The Buccaneers, despite some rumblings that they would fire head coach Dirk Koetter at the end of the 2017 campaign, have actually kept their entire coaching staff intact. Until now.
Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports that Tampa Bay has fired defensive line coach Jay Hayes, which comes over a month after Koetter said he did not anticipate making any changes to his staff. It is unclear why he opted to reverse course at this point, but Hayes’ unit certainly left much to be desired during his two-year tenure with the club.
Over the 2016-17 seasons, the Bucs’ defense registered 60 sacks, tied for 27th in the NFL, and in 2017, the team finished with 22 sacks, last in the league. Tampa Bay yielded 378.1 yards per game to opposing offenses in 2017, which was also last in the league.
Of course, the defensive line is not entirely to blame for that performance, especially given that Hayes’ group was hit by several significant injuries in 2017. But no one can really fault the Bucs for making this move, even though the timing of it is somewhat curious. The only other change the team made to its coaching staff this offseason has been promoting Skyler Fulton to wide receivers coach.
Hayes previously served as the Bengals’ DL coach for 13 seasons and was credited for the development of players like Geno Atkins, Michael Johnson, and Carlos Dunlap.