“We’re A 4-12 Football Team”
September 3rd, 2016
Dirk Koetter is no Lovie Smith
Leave it to the Custodian of Canton, eye-RAH! Kaufman, Tampa Bay’s only Hall of Fame voter, to make one hell of a point during his Thursday podcast on JoeBucsFan.com.
Ira noted how repeatedly — for months — Lovie Smith prefaced or ended comments to the media when he got the Bucs job with the following qualifier: “We’re a 4-12 football team.”
Dirk Koetter, however, is no Lovie, Kaufman said, and Koetter hasn’t been going doing the road of publicly dialing back expectations.
The “4-12” was Tampa Bay’s record during Greg Schiano’s final season, after which Lovie took over.
Reminding everyone of the record was Lovie’s way of telling people to limit hope (as if asking Josh McCown to lead your offense didn’t accomplish that), despite Lovie making a load of win-now moves in free agency and boasting of his credentials as an NFL head coach.
Koetter’s Bucs are riding a four-game losing streak, are learning a brand new defense, and he’s never led an NFL team onto the field in a real game. But Koetter doesn’t sing those BS and meaningless lines that can infect a football team.
Hell, Koetter sounded devastated on the Buccaneers Radio Network after what he considered a “lackluster” effort by the Bucs in their final meaningless preseason game, one that featured no starters. That’s a coach with an unrelenting standard of excellence.
Joe has no clue whether Koetter can be a good NFL head coach. It’s not for everyone. But Joe loves Koetter’s early approach.
Koetter rightfully entered the job with an understanding that he had to win immediately with a true franchise quarterback, expensive and accomplished offensive weapons, and a handpicked defensive coordinator and three legitimate Pro Bowlers on defense.
There’s no reason to pretend otherwise, and Koetter hasn’t. A weak-minded, media-fearing head coach would have done just that.
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:13 am
Koetter is refreshing and i hope he is successful. Win or go….
Is the the dean of cursing coaching the illini today?
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:16 am
As an old dude of 68 I can share life’s most important lesson.
Live in the moment! It’s all you have. The past is gone and we are not guaranteed any future.
Koetter gets it. Doesn’t mean you don’t plan for the future…means you use this moment to the best of your ability..including planning for the future…but you do not worry about the future.
Give it your best shot and move on. That creates the ability to achieve a tremendous focus….focus on NOW…this play…Koetter gets it!!!
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:22 am
Well at this point Lovie Smith has far greater accomplishments as an NFL coach than Mr. Koetter.
When I see him on the sideline head coaching in the Super Bowl,or even an NFC Championship game, then I’ll give him his just due.
Till then all talk.
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:23 am
OK……Cue the Realist
Realist, you’ve been a good boy/girl/other…..living up to your word not to continue bashing Lovie……but here is a good place for you to unload…..I’m sure you will have other opportunities because Joe will beat this dead horse/donkey so bad it will look like a NC possum roadkill.
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:25 am
Eric
Lovie is a complete embarrassment to Mankind simple as that….
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:38 am
Wow Bardfod gone for a 1st and 4th… and we cant get sh*t for Glennon?
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:39 am
What impress me about Koetter and his staff is their commitment to fielding the best players. The roster is loaded with players who can play multiple positions, instead of having a roster full of 1 trick ponies. They are not focus on finding players who can fit into their scheme, they want players who are versatile. A lot of fans were surprised and disappointed with this roster, Lambert and Ward beat out Brown, Matthews, Francis because of their ability to play every position on the D-Line. Bond and Glanton beat out Keyes, Rhodes, George because of their ability to play all 3 LB positions. The 4 safeties can play SS or FS, the O-Linemen can play multiple positions. Allen Cross beat out Dan Vitale because he can play FB or TE. The CB’s can play outside or in the slot. I’m really impress with this roster and I love the direction that this team is heading into.
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:39 am
OMG…how many times have I mentioned Lovely and him SMUGLY talking about the team going 4-12 before he got here only to go out and go 2-14. THAT, that should have been the dagger for him.
I don’t like change coaches every 2 years like most of us, but Lovely SHOULD have been gone after year 1, just for that 4-12 crap alone.
I hope Koetter can make us all forget that clown, cause it’s a baaaad memory to have.
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:40 am
ManzielMadness
Glennon sucks. He has no value… no upside and is simply is nothing more than a bottom tier backup you hope never sees the field.
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:42 am
LakeLandBuc
Nice post. I agree 100%.. nice to see you are a little less angry lol
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:44 am
I always likened it to Richard Williamson bad. That’s how bad he is. Only it really was Richard’s fault. Hell he was what a WR coach-made head coach. That’s a good enough excuse for failure in my book, along with cheap ass Culverhouse. Lovely, he has no excuses, he cut 50% of the roster he inherited.
September 3rd, 2016 at 11:47 am
wasn’t*
September 3rd, 2016 at 12:11 pm
@buc1987
Lovie was right,under his direction we did average 4 wins and 12 losses a year.
September 3rd, 2016 at 12:39 pm
Another fact conveniently ignored.
Without Lovie no Jameis.
Mr. Koetter would have taken Marcus Mariota, as he has stated.
No appreciation. Typical.
September 3rd, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Dee are a 6 and 10 team !……get 9 wins this year or head to the corn fields, LOVIE hired you once, I’m sure he’ll do it again!!
September 3rd, 2016 at 12:47 pm
Eric, Dirk never said he would take Mariota. He said at first he PREFERRED him, and was the last one on board.
September 3rd, 2016 at 12:48 pm
Without a mental midget in Josh Freeman versus say a non mental one, no Winston, as Schiano would still be here. There could be many scenarios.
Eric… I appreciate Lovie for the suck that he was to get Jameis. Thee end.
Lot’s of coaches would have stayed away from Jameis as they said so. Him being in state FSU, Heisman trophy winning, National Championship winning, I’m sure had the Glazers drooling every day until the draft.
So again…I appreciate Lovie for the suck that he was to get Jameis.
September 3rd, 2016 at 2:04 pm
I suppose im a bit scorned on the coaching change being the magical cure all, having lived through Raheem, , Greg, and Lovie.
Im not tip toeing through the tulips till I see some dang results.
September 3rd, 2016 at 2:47 pm
If the Bucs don’t have a winning season, I can just about guarantee all Bucs fans that the most disappointed person in Tampa Bay will be … Dirk Koetter. True leaders don’t need to compare themselves to their predecessors or to other leaders; they set their own standard for excellence and measure themselves against that. And it’s obvious that Coach K has some very high standards. It’s great to learn from others, but I’m certain Coach K isn’t spending one second thinking “Gee, I sure do hope I do better this year than Lovie did.” So to everyone who’s spent even 10 seconds thinking about Lovie today, my bet is that you spent 10 seconds more than Dirk Koetter did. We’ve got an exciting season ahead of us; no need to waste any time looking backwards.
September 3rd, 2016 at 2:57 pm
@Eric agree with many of your posts,but Ron Rivera was the coach that ran
the defense that put the Bears in the Superbowl.Lovie rewarded him by firing him.Rivera has excelled and Lovie has sunk to mediocrity.His decisionmaking
was nonexistent and talent evaluation was horrible..As in Chicago he had too much power over personnel and the team did not show much improvement.
September 3rd, 2016 at 3:20 pm
Hey T max
If you lived in “Poke” county like Lakeland Buc you’d probably be angry too.
I grew up there…….it sucks!
September 3rd, 2016 at 4:56 pm
All that matters is winning. And like ronde barber says, Don’t matter the scheme. good players win Football games. And over the last 2 to 4 yrs, the Bucs have not had good players..particularly on Defense. We’ve made some upgrades on the D line which appear to be exciting. I’m just not drinking the..victory colored water yet though. Get her done first! I want to see the W’s in the win column. Then I’ll give deserved praise. But for now? I’ll let you guys do the cheering and..What if’s.
September 4th, 2016 at 1:47 pm
I don’t think a Wednesday went by last year that I didn’t think that dirk Koetter shouldn’t be a head coach SOMEWHERE. His Wednesday press conferences were like breaths of fresh air. Honest. Candid. Brutal. He held no punches. He sounded more like the head coach than coach smith. I’m not sure what the season holds in terms of wins and losses, but, as a fan, I have the utmost confidence in coach Koetter.