Dubious Outlook On Koetter
December 14th, 2018
Near future.
It’s a gloomy day in the Tampa Bay area today. Dark, overcast, rain, chilly.
And Herbie Teope of NFL.com seems to believe the shelf life of Dirk Koetter as the coach of the Bucs is equally dark.
Teope tried to make a case for Koetter to stay but also looked at the big picture, and you can read between the lines that Teope believes not even three more wins would save Koetter.
While the Buccaneers have the league’s top offense and passing attack, the 2018 season has been marred by inconsistency and a quarterback carousel between Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who started the first three games while Winston served a suspension.
Defensively, the Buccaneers remain an enigma despite numerous offseason additions to bolster the unit. Injuries have played a role in decimating the unit, including the loss of linebacker Kwon Alexander, but Tampa Bay currently ranks 27th in total defense and this season saw the firing of defensive coordinator Mike Smith. The Buccaneers’ defense ranked last in the league in 2017 and 23rd in 2016. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are mathematically alive for the postseason.
Whether a run of the table in the final three games is enough to save Koetter’s job remains to be seen even if he has Winston’s public backing.
The Bucs have two more games against teams fighting for a division title, both on the road. Baltimore on Sunday and Dallas a week from Sunday. It’s a stretch to think the Bucs will win both games.
One more loss and the best Koetter can hope for this season is an 7-9 mark. Is that enough? Let’s just say Joe wouldn’t put a whole lot of cash on it.
December 14th, 2018 at 11:03 am
7-9*
December 14th, 2018 at 11:04 am
these last two games mean nothing what so ever. the season was a failure before it even started with this garbage roster void of leadership. this team is a joke with no leadership… nothing but basement titles and empty stadiums are in the future for this laughingstock of a minor league franchise ran by incompetent glazers.
December 14th, 2018 at 11:11 am
Everyone regresses when they come to Tampa. Everyone. That’s coaching. Clown should’ve been gone last year.
December 14th, 2018 at 11:11 am
“While the Buccaneers have the league’s top offense and passing attack” — please put this tired notion to rest, it’s so old hat and part of nearly every write-up and means NOTHING in terms of Ws and Ls and the franchise future.
December 14th, 2018 at 11:12 am
As I have said before, just because someone is a very good coordinator doesn’t mean they will be a very good head coach
December 14th, 2018 at 11:14 am
“Bet the moneyline on the last game vs ATL
The meaningless last game is the superbowl for the Tampa Bay Yucs
ATL will be sitting most of their starters so that they would be ahead of tampa in the 2019 draft order
“Please, Bring Tony Dungy and Justin Hebert to Tampa and trade JW ”
Kobe Faker
December 14th, 2018 at 11:15 am
8-8 you can’t fire him as the team hasn’t given up on him like they did on Raheem Schiano and Lovie
7-9 and he’s gone but you CANNOT replace him with a coordinator. Gotta get a Harbaugh Tomlin or Rivera to give fans real hope
December 14th, 2018 at 11:22 am
out dirk
in KRIS!!!!
KRIS RICHARD 4 HC!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
December 14th, 2018 at 11:25 am
The ‘ol off-season! When you think about it, it’s the only time that hope springs eternal. This year will be no different. Most likely a new HC and GM will roam One Buc and fans will be giddy once more. Will this next year be different? Will the Bucs make the playoffs?
Hope.
December 14th, 2018 at 11:32 am
Koetter is pathetic the way he tries to defend the putrid OL. Saying in so many words that the players he puts out there are the best they have or they wouldn’t be starting. That’s pretty sad if its true. So Cappa isn’t an upgrade at RG & Wester or Leidke aren’t any better than D Smith. If that is the case why have they been on the team all year? Koetter & Licht bad evaluaters. Need to go.
December 14th, 2018 at 11:33 am
Loyaltotheend — I largely agree. Firing Koetter for some other coordinator would really irritate me, especially an OC. As a HC by the W/L’s Koetter has failed but his offensive unit is one of the best in the league. There might not be any OC out there that would be an “upgrade” to HC at this time. If we are going to clean house I want to see a proven HC and bring in coordinators etc.
Remember when people on here were calling for John DeFilippo as our next HC. LOL yeahhh umm about that.
December 14th, 2018 at 11:36 am
Having Mike Smith come back this year was nearly unforgivable. But hey, in my mind, Licht and the whole trading up for a kicker thing was even worse.
December 14th, 2018 at 11:57 am
Koetter can win the next 3 and things will be the same next year if he stays kn Board. He has proven 3 years now he can’t get it done If I were the Glazerz I would want something different even if remained the same! I’m tired of the same ole same ole from Koetter. He is a broken record with no clue. Get some new blood in there for the players. Give them some hope!! I do think with the right Coach the Bucs have the talent!!! And get rid of Jay Miss and sign Joe Flacco!!!
December 14th, 2018 at 12:08 pm
I wanted dk out last year and still do but could totaly see us beating balt and atl. Balt may not take us serious and had an ot game on the road and atl won’t even try. Glazers may fall for a late run and a better d and better jw and blame the suspension and mike smith for most. Then we keep everyone so we can go 6-10 next year.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:13 pm
Running the table is still a reason to fire Koetter and that sorry staff because it still means he had a good enough roster to do better than his sorry record. Can’t wait for black Monday.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
It wouldn’t make any sense to me if the Glazers are undecided on Dirk and still evaluating him.
Not after his halftime meltdown last weekend.
That could have been a nice statement game for him(hey be fair, Winston too)……..well, actually, it was a statement game. Dirk’s team stated that they choke. That’s their thang. We don’t know how to win. We only know how to crumble. It’s happening every year.
A lot of it is losing but perhaps more is in the manner which it is done. Appalling.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:16 pm
Not there……I kinda agree about running the table yet somehow I know I would feel differently if we were winning like that.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:25 pm
Anybody actually believe were capable of beating either the Ravens or Cowboys on the road? As Raheem would say those are “grown men” teams.
I can’t picture it.
But if it miraculously happened it would have to be considered.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:33 pm
i dont want to hear the injury excuse…..
chargers have just as many injuries but still managed to win 11games and counting…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!
December 14th, 2018 at 12:35 pm
Raheem won ten games that year with half the team injured.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:35 pm
eric
hell no we cant beat those teams….not with them fighting for a playoff spot….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!
December 14th, 2018 at 12:43 pm
Licht, Koetter, and Winston are all toast. The Glazers can’t put their QB on the side of the stadium because of off the field shenanigans. And the first two are complicit in making that choice originally. Less Koetter than Licht.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:43 pm
ERic…Raheem won with Grudens team…. 😉
December 14th, 2018 at 12:44 pm
I believe we have the ability to beat the Ravens. Also believe we were the better team vs the Saints last week.
IMO the difference is that we are mentally inferior to those teams.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:45 pm
All are toast. Licht, Koetter, and Winston are toast because the Glazers can’t stomach putting the QB on the side of the stadium. Less Koetter than Licht but that’s a recipe for a house cleaning.
December 14th, 2018 at 12:45 pm
Sorry….I meant we were better then the Saints in 1st half*****
December 14th, 2018 at 12:48 pm
JimmyJack Says:
“…believe we were the better team vs the Saints last week.
IMO the difference is that we are mentally inferior to those teams.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
You are on FIRE today, man. Happy Friday.
I think you are right on the money.
We WERE the better team and should have taken out the Saints.
“Mentally Inferior” and as much as I hate to say it again, I think it stems from the “defeatism” that Koetter sometimes has an air about him on the sideline.
Like.. “oh no, here we go again”
December 14th, 2018 at 12:56 pm
Demon……I heard a lot of media this week critize Dirk for lack of adjustment. And applauded Sean Payton for his work.
IMO this is getting into our players heads…… Our QB sees them make adjustment and sees them start coming at him every play and it’s deflating knowing the other team is beating you mentally.
I can almost see it in the body language that the team knows they are defeated.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:09 pm
@Joe … “While the Buccaneers have the league’s top offense and passing attack” … yada, yada. I continue to applaud you Joe for relentlessly beating that same (tired) drum. Unfortunately the cover came off it a LONG time ago and all it’s producing is a dull ‘thud thud thud’ right now. What’s even better is your insistence that we’re mathematically alive for the playoffs (kudos for consistency … and for your unfounded optimism of course).
But you saved the best for last when you stated that Jameis had Koetter’s back. A pure stroke of genius Joe (on Jameis’ part as well as your own BTW). Did Jameis also have Dirk’s back when he decided to play grabacrotch in Arizona? Did he also have his back when he chose not to tell him about it? Could go on but what’s the sense? To you, Jameis will always be ‘America’s QB’ … UNTIL someone better comes along. (Kinda like ‘Johnny Football went by the wayside once Jameis came along?). Then it’ll probably be ‘Jameis was a nice guy, BUT … yada, yada.’ And he’ll join Koetter & Smitty and all the other ‘nice guys’ who missed one minor detail about professional sports: Fans don’t appreciate perennial losers.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:12 pm
The New Orleans Advocat. 3 days ago coaches film tells you how they confused the Bucs.. Plain and simple.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:17 pm
@Tampa Bay Demon … “We WERE the better team and should have taken out the Saints.”
And yet, the final score … Saints 28, Bucs 14 … says otherwise. Go figure huh.
BTW, MENTALLY INFERIOR is yet another EXCUSE. And another way of saying ‘The other team was better’. Just a guess here Demon, but I’m thinking that you’d rather see the Bucs with a 11-2 record like the Saints have versus the 5-8 record that we now own. Pretty much the same opponents, so my gut feel is that, for 2018 at least, the Saints have the better team. Just a guess though.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
Defense Rules- “Fans don’t appreciate perennial losers.”
What a true statement. The stats don’t matter, the accolades don’t matter. What matters is winning.
Koetter has failed at his job. It’s time to move on.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
If we win these last 3 games, everybody stays.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:27 pm
Defense Rules Says:
“Just a guess here Demon, but I’m thinking that you’d rather see the Bucs with a 11-2 record like the Saints have versus the 5-8 record that we now own.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haha, of course, Defense Rules. Yes, I sure as hell would. — If I had it to type over again, I would have also amended it to “better team in the first half”, but at the end of the day, it didn’t really matter, did it? — Whether it is “mentally inferior” or just unable to make adjustments or just the worse team….
“They WERE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!!!”
in the immortal words of Dennis Green.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:34 pm
I don’t see Mentally Inferior being a excuse. To me it is a reason.
Often I see the line about Injury being an excuse. But to me injuries expose your depth which can often be a reason for losing.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:52 pm
I think Dirk is a stand up guy, but not a good head coach. He probably did himself in by keeping Mike Smith around this year. A better defense would probably have gotten us some wins, and given Dirk another year.
December 14th, 2018 at 1:59 pm
@TB Demon … ““better team in the first half”. I’d agree with ya 100% on that Demon. There’s little doubt in my mind that the Saints ‘adjusted’ after the half and the Bucs had no answers for those adjustments. How many times have we seen that in the past though?
JimmyJack … These guys get paid BIG BUCKS to ‘perform’ on Sundays. MENTALLY INFERIOR doesn’t cut it in my book. They’re not military warriors; they’re not first responders … they’re entertainers. If we were in Rome at the end of the 1st century, we’d be calling them ‘gladiators’. But in contrast to the Romans back then who really didn’t care who won (just that they saw ‘a good show’), we do care who wins … we want OUR gladiators to whoop up on the lions (so to speak). Watching our gladiators constantly get eaten by the lions (and ya, the Stinkin’ Panthers) sucks.
These guys are professionals JimmyJack who’ve done this all their lives. They’re supposed to be the cream of the crop. I can buy that talent-wise the Saints are better. I can buy that the Saints’ coaches did a better job of adjusting after halftime. But if I beleived for a second that our Bucs were MENTALLY INFERIOR I’d start rooting for another team tomorrow. That said, I do agree with you injuries are a REASON, not an EXCUSE. And yes, injuries do expose your DEPTH. Which in our case is close to non-existent right now.
December 14th, 2018 at 2:54 pm
Defense Rules……Maybe Mentally Inferior was the wrong term to use but you and I both seem to agree on the concept that the Saints made better adjustments and outcoached us. This is what I deem to be “mentally inferior”.
Ill admitt I used a bad term but the scheming and gameplanning we have seems to get out smarted constantly by our opponent. It just always seems that we aren’t losing from lack of ability it is usually because of awful decisions we make.
December 14th, 2018 at 3:01 pm
That being said there’s an argument to make for ability.
Ability in the kicking game cost us one win this year.
Ability to tackle cost us our Monday Night game.
Ability to block cost us last week.
December 14th, 2018 at 3:24 pm
The bucs having a top offense all season should be more fuel on the fire to dimiss Koetter. You have a top rated offensive and you can’t win 8 games with the schedule the bucs have had this year. I like Koetter but how do I defend him. He may have let M Smith cost him his job
December 14th, 2018 at 7:50 pm
I get disgusted by all the “wo is me” crap that drivel’s out of so many fan’s mouths.
Root for them to get better this Sunday.
The rest will take care of itself pending those results.
Period.
December 14th, 2018 at 8:50 pm
Soft Coach, Soft practices, Soft team. No hope; only pain.
December 14th, 2018 at 9:09 pm
Defense rules,
Saints adj at half-time and the Bucs had no answer. How many times have we seen that this year…..
If you’re counting….1time.
Because, the Bucs have been ahead at half-time 4 times. Losing 1 time.
Winning the 3 others.
For the most part, the team has been behind at half by a margin higher than the final score. Which means that adjusted in the 2nd half.