More Job Distraction Talk
December 27th, 2017
Families involved.
Yesterday, Bucs coach Dirk Koetter confessed all the hot seat talk about his position has become a distraction.
In his weekly sitdown with WFLA-TV Channel 8 sports anchor Dan Lucas, the final sitdown for the 2017 season, Koetter again talked about the chatter outside of One Buc Palace about his job.
Simply put, he’s human, thus he hears it but he has responsibility to Team Glazer and his team to push forward as if all is well.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult, because it is,” Koetter said. “Everyone is human. I mean, everyone has families and everyone has lives and everybody has to deal with the noise from outside. But, that’s what we are paid to do. We are paid to hone in and focus and do our best in every game. This week will be no exception.”
As Joe has stated, Team Glazer has a few tough decisions on its hands.
To watch the full video of Lucas with Koetter, click on the white arrow below. Video courtesy of WFLA-TV Channel 8.
December 27th, 2017 at 11:03 am
I though the video clips of Gruden on the screens at RJS during the Monday night game was distracting as well. Even felt a little sorry for Koetter having to do his job under that situation.
December 27th, 2017 at 11:15 am
Think Koetter is a good coach but Licht has done a poor job of constructing this team, not sure what the redzone issues are it could be the OL is lousy and/or licht didnt grab one of the stud RBs available in the first 4 rounds this giving koetter and the bucs a legit threat at RB
December 27th, 2017 at 11:15 am
cry me a river dirk……I sure as h3ll don’t feel sorry for you….how much did you make last year and this year?…..if you would’ve done your job develop Winston, put points on the board and wins games you’d be in good shape….pack lite and tight!!!!….GO BUCS!!!
December 27th, 2017 at 11:22 am
It’s hard for me to not like Koetter but do I think we will ever more than a 9-7 team or a 500 team year in and year out. No. I do not like firing coaches or constant front office changes every two years but we reached with Raheem and Schaino. We saw Mike Tomlin in one and a disciplinarian in the other. Then Lovie was a mistake from the get go. I’m not a Gruden fanatic but the guy can coach. Can he make us the best prepared team on the field, yes. Can be coach up less talented players and get the best out of them, yes. Did he build the raiders and an older roster into a dominant team, yes he did. He pushed our team to be better and added plenty of key veterans to our team to win it all. We sold the house to get him here and that held back from adding key pieces to an aging roster. He got the best out of his players. The negative side is his ego, has he learned how to deal with players? Has his eye for young talent got better? Drafting is a main issue with him. Having a strong GM will help counter that. It’s up to Gruden on if he wants total control or has he learned to allow people to help evaluate talent. I’m tired of being mediocre. As much as I hate to let Koetter go but give Gruden credit he will not rest till we’re back in the playoff picture.
December 27th, 2017 at 11:29 am
Sending Dirk back to Idaho with a generous severance seems merciful at this point. You almost need to be sociopathic to succeed as an NFL head coach these days. Dirk seems ( mentally) done.
December 27th, 2017 at 11:41 am
This man gives honest and straightforward answers under all circumstances.
Its hard not to root for the guy and believe that he doesn’t deserve at least another year to turn this team into a winner.
But then, if you look at game in and game out results over the last 2 years with Dirk as HC – and realize that an “offensive guru” HC is still averaging just 20 points per game with all the offensive weapons he has been given.. Well – those results are just flat out sub-par and that’s being generous.
December 27th, 2017 at 11:59 am
He is a good guy…just a poor HC.
What has been “distracting” to me is the result of 80% of the sunday games this year. It distracted me from having good feelings about professional football almost this entire season.
December 27th, 2017 at 12:04 pm
With Licht and a worthy defensive coordinator, Jon Gruden can be the coach that can take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back to the Super Bowl.
With talk like this conclusion among some on other sites, why would that be a “distraction”? We have one more meaningless game to play, after all.
December 27th, 2017 at 12:05 pm
Everybody knows this who takes one of these jobs.
Nice thing is he gets paid if he is fired. That is not typical of most of us out in the real world.
December 27th, 2017 at 12:27 pm
You have to feel for Irk because of all the uncertainty and the changes that he and his family are getting ready to face. Coaching is a thankless profession. I did it for 27 years and was only respected when I was winning. When you don’t win that feeling of getting fired consumes your daily thought process. Not a good situation!!!! Hope he will find peace after this is all over.
I have been canned before and when I go back and look at the reasons why sometimes I understood and sometimes I think it was just the Boss wanting to go a different direction with someone else for whatever reason. Most of the time though it was because of the heat he was getting because of all the losing. Dirk is gone folks and he will not get another chance with the Bucs. He has lost the respect of most of the players and they would not play hard for him in 2018 because of his leadership this year. The reason they have competed these last 2 or 3 games is because they are professionals and there are a lot of men on this team with high character. That is why they have been in these games. Not because of Irk or Smith because they lost this team some 8 weeks ago.
Licht and his Free Agent signings ie…..Baker, Ward, and D. Jackson have been a big part of this losing. I like Jackson but he just hasn’t panned out. Ward is a cry baby and hasn’t done squat to help this team in any way. Has been a cancer in the Locker Room with his I’m great and need to play all the time. “I didn’t come here to sit on the bench. And Swaggy Baker is a bonafide joke of a Defensive Lineman in the NFL. Look how much money has been tied up with these 3. Think of what we could have done with that money…..
Well my friends like they always say…..There is always next year. Sure hope we can all get on JOEBUCSFAN next season and see that we have someone in charge that can COACH these guys up because honestly I BELIEVE there is talent on this roster that can win. Dump the trash that hindered us this season and hone in on all the potential. Hey I am still a Bucs Fan…Hope you guys stay on board with me because you are a crazy bunch of die hard fans that love to win and aren’t going to accept any thing short of SUPER BOWL and that’s what I’m talking about. Stay positive and hope for the best during this offseason.
December 27th, 2017 at 12:30 pm
To me, the most telling words are the ones we have yet to hear in an all to familiar pattern with the Glazer sons…….
that would be words from anyone in a position higher in authority than the HC just state one simple sentence
“Dirk is our guy, and no one else is.”
The silence is deafening…
December 27th, 2017 at 12:43 pm
All of this Gruden talk is nonsense. He won with Dungy’s roster then built his by signing older vets instead of building from the draft with youth. He is the definition of a .500 coach and is something we should want nothing to do with.
Koetter deserves to get one more season because our guys are still playing hard and almost beat 2 playoff teams the last 2 games. We have a chance to get a player like the DE Chubb in the draft and by signing a few free agents and we can be right there.
Knock off this Gruden crap and support your coach and your team
December 27th, 2017 at 12:58 pm
Funked up monkey… Nice list of false facts. Almost…almost. Knock off the almost.. Newsflash…we took a giant step backwards….. we have five games firmly separating us and the next team in the division…looking up from the cellar….we can’t wait.
December 27th, 2017 at 12:59 pm
funk says: Koetter deserves to get one more season because our guys are still playing hard and almost beat 2 playoff teams the last 2 games
they’re playing hard for incentives not dirk…..almost beating 2 teams = a lost no matter how you try to cut it….dirk is as good as done….moving trucks are at his house as we speak….GO BUCS!!!!
December 27th, 2017 at 1:14 pm
The first coach that needs to go is Special Teams….probably the only one that does not deserve another year….how come no article have been written about this ?
December 27th, 2017 at 1:15 pm
Funky you must be too young to remember Gruden or the team’s he’s coached. Too bad because he was something special both on and off the field!
December 27th, 2017 at 2:11 pm
Why don’t we give Head Coach Stability a try after a decade of futility?
#KeepKoetter
December 27th, 2017 at 2:19 pm
Altered? Only coach that needs to go is ST coach? Ah yes…. it is never too soon for a good laugh.
FDTBS…. Insanity is doing the same thing over again that isn’t working. Five games to climb out of last place in our division. Likely 0-6 in our division…. but lets try it again for another year. Yep…. sounds like it might qualify.
December 27th, 2017 at 2:22 pm
Mark… Yea but where has our revolving door of coaches got us? Insanity is the doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result
December 27th, 2017 at 3:15 pm
Look..I’m a fan and Yes, I’m cold. You either do or you don’t ….you will or you Won’t. Fans are simply sick and tired of losing. Of being one of the premeir laughing stocks of the NFL. Koetter is a likeable guy. But people go to games to see their teams WIN. Other teams plug in players and keep right on winning. We cannot even win when all our starters are healthy! We are all sick of ALMOST and WE PLAYED A GREAT GAME or THEY PLAYED THEIR HEARTS OUT AND LOST. Systemeically there is something wrong with our Bucs. And If I see another Binocular wearing DC sittin on his A.. in the pressbox….game after game..I’m gonna puke! I never saw Koetter and Smitty as WInners. Even when they were with Atlanta. You see ATL’S owner dropped them like a bad habit!! Koetter is not going o get us there guys. At this point, I say bring back Gruden. Hell, at least we know we got passion and excitement on the sidelines.And the Dc is gonna be right there on the sidelines with Chucky!
December 27th, 2017 at 3:30 pm
fdtb…so let’s look at that…. Rah…great guy but far too young for the job…was too much “one of the guys”. Schiano…so we wanted discipline… and hired a guy with some NFL experience in Chicago from a minor college. Lovie…a guy that couldn’t get the job done in Chicago…that was sitting on the couch at home…that is about to lose his job at Illinois. And now Koetter…a great guy that seemed to be on Jameis wavelength…that we didn’t want to lose and decided to give him a HC chance. And now is coaching an under performing team five games behind Atlanta, that hasn’t won a game since November.
Now you see the problem?
December 27th, 2017 at 5:53 pm
@Pickgrin … “But then, if you look at game in and game out results over the last 2 years with Dirk as HC – and realize that an “offensive guru” HC is still averaging just 20 points per game with all the offensive weapons he has been given.. Well – those results are just flat out sub-par and that’s being generous.” Agree totally Pickgrin, but with 1 caveat: You’re looking to fire the wrong person.
Koetter & Smitty took a 6-10 team (2015) and turned it into a 9-7 team (2016) with relatively few additions (the 2016 draft AND free agency pickups were marginal IMO compared to what other NFC South teams picked up). Even went 4-2 in the division. Bucs’ fans were euphoric (OK … and delusional) going into 2017. Now all of a sudden that 9-7 team turns into a (potentially) 4-12 team. What changed? Did our coaching staff forget how to coach? Not hardly. Did the other teams change coaches? Nope. What changed is that our competition IMPROVED significantly from a talent perspective while the Bucs REGRESSED significantly. They focused on fixing their weaknesses. Bucs focused on everything but their weaknesses. DE additions? Nope. DT additions? Yes, but Fatty Baker turned out to be more of a subtraction than an addition. OLine improvements? We juggled the same pieces & added Sweezy, a guy coming off a major back issue & a 1-year layoff. Running backs? No change … weren’t successful in 2016 so we stand pat. Secondary? Not even close to the improvements our division foes have made.
As I said Pickgrin, you’re looking to fire the wrong person. Focus on the Architect of this Train Wreck instead … Jason Licht.
December 27th, 2017 at 6:19 pm
These losses are intolerable. Name me any coach who had a 4-12 or 5-10 season and survived to field a winner? Get this bum out of here. 9-7 then this? Forget the 9-7 year…”Irk” will never be the coach we want and deserve. And who cares about his family or anyone else’s? Last I checked he’s getting paid hand over foot…why should we care?
Drivel. Nuts. Sad.
Disciplined game in all three phases, same offensive gameplan, press coverage on 3rd and short, run blitzes on 2nd and medium, 1-2 turnovers and some batted balls along with the press..we can win this next one. Go Bucs!
December 27th, 2017 at 6:20 pm
5-11 (math in semi-public)
December 27th, 2017 at 7:56 pm
I don’t see it that way DR.
In fact – aside from Jameis Winston- I’d say that Jason Licht is the best thing that has happened to this franchise in the last 10 years.
There is more talent on the Bucs roster right now than at any time since probably about 2005. And there is more young talent (under age 26) than at just about any time in the Buccaneers’ 41 year history.
Licht’s drafting has been as good or better than any GM in the league IMO. It certainly puts Bruce Allen and Dom’s drafting results to shame.
GM Licht inherited one HELL of a mess when he walked in the door at 1BP 3 years and 11 months ago. There have been a few setbacks like ASJ, Hargreaves and Aguayo (not to mention having to work within Lovie’s sh!t show of a regime for 2 years)- but overall – IMO at least, Jason has done a very good job of drafting talented football players. Those talented players may not be at the positions you would have preferred be drafted sooner than later – but the fact remains that there is a LOT of talent on this team currently. Much more than 4-12 or 5-11 would indicate.
So while I like Koetter and hope he does get another year to produce a winner – the fact that this team has under-achieved so badly in 2017 with more talent than the franchise has fielded in more than a decade (Koetter said so himself prior to the season)… Well where else do you look but coaching if it is determined that some type of significant change must be made?