No More Love For Smith in Tampa Bay

07 Jan, 2016

Jameis Winston had a strong rookie season, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tripled their victory total from the previous year. Still, it wasn’t enough to save coach Lovie Smith’s job.

Smith was fired Wednesday night after going 6-10 this season, 8-24 overall in two years running a team that has missed the playoffs eight consecutive years.

The late-night announcement came as a surprise because Smith’s job was not considered to be in danger after the Bucs improved from two wins and landing the No. 1 overall draft pick in his first season to rebounding from a slow start to briefly contend for a wild-card berth with a rookie quarterback starting every game.

“This decision was difficult on a variety of levels,” Buccaneers Co-Chairman Joel Glazer said in a statement. “I am disappointed that we were not more successful these past few seasons, but we are committed to doing what is necessary to give our fans the winning team they deserve. “

General manager Jason Licht will oversee the search for a new coach.

Smith led the Chicago Bears to the NFC title in 2006, when they lost to Indianapolis in the Super Bowl. He was 84-66 in nine seasons with Chicago.

For the first time, the Bucs ranked in the top 10 in total offense and defense. But finishing No. 5 offensively and No. 10 defensively was deceptive. The Bucs struggled to get the ball into the end zone, ranking 20th in points. They were 26th in scoring defense, allowing 24 or more 10 times.

The shortcomings on defense were especially frustrating because that’s been Smith’s area of expertise as a coach. He took over play-calling responsibilities from defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier this season, but an inconsistent pass rush and constant shuffling of personnel in a leaky secondary contributed to a lack of success.

Nevertheless, Smith reiterated his belief that the team is headed in the right direction.

Now the Bucs will move ahead without Smith, the team’s third coach since Jon Gruden was fired after the 2008 season. Gruden led Tampa Bay to its only Super Bowl win; none of his successors had an overall winning record in Tampa.

AP

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