So Coach, Has The Culture Changed?

December 12th, 2016
(Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)

Joe talks culture change with Dirk Koetter. (Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Remember all that talk of necessary culture change Dirk Koetter unleashed on the Tampa Bay media in September?

Well, Joe went there with the head coach last night after the game.

JoeBucsFan.com: Coach, sort of using your words from earlier this season, is it fair to say now the culture has changed.

Dirk Koetter: (laughs) Well, we’re on the right track. We’re on the right track. I don’t think we’re finished with what we need to get done yet. Proud of these guys and five in a row is a nice little accomplishment. But we’re not where we want to be yet. And I just say we’ve got bigger fish to fry right now.

Koetter might not want to say it, but the culture has changed. Absolutely.

Winning five in a row against good teams and dangerous teams in all kinds of venues is serious business. The Bucs are flat out beating teams. This isn’t a bunch of lucky bounces and miracle finishes.

Koetter gets the credit and deserves it — and he’s just getting started.

37 Responses to “So Coach, Has The Culture Changed?”

  1. MadMax Says:

    Coach K keeping it grounded. Big MFing stick tho….

  2. Buc1987 Says:

    This just in…

    The Bucs are a good football team.

    I repeat.

    The Bucs are a good football team.

    Have a nice day!

  3. BucDaddy82 Says:

    Week by week. Stacking W’s

  4. DallasBuc Says:

    I wish all the racists didn’t run Uncle Lovie out of town. Bucs football was so much more enjoyable when he was here!

  5. Phred Says:

    Changing from a losing culture to a winning culture is hands-down the hardest task facing a coach. Tony Dungy did it in 1996. Dirk Koetter is doing it now. As I’ve said before, if Koetter and Licht can keep the Bucs on this trajectory the team is 2 years away from being the Patriots.

  6. tmaxcon Says:

    I am not sure what is more impressive beating a good team on the road or not blowing a game at home against a bad team. Either way progress. Roster still needs work but this is going to be a fun 5 to 7 years.

    Dallas is beatable. Rise UP young Jameis and lead these men over the cowgirls.

  7. tmaxcon Says:

    DallasBuc Says:
    December 12th, 2016 at 10:24 am
    I wish all the racists didn’t run Uncle Lovie out of town. Bucs football was so much more enjoyable when he was here!

    dude you owe me a monitor.

  8. DallasBuc Says:

    Hah!

  9. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Off topic, I hope the NFL hands out a few fines to Saint’s players because of last night. They were head hunting. It was obvious.

    We’re lucky Winston wasn’t injured (leg) on that first series. The way his leg bent, it looked painful. And the player who held his leg laughed about it.

    Then the intentional attempt at a bad hit as Jameis slid.

    Then a player covering Mike Evans brought him down, and as they hit the ground, the defensive player’s hand shot out at Evan’s face, trying to injure his eyes. (there was a fight on the field on the next play, and I think that was the reason)

    I have always respected the Saints until the ‘Bounty’ thing came up…I don’t know if its back, but they were were certainly playing with intent to injure.

  10. Maze Says:

    Almost finished flushing out the stink from last year. #TheWinstonKoetterConnection

  11. J 2.0 Says:

    I love coach K, but I think Jameis is as responsible for the culture change as he is. Jameis is your team MVP and should be considered for league MVP.

  12. BuccaneEric75 Says:

    Be careful dallasbuc, you’ll upset BigHog while he’s watching Illinois play.

  13. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Buc1987 Says
    “This just in…

    The Bucs are a good football team.”

    I’m sold.

    I think this coming week will be our toughest game yet though.

    Got a question for everyone…and this may seem silly.

    Is there a ritual you’ve been sticking to since the winning started?

    For example…since the first game after the bye, I have worn the same outfit for each game…an old Bucs Superbowl shirt a part of it. I’ve been afraid to wear something different. It’s not that I think that outfit is the reason they are winning…it’s because I don’t want to be the reason they lose.

    lol

  14. OneLove Says:

    J 2.0 Says:
    December 12th, 2016 at 10:35 am
    I love coach K, but I think Jameis is as responsible for the culture change as he is. Jameis is your team MVP and should be considered for league MVP.

    Jameis is definitely one of the MAIN reasons the culture has changed in the locker room. Let’s not forget this team was 3-5 and Jameis decided to rally the team!

    On the defensive side of the ball. I don’t think ENOUGH can be said about the addition of Jay Hayes, Robert Ayers Jr, Brent Grimes, and Vernon Hargreaves! They all have made a MAJOR IMPACT and are PRIMARY contributors to our defensive culture change!

    Bravo Jason Licht…. Bravo…..

  15. Nole on Sat.-Bucc on Sun. Says:

    I love coach K as well but in my opinion he is slightly holding this team back with his playcallin. He’s a first time HC so I get it, but if we’re going to go on a real run in the tournament coach K is going to have get out the way himself and be more aggressive. I told my homie SB this lastnight during the game. Joe and nem confirmed my sentiment this mourning with a article stating he needs to be a little better a.k.a more aggressive. We can’t leave point out there come tournament time.

  16. NutterBuccer Says:

    @bucceneer bonzai…..broke te ritual this week last 4 weeks my brother and I have been wearing same jerseys, ( Evans and Winston) and go to the same
    Bar with another friend of ours. However due to being in the army couldn’t attend and had to watch on my phone this week, but still got the W!!!!!!!! Fire the cannons!!!!!! It’s hard being a bucs fan in CT with all the fake pats fans but I love it when we win!!!!! And makes it even better when everyone hates on us, been a long time coming and just hope they can keep it up. In Jameis I trust!!!!!!!

  17. tmaxcon Says:

    Nole on Sat.-Bucc on Sun.

    I am frustrated with play calling too that being said they are winning and if you can learn while still winning that is the ultimate. Hopefully they can find a consistent rhythm. it’s a thing of beauty when Winston gets on a roll

  18. tmaxcon Says:

    Come on Joe where is the post on first year head coach Koetter tying the Immortal Lovie Smith on the bucs all time win list.
    Wrote that yesterday, young man. –Joe

  19. 1gr8Bucfan Says:

    “Bonzai” I know what you’re saying. I came in from deer hunting the week we started winning. I didn’t change just sat down and watched the game with no Bucs gear on. Now I won’t wear anything Bucs while I watch the game, I will all during the week but not during the game. Stupid I know but we are winning and like you said I don’t want to be the reason we lose. Like the Budweiser commercial said its only weird if it doesn’t work. GO BUCS!!!!!

  20. biff barker Says:

    Great winning streak but the offense better start finding the end zone soon.

  21. TheShaz Says:

    The Bucs have some GLARING HOLES in spots and #2 WR is just one of them.
    .
    But they keep finding a way to win.
    .
    Hats off to Coach Kotter and to Jason Licht. For finding quality backups and for coaching those backups to step in and perform when needed. We have been decimated in some area with injuries but the “Next Guy Up” thing is working.
    .
    I am not going to make too much of a fuss over the offense, defenses have more & more tape and are figuring out how to take Evans away, and as lousy as the Saints record is, they are still a division opponent and are supposed to fight hard. They were fighting to stay in the playoff picture and we pretty much eliminated them.

  22. 813bucboi Says:

    great win….i’ll agree with dirk and say we’re getting there….obviously players are believing in each other….they look prepared and focused….fighting threw adversity….play calling needs a little work but we are missing some pieces….

    now we can focus on dallas….GO BUCS!!!

  23. R.O. Says:

    Not sure why everyone is calling NO a bad team. #1 Offense in NFL. Check their D ranking the last 5 weeks. Yeah they started out bad just like us.. got beat by a surging Lions team. But they are not a bad team..

  24. tmaxcon Says:

    Wrote that yesterday, young man. –Joe

    old age or short term memory issues your choice LOL

  25. BigPoppaBuc Says:

    I dont see a problem with the play calling. I feel like Koetter always has a great sense of where the momentum is on this team. We have a lot of injuries and new faces on offense. Right now Koetter is leaning on his defense because he could tell they were ready for the load. He’s also got a shaky kicker, but a hot punter. I think Koetter deserves some credit for the decrease Jameis’ turnovers. When looking at what this team has done since the bye, Mike Smith and Koetter are doing an outstanding job.

  26. Tampa Tony Says:

    This offense of ours has been pretty offensive as of late. Can’t rely on the d every week to beat good qbs

  27. Ed Says:

    I’m impressed with how the Bucs have become defensively physical and are starting to learn the defensive scheme which is resulting in pass breakups leading to tipped balls to turn into interceptions.

    LVD and Kwon are getting their hands on the ball now, they have become positives in pass coverage. Earlier this year they were a huge liability.

    I think some of the issues with the offense has been the repetition of running the ball on first down. Really think it’s a situation where the opposition knows the Bucs are running on first down. They need to mix it up. There are too many plays that run-2 or -3 yards putting Winston in a lot of 2nd and 11, 2nd and 12 situations.

    Having Charles Sims as a receiver will help. Like to see him in space. He can juke linebackers and has blazing speed once he gets them to miss.

    C’mon Dirk, Martin up the middle on first down is low percentage. Are the holes not there? Is the line not holding their blocks? Something is wrong on first downs.

  28. ClodHopper Says:

    Bozai

    I’ve been wearing a GMC jersey during the game the last few years. This last winter and summer I lost a spit ton of weight and weigh less than I did in high school. I was going through all my old clothes a few weeks ago and I found my old tattered Alstott jersey. I tried it on and it better than it did 15 years ago!! so I started wearing it. With the Alstott jersey we are 7-2.

  29. Tbbucs3 Says:

    That win in KC really set the tone. This win gave the team confidence they see the special team is and know that they beat them at home. The Dallas Cowboys are not a better team than the Chiefs.

  30. Bucsfanman Says:

    Way to keep it grounded Coach K. We need to look at this as a foundation.

    @Bonzai- I hate to admit this, and it really happened by accident, but I haven’t been wearing Bucs gear since our streak started, not even a hat! I figured that I’d get some chores done and lost track of time. I nearly missed kick-off against KC. By the time I thought about it I had already spilled a beer and couldn’t be bothered with changing. So, a sip goes to my homies, and the creamsicle orange Zubaz stay in their drawer.

  31. BucSinceYuc Says:

    The Tandy man stepped up. Straight up ballin’ the past two weeks. Props homie, keep doing what you do!

  32. salish_seamonster Says:

    No coach in their right mind would talk about a culture change based only on one 5 game winning streak. This team is just getting used to winning.

  33. DB55 Says:

    The mentality has certainly changed on the defensive side of the ball. These guys are hitting, running to the ball and making plays. No more defeatist attitudes and no more kissing 24 point leads goodbye. Thank you Jameis.

  34. $acbuc$ Says:

    The Prince of Pass Rush Noah Spence.
    Commander Kwon Alexander
    Dig HardGraves the 3rd
    Just like Tandy

    It feels Great to be a Bucs fan!

  35. Warthog Says:

    You gonna do a Koetter confidence poll Joe? I feel he’ll be sitting around 99%

  36. NC BucFan92 Says:

    I’ve been waiting for so long like – all of us having been waiting for so long for this to happen to fight back from a 3-5 start to this 8-5 scrapper of a team. Man I love it. Any way culture has changed this next game against Dalles is so huge they are going to be playing a lot harder Dalles is because of loss to gaints ,Bucs need to pull off another upset . If they do I say why not us super bowl 51 😁

  37. Carolyn Friedman Says:

    Ashamed to admit it, but am too nervous to watch it live so I tape it so I can enjoy it later. Will check ESPN on my iPhone to see where we are. Sometimes follow the threads, but they, too, get me anxious.