“Go Call Tom Coughlin”
January 7th, 2016
Respected NFL talking head Pat Kirwan trashes Team Glazer and lobbies Bucs to hire Tom Coughlin.
Pat Kirwan may be worn out — because the former Bucs front office coffee-fetcher and scout, former player Jets personnel director and current SiriusXM NFL Radio host took a baseball bat to Team Glazer today.
In a podcast on his fantastic website, RealFootballNetwork.com, Kirwan unleashes a tirade at Team Glazer, mocking them for unloading Lovie Smith and all but snickering out loud at the speculation that Team Glazer may hire offensive coordinator Dirk Moetter as their next coach.
In fact, Kirwan demanded the lone candidate to take over the Bucs is two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin.
“Let me give you a couple of tips: Shouldn’t have fired Lovie Smith. But since you did, let me give you a tip going forward: Call Tom Coughlin. And Tom Coughlin, you call Frank Reich who was just let go in San Diego as the OC. Tremendous,” Kirwan said. “Quarterback coach and developer of talent. If you are telling me Tom Coughlin is going in there with Frank Reich, then I’m OK.
“If you give it to Dirk Koetter after you have successfully completed the Rooney Rule, I will live with it. But the Tampa Bay Bucs, your reputation now precedes you. Volatility.
“And I am going to tell the listeners why. Because you can’t sell seats right now. There was a time, not too long ago, where you had over 100,000 people on a waiting list. Where did that list go?
“When Bruce Allen and Jon [Gruden] were there, you had a huge waiting list. What do you have now? Thousands of empty seats. Winning will produce that.
“Sorry for Lovie Smith but Lovie, take the money and go home and enjoy yourself. You have been a man of high character. You don’t have to look in the mirror and see anything but a guy who is a great football coach. For the Bucs, stop what you are doing. You are acting like the Cleveland Browns now. Panic button time. Can’t sell seats? Fire the coach. Think thinks this offensive coordinator who has never been a head coach is your savior? Think again. Go. Get. Coughlin.”
Joe isn’t going to pick apart what Kirwan said because Joe really likes Kirwan. But there are so many holes in his argument it is not even funny.
Kirwan, by nature, loathes the firing of coaches, no matter how rotten of a job they have done.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:25 pm
why do people want a 70 year old coach who has at most 3-4 years left? everyone cries we fire coaches he will be gone too. this would be dumber than re-hiring schiano
January 7th, 2016 at 4:25 pm
I say to anyone that has the same complaint as Kirwan, “Watch the tape!!!!” “Tape don’t Lie!!!!” I dare any of these media guys to watch the tape and say the same thing!!!!
January 7th, 2016 at 4:27 pm
He is right. Call Tom Coughlin. We can’t have an OC be our HC. We need a true Head Coach. Not an over paid OC, with a 20th ranked ppg offense.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:29 pm
The teams that have had the most success? The teams that give their coaches plenty of time.
On the topic of Tom Coughlin, I don’t believe he would willingly come here. Consider this…what if Tom Coughlin were one of those done deals that falls through and they then offer the job to Koetter? How would he feel being the second choice?
I don’t know if Koetter is the right hire or not, but he has earned a shot. Someone will give it to him.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:33 pm
I think you do hire coughlin. I think its a good idea because, I think he would let jason be incharge of the roster for the most part, like the gm was in ny.
And he would keep d k as the OC. He would also get the most out of this team and fill the holes. Then in year 3 after we win the Super Bowl, Coughlin would ride off into the sunset.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:34 pm
The biggest mistake Lovie made was putting his name on the defense. If you out your name on a sinking ship, you will be held responsible. Hat’s what this firing comes down to. Lovie took over the play calling duties, and in doing so he better make that defense look good. But it didnt, it was horrible. That is where lovie failed the most. If Lovie would have stepped back and let Frazier take the blame, he would have a job. But nope, Lovie put his reputation on the line and thought he could turn the defense around and it back fired in his face.
Just imagine if Lovie didnt take over the defense. He could place all the blame on frazier. Fire him and hire someone else and keep chugging along.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:35 pm
Awe poor old millionaire coaches getting fired
This guy doesn’t know wtf he is talking about. His whole argument might as well be “don’t fire my friends they’ve been around a long time!”
Where is your football argument jack4ss? Even I don’t buy this continuity bullsh1t argument. I was fine with keeping Lovie assuming we retained Koetter & made some significant changes to the defensive approach but am also fine with a change given the facts of the last 2 years. Continuity as the only argument provided is insane.
I will be so depressed if we hire Tom Coughlin or Chip Kelly. That’d be much worse than Lovie Smith. Coughlin’s defense was WAY WORSE than the Bucs this year. Wtf should we hire him for?? We just got rid of a labeled dinosaur so replacing him with an older one is just freaking insane.
I like & respect Koetter. Promote him to HC and get a bada55 D coordinator. Koetter can even still runt he offense in the mold of Mike Mcarthy in Green Bay. Light is handling more of the roster / personnel than before so it’s not like he’d be taking on the same role Lovie had
January 7th, 2016 at 4:35 pm
Teams only give their coaches plenty of time, if they show they are worth the time.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:38 pm
Coughlin doesnt have an offense or defense. He is he head coach. His DC is in charge of the defense.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:40 pm
More and more it is obvious that the national media has not spent very much time watching the Bucs play football. Which is odd because every time the past two years we have been on national TV we have been absolutely shredded and embarrassed.
I know Pat Kirwin is old but he must have a TV.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:40 pm
“We need a true Head Coach. Not an over paid OC, with a 20th ranked ppg offense.”
Most recent successful coaches of todays NFL were coordinators (Zimmer / Arians / Rivera). Pretty much ALL NFL coaches were coordinators before HC lol.
Also our offense was 29th in PPG and 30th in yardage in 2014.
We were 20th in PPG and 5th in yardage in 2015.
That’s pretty drastic improvement considering we had a rookie QB, 2 rookie O-lineman, and guys like Cameron Brate / Adam Humphries as the only options after Mike Evans in a lot of games.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:41 pm
Too many ex Buc coaches becoming announcers…..threatens Kirwin’s job security…..
January 7th, 2016 at 4:42 pm
@jersey… you are right. The national media has no clue. They are all like”wow, 6-10″ such improvement. Not really.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:42 pm
Trust me guys. Hiring an OC to be a HC is a bad idea. We need a real Head Coach. You dont see Mike Tomlin calling the defense or offense. He is the HEAD COACH. He shouldnt be calling the offense or defense. You pay your OC or DC to do that. Koetter’s offense is nothing special. 20th in ppg. Tell me where he is so special.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:47 pm
“Coughlin doesnt have an offense or defense. He is he head coach. His DC is in charge of the defense.”
Awesome so he brings no value other than being a talking head lol. I guess “culture” is it.
His team has missed the playoffs 4 straight years despite having a franchise QB and playing in a mediocre division. They have regressed.
9-7
7-9
6-10
6-10
Seriously wtf is with the love for this guy? 2 super bowls is awesome! I respect the hell out of him for that but this is about the future. Eli Manning played out of his mind in 2011 coming off a 9-7 record to win that SB – basically on Flacco level for one of the better playoff runs by a QB ever. I give Coughlin a lot more credit for the one he won in 2008 but that’s almost a decade ago now.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:48 pm
Sure, you work your way up the coaching tree. But your head coach should not be the OC. It just doesnt work out in the long run. You dont want your HC spending all his time on the offense. And you dont want your OC taking time away from the offense to worry about the rest of the team.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:51 pm
Yes. A head coach creates the culture. And hopefully it is a culture of winning. Lovie was criticized for his losing culture. I honestly believe your head coach should be the overseer, not the coordinator.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:55 pm
What is Bill belicheats job? Does he run the offense? The defense? The answer is, no. He is heavily involved with both sides, but in the end he isnt the guy calling all the plays. He is able to dabble in both sides and get both sides up to his standard. Same goes with Marvin Lewis. Marvin doesn’t call the defense or offense. He oversees the entire program and gives his time to whatever he feels needs it. That’s how a head coach is supposed to work. He isnt supposed to be focused solely on the offense or just the defense. If he does that he is just an overpaid overpowered coordinator.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:58 pm
That’s fair but there are plenty of HCs who have been successful as playcallers and putting a purposeful stamp on one side of the ball- mike McCarthy and Bruce Arians come to mind.
Hell Zimmer/ Ron Rivera were defensive guys and both improved their teams defenses a lot.
Rex Ryan is crazy but in NY he churned out great defenses and basically ran that show himself.
Typically HCs have an area of expertise beyond culture.
And also Koetter has HC experience at the college level.
January 7th, 2016 at 4:59 pm
Didn’t Chucky win a SB calling plays?
How about Payton,….think he won a ring too…
I’m sure there are many others….
The key is having a very strong coordinator to handle the other side….for us that would be defense….
January 7th, 2016 at 5:00 pm
Basically there are examples of both scenarios working. A lot of BB success is tied to Brady. Lewis I thoight had always been a defensive guy himself and that’s typically where the team has done best till recently.
The entire staff is important and can work in either fashion with the right ppl in place
January 7th, 2016 at 5:29 pm
Who knows if Koetter would be the OC if he became HC? No one here knows that.
Also, given the recent instability in the coaching situation here, hiring a 70 year old makes no sense. They need a guy who can come in, succeed, and be around for 5-10 years. Coughlin is a terrible idea. I think he’s also highly overrated as a coach, based on recent results.
January 7th, 2016 at 5:33 pm
Given Licht’s experience with the Patriots and his participation in the Cards’ selection process of Bruce Arians, I’m betting he won’t make an impulse hire. I know not every franchise can be the Patriots but every team should strive to be, and that means envisioning a coach who will be here for the next decade or so. To me that means no Tom Coughlin. He is a great coach, but not the best long term option for us.
As for Koetter, he’s an excellent NFL coach and successful former college head coach. He came here and built a terrific offense overnight with a rookie QB, two rookie OL, and two rookie FA’s in Brate and Humphries getting substantial
playing time. Hiring him would not be a reach at all. The key hire will be at DC. I bet Dirk would look to find someone who is aggressive and loves speed. Getting excited.
January 7th, 2016 at 5:35 pm
Hire Koetter already and give every member of the media outside of the Tampa Bay area the Middle finger. These clown obviously didn’t watch us, we were irrelevant and would have continued to be with Lovie. We fired the Coach NOT the Man. Get a D coordinator and let’s do this. Wipe the real “MRSA” (aka ASJ, Jenkins and whomever else isn’t buying into working harder and winning) out of the locker room. If McCoy isn’t buying in, trade his ass too. His stock should be through the roof, first and 3rd minimum. Things have to change, it was torture by the end of the season. This was necessary, seats would have been empty with Smith as head coach.
Crazy how everyone thinks these coaches started in their 5th season. Every coach in the history of sports had a year 1.
January 7th, 2016 at 5:57 pm
been saying the same thing all day cleveland browns south LOL
January 7th, 2016 at 6:07 pm
Pat Kirwan LMFAO He’s still butt hurt with the BUCS.
January 7th, 2016 at 6:31 pm
I agree with Lord Cornelius about bringing in Kelly or Coughlin. No Thanks!
January 7th, 2016 at 6:50 pm
Why does everyone automatically assume that if Koetter is made head coach that he will continue to call plays. This isn’t an automatic thing when a coordinator becomes a head coach. Maybe he hires a good OC to run his offense and call plays. This blind speculation that assumes how he would run a team is foolish. Let out play out and then either get behind the hire or get lost.
January 7th, 2016 at 7:18 pm
If they violate to rooney rile what happens? a fine? big deal.
January 7th, 2016 at 7:19 pm
@destro44
I think it’s a pretty good chance he will. After all, it is his playcalling that has earned him the opportunity.
January 7th, 2016 at 7:29 pm
I always laugh when I read anyone describe Lovie as great
January 7th, 2016 at 7:36 pm
I know MORE about the Bucs than Pat Kirwan.
January 7th, 2016 at 7:36 pm
If Koetter did hire a OC and didn’t call plays I would be happy to have him. Not as happy as I would be for other options, but I would be satisfied. I think dirk is an ok OC. Nothing real special. No amazing or unpredictable play calls but he was solid. He is the dictionary picture of average. As for being a HC, I have no idea how good he would be at that. I don’t think anyone does. He seems like he is more engaging and not just a political correct puppet. But as far as being an inspirational leader, I have no idea. If we are going off of resumes, I would hire Hue Jackson before Dirk Koetter.
January 7th, 2016 at 7:41 pm
Hiring Koetter as hc is a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE MISTAKE TAMPA BAY,
HUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGEEEEE
January 7th, 2016 at 7:43 pm
Look, I like Kirwan, but he is one of these guys that hangs his hat on the old school good ol’ boy coaching ranks.
January 7th, 2016 at 7:47 pm
Coughlin is a very good coach, but he will want to bring in his own OC, and Jameis need some degree of stability now. Promote Koetter, and hire an experienced DC. Koetter’s offense was well tailored to Winstons talent and skill set. The last thing we need right now is to force Jameis to learn a brand new scheme in the offseason. With a few good choices in free agency, and trading down in the Draft to pick up a few more picks, the Bucs could quickly work their way back into being a contender.
It’s a great new day for Buccaneer football!
January 7th, 2016 at 8:27 pm
@Bucfan37
I agree with Lord Cornelius about bringing in Kelly or Coughlin. No Thanks!
I also agree Bucfan37 but get used to it. I struggle to recall a post LordC has made that I do not agree with. He avoids hyperbole like the play…doesn’t resort to ad hom stupid attacks like coach or player x sucks…wtf does that even mean.
I cannot remember a Lord C post without some facts or cogent observations to back them up.
January 7th, 2016 at 8:37 pm
Dirk Moetter will take these Bucs to the mountain top!!!! Like Jaboo says…..once the locker room gets straight, “we gonna be HELL!!”
January 7th, 2016 at 9:22 pm
When considering Coughlin ,,,,,,, just say NO!
January 7th, 2016 at 11:19 pm
guys the reason were below average in ppg is because the defense was so bad and couldnt get off the field. 5th in yards per game is amazing considering how many drops we’ve had and penalties to overcome. didnt some of you guys watch any games?
January 8th, 2016 at 1:56 am
Per Pat Kirwan in the second paragraph.
“If you give it to Dirk Koetter after you have successfully completed the Rooney Rule, I will live with it.
Per Kirwan in the final paragraph.
Think this offensive coordinator who has never been a head coach is your savior? Think again. Go. Get. Coughlin.”
Seriously, need I say more.
January 8th, 2016 at 2:11 am
There is more than one way to do it. Head coach with two coordinators, or head coach on one side of the ball and a Cordinator on the other. Both can work, both can fail.
January 8th, 2016 at 9:34 am
Mr. Kirwan really needs to stop drinking before he goes on the air.