With Smith out, Bucs' culture shifts on words, arm of Winston

The owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired the head coach, two years after he was hired, over the phone. They did not show up to the news conference the next day. Instead they let the relatively new general manager take the questions, and his answer to the very last one explained a lot.

Jason Licht was asked what made the Bucs job opening one of the best in the league. He gave two reasons: ownership that was willing to spend money and a passer who just finished his first season in the NFL.

"A 22-year-old quarterback who I happen to believe is a franchise quarterback," Licht said of Jameis Winston. "And that's a very strong asset to have and one that not many teams can say that they have."

This in itself is a departure. Despite the turnstile of head coaches, going on five in the past nine years including the ousted Lovie Smith, the Bucs have had a culture of defense. This goes back to Tony Dungy, did not lapse under Jon Gruden despite his offensive acumen, and maintained through the tenures of Raheem Morris and Greg Schiano. Smith, himself a defensive coach, brought in Leslie Frazier and empowered Gerald McCoy to lead the team. That strategy, like the defense itself, finally failed.

McCoy wasn't mentioned by Licht as a reason to come to Tampa, nor was Lavonte David, nor Alterraun Verner, nor any of the defensive group, most of whom heard about their coach's firing via Twitter on Wednesday night. Their confusion and frustration at the decision may auger a rift in the team if the next head coach doesn't soothe the waters here. But even if there is unanimity in supporting whomever leads the team next, it's clear this is Winston's team now. And without a visible owner, without a head coach, without a GM who has been around long enough to truly alter the franchise's makeup, it's basically Winston's culture as well.

This was clear Sunday after a lackluster loss at Carolina, when Winston took a shot at some of his teammates:

"If our coaches weren't on our butt, we wouldn't have won six games," the rookie said. "I guarantee you there are some of our coaches that want it more than some of our players. And that is the bad part. Our coaches want it. They want it. I guarantee you they are up there working hours; they don't even get to see their families. So I'm not up here to talk about coaches. I know our coaches want it. We need to get our guys to put in the work like our coaches put in and that's how you are going to be successful."

Only days later, some and maybe all of those coaches are gone. That leaves Winston as the most vocal leader, at least for now and perhaps for a long time. Although there are some defense-first coaching names out there, from Tom Coughlin to Sean McDermott to Teryl Austin, it's very likely the Bucs will go with offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter or someone who Winston is comfortable with. The offense has its share of young talent, including Mike Evans and Austin Seferian-Jenkins. The Bucs are almost certainly going to be an offense-led team now, a Winston-led team.

This might be a very good thing. The NFL is not what it was in 2002, when the Bucs won the Super Bowl behind Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, Warren Sapp and John Lynch. In today's NFL you need the kind of franchise quarterback the Bucs have, and you need a dynamic passing game. Smith didn't bring much innovation on that side of the ball, and neither did Schiano or Morris. After all the drudgery of boring offenses, the fans here deserve something more exciting. Winston started to bring that this season, with his flair for the dramatic and his willingness to take teammates to task even during games. His rant on the sideline in St. Louis during a prime-time loss was one of the more dynamic moments of the entire six-win season, and it's something Smith never did. What was most significant about Winston's display of emotion that Thursday night was how older players seemed to listen. He has been a leader at every stage of his football career, and he is a leader now.

The key, and the pressure, is for him to maintain and enhance that respect. There are surely hurt feelings among some of Winston's teammates, and although nobody blames him, he has a responsibility to help keep the locker room whole. We have seen in Washington what happens when the star passer fails to do that after a promising rookie year. We have also seen in Carolina what happens when the star passer does continue to lead. Although in Charlotte, the defensive coach with Bears roots was kept, and everyone benefited.

Another thought from Winston, though it happened before the firing, proved prophetic:

"It starts with actions," he said. "We have to have a good offseason. If we are really serious about winning here and if we're serious about changing the culture, we will dedicate ourselves in the offseason so we can be successful."

The culture has changed for whoever is the new head coach here. The face of the franchise has changed. The leadership has changed. January 6 will be an important date in Bucs history. It was the day Lovie Smith was fired, and it was the day the future of the team turned 22 years old.