“I Don’t Think It’s Going To Cost This One His Job”
December 26th, 2016
Compared to Lovie
No matter what the Bucs do Sunday against the Stinking Panthers, Bucs coach Dirk Koetter, unless he wants to leave, should return for 2017.
That’s what Joe firmly believes, and that’s what long-time Bucs beat guy Woody Cummings suggests.
While discussing the nasty Bucs holiday season tradition of losing December games and how Team Glazer greatly frowns upon such things, Cummings told candy cane-striped-tie-wearing host Paul Ryan and his WFLA-TV Channel 8 audience that if the Bucs lose Sunday and finish the season 0-3, it is unlikely such a nosedive will cost Koetter his gig.
“It is all about how you feel about how things finished,” Cummings explained on “Bucs Bonus” early this morning. “Look, the last thing you want to do now, this team finished 0-4 down the stretch last year, now you are looking at an opportunity to finish 0-3 down the stretch when you were right there. They teased everybody with the playoff opportunity. And it didn’t happen again. That’s two years in a row. It cost one coach his job. I don’t think it’s going to cost this one his job.”
The “one coach” Cummings refers to is, of course, Lovie Smith, who wasn’t just fired for finishing 0-4 in 2015, but for gross overall incompetence. His 0-4 finish was just the final nail.
From running Darrelle Revis and Donald Penn out the door to begin his reign of terror, to not wanting to score points in a one-score game, to countless gaffes in between, the Lovie years were a two-year trainwreck of an era the likes of which only Browns fans have experienced this century.
(Yes, Jags fans endured hell with a coach that owns the worst winning percentage of any NFL coach since Pearl Harbor. But Lovie’s mind-numbing, brainless personnel howlers defied logic, which, on face value, Gus Bradley never came close to duplicating.)
Joe swears the only three personnel decisions Lovie got right in two years were hiring Jason Licht, hiring Koetter and giving Licht the green light to draft America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, for which Joe will be thanking Lovie for season after season.
Koetter had done a fantastic job. He hired a solid defensive staff and got out of their way. When injuries decimated an already thin receiving corps and a running game that went into the tank, Koetter was somehow crafting solid gameplans with scotch tape, bubble gum and band-aids until it seemingly caught up with him in recent weeks.
Not even Vince Lombardi or Bill Walsh could wins games with the likes of Josh Huff botching returning kickoffs. There also is a local all points bulletin issued concerning the whereabouts of Freddie Martino and his Band of Renown. Rumors circulate he may have returned to the velvet-lined lounge of the Vero Beach Ramada Inn. Have you seen him? If so, please alert local authorities.
Joe can only imagine what the Bucs and Koetter could have done with two solid receivers to help out first down machine Mike Evans.
December 26th, 2016 at 9:32 am
Josh Huff is a main reason the Bucs are circling the drain? LOL! Only on JBF.
December 26th, 2016 at 9:35 am
I think Koetter will be here for many years
December 26th, 2016 at 9:36 am
Glazers firing Koetter would be moronic. This club needs stability and a few personal upgrades
December 26th, 2016 at 9:37 am
@lightning – Josh Huff is not the reason they are struggling. The presence of Josh Huff, which indicates that they don’t have anyone better than Huff on the team, is what their issue is that needs to be addressed this off season.
December 26th, 2016 at 9:38 am
Joe,
Have you ever been to Vero Beach????
I lived in that area for 5 years and I’ve never heard of this infamous Ramada Inn??????
…….the kids out there call it “Zero Beach”………..cause there’s nothing to do!!!!
Lol
December 26th, 2016 at 9:40 am
If they fired Koetter, it would show that they have no idea what they’re looking at. This team has looked more complete, even with a depleted roster, than we ever looked under Lovie. This looks like a professional team. Even in losses, they look like they belong on the field. What’s more, they don’t get regularly blown out the way that Lovie’s teams did. The team fights harder and longer than they ever did for Lovie. Simply looking at a w/l record to determine whether a coach is worth keeping would be insane. Even if they did, the w/l record is much better than it’s been in a while.
December 26th, 2016 at 9:42 am
Patrick in VA,
Then who’s fault is that? It’s certainly not Josh Huff’s? Is it Licht? Or Koetter? Or maybe Doug Martin, since he seems to be the reason Jameis throws the ball to the other team so much lately?
December 26th, 2016 at 9:43 am
@ Patrick
……but Mike Smith had alot to do with this team’s resurgence
……when smith leaves at the end of the season, I’m curious how this team will perform??????
December 26th, 2016 at 9:43 am
Patrick
You’re 100% correct
I don’t even know why this is being discussed
December 26th, 2016 at 9:47 am
Licht never asked himself “what if”……What if VJax or Evans was lost to injury?
There was money and many opportunities to bring in a competent FA WR…..Sanu was there…..hell, even Roddy White would have been better than tapping our practice squad.
We all saw this coming before the season started…..why didn’t Licht?
December 26th, 2016 at 9:50 am
@lightning – I think that looking for fault is the wrong approach. It’s just where we are. If you absolutely have to, I’d say that the fault lies with Dominick and Lovie for it taking so long for us to establish a team that has actual starter level talent on it. We finally got a team together this year where we were able to compete, and win, against the best in the league. Unfortunately, injuries caught up to us eventually and we don’t have the depth that we need. You can’t expect us to have that depth because we just this year got the starter talent that we need. It’s just where we are in the movie. It’s trending upward, but we’re not there yet.
December 26th, 2016 at 9:53 am
lightningbuc … Whose fault is what what? Bucs started the year with some decent starters (albeit with several ‘holes’ on offense & defense) plus quite a few young, inexperienced starters and very little depth. Injuries ravaged this team all year as much as any team in the NFL. And yet, Koetter & company has compiled at least an 8-8 season (hopefully 9-7) against one of the toughest schedules in the NFL. Fault? Sorry, but this team has overachieved if anything.
December 26th, 2016 at 9:57 am
Tampabaybucfan
re was money and many opportunities to bring in a competent FA WR…..Sanu was there…..hell, even Roddy White would have been better than tapping our practice squad.
====================================
Now I agree 100% on you on this one………..
It is a bit baffling why we didn’t go after any FA WRs…….
December 26th, 2016 at 10:03 am
No matter where he goes… he’s going to carry a big MF stick.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:17 am
I can’t believe that Joe would even “suggest” that the inept owners of my Bucs are even remotely considering firing the best coach we have had since John Gruden. If they did THAT would be the final nail in the coffin.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:18 am
Hey Lightning, I guess when Manning threw over 100 int’s in 5 years he never should’ve seen the field again, huh. Or, Elway throwing 300 td’s and 226 int’s in his career means he’s over rated, right. And when Favre threw 37 td’s and 37 int’s his first two years starting for GB, he should’ve been sent packing, correct? Grow up.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:22 am
@Bucsanthem – I’m similarly intrigued by what might happen if Smith were to leave. I think the time that he had here helped a great deal in terms of showing the staff that’s in place, assuming that our next DC is an internal hire, the value in allowing the players to contribute to the scheme by helping to mold the defense to their talents and improving communications.
If he were to leave, I think that Koetter clearly knows what a good DC looks like, so I have faith in him to make a good hire that won’t set us back too far in the short term and does great things for us over the long term.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:26 am
Simple answer Alshon Jefferie this offseason.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:30 am
Injuries happen to all NFL teams and you have to adapt for sure. The problem is when you are starting third stingers across the offensive and defensive lines there is going to be problems you just can’t fix. The healthy teams are the one’s playing the best down the stretch.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:40 am
I predicted that we will be discussing who goes and who stays in December. This is the most predictable franchise in the NFL. In December, they goes from Contenders to Pretenders. This is the Norm in Tampa, no more playoff talk, let’s focus on the draft and rebuilding for yet another season. it seems like we have been rebuilding for the past 10 seasons.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:48 am
Please note Alston Jeffreys. We don’t need a Evans clone, We need someone with speed to seperste
December 26th, 2016 at 10:51 am
Our Superbowl team was very healthy. I remember very few injuries. It makes a huge difference.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:53 am
@Chris – I couldn’t disagree more. The WRs we have now are not NFL quality players. Let’s start with getting our team to that point before we start debating which flavor of top level WRs we want to go after.
December 26th, 2016 at 10:58 am
I knew someone take the bait. Chris Alshon and Brandon Marshll made McCown look all pro. Mike Wallace has bounced around how many teams???
December 26th, 2016 at 11:04 am
we need a golden tate/ landry clone. 90 catch high volume slant rac wr to put him in space and he will open up evans and the run game.
bring in a president of operations to oversee licht and koetter
force koetter to bring in a playcaller and just be the head coach
bring in norv turner
December 26th, 2016 at 11:11 am
Alshon Jeffrey, Kenny Stills, Terrell Pryor and Kenny Britt should all be targeted this offseason along with some help at Safety and DT.
The Bucs also should target Dalvin Cook or Leonard Fournette in the draft if either gets to the 15th pick in the first round.
It’s a deep TE draft so the Bucs could be in a great position if they could get OJ Howard from Alabama or Bucky Hodges’s from Virginia Tech in the second round.
December 26th, 2016 at 11:25 am
The guy just went .500 at wo r st in his rookie season as a hc……only a complete idiot would suggest firing him. Give him time like cowboys have with Jason Garrett you will seenhim licht and jameis will get it done and win us a championshop
December 26th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
I don’t know if its Dirk’s play calling or Dirk can’t call plays for the talent Jason Licht provides.
Falcons signed guys like Sanu and Gabriel. Why are we going after guys like Martino?
Licht saw what happened after VJax was injured last year. Did he ever consider what would happen if VJax lost it or gets hurt again?
I agree with @Ocala
Get Cook or Fournette. Hope like heck OJ Howard or Bucky Hodges is there in the 2nd round. Love Brate, but still not sure he can be a solo TE. Think he’ll be better if there is someone to compliment him.
Sign a speed threat. Draft another wr in the 3rd or 4th round. Dupre from LSU?
December 26th, 2016 at 12:50 pm
Agree with @Kobe Faker
Even though I think Licht failed in providing depth at WR/TE and Oline.
There are other offensive minded HC’s who have others calling plays. Guys like Jason Garrett. Its not for everyone.
Are we sure Koetter can handle both responsibilities? His play calling has been average at best the last 6 weeks.
December 26th, 2016 at 1:00 pm
Say what you want about Freddie Martino but I don’t remember ever seeing him drop one. I don’t see him getting many opportunities but when called upon he stepped up.
December 26th, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Guys we have stepped up a few more rungs up the ladder, BUT
you know how high the next wall is?
8-8 and 9-7 is easy. getting to the next level is the really difficult part
we need numerous young foundation great players to build around
imo, in 2016 we lost opportunity to get 2 foundation pieces for the next 10 years. thats why a miss in a draft setsbacks a team 3 years
congrats we are not the 5 worst team in the nfl…now we can bounce back 5-11 to 9-7 for the next 5 years
Atl, Car, Saints are setup for superbowl runs in the next 3 years
December 26th, 2016 at 5:22 pm
Who the hell is even talking about firing Dirk? How stupid can you be to think firing you coaches every 2 years, then reducing that to every year,is going to lead to success?
I’m not a huge fan of Dirk, I think he’s done OK, but for God’s sake leave the guy alone and let him have 4 years. How can so-called Bucs fan not even know one of the most famous coaching quotes of all time from John McKay…
“I had a five-year plan” he said about his work in building the Buccaneers and taking them to the NFC Championship Game in just their fourth season. “But that was because I had a five-year contract. If I had had a three-year contract, I would have had a three year plan.”
December 26th, 2016 at 6:18 pm
LOL @ saint being set up for ANY kind of run in the next 3 years. I almost cried laughing when I saw that! the Aints are NOTHING and I mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING without Brees. And they don’t have him for much longer (maybe 2 or 3 years)
December 26th, 2016 at 8:27 pm
They need to create plays that get the ball.out of Winston’s hands quicker.When Dallas kept blitzing near the end of that game the Bucs kept calling plays that take forever to develope.Had they called a few more screens(besides the one everyone missed blocks on) that might of slowed down the blitz.Winston was under pressure every drop back.Its all good Bucs fans we just need to get healthy this offseason and fill a few holes.Keep the core together and build off of this year.We are headed in the right direction we almost made the playoffs even though we sent more players to injured reserved than any other team in the league.