Another Coach Sent Packing

For reasons unexplained – other than that ownership feels compelled to do this about every 18 months – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired their coach on Wednesday night.

Lovie Smith put in two years on the job. A record of 8-24 isn’t exactly cause for a party, but the team seemed to be turning around. The Bucs went 6-10 this past season, a mark besmirched by four consecutive losses at the end.

Still, the signs were good. The Bucs’ website indicated the team finished fifth in the league in total offense – this with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston – and 10th in total defense. So, are we headed in the right direction?

We are not. The Bucs will kick off the 2016 season with their fifth coach in eight years. Five in eight years? Perhaps the Bucs and Cleveland Browns can get together for a spirited game of “Can You Bottom This?” From the famously cranky Jon Gruden to the fiery Raheem Morris to stiff-necked Greg Schiano to the quiet and affable Smith, an NFL fixture who coached the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl, the Bucs have tried nearly everyone and every approach. And now they will try again.

The guess here is they were afraid of losing offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. So he’d be the likely in-house candidate. The club also flirted years ago with Chip Kelly, recently deposed by the Philadelphia Eagles. So he’s Bachelor Number Two. We’ll make Adam Gase, the Bears offensive coordinator, Bachelor Number Three because everyone wants to interview him after he turned Jay Cutler into a human being.

The Bucs last made the playoffs in 2007. They’ve had winning records twice since and a total of 12 victories over the last three seasons. The endless coaching churn is the problem, not the answer.

No, the owners won’t fire themselves. They never do, no matter how much they deserve to be dismissed.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman