Mike Smith: You Simply Don’t Listen
December 20th, 2017
Mike Smith talks focus
Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith had his weekly news conference today and Joe had a question.
Smith, a seven-year Falcons head coach who had a ton of success there, knows what it’s like to lead a team when local and national media is speculating about you getting fired.
Dirk Koetter is in that boat now. Koetter’s job security is a sizzling topic wherever you turn in the NFL world.
Joe asked Smith how difficult it is to coach under those conditions. Essentially, Smith replied, ‘I never heard the noise.’
“Don’t take this the wrong way, ok. You know, when you’re a coach, you only focus on one thing,” Smith said. “You focus on what’s happening in day to day in football operations. You don’t have time to waste energy on anything but what you have to get done each week. And each week, it’s a completely different set of issues and a completely different set of circumstances. And if you for one minute take away time from your preparation, then you’re not doing your the best.”
Great answer by Smith, but coaches are still human. They have families and a large staff that hears the noise and wants to know what’s going on. It’s tough duty to stay strong and focused, especially when your ownership isn’t giving you a public thumbs up for the following season.
In the wee hours of Monday night, America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, lauded Dirk Koetter’s daily consistency amid the distractions. It’s probably a big part of why the Bucs are still competing at a high level, but competing doesn’t mean much with a veteran team and a 4-10 record.
December 20th, 2017 at 4:30 pm
In other words, Coach Mike Smith was telling the Joes that he is not a reader or follower of JoeBucsFan.com…….
December 20th, 2017 at 4:34 pm
can the glazers please put this man out his misery!!!!!….I’m surprised reporters still show up for the PC’s….GO BUCS!!!
December 20th, 2017 at 4:37 pm
His misery…. more like our misery
December 20th, 2017 at 4:41 pm
I distinctly remember saying it was not a big deal if he got a head coach job somewhere else because I thought we’d address or weaknesses in the draft. Not sure why we keep hiring GM’s that over estimate the defensive talent on our team because we have McCoy up front but I never thought Mike Smith defense would be this bad. At least I want like the Joe’s pointing to the success he had all those years ago with the jags. As a head coach in Atlanta his defense was never feared which is why he got fired in a Tony Dungy like fashion.
Wonder how many more years people will look towards the draft expecting once we get new platters that’ll put us in the playoffs. We’ve only been drafting in the top half of the draft since Raheem got hired.
Why is it this organization can’t figure out it took trading for big time head coach to get that Superbowl but they are trying to duplicate that success with garbage inexperienced coaches. Please wake up to reality it’s beyond unbearable
December 20th, 2017 at 4:43 pm
Smith and Koetter should return. Sometimes talent doesn’t pan out. This team has some very good players and some very bad players. There are no in between work horses. I am very optimistic we can pull a Jax/LAR turn around next season. Yeah it sucks, we all had expectations of 10-6 and a playoff birth but reality set in and we are just not that good. No matter how the season went we were never going to go far with this team in the Play offs. We will obviously have to fix holes and not draft a kicker in the second round(Licht should get fired for that). There is no savior coach out there that is going to make this team perform any better with the holes it has. Its a process but we have some vital pieces In place. Be freaking patient and always remember………..we got a Superbowl, Atlanta, Caroina, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Cincinatti, San Diego, etc.. do not. I was as at the MNF game and I saw the envy on all of those Falcon fans faces during the halftime presentation of Gruden’s Superbowl highlighs. 28-3
December 20th, 2017 at 4:47 pm
Neither Smith nor Koetter are going anywhere….it was clear last MNF…don’t have the horses….
Patience Coach Hoppers
December 20th, 2017 at 4:56 pm
As a head coach in Atlanta his defense was never feared which is why he got fired
———
Exactly! He even confessed on hard knocks that “the word around town is that our defense is soft”. Which it was and why he got fired.
With the new hc ATL has now, one can not reasonable say the same thing. And he’s doing it with a non-pro bowl 3tech and a buccaneer castaway.
December 20th, 2017 at 4:58 pm
@alter
the only thing that was clear Monday night is dirk continuing to make coaching 101 mistakes…..10 players on the field?…..not being prepared to kick a FG?….
we have the players, we don’t have the coaches….they’ll be sent packing right after the saints run up the score….GO BUCS!!!!
December 20th, 2017 at 5:06 pm
I really have mixed feelings on a coaching change…..there is part of me that knows we have coaches that aren’t getting the job done and the other part simply hates churning coaches every two years.
I think the key is to fix the mistakes on the team and most of them are with our FA picks and a impotent pass rushing corps. Get that fixed and we may have something.
We need these players out of the first 3 draft picks and solid FA acuisitons.
Resign Brent Grimes
2 DEs, 1 DT,1 CB, 1 RB, 1 Center.
So, that’s 3 from the from the draft and 3 from FA…….
We should be able to accomplish that.
December 20th, 2017 at 5:13 pm
These two stiffs have pioneered the worst defense in the league while turned a #5 offense to a unit incapable of getting a lead against any decent team.
December 20th, 2017 at 5:16 pm
He’s right!! A famous person absolutely has to ignore and not see things. Go out of your way to not see or hear things. Don’t turn on the radio and don’t read no papers. Especially in this day and age. It don’t matter what you say or do, Haters are there to spread hate. You could say, “I like watching puppies play in a dewy meadow and the sound of children playing and laughing,” and hundreds of unstable wackadoos will reign hate upon thee with great vengeance!!
Taylor Swift can’t even say she had a good year for crying out loud!!
December 20th, 2017 at 5:19 pm
no coach in their right mind would sit their listen to any of media critics
………………coaches should be confident enough to block out the noise
I agree 100% with what Mike Smith is saying
December 20th, 2017 at 5:44 pm
One look at the Bucs defense and it is hard to imagine Mike Smith is busy 24/7 all week working on his “craft”.
December 20th, 2017 at 5:48 pm
IF THE BUCS CANT GET CHUCKY OR ANOTHER HIGH PROFILE GUY BRING THE STINK BACK , DOESNT REALLY MATTER MY FAMILY AND I ARE GOING TO TAKE THE YEAR OFF , WE NEED A BREAK
December 20th, 2017 at 5:53 pm
Alter
Not sure what bucs games you’re watching. Its very clear to anyone who knows the game what the main issue on this team is. Its not talent. Lets try and get u to see it real quick. How much talent did the rams inherit suddenly from last year to this? In case youre not getting it not all coaches are created equal. Unfortunately we got a hc that was a great coordinator that cant be a head coach. As 813 said its basic stuff he cant even figure out. BASIC stuff. Believe it or not every team in the league is way more equal in talent than you think. Its the same draft and same free agency theyre all playing. Coaching and qbs win games in this league. And turnovers. With the salary cap there will always be parity, worst to first and first fo worst teams. Teams with good coaching are in the playoffs yearly. Teams without are looking for good coaching to get them back.
December 20th, 2017 at 5:54 pm
Pro ball is a performance based business. You either add to the bottom line or you get out. I do not feel sorry for anyone who has made millions. All those that claims they deserve a second chance or another chance I disagree with them.
December 20th, 2017 at 6:04 pm
If we had any kind of pass rush this year, you add on a minimum of 3 more wins
December 20th, 2017 at 6:09 pm
I like Koetter a lot but, I really like Gruden a lot more, I think he would energize the whole franchise as well as me, would love to see him coach 8-10 more years in TB and have a bust in Canton
December 20th, 2017 at 6:14 pm
Chrisco4bucs, we could of at least 3 more wins if we had a good kicker also.
December 20th, 2017 at 6:21 pm
This Buc franchise truly needs energy. Especially..specifically the Defense needs it badly. Look I am critical of Smitty sittin up there on his perch with his binoculars losing..week after week. He really seems to be a nice guy. But so is my Boss..off Duty! If we keep Smitty next year, I do not think we can win with him. His time in the NFL has come and gone. He’s just..ridin this thing out until ax time. Buc fans, he’s not our answer. We need a take charge sidelines guy out there who gets the troops fired up. We stick with pressbox Smitty and we stick with losing!
December 20th, 2017 at 6:54 pm
I think the 10 men on the field sealed his fate.
December 20th, 2017 at 7:45 pm
Smitty applies the same principle when receiving constructive criticism on ways he might improve his “D”.
December 20th, 2017 at 8:22 pm
A 4-10 record because of a horrid defense. Licht better go ask Grimes what it will take to keep him in Tampa. I guarantee besides money, its a DC that will let him play press coverage.
I see Licht grabbing two D-lineman this offseason, another corner, and a center/guard. Glad they picked up his contract, I don’t see Koetter getting fired….but Smith gone is my only item on the old xmas list this year.
December 20th, 2017 at 8:29 pm
The
December 20th, 2017 at 8:31 pm
The Bucs can’t be like the Browns with a revolving door of coaches. If Chucky wants to coach the Bucs, then he’ll be available for them next year too.. Give Koetter one more year.
December 20th, 2017 at 8:45 pm
As much as I hate saying this, Greg Schiano would probably be a good defensive coordinator. I don’t know but the Bucs have spent more money buying out crappy coaches than what it would have cost to keep Revis and Bennett.
December 20th, 2017 at 10:03 pm
Why does every single post by a couple trolls have to involve GMC? It’s so old and boring already. You don’t like him. We get it. Move on. It’s impossible to even have a legit football discussion because the trolls destroy every discussion. This site was so much better without them, but they aren’t going anywhere.
December 20th, 2017 at 10:22 pm
Jim are you serious????? Another year of Koetter would throw this franchise in a funk that would take 4 years to recover from. Can’t handle another 4 & 12 season. Get Irks ass out of town!!!!! Cause he Irks my ass!!!!!
December 20th, 2017 at 10:23 pm
Oh yeah Smith too cause he Irks my ass also!!!!
December 20th, 2017 at 10:40 pm
Can you handle a 9-7 season? Less than a year ago, that’s what Koetter did in his first season with the Bucs. Why is Joe one of the few people who seem to recall Koetter has a winning season in his first year as Bucs coach?
December 20th, 2017 at 10:46 pm
Hey Joe. If Irk would have played the people he played when he went 9 & 7 he might have done it again. He didn’t do that and he will have gone 4 & 12 so it is pretty easy for me to not want the dude back. He made to many Coaching errors for me to want to go through this crap another season.
December 20th, 2017 at 11:05 pm
100 % with you Mike Johnson the bucs need energy. They need to bring in a big time coach as a coordinator or at HC one who has won at the pro level a Harbaugh a Obrian but they need energy
December 21st, 2017 at 12:03 am
Dirk stays. Firing coaches every couple of years doesn’t work. Consistency does. Pittsburgh has had 3 coaches since 1969 and they are tied for the most Super Bowl victories. Draft defense and get that side of the ball taken care of in 2018. The BUCS will win again….soon…GO BUCS!!
December 21st, 2017 at 2:17 am
Dirk isn’t head coaching material – the coaching situation here is completely backwards. The Bucs started off terrible last year, looked lost and Dirk quit on his team in that Denver game. Dirk isn’t the guy to do the job and he never should have gotten the job. Just think if Lovie had stuck around another year or two and Dirk had stayed as OC and continued to work with Winston and only had to deal with the offense instead of being overwhelmed as HC. The team would be in dramatically better shape had the Bucs not panicked and ran Lovie out of town – and it’s not because Lovie was great – it was because Dirk would have stayed in the booth and Winston would have had an actual offensive coordinator instead of the mess you have now. I said it at the time and it’s exactly what turned out to be the case.
BUT there is a fix for all these issues – not that the Bucs will do it but they can fix the problems without having to fire everyone and rebuild. The simple solution is make Mike Smith the head coach and move Dirk back into the box and make him just the OC. I don’t care how you phrase the titles – just get it done. Dirk gets paid if he’s here or if he’s fired, so get some value from the guy. Dirk is good when he’s only focused on offense, but he’s clearly not an NFL caliber HC. Mike Smith meanwhile is a proven head coach who is out of touch on defense. So just fix the problem – move people into the roles where they will succeed. The coaching situation here is like when you have a QB who isn’t an NFL level QB but could be a very good WR, but pride keeps everyone from moving the QB to another position.
December 21st, 2017 at 6:59 am
Coach what do you think about the execution of the defense? ……” I’m all for it”
December 21st, 2017 at 10:08 am
Seriously Joe?
I think we all know that you know that Dirk had a (barely) winning season. And like Jameis he regressed badly.