And so it begins. The first postseason firing has been made official as the Buccaneers are relieving Dirk Koetter of his duties, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link).
The move had been widely expected, but there were some 11th hour reports that Koetter could possibly survive. It was reported earlier today that the team would be retaining Jameis Winston as their starting quarterback next year, but Koetter won’t get another year.
Bucs chairman Joel Glazer released a statement on behalf of the team (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network), saying “we sincerely appreciate the hard work and commitment shown by Dirk over the past several years. Working with Dirk has been a pleasure and we wish him and his family all the best in the future.” Rapoport notes in the same tweet that GM Jason Licht will conduct the coaching search, meaning his job is safe. Licht had been rumored to be on the hot seat as well, but has apparently been spared.
Koetter was a hot head coaching candidate a few years ago after he was widely credited with doing a great job coordinating the Falcons’ offense, but things never worked out in Tampa Bay. He went 9-7 his first year but that slipped to 5-11 last year, and he was very nearly fired at the end of last season. After the Bucs were unable to get Jon Gruden they stuck with Koetter for another year, and it’s been clear for a while now they were going to go in a different direction. They’ve been connected to Mike McCarthy recently, and we should know more about Tampa’s intentions soon.
He’s probably relieved since they’re bringing back that turd Winston next season.
Exactly. They need to get rid of Winston too.
Koetter needed to go. This could be the best move of the off-season for the bucs. There is talent in Tampa. With the right offensive mind, this could be a turn around team early.
Can’t that be said for every losing team?
Yeah go ahead and hire “ McCant Win” McCarthy you will think Koetter was Bill Belicheat.
You a product of incest?
Buccaneers did not waste any time.
All coaches who wear bifocals on the sideline should be fired.
It’s never a good sign when a coach is more visually impaired than the officiating crew.
Might not be many coaches left…
Offense was lit when things were clicking. Defense was perhaps the worst defense in the league.
They probably did Koetter a favor. Outlook on this teams future doesn’t look good. They are wasting Mike Evans’ prime years and have no run game. Defense is basically the parting of the Red Sea with the exception of decent run D. I think Jameis can actually be half way decent, he just needs a coach who’s gonna work with him on and off the field.