If you thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would make an exciting and game-changing pick to be their new head coach, well you can add that thought to the many despairs listed in your fractured feelings journal. After chasing off the guy that hired him, the Bucs have decided to make Dirk Koetter, the team’s offensive coordinator, their new head coach.
Confirming reports – Bucs are hiring Dirk Koetter, as expected. Sides finalizing a deal which could be announced shortly.
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 14, 2016
Koetter takes over for Lovie Smith, who the team fired by surprise (and over the phone) last week. This is Koetter’s first head coaching job in the NFL, but not the first time he’s been handed the keys. Koetter was the head coach at Boise State from 1999-2000 amassing a 26-10 record, then took a big prize check to take over Arizona State where he fizzled out in mediocrity from 2001-2006, winning the Sun Bowl and the Insight Bowl but finally getting the hook after a 7-6 season. Koetter finished that stop with a 40-34 record.
Tampa Bay has FIRED Jon Gruden Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith to hire Raheem Morris Greg Schiano and Dirk Koetter..nice
— Dan Dakich (@dandakich) January 15, 2016
Koetter was immediately hired as an offensive coordinator by the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2007-2011 and if you don’t remember the Jaguars’ explosive offense over those four seasons, there’s no reason to worry as you have just lived in this universe and not fallen through a wormhole into an alternate dimension (as predicted by string theory) where Koetter led a high-powered Jags attack. Nope, you’re still here in this universe with the rest of us. And, yes, the whole Trump thing still happening. It’s real. If you find some kind of dimension-hopping wardrobe or Stargate, please let the rest of us know.
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Anyway, Koetter was invited to leave the Jags after 2011 and ended up as the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator from 2012-2014, the team’s worst years that eventually got the entire coaching staff fired. So you can see why the Bucs just had to add this guy to the staff last season. The Bucs finished 6-10 and actually were decent on offense, but certainly didn’t light anything on fire and it’s hard to imagine what the Glazers saw that made Koetter the obvious choice.
Dirk Koetter gets the Bucs job, and Jameis Winston gets continuity. Job 1: Finding a defensive coordinator.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 14, 2016
But he’s your guy, Tampa, for at least the next two seasons until the Glazers fire him by text or Snapchat.
Koetter’s hiring leaves just two open head coaching jobs in the NFL right now. The Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles are still looking for a head man and still seem to have their pick of most of the best candidates including former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone and former Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, who’s interviewed around the NFL for the last two offseasons and is still unemployed for some insane reason.
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On the bright side at least there’ll be offensive continuity for quarterback Jameis Winston who had a legitimately good rookie season for the Buccaneers. Winston completed 58.3 percent of his passes for 4,042 yards, 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Of course Dirk Koetter should continue calling plays as @TBBuccaneers head coach! Just like Bruce Arians,Mike McCarthy,Sean Payton etc #NFL
— Chris Myers (@The_ChrisMyers) January 15, 2016
At running back Doug Martin had a bounce-back season, ushing for 1,402 yards and six touchdowns and averaging 4.9 yards per carry. At wideout Mike Evans performed like the player he was supposed to be with the Bucs drafted him two seasons ago, catching 74 passes for 1,206 yards and three touchdowns. Koetter and the Bucs will have a decision to make on Martin as he’s an unrestricted free agent as of March.
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The only other player they’ll really need to work to keep on their free agent list is Jacquies Smith who recorded seven sacks last season and will be a restricted free agent. He’ll cost some money to keep.
They’ll also need to take a long look at the value of Vincent Jackson. Jackson appeared in just 10 games last season and played well when he did play, averaging 16.5 yards per catch, caught catching 13 passes for 20-plus yards and scored three touchdowns. Certainly Jackson is a weapon worth having, but he’ll have a $12.209 million cap hit alone this season and might be too expensive to keep given his age and injury history.
The Bucs pick ninth in April’s draft. In my first mock draft (at that time they were picking 17th) I had them taking Mackenzie Alexander and they could very well end up doing that at nine since they need a cornerback. I’m leaning more defensive line right now, but I won’t really take a good look at it until I post my next mock draft at the end of the month.
