When Lovie Smith was suddenly fired a few days after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season ended, the most plausible explanation was that the Buccaneers valued offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter more than Smith and didn't want to lose him.
And that's exactly how the Buccaneers' coaching search played out.
it shouldn't have surprised anyone that Koetter and the Buccaneers were close to a deal Thursday evening to promote Koetter from offensive coordinator to head coach. That was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The Buccaneers improved from two wins in 2014 to six in 2015, and many pointed to that as a reason to not fire Smith. That might be the wrong way to view it. Smith's poor coaching job in 2014 was a big reason the Buccaneers set that bar so low at two wins, and Koetter's work in 2015 with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston — and the job he did rejuvenating Doug Martin and the Bucs' running game — might have been the biggest reason the Buccaneers were in playoff contention for a while this season. Koetter was rumored to be getting interest from other teams for their head coaching spots, but Koetter staying put in Tampa Bay was always the most likely conclusion.
Koetter was known as an offensive coaching whiz in college before he got a shot in the NFL. He was head coach of Boise State and Arizona State from 1998-2006, though he wasn't a huge success with either. He was 66-44 in those two jobs.
From there Koetter was the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator from 2007-2011, the Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator from 2012-2014 and the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator in 2015. Koetter was given a lot of credit for the Falcons' 2012 success, in which they finished in the top 10 in points scored and yards, went 13-3 and barely lost in the NFC championship game.
It makes sense for the Buccaneers to want to keep the same offensive system in place for Winston, who will get NFL offensive rookie of the year consideration after a promising 4,042-yard, 22-touchdown rookie season. Now Winston gets to keep developing with the same basic offensive structure under Koetter.
From the time Smith was hired, the Bucs promoting Koetter was always the move that made the most sense. It took a little more than a week, but the Buccaneers got it right.
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