s BALLS!? That explains everything, Big Log!
July 1st, 2017 at 10:52 am
I had a few classes with Chris at the art institute last year. Good guy and told me he loved hitting Brett farve.
July 1st, 2017 at 2:32 pm
Wise Words Malloy “They came in at the same time, and after 2 years, Licht had definitely seen enough.”
IMO Mr. Licht has had the privilege and ability to work with some of the best coaches to have ever coached in the NFL. A. Reid, B. Belichick. So Mr. Licht has seen better than good to great coaching and seen what it takes to be able to keep their team ready for anything and ready & willing to take on anyone. Not so much what he was seeing from the coach who hired him, going back to where he learned and built his experience. The Ax swung, possibly knowing if Coach L. Smith had stayed his 3rd season that might have swung the Ax for both of them this off season.
Good move! Mr. Licht, keep on keepin on! Very Excited to see what Coach Kotter can and will do with the weapons he now has available. 2TE who can catch, Speed and more speed with youth and experience, good to very good WR depth. Several RB are good at catching and blocking as well as running the ball. Oline has experienced good depth with veterans, young solid players. This will be an explosive offense, very exciting to watch.
Go Bucs!
July 1st, 2017 at 2:37 pm
If the Glazers had let Koetter get another job, they probably would have still fired Lovie in a year or two and set Jameis’ development back. It had to be done.
July 3rd, 2017 at 1:54 pm
lovie was fired because he fielded some of the worst pass defenses in nfl history with us and that was supposedly his calling card… him being completely full of himself and not willing to change his style along with koetter and jameis working relationship were just icing on the cake. i knew after the redskins game that year that we would never accomplish anything with that man as our head honcho
July 4th, 2017 at 9:33 pm
Wow, you would’ve thought the Bucs won two straight Super Bowls from the comments. Winston, Koetter, et. al. have not done anything yet. The xpectations were so low for the Bucs that everyone is giddy over a 9 win season!! Come on man!