By Johnny Dean
If you are watching for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be the same team as they were last season, you may be disappointed.
The moment Bruce Arians was brought in to Tampa Bay was the beginning of the end of that team. From the staff to the players, this is not your 2018 Buccaneers.
You may ask, How much of a difference can a head coach make? I could say look at Bill Belichick. But that would seem extreme right?
Let’s use a more reasonable example: The Cleveland Browns. In October, the Browns fired both their head coach, Hue Jackson, and offensive coordinator, Todd Haley after starting the season 2-5-1. After the firings, Cleveland finished the season with five wins (Falcons, Bengals, Panthers, Broncos, Bengals) and three losses (Chiefs, Texans, Ravens).
At the end of the season, the Browns promoted their new offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens to head coach. They also relieved Gregg Williams of his defensive coordinator and interim head coach duties.
This helps demonstrate my point that coaching is the key to winning. The Browns used the same players that couldn’t beat a high school team and won. Coaching is what made the difference.
For whatever the reason, fans have become enamored with players. It’s great to have players making a name for the team, but it all starts with coaching and development. Everything I have seen this offseason points to great development from this staff and that is something that hasn’t been seen in the Bay area in quite some time.
