“Dirk Probably Needed To Drink”
October 28th, 2018
Enemies with Marvin Lewis for three hours today; tight friendship forever.
Life works in weird ways and though Dirk Koetter never worked for Marvin Lewis or Andy Reid at the NFL level, Koetter has strong ties to both that go way back to the college ranks some four decades ago.
Today, Koetter faces his good friend Lewis when the Bucs play the Bengals. How close are they? Well, the two are former college roommates and teammates at Idaho State and Lewis introduced Koetter to his wife.
In fact, Lewis was in Koetter’s wedding party and both were former grad assistants for Koetter’s father Jim at Idaho State.
In a story typed by Jenna Laine and Katherine Terrell of ESPN, Lewis paints a picture of how he was more of a driven player and hinted that Koetter was more of an easy going guy who didn’t mind a cold beer now and then after a game.
Koetter, the Vandals’ quarterback, had a house off campus where he roomed with other players and the residence had a reputation for being a party house. And when Idaho State would lose, Lewis, a linebacker, was in no mood for drinks whereas Koetter had a different way of coping with a loss.
“We would lose a game and those guys would have fun and I would be mad,” Lewis said. “I would go to bed or whatever and be up at 6 in the morning and go to [Koetter’s residence] and just chase people out of there because I was mad and they shouldn’t be having fun all night. I’d just walk in and get everybody out of there because, ‘We’re gonna fix this.’
“Dirk probably needed to drink because he was getting the hell beat out of him on the field playing quarterback,” Lewis said laughing. “We used to just feel sorry for him. … It was kind of like, at Idaho State at the time, being the quarterback was like being the third quarterback in the fourth preseason game where you get to go in and get shellacked.”
The story is pretty cool and the affection each coach has for the other is clear.
As Koetter said last week of Lewis, the two will remain close friends when they are old men and their coaching careers are long over. But today, Lewis stands on a different sideline.
October 28th, 2018 at 9:10 am
Looks like Marvin Lewis will have his choice of Koetter or Hue for OC next year because they’ll probably both need work
October 28th, 2018 at 9:12 am
Hope Dirk get the win and can give his ol’ buddy a little ribbing.
October 28th, 2018 at 9:17 am
AS far as a potential DJax trade….the Texans just lost their speedy WR Will Fuller last weekend….they have plenty of cap space…..DJax would be a perfect fit in their offense….the Bucs still have plenty of weapons at WR (I think Godwin has outplayed Jackson and deserves to be the #2 guy opposite Evans)….and most importantly, the Texans have a pair of 2nd round picks in next years draft they could use to lure the Bucs into a trade!
For a 2nd rounder next year….I would totally make that trade with Houston! Then they could use that draft pick to bolster our OL or LB corp before Tuesday’s trade deadline! Make it happen Jason Licht! Win-Win!
October 28th, 2018 at 9:20 am
@Jeagan1999 you don’t want to make good teams better in this league.
October 28th, 2018 at 9:28 am
The performance of his current team is elevating the drinking consumption of its fan base for sure…
October 28th, 2018 at 9:29 am
Hmm…drinking beer and having fun? Guess he’ll never be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
October 28th, 2018 at 9:34 am
This team makes my liver hurt.
October 28th, 2018 at 11:29 am
KingC
Interesting idea about DK and Hue but here’s a minor detail to consider.
If Marvin fails to reach the playoffs this year he’ll be the one looking for the job.
Marvin has reached Tony Dungy’s Tampa situation. He’s obviously a talented guy but he can’t seem to get over the hump.
My cousins all still live in the Cincy area. Several are Bengal season ticket holders…my cousins love the Bengals like we love the Bucs. But it’s a love/hate relationship when it comes to Marvin and as they call him…”The Red Rifle” Dalton. They like the talent but they want to not just reach playoffs…they want to WIN A GAME.
Reach the playoffs for the 8th time and lose in the first round for the 8th time…and Marvin will be on very shaky ground. Miss the playoffs totally and I suspect it’ll be see ya Marvin. His coaching seat is almost as hot as Koetter’s.