Bucs Fire A Key Coach
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fired a key coach after the loss on Sunday to the Atlanta Falcons.
On Monday the Bucs dismissed defensive coordinator Mike Smith. The firing makes Tampa Bay Buccaneers the first NFL team to fire a coordinator in 2018. Smith was named Defensive Coordinator of the Bucs in January of 2016, the same day Dirk Koetter was named head coach.
Unfortunately, the Buccaneers defense is ranked last in the NFL, surrendering 34.6 points per game and 439.8 yards per game, second worst in the league. They have struggled immensely on defense, giving up 30 or more points in four of their first five games. During their three-game losing streak, they have allowed 37.3 points per contest. Not good.
Coach Dirk Koetter spoke to Buccaneers.com and had this to say;
“These decisions are always difficult, but our top priority here is to ensure that we do everything possible to help this team succeed. As I have said in the past, the issues we have had as a team are never one person’s fault. During good times, as well as the bad, it is a collective effort between the coaches and the players. We all understand that this is a result-based profession and our results to this point have not met our standards. I want to thank Mike for all the hard work and passion he has displayed here on a daily basis and I wish him well moving forward.”
Smith’s firing may also be a sign of desperation from Koetter, who is 16-21 as the head coach in Tampa and could find himself on the hot seat or even out of a job himself if the Buccaneers don’t end their 10-season playoff drought in 2018.
In the interim, they promoted linebackers coach Mark Duffner to the newly vacated DC position.
So, was Mike Smith the real problem with the Bucs? If you ask me (and nobody did) we need to get rid of Jameis Winston. This guy is the king of panic! Instead of finding the “check-down” and picking up a few small (but positive) yards, Jameis wants to go for the big play. And when Jameis gets flustered… and he starts looking for that big play, everything breaks down.
So, how do you feel about the Bucs? Take our Was The Firing Of Defensive Coordinator Mike Smith The Answer To Fixing The Bucs Failing Season? See The Story Here: https://t.co/l7DUcdClLX
