With the Bucs season continuing on a disappointing spiral from week to week, it is no wonder that rumors are swirling around the water cooler about the job security of some key Buccaneer faculty. And if history plays a role in it, Bucs head coaches, with the exception of a few, rarely make it past the 2 year mark in their position; the longest running being John McKay from 76-84. So what does that mean for our current Head Coach, Koetter? Well, a lot actually, considering the season we have had thus far, as well as his 2 year mark getting a bit closer. Week after week he has said that he needs to coach better, he has shouldered responsibility for the majority of the issues taking place on the field. Is it all his fault? Absolutely not, this is a team, after all, and a team needs to come together and do their part, but as a head coach, at the end of the day, the buck stops with him. He makes the calls. While his play calling has isn’t always poor, let’s try not to be too negative here, there is still a lot that he needs to work on. He knows this, but at some point he has to stop talking and start doing. But this is just speculation at this point, we still have a lot of season left to cover, and there’s still time to salvage it.
That brings me to another rumored departure at the end of this season, Jason Licht, who’s contract will be up. Another Bucs Report writer, Kyle Riddle, brought you ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ regarding Licht yesterday. So to try not to sound too repetitive I will just touch on the impact of his decisions this season, briefly. First, lets not forget that he has made some good decisions in terms of signing, however, the signings of D-Jac, Baker and Ward this season as supposed to be game changers, as they were dubbed our new “weapons”, and while they have each made some big plays, they have not lived up to the expectations we had going into this season, and it has cost us. But as I said before, his departure is all speculation, and our season is far from over.
Another rumor that has been talked about numerous times over the past month is the return of Jon Gruden, who took us all the way to the big show in 2003, winning against the Raiders 48-21. He has made a few comments regarding his return to coaching, and even named Jameis Winston as one of the reasons he would come back. So if the rumors swirling are correct, is Gruden knocking on Tampa’s door, and should we let him in to reprise his position as head coach if Koetter is on his way out?
Only time will tell at this point, it is really going to depend on the rest of the season before we are privy to any truth to these speculations. I am rooting for the team to turn this season around though, and I hope this Sunday’s game against the Saints is where that starts.
