Lovie Smith fired

[b8rtm8nn]

Strange indeed, but the offense vs defense perspective and promoting Kirk makes sense. If Lovie pushed for a lot of the defense roster turnover and the defense kept getting worse, there would be cause for concern. It may also be that Lovie and the GM were starting to have different visions of the future, so you make the break earlier in Winston's career rather than later.

 

[Scottemojo]

When he got hired, Lovie was championing that the tampa 2 is still a valid NFL base defense.
I think it plays directly into the hands of the increasing reliance on spread principles. Lovie's firing might be the wimpering end of the tampa-2.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/mikejurecki/status/685089978112557057[/tweet]

 

[Seahawkfan80]

I actually get this firing.

I thought he was safe because 6 wins with a rookie QB, but the defense was not as good as some of the ingredients.

And historically, Lovie is a HC who kind of gets in the way of the offense. So if the D isn't good, what is Lovie doing as the HC?

Now, I happen to think Dirk Koetter is not an improvement, but if he is the guy they go to, that is a different subject.

I agree, but will wait and see what happens and will post on that OP when appropriate.

 

[hawkfan68]

Smith isn't a great HC but still they did better with rookie QB than expected. This is why Tampa Bay is in shambles and can't put it all together. They have no coaching continuity. We can count TB as a non threat in the league for at least another year or two.

 

[Overseasfan]

I have no clue why this happened. Tampa already improved a lot from last year and showed a lot of promise to become even better next year. Now there is the extra doubt of the influence the new coach will have on the team. Wouldn't surprise me if they perform below expectations next year because of this.

 

[McGruff]

They did it to provide continuity for Winston. Koettner was gonna get a head coaching job with one of the teams with no QB and a high pick . . . he's become a bit of a QB whisperer. They thought it was more important to keep Winston moving forward with HIS ocach than to keep Smith.

And you know what? They are right. If you've got a young QB, you do whatever needs to be done to groom him. It's that important a position.

 

[Ramfan128]

Probably wouldn't happen, but I would be thrilled if we could get Lovie back in some capacity. His DC gig with the Rams is what put him on the HC map.

 

[nepahawk]

The first time Smith was fired, it was coming off a 10-6 season. Compared to that, this is nothing.

That's two franchises now that got rid of Smith very suddenly. I have no idea why they would, but for a guy you never hear rumors about, it's interesting.

I was going to say the same thing.
It was a big shock when Chicago let him go and now this.
He seems loved by his players but, must rub ownership the wrong way.

 

[chris98251]

lol well Rams fans you will have a long wait if you want him back, no way he goes there while you have Fisher, in fact I found the best quote of the week in regards to The Fish.

If a nuclear bomb were dropped on the Edward Jones Dome, the only survivors would be cockroaches and Jeff Fisher’s coaching career.

 

[Ramfan128]

lol well Rams fans you will have a long wait if you want him back, no way he goes there while you have Fisher, in fact I found the best quote of the week in regards to The Fish.

If a nuclear bomb were dropped on the Edward Jones Dome, the only survivors would be cockroaches and Jeff Fisher’s coaching career.

Saw that too....pretty funny.

I wouldn't want Lovie as a HC, and I don't think he gets hired as a HC. I'd like him as DC or in some other defensive assistant role - but that probably won't happen either.

 

[DavidSeven]

They did it to provide continuity for Winston. Koettner was gonna get a head coaching job with one of the teams with no QB and a high pick . . . he's become a bit of a QB whisperer. They thought it was more important to keep Winston moving forward with HIS ocach than to keep Smith.

And you know what? They are right. If you've got a young QB, you do whatever needs to be done to groom him. It's that important a position.

I don't know about QB whisperer. He's got Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston on his resume, both fantastic college prospects (drafted No. 3 and No. 1 overall, respectively) who played at about expectation in the pros (maybe even below). I don't know that either lit the world on fire under his watch. But he didn't ruin either of them, so he deserves some credit for that.

Seems to me that Koetter's value shot up primarily because Kyle Shanahan sucks at his job and now people are wondering if Matt Ryan is actually any good.

If Koetter is a QB whisperer for taking a No. 1 overall pick to a 6-10 record and a 84 passer rating, what exactly is Carroll/Bevell? That said, I can buy the continuity argument. I just would've been surprised if someone else hired him away. But I guess teams like Cleveland and SF are just looking for warm bodies at this point.

 

[HawkGA]

Probably wouldn't happen, but I would be thrilled if we could get Lovie back in some capacity. His DC gig with the Rams is what put him on the HC map.

Love doesn't strike me as a cheap shot coach.

 

[kearly]

When he got hired, Lovie was championing that the tampa 2 is still a valid NFL base defense.
I think it plays directly into the hands of the increasing reliance on spread principles. Lovie's firing might be the wimpering end of the tampa-2.

Born and died in the same place.

 

[Rob12]

I think this firing pissed off at least half of the locker room, if not more.

Not saying it was the right or wrong call, but it's going to have some repercussions.

Two years isn't enough when you're taking over a broken franchise. But thus is life in the NFL. Produce quickly, or get out.

The Bucs are the Browns of the South at this point. Looking at their recent history, I can't see how coaching them would be an enticing job prospect.

 

[seahawkfreak]

TB must think they have a big whale to sign

 

[Threedee]

TB deserves Chip Kelly for this firing. Perhaps Koetter will turn out to be a disaster of equal proportions.

 

[rideaducati]

I could see Lovie coaching the niners...not too high profile, outdated, out of work, nobody else clamoring for his services...seems like a perfect fit.