Bucs Won’t Coach Senior Bowl
December 30th, 2014
Football folks believe one silver lining to being the worst team in the NFL is that said coaching staff that led said team to the worst record in football gets to coach the Senior Bowl and scout prospective draft picks hands-on.
Apparently, Bucs coach Lovie Smith doesn’t think so. Per Darrin Gant of Pro Football Talk, the Bucs said, “Thank you, no,” to coaching in the Senior Bowl.
The Senior Bowl announced Tuesday that the Titans will coach the North all-stars and the Jaguars will coach the South.
The Buccaneers declined the offer to coach (probably because Lovie Smith doesn’t have a full coaching staff), so the Jaguars took them up on the chance to coach a second straight year.
While the guys available with the top picks might not be in Mobile, as many skip out, the time spent with guys they’re taking deeper in the draft will be a benefit to them in their preparations.
Joe isn’t so sure how much of a benefit it is to coach the Senior Bowl. It’s not like the Bucs aren’t scouting practices or scouting the game, or aren’t there to interview prospective draftees.
Of course, not having an offensive staff (remember, no offensive coordinator?) is likely the reason the Bucs passed.
However, a cynic may claim that Lovie didn’t want the public humiliation of reminding his fellow coaches and football-types that he guided the Bucs to their worst record since Leeman Bennett walked the sidelines.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:06 pm
Seems like a stupid decision, but we don’t have an offensive coordinator, so I kinda understand.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:08 pm
The Jags fired their OC today, so that excuse is not valid.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:10 pm
I vote public humiliation. What’s he going to say next year when he’s invited again?
December 30th, 2014 at 7:11 pm
afraid of another loss Lovie ??
December 30th, 2014 at 7:11 pm
I’m with dave pear on this one.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:12 pm
Real reason = Lovie doesn’t want to get scouted by college programs (yet)
December 30th, 2014 at 7:12 pm
The real reason they declined is because Lovie’s defense is so complex there is no way those players could pick it up in a week, and Lovie just couldn’t handle another loss.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:14 pm
They realized what sort of train wreck is created when a team plays without an OC
December 30th, 2014 at 7:15 pm
These are the kind of decisions that scare me about Lovie.
Giving him the 1st pick in this years draft is like giving a 5 year old a loaded gun.
You know it’s not going to end well.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:20 pm
What do the Rose Bowl and the Senior Bowl have in common ?
December 30th, 2014 at 7:24 pm
Dude, I like Lovie and all, but this infuriated me. You take every opportunity you have to improve your team, and this was just stupid to refuse it, OC or not.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:27 pm
Glad he couldn’t ruin those kids in Mobile’
December 30th, 2014 at 7:27 pm
Yes, another stupid decision by Lovie and Co. He never disappoints when it comes to stupidity. I’m so anxious to see the new OC he will pick for us.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:28 pm
He wouldn’t know talent anyway so why waste the plane fare and hotel room
December 30th, 2014 at 7:30 pm
This is terrible news. We all know how many championship teams credit their coaching of the Senior Bowl as the key to their success.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:31 pm
“However, a cynic may claim that Lovie didn’t want the public humiliation of reminding his fellow coaches and football-types that he guided the Bucs to their worst record since Leeman Bennett walked the sidelines.”
It’s the lack of an offensive staff, but, Lovie does deserve the humiliation.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:31 pm
Well that makes sense considering they didn’t really coach the Bucs this year either.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:32 pm
@ biff barker
Sure I thought that too, but then Dave Pear above reminded us the Jags don’t have an OC either (they just fired him)… not stopping THEM
December 30th, 2014 at 7:35 pm
Joes,
How did I make the naughty list?
Santa brought me stuff, but you guys are moderating
my comments?
Can’t we all just get along?
December 30th, 2014 at 7:40 pm
Dave, well said twice!
December 30th, 2014 at 7:41 pm
Lovie does not want to lose at the senior bowl as well!
December 30th, 2014 at 7:42 pm
I can clearly remember Ted Thompson and the Packers giving all the credit for his scouting due to the fact they coached the Senior Bowl. Oh wait, they never did coach the game.
Coaching players like this isn’t always a good thing. First of all, you tend to fall in love with guys, ignoring guys on the other team, or guys that don’t participate. Also, it takes away time you could be scouting elsewhere. I just can’t recall any team plucking out great talent and attributing it to coaching them at the Senior Bowl. If I’m mistaken, by all means give me an example. This is just another opportunity for unhappy Bucs fans to criticize Lovie. Funny thing is, had he taken the gig, I guarantee you many of the same fans would be critical.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:45 pm
IT TAKES TIME with Lovie, and obviously one week with these kids wouldn’t have been enough time.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:45 pm
This is the kind of stuff that drives me crazy. Why would you not coach the Senior Bowl? Usually the worst teams have to fire someone including the head coach so that is not a valid excuse in my mind.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:47 pm
Let’s just hope that the Cowboys lose in the first round so we can start talking with Rod Marinelli. Get him over here.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:51 pm
Who the hell cares is 1 week really gonna change anything?our scouts have been looking at these players all year long
December 30th, 2014 at 7:51 pm
I’m done with Lovie. Was happy with the hire but after the clustersf… he and his staff/team have been this year, this is the final straw! I think the Bears won in spite of him not because of him. What excuse can there be for NOT taking advantage of being able to observe and coach prospective draftees in a structured environment? You can learn only so much from tape. To be able to see first hand how these kids handle themselves in meetings after hours and during practice, I would think, is invaluable. Smdh
December 30th, 2014 at 7:52 pm
@HawaiianBuc hahahah Touche!
December 30th, 2014 at 7:53 pm
lovie would get out-coached at the senior bowl as well!
December 30th, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Very disappointing…certainly couldn’t hurt, could only help. Especially this train wreck of a team. Doesn’t show well from a outsider POV.
December 30th, 2014 at 7:56 pm
That’s a favor to the college kids, by choosing not to coach.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:16 pm
Wow, this season just keeps getting better. Oh wait…the season ended for us last Sunday. So would this BRILLIANT” move count for for next season?
December 30th, 2014 at 8:25 pm
Is there really any evidence that coaching the Senior Bowl helps a team uncover hidden gems? More often than not it leads coaches to overdraft a player because they loved coaching him in the Senior Bowl.
We need to focus on finding a new OC, and likely a few other assistant coaches, and choose our new franchise QB. Coaching the Senior Bowl will only be a massive time suck that our staff doesn’t need to be involved in right now.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:29 pm
Seems like a wasted opportunity to not take full advantage and participate coaching these seniors. To have close and personal interactions with these prospects before the draft seems invaluable and would give you a leg up when it comes to selecting prospects in the latter rounds of the draft. How disappointing.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:34 pm
lightningbuc Says:
December 30th, 2014 at 7:45 pm
IT TAKES TIME with Lovie, and obviously one week with these kids wouldn’t have been enough time.
LMAO. thats funny.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:39 pm
@ Hawaiian Buc
I can’t pinpoint the actual team or year, but I do remember reading teams giving credence and credit to their Senior Bowl experience as a method behind their madness of drafting certain players. It gave them an insight into them, not just seeing them playing but their practice habits and how they interact with other players and coaches on a daily basis.
Like I said, I like Lovie and I want to believe in him, but this just seems another maddening thing with him. I’m sure he’s probably thinking that he’s never had this opportunity before so why bother with it now, perhaps for some of the very reasons you listed, which are valid. However, here comes an opportunity and he just seems to dismiss it, and as a fan who is looking for reasons to believe in the 2015 Buccaneers, it’s just another thing that goes by the wayside.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:41 pm
Lovie’s a BOOB
December 30th, 2014 at 8:52 pm
HawaiianBuc Says:
December 30th, 2014 at 7:42 pm
I can clearly remember Ted Thompson and the Packers giving all the credit for his scouting due to the fact they coached the Senior Bowl. Oh wait, they never did coach the game.
_______________________________________________________________
Might be because the option to coach the game is like the waiver wire. The two worst teams get first crack at the job (although usually it skips a bunch of teams who suck and fired their coach). Ted Thompson doesn’t have to worry about it for another decade or so. Jags fans seem to be happy though, apparently they found 3 good players from the Senior Bowl in the middle rounds.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:55 pm
HawaiianBuc Says:
December 30th, 2014 at 7:42 pm
I can clearly remember Ted Thompson and the Packers giving all the credit for his scouting due to the fact they coached the Senior Bowl. Oh wait, they never did coach the game.
_________________________________________________________
Coaching the game is like the waiver wire, worst teams get first crack so obviously Ted Thompson hasn’t been bad enough to be involved for a while and likely won’t for a while still. Jags fans seem pretty happy though, they apparently got 3 good looking guys in the middle rounds they got to see at the Senior Bowl.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:55 pm
Coaching the game is like the waiver wire, worst teams get first crack so obviously Ted Thompson hasn’t been bad enough to be involved for a while and likely won’t for a while still. Jags fans seem pretty happy though, they apparently got 3 good looking guys in the middle rounds they got to see at the Senior Bowl last year.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:56 pm
I concur Joe, less and less of that lately, but with this I agree.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:57 pm
OM MY GOD!! LOVIE DOVE’S NOT COACHING THE SENIOR BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I FELL…I CAN’T GET UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 30th, 2014 at 8:58 pm
@Jason,
Yes, but do these players end up being great in the NFL? How many of these players that they drafted from the Senior Bowl become great players? The statements the coaching staffs are making are usually before the guy has ever played a down in the NFL. Give me an example of a Senior Bowl player that ended up being drafted by the coaching staff that ended up being a big time NFL player. I can’t think of one.
It absolutely gives the teams great insight to their half of the Senior Bowl roster, but what about the other half (the other team). Wouldn’t it be safe to say that they get less insight to them (since they are busy coaching their guys)? So they get an advantage on insight to half the roster, but are very much at a disadvantage on the other side. That doesn’t seem like a great thing to me, but that’s just me.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing or a good thing. I’m saying it’s not a big deal. You can either scout or you can’t, period. Coaching a player at the Senior Bowl isn’t going to make a bad scout into a good one. But when you go 2-14 on a frustrated fan base, criticism is going to come at you no matter what. However, that doesn’t mean that it is always correct.
December 30th, 2014 at 8:59 pm
We had no OC. We had a (crappy) O-line. Our QB was a career journeyman. Our best receiver was a rookie (albeit a beast-rookie). No running game. Our D was learning a new scheme. We are the 2nd youngest team in the league. AND STILL…AND STILL…we were in every game but 3 (Falcons, Ravens, Lions). This season was almost equivalent to getting your nuts punted into your stomach (for our male fans) (not sure for our female fans? Giving birth?) week after week, but when put into perspective it was about all you could expect. Here is to hoping we make the most of our awesome draft position, because this draft year is CRUCIAL to our sustained success. Cheers, fellow Bucs fans! Let’s become relevant again in 2015.
December 30th, 2014 at 9:00 pm
the bucs coaches can’t coach NFL players how in the world could they coach college level players.
haven’t the bucs fans suffered enough embarrassment from lovie’s guys this year.
I know….let the bucs o-line coach go and coach….that way the college defensive linemen can look as good as Jadavion clowney. LOL 🙂
December 30th, 2014 at 9:30 pm
According to Licht, the player rankings are already set. So, no need to take a look see at potential draft targets firsthand *sarcasm.
December 30th, 2014 at 9:45 pm
Didn’t Gus coach the Senior Bowl last year? WOW! His team did great…… Please. Its not a big deal guys.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:13 pm
Stupid decision. Coaching the Senior Bowl is a huge advantage in scouting potential draftees. I don’t care if you have NO offensive coordinator, you find somebody and take advantage of the situation.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:26 pm
Real Talk “y’all …how can ANY OF US defend Lovie after this.
How can ownership Just a Setback and let this sh#t go down.
How can they turn a blind eye to this?
He knows some of the best prospects in the country will be in attendance and He doesn’t, want a 1st hand look?
He doesn’t want to put some of the BEST prospect in the nation through drills, or see how they respond to his style of coaching?
Some of these guys will become UDFA, others will hit the practice squad. Or become available in trades/free agency down the road. Yet he refuses to develop a comprehensive assessment of prospect 1st hand?
After a 2-14 season, it’s suppose to be all hands on deck; right?
December 30th, 2014 at 10:32 pm
Hawaii
What up player? Good question! What is the SnrBowl (not a place where Hawaii and friends hang out) and any great players there?
This is what my boy Google found. Who knew?
http://www.seniorbowl.com/game-history-alltimeteam.php
Furthermore, I went back and randomly selected 2010’s roster and it read like a virtual probowl. The south’s roster includes names like jimmy graham, geno atkins, Lamar Houston, Ted Larsen (lol).
Let’s not be short sighted boys afterall “this is a 2-14 team”.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:40 pm
its because lovie needs a vacation he really worked his tail off this year. just to go 2-14
December 30th, 2014 at 10:40 pm
Those kids would be better off anyways to have someone else coach them.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:41 pm
Bills head coach Chan Gailey made no secret about the edge he felt coaching the Senior Bowl gave his coaching staff in preparation for the 2011 NFL draft. He called it a “tremendous advantage,” and Buffalo capitalized on the additional information acquired by being around more than 100 of the best seniors in college football for a week, drafting three of them last weekend.
Buffalo’s fourth-round pick Da’Norris Searcy played safety for the North Team at the Senior Bowl. Such was the case with Searcy, an athletic and aggressive safety that showed his versatility through the course of the practice week. Those meetings however, got to the heart of what Buffalo’s coaching staff was after with those players that were not on their roster.
“What you’re trying to learn are the intangibles,” said Gailey. “That’s what you’re trying to find out. We all watch them run, jump, change direction, ball skills. We all get to see that, but there’s been a bunch of guys that have the right kind of work ethic and preparation and football instincts to go be a player when the run, jump, speed statistics say they shouldn’t. And there are also some guys out there that have the ability and because they won’t do those things that come in the intangible category they don’t make it. So by the end of the week we had a great idea about the intangibles.”
December 30th, 2014 at 10:42 pm
Let’s not be short sighted afterall “this is a 2-14 team”. A quick search brought up this http://www.seniorbowl.com/game-history-alltimeteam.php
Randomly selected 2010 roster and found a virtual probowl team with names like jimmy graham, geno atkins, Lamar Houston n ted Larsen(lol). And that’s just the south’s roster.
It’s about a mindset. In this case a lazy mindset. Truth is we’d rather spend hours watching film of guys on the sideline than actually being on the sidelines. first pov. That’s the type of mentality that leads to a 2-14 season.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:56 pm
Lovie the Lunatic.
December 30th, 2014 at 11:16 pm
@Hawaiian I agree this is not a big deal.
@db55 no one said great players don’t play in the senior bowl. Just that no one has heard of a team drafting a great player that they coached in the game. I’m sure there’s a case or two but you’d have to research pretty good to find It. Neither the dolphins or lions drafted any of those studs in 2010.
December 31st, 2014 at 12:53 am
Coaching it hasn’t brought us a lot of luck, so screw it. Scouting will still be there, and maybe Lovie feels they need to concentrate on the Bucs more.
December 31st, 2014 at 12:56 am
Well, lets see. 30 NFL teams do not do it every year, and they are not tripping over one another to do it. As a matter of fact, name one team that coached the senior bowl that went on to win a superbowl within 5 years. Or 10 years.
It means nothing.
December 31st, 2014 at 1:01 am
Hah! Here’s a coincidence, lol.
There has only been one team that coached the senior bowl and gone on to sin a superbowl within ten years.
The Buccaneers. BUT…
Tony Dungy was our coach in 1999 when they coached it (that time). The other team? The Jon Gruden led Raiders.
Now there is an ironic twist. 2 years later, the coach of the other team wins the superbowl with our team!
December 31st, 2014 at 1:03 am
And we won it against the same team too. lol. I think that’s pretty funny 🙂
December 31st, 2014 at 1:13 am
The Jags and Falcons coached last year’s game. How’d they do this year? The Raiders coached in 2013. Really turned them around. The whole thing is overrated. We’ll still have scouts there, it’s not like we’ll ignore it.
And I bet if Lovie had said yes, we’d be griping that it’s taking time away from the OC search.
December 31st, 2014 at 1:21 am
That “all time” senior bowl list has a great list of players…mostly from the 70’s. the most recent player is from 1989. Let’s not forget this was when there wasn’t a million bowl games, detailed scouting (especially for coastal teams), and most players stayed through their senior seasons. Considering the work that’s in front of the staff, a week in Alabama would probably be better spent doing something else. Like getting an offensive staff together. After all, what’s the point in coaching offensive guys if you don’t know what system they’re gonna go into?
December 31st, 2014 at 1:31 am
No Biggie! First pick matters and the QBs won’t be playing. Go back to sleep!
December 31st, 2014 at 3:13 am
Lovie smith is walking garbage.
I checked the 2014 Senior Bowl. Just the North side because I am not getting paid by anyone but it seemed that 90% of the players were drafted in 2014.
So any coach who does not want to coach the Senior is an F’n idiot and needs to be fired.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:28 am
Not coaching the Senior Bowl is…not a real big deal.
You only get to delve into the talent pool of one side, and since that is under the weirdest of circumstances (running a stripped-down, plain, vanilla offense)…how much could it possibly tell you?
Bigger issue is folks thinking we’d decide on a QB before we knew what offense we were going to be running…
…and we’re supposed to be a football town?
December 31st, 2014 at 4:45 am
Ok, who cares. The top Seniors do not even play in it. It’s a scrub scrimmage game that takes away from scouting in other areas. I commend Lovie for not doing it.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:58 am
Just another fine example of Lovie and his ineptness. And he’s gonna be back next year! Be prepared for another 2 or maybe 3 win season…..Ive already accepted it. So too have the Glazers, apparently. I doubt L&L will even have any scouts at that game.
December 31st, 2014 at 8:08 am
Lovie probably didn’t want to end the year with another lost.
December 31st, 2014 at 8:52 am
Lovie Smith has no Justice, Judgement, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiam, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, or Endurance.
Fire this a-hole immediately!
December 31st, 2014 at 8:58 am
I’m reading articles that say he did it for the time off. Wow!
December 31st, 2014 at 9:22 am
How Many….
-Pro Bowlers
-All Pro’s
-Super Bowl Champions
-Hall Of Famers
Have played in The Senior Bowl?
December 31st, 2014 at 10:22 am
Luvmybucs
A lot of them have. Here’s the deal, it’s a missed opportunity. If we won more than 2 games it wouldn’t be a big deal at all but damn were 2-14 take every opportunity you get to improve your ball club. That’s all I’m saying.
December 31st, 2014 at 10:39 am
Jason Says:
@ biff barker
Sure I thought that too, but then Dave Pear above reminded us the Jags don’t have an OC either (they just fired him)… not stopping them.
***
Point taken. If we had an acting GM, as opposed to a figurehead taking the title and nice office. A true GM may have insisted upon this.
This may be the Glazers biggest failing. Owners without football savvy relinquish all authority to a coach without football savvy. Dave’s loaded gun analogy is rather fitting.
No team President, no true GM, no checks and balances.
2-14 is no accident, it’s Lovie’s body of work last season.
December 31st, 2014 at 11:26 am
I was upset when I first heard this but the more I thought about it the more I said there are no more excuses and this is the make or break year. if you don’t want to coach the senior bowl that means we’ve been so bad that in week 4 they probably already knew to get ready for draft and I bet the draft board wont change even if he did coach the senior bowl…..OR lovie’s been stripped of his drafting power and licht knows who he wants
December 31st, 2014 at 1:08 pm
Arroyo good enough for the Bucs but not good enough for college seniors. Maybe he was “gassed”
December 31st, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Well-played.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:56 pm
Paul Says
“Tampa Bay Fans have no Justice, Judgement, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiam, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, or Endurance.”
Fixed that for you.
December 31st, 2014 at 5:00 pm
Maybe, just maybe, Lovie feels that after the season the Bucs just had, he should not take his attentions from his own team to focus on the other.
We have scouts for a reason. They get paid to do it so the head coach does not have to.