Mike Sullivan Is Hired As Bucs’ OC
February 10th, 2012
Joe’s going to go out on a limb and say Bucs new offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan knows how to call plays.
After the Jeff Jagodzinski debacle, Joe can only imagine how much Sullivan was grilled and drilled on his playcalling ability during the interview process. Why Joe wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucs even organized a pickup game at One Buc Palace just to see the West Point grad work a playbook like a fiddle.
Yes, BSPN NFL guru Adam Schefter is reporting that the Bucs have hired Sullivan, a former Army defensive back and coach who has spent the last eight years with the Giants coaching wide receivers and quarterbacks.
Allegedly, he’ll team with old NFL veteran coach Jimmy Raye, Jr., a new senior offensive assistant, to devise and deliver the Bucs’ offense. And Joe’s glad to see another guy join the Bucs, along with Butch Davis, who knows exactly what championship football and a disciplined team look like.
Joe’s on board with all these hires, and Joe’s glad to have the feeling that Greg Schiano is handpicking his staff.
Can they be successful? Who knows? But Bucs fans should feel good. Yeah, anything was better than the coaching mess that surfaced 3 1/2 months ago, but this new staff has some gravitas. (Yes, that’s a big word for a Friday night, but this is a big hire.)
February 10th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Good hire!!
February 10th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Sweet!!!!
February 10th, 2012 at 9:57 pm
Huge hire for the WR corp and for Freeman!!!! #GoBucs
February 10th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
good hire, now bring the DC
February 10th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Beats the hell out of Ron Turner.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Giant fans appear to be sad to see him go but glad for the opportunity with Bucs, let’s go Bucs!
February 10th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
I called this last week.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
I think the fan base will love this hire.
The fact that it’s a smart one that could really help this team
get better helps too!
I have a feeling this hire will be all over Tampa sports radio tomorrow in a positive way for once!
February 10th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
CANT WAIT FOR NEXT SEASON!! Panthers, Saints, Falcons: Expect blount running it right up your arses all day sunday leaving your defenses black blue in the 4th quarter begging for mercy!! And Brees, Ryan, and Cam be AFRAID, VERY AFRAID… Clayborn/Bowers #in your face all day
February 10th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
Glad to see it. Congrats Mr Sullivan. Like I have said on earlier posts they are making the right moves. Time for FA open up the wallet (and I will open mine) and we will have a competitive staff. Love the moves so far.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Don’t know too much about him, but I do like that he’s a QB coach. The entire offense will work as long as Freeman progresses. Here’s to hoping he’s the guy that can make that happen.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Good mix of coaches so far, that recent ring should say something to the young players
February 10th, 2012 at 10:10 pm
Players will WANT a ring like Sullivan has!
February 10th, 2012 at 10:11 pm
Second good hire in a row.
Now to see if he wants to hire some of his own guys as position coaches.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:13 pm
The one thing i can see on all these hires. They all bring a wealth of knowledge. From NFL or College ranks they have all been apart of WINNING teams. Plus literally adding 2 Dc’s and 2oc’s is REALLY going to help Schiano. All he has to focus on. Is delivering the message and execution.
I feel this team is now in good hands. Win or Lose, Next season is going to be interesting to say the least.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:14 pm
I bet he could figure out how to get Galloway and Antonio Bryant on the field at the same time.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
^^^ Big Marlon B likes this.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:22 pm
Well how long b4 the manningham to bucs rumors start to swirl
February 10th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
I like it, sad to see that Marc Trestman didnt get a look, however, I am really impressed with the structure that the Bucs are taking with their coaching staff. It looks as though they are establishing an umbrella of experience to mentor the previous college coaches. It is starting to come together and hopefully the new OC fresh off a SB win can benefit Freeman and bring him into the debate to be the next greatest of all time!!!
February 10th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
This is a fantastic hire.
Eli has taken the next step with his game the past few years. I’m excited to see what he can help Josh Freeman become.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Seems to me a certain guy with the initials P. D. has said for weeks that they bucs would wait until after the bowl to get quality coaches. He also said then we would know by when? TODAY. Props to myself.
So…
HC – Greg Schiano
Def Asst – Butch Davis
OC – Mike Sullivan
DC – ?
February 10th, 2012 at 10:38 pm
Discipline is a theme on these hires, I like it. Now I wonder who is going to be the DC under Butch Davis.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:38 pm
Jim Tomsula please
February 10th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Don’t forget Rayne Offensive asst. too. A lot of knowledge with that guy. He Will Help Sullivan develop into a proper OC.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
I see the Greg (The Sandwich) Schiano is bringing a lot of made guys from the Gambino family hopefully he can make a few offers that some decent free agents can’t refuse. The Offense needs a spash player who is impactive and explossive with exceptional change of direction speed. The D needs some linebckers who make plays consistantly and stop the run. this is a two second league get to the quaterback in two seconds or get gashed establish a pass rush or continue to see the results presented last year
February 10th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
This is a good hire. Now was he still under contract with the Giants or was he a “free agent” so to speak? If he was under contract, then a big thumbs up to the Giants for letting us finally interview someone.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Damn good move. A good match. A good man for the job. Finally.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Just keep it real. All of these guys, with the exception of Davis, are moving into the best and biggest job they ever had, and Butch won’t even be there on Sundays to help manage the game. Some of them will probably succeed, and some of them will almost certainly fail. The good news remains though. It can’t get any worse than it was with the last group. I think it is okay to hope now.
February 10th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
@occassionally, you got a special teams coach out there? With free agency and draft coming, also Schiano said all three phases
February 10th, 2012 at 11:33 pm
So far so good.
February 10th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Incredible – two top flight hires in as many days and without the advice and under the nose of our glorious local media…not a mention to the local boys!
I predict Ira and Woody will be telling stories of the good old days when “Chucky used to throw us a bone…” hopefully to cub reporters in another town…
But for now I’m very happy to watch this franchise come together with some excellent, well thought-out moves,
Can’t wait to start the season already!
February 10th, 2012 at 11:38 pm
I like it, it feels like a good fit.
February 10th, 2012 at 11:46 pm
I think Pepper Johnson as the DC. He’s been under Belichick (4-3) and never been a DC so that’s why Bring in Butch to help him. Why not get a coach from both Super Bowl team?
February 10th, 2012 at 11:52 pm
Good hire!
But I still don’t understand why the hell Butch can’t become our DC!
How is he allowed to be a “senior defensive assistant” but not a defensive coordinator?
February 11th, 2012 at 12:01 am
I am totally shocked. And I had so much faith in our expert when he said it would wind up being Cristobal. NOT!
February 11th, 2012 at 12:19 am
@ Patrick
He wants his UNC severance pay. His contract w/UNC precludes him from taking another “coaching” job while receiving this severance pay from UNC i.e. if he takes a “coaching” job, no more $$ from UNC.
Butch and the Bucs are trying to lawyer their way around violating his UNC contract so he can get his money from UNC while having him work for but not “coaching” *wink wink* the Bucs lol
If I was UNC I’d tell Butch that he’s breached his contract and make him sue me to get his money. The Bucs should just pay him whatever he’s owed and avoid litigation 🙂
February 11th, 2012 at 12:22 am
This one is actually on the Bucs website!
http://www.buccaneers.com/news/article-1/Giant-Move-Sullivan-Named-Bucs-New-OC/0c5471ae-6478-4bd5-bbfc-bb70eab14a72
February 11th, 2012 at 12:26 am
@Sensiblebuc
Sounds like greed from Butch. He’ll be making a killing as it is from defensive coordinator! I mean…..he’s no longer coaching UNC, so why should he get that money? That’s how it goes…..you get a coaching job somewhere, your former team stops paying you. You’ve got it made Butch, take the DC job and quit being greedy.
February 11th, 2012 at 12:29 am
Joe, please fish my posts out of the spam folder. Thanks 🙂
February 11th, 2012 at 12:30 am
I’d be on board with Pep as DC, dude was a beast back in the day. Can’t hurt to get some attitude back in the building.
February 11th, 2012 at 12:32 am
Things get tense when coaches get fired, look at any number of examples. Butch might just be taking a stand on principal.
February 11th, 2012 at 12:35 am
@ Patrick: I’m sure he wasn’t very fond of the idea of the NC program making him the lone fall guy for the violations when several people had a hand in them. Now he wants to make sure the Tarheels pay him for taking the fall. Just imo of course.
February 11th, 2012 at 12:41 am
@Patrick,
It’s easy for you or me to turn down the money, because we are not in his shoes. I believe he is getting paid $600K from UNC for the next 3 years, which is probably more than what he would get paid here. Can you honestly (key word, honestly) say that you wouldn’t try to find a way to keep that money? I can’t. Bottom line is that we all have bills and we all want to make as much money as we possibly can.
February 11th, 2012 at 12:50 am
good day to be a bucs fan.
February 11th, 2012 at 1:01 am
Amazing how a little patience (Eric) pays off. All who were freaking out all week about Coach Schiano not moving fast enough for you with obtaining the coordinators can now relax. Let the man do his job and simply support your new Coach. There will surely be growing pains but I for one am excited to have a much more disciplined team. Time will tell if the Glazers got lucky with this hire, I think they did. Now it’s time to really open up the bank and sign quality free agents so the Bucs can improve immediately. Good luck Coach Schiano and staff and Go Bucs!
February 11th, 2012 at 1:20 am
@ Rob in Orlando
“All who were freaking out all week about Coach Schiano not moving fast enough for you with obtaining the coordinators can now relax.”
While I agree that the results were as good as we could hope, the massive delay deserved every bit of criticism it got. 75% of that can be attributed to the Glazers/Dom who took SO long to actually hire Schiano and put him behind the 8-ball. However, you can’t skim over the names that popped up that and the fact that this staff is still Rutgers-heavy. John Shoop was interviewed. Dan Quinn flat turned us down. We’ve got anywhere from 5-8 position coaches w/little-to-no NFL experience and we still haven’t hired a DC, Special Teams coach or other vital coaches.
We’re not out of the woods yet but it’s better than last week 🙂
February 11th, 2012 at 1:31 am
Don’t underestimate Rutgers assistants. They are here to be teachers and already work fluidly with Schiano. After the Jags and Bates experiment a little continuity on the coaching staff might be nice.
February 11th, 2012 at 1:31 am
From one vet to another. Thank you Mike Sullivan.
‘Sullivan is a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne, Ranger and Air Assault schools’
February 11th, 2012 at 1:58 am
I could care less where he graduated from. I am just happy to know we have most of our staff concrete and that Dominik/Glazers have opened the pocket books.
It is pretty much dead time until free agency.
February 11th, 2012 at 2:15 am
He also studies Jiu Jitsu. Sounds like a good coach. We’ll see how he does, how they all do. They have some experience now, but still have a steep hill to climb.
I hope this works out but I’m a little disappointed because I really wanted them to hire Chuck Norris as OC. Maybe next time.
February 11th, 2012 at 2:19 am
Getting into West Point is hard enough, much less graduating and playing sports there. That is pretty impressive but missing the 4 most important letters in the Alphabet……. U-S-M-C. Haha
February 11th, 2012 at 2:26 am
The league said that Chuck Norris as an O.C would give the Bucs an Unfair advantage- no defense would DARE try to stop a Norris coached offense
Heard he is interviewing for the special team coach.
Both kickers are estatic. They both believe their distances will nearly double, if Chuck Glares at the football, just before they kick it!
February 11th, 2012 at 2:31 am
Wow- Sullivans’s military service record is outstanding! I like the hiring twice as much now.
Welcome to Tampa, Coach Sullivan, and thank you for your service!! Good luck with our talented and undisciplined team.
Sounds like you are man enough for this challenge
February 11th, 2012 at 5:17 am
Hilarious reading everyone shower each other with praise over a coaching hire that wasn’t the first nor second choice.
Yeah, Schiano is really racking up the established assistant coaches.
How come no one’s mentioned that we hired a head coach that has less NFL experience than Raheem Morris did when he was hired in Tampa??
February 11th, 2012 at 5:26 am
p.s. Jeff Jagodzinksi never called a single play for the Bucs.
Reminds me of why I stopped frequenting this site. It’s the blind leading the blind…
Really, Jagodzinski called the plays in multiple preseason games. And it led to his dismissal. –Joe
February 11th, 2012 at 6:30 am
Help us learn Fired Greg Olsen.
February 11th, 2012 at 7:01 am
The new coaches get the benefit of the doubt. The owners and GM don’t. If these coaches get screwed over by tight purse strings in FA or a poor draft that might be the end for a good chunk of the fan base.
February 11th, 2012 at 7:14 am
FGO- obviously you haven’t been following any post for a while.
February 11th, 2012 at 8:36 am
@FGO Obviolsy you havent been here in a while so I guess you were just coming up with something to hate about the Bucs because your just a sad little troll. Well, yes Schiano has less expirence than Raheem at the Nfl level, but its still Football and hes a very good Football coach. Also you cant even compare them because he was a head coach for 11 years.
Now granted it was at a small division II school, he did something amazing there that no one could do for a century and turned them around. Will he succeed? I dont know, but neither do we know if he will fail either. Hes been a Head coach for 11 years which raheem never was and thats enough for me. So, Im sure if they get off to a slow start or have a bad first season, your going to change your name to: FIRE GREG SCHIANO! because thats the little troll you are.
February 11th, 2012 at 8:45 am
Pretty sure we won’t be running, out of the shotgun, on 3rd and 2 anymore.
Coughlinite, plus a West Point guy. One Buc Place will not lack discipline on either side of the ball.
February 11th, 2012 at 8:46 am
meant passing!
February 11th, 2012 at 9:08 am
From other reports I’ve read coach Sullivan is expected to use things he has learned from coaches Coughin & Gilbride. Who’s Offensive philosophy is an adaption of the old Run&Shoot offenses from the 90’s. Anyone else read about any of that? All I can think of is the Falcons & Lions versions of the run&shoot.
February 11th, 2012 at 9:10 am
Thanks FGO. I feel better already.
February 11th, 2012 at 10:07 am
FireGregOlson
I could swear you were here under a different name all along.
I could be wrong, but I do tend to be Occasionally Right.
February 11th, 2012 at 10:30 am
could we become a “grown man team”?
February 11th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Good hire !!! best coaching staff for bucs ive seen in a while
February 11th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Grown Man Team???? Does that require big boy pants????
I reserve judgement on any of these hires until they do something positive, like win games. Already been down that road. As of right now, to me, these guys all freakin suck until they prove otherwise. Talk is cheap. Prove it.
February 12th, 2012 at 9:20 am
Did I read that right? ClayBURN thinks Rutgers is a DII school? Haha. That’s great. Preach on idiot…
February 12th, 2012 at 9:25 am
Joe, you really believe he was fired over his preseason play calling? Yet Olson had free reign for 3 years? Didn’t the decision to go with Leftwich over McCown lead to the schism between Jags and the rest of the organization?
Who fires an OC for their preseason play calling? C’mon Joe, if you buy that, you’re slipping…
February 12th, 2012 at 9:57 am
Jags coached 3 games against the Titans, Jags and Dolphins. The offense scored 20, 24, and 6 in a monsoon in Miami (Dolphins scored 10).
So you’re telling me that Jags was fired for his play calling in three preseason games while trying to make a QB decision between Leftwich and McCown (in addition to evaluating every other offensive player), despite the fact that it’s common knowledge that teams run a bland version of their offense and defense during the preseason anyway?
Like I said, the blind leading the blind…