Players Wanted Buckner?
October 16th, 2018
Players campaigned for?
Now this is a whole level of new intrigue.
It seems from the keyboard of NFL insider Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, a gaggle of Bucs players may have lobbied Dirk Koetter to promote defensive line coach Brentson Buckner to replace defrocked defensive coordinator Mike Smith.
Was strong support by the players for Bucs DL Coach Brentson Buckner to take over the defense in the fallout of Mike Smith being fired as DC there
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) October 15, 2018
This is very interesting to Joe. La Canfora is hinting Koetter consulted with players after making his decision to strip Smith of his duties before he knighted Duffner. There is no way of knowing this for sure short of Koetter or players going on the record, and Joe is of the mind that Duffner was the guy all along.
Joe had heard from inside the walls of One Buc Palace a couple of years ago that if Smith had left to take a head coaching job (those dreams are shot right now), then Duffner would have been given significant consideration to succeed Smith; the team thinks that much of Duffner.
Joe talked to Brent Grimes when rumors were flying Smith was interviewing for a head coaching gig in 2016. Joe asked Grimes about Duffner, who was with Grimes in Miami.
Grimes raved about Duffner’s abilities and he told Joe he thought Duffner would make a fine defensive coordinator. Buckner held the DC position with the Bengals in 2001 and 2002.
October 16th, 2018 at 7:48 am
Wrong guy in the last sentence Joe, but a very interesting read.
October 16th, 2018 at 7:54 am
Well it would be a big ask for a guy in his first year as ur d line coach to be DC if they did this during the bye it would have work but not now just happy Mike Smith gone
October 16th, 2018 at 7:56 am
When I 1st heard Smith had been fired, I initially thought that Buckner would be the replacement. When I later heard it was Duffner, I thought I’d look up his history.
Wasn’t I surprised when I read the following about him on Wiki:
“However, his teams were notoriously weak on defense, frequently giving up points so fast that even his prolific offense couldn’t keep up.”
Now isn’t that special? I sure hope he’s improved significantly since.
October 16th, 2018 at 7:56 am
Who cares what our defensive players think?
Kwon, McCoy and David are so overrated. Time to clean house. Completely.
October 16th, 2018 at 7:56 am
Is it me
But haven’t the Bucs Linebackers regressed under Mark Duffner?
And he he get promoted?
The Bucs will be the Bucs
October 16th, 2018 at 8:04 am
i don’t think it’s fair to the players or to buckner to put him in the job under these circumstances. he’s still getting to know the guys in his room, Duffner has been around this roster for 3 training camps and should know the players strengths and weaknesses and seen plenty of film on this group
October 16th, 2018 at 8:05 am
Brentson Buckner has been all talk so far. I don’t know why anyone would want him promoted. The Defensive Line has barely showed a difference.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:08 am
I wanted Buckner. Buckner promotes consistent hard play, attitude, and accountability—all things the bucs defense desperately needs right now.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:08 am
and i agree with Joel. a guy like McCoy has seen how many defensive coordinators fired on his watch? 6? 7? 8? Lavonte has got to be close behind.
Kwon is onto his 4th if you count lovie promoting himself to playcaller midyear
these guys should not have any say in who does what. when multiple coaches get fired during your tenure you have a role in that too. you couldn’t keep the guy you purportedly liked in the job multiple times now.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:10 am
my previous post didn’t show up. it’s not fair to buck to give him the top job when he still has to get to know the guys in his room. bucs need results right now and buckner has spent years with this defensive core and seen them do good stuff as well as (mostly) bad stuff. he’s more prepared then Buckner to come in and make informed changes.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:17 am
*duffner has spent years with this group, not buckner. also, for all the great quotes he’s dropped our D line looks about as good as last year only way more expensive. buckner has plenty to worry about in his own meeting room
October 16th, 2018 at 8:20 am
Players only get coaches fired….they don’t get them hired.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:20 am
All I want is to get stops when it matters. If we are going to continue to zone at least can we give the impression that we are playing man. Bring the corners down, make the qb hold the ball 1 sec longer. Gosh!!! Is that so hard???
October 16th, 2018 at 8:24 am
The defense of line has no chance and Mike Smith scheme. When your quarterback’s play 12 yards off the ball there is no way to get pressure because the passes get out of the quarterbacks hand so quick. The teams that apply pressure are the teams that corner backs play up on them and jam them at the line.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:26 am
Buckner was NOT a Dirk hire- There’s no way Dirk-on his own-would’ve fired Smitty, much less replace him with someone from outside his coaches coven. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s as much animus for Bucker as there was for Koetter at the end under Lovie…Dirk’s sleeping with one eye open.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:34 am
The important question is what will be different? Whether its Duffner or Buckner or anyone else, what will change? If they are to self assess, where are the weaknesses or gaps? Is it talent or scheme execution? What, in their eyes, is the problem and what will they be doing differently then the guy that just got fired?
I don’t necessarily have a problem with letting Smith go, but anyone that thinks this will just get better because he is gone is nuts. Something is inherently wrong with this defense and the head coach should have a very strong understanding of what that is.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:34 am
Buccaneer Bonzai
To be honest
This entire defensive coaching staff is garbage
I don’t expect great results
Licht and Koetter is looking for enough improvement
To trick the Glazers into keeping them around
October 16th, 2018 at 8:37 am
Maybe they improve from allowing 34.6 points a game
They may even get it as low as 30 points a game
October 16th, 2018 at 8:37 am
Well maybe they will prohibit future side line dance parties. The lack of discipline on D is frustrating.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:41 am
Aye everybody my dad is real good friends with Ronde barber and he told my pops players were calling for duffner Jason laconfora informationbad he is reaching for an article his sources are trash
October 16th, 2018 at 8:44 am
@LakeLand
I think that, barring a complete offensive breakdown, the firing of Mike Smith saved Dirk Koetter’s job. and there is no chance they fire Jason Licht.
No matter how much some fans seem to want to deny it, this team is better than its been in over ten years. And it’s all because of the offense.
The new NFL seems to be anti-defense, and it is going to take a new level of thinking to adjust. Therefore, I don’t think any of the veteran coaches are a good gamble. I think new, younger blood is the way to go…as is being proven out with the teams who have better defenses this year (mostly).
No, I think Koetter is here to stay. At least for now. He may only get a year or two extension for now, but it will happen. Licht will get multiple years.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:48 am
@Buccaneer Bonzai
I agree to a point, but if the Bucs do not have a winning record this year I think there is a very good chance the Bucs hire a defensive minded head coach and try to retain Todd Monken as the offensive coordinator.
The game against the Falcons was the 7TH BEST OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE in Buccaneer history and they still lost.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:49 am
Agree with others…the mob (me included) got our pound of flesh in Smith but there’s no solution on the current staff. Hopefully at the very least better gameplanning with the same scheme produces more effective/prepared players. Hopefully coaches and players redouble efforts as they realize Koetter isn’t playing. With his neck on the line I expect to see some underperformers get benched as a message
October 16th, 2018 at 9:03 am
Wonder if there is a huge rift between licht and koetter because it seems as though licht hired buckner, with maybe in lichts mind Buckner being the DC without running that by Koetter, just a thought, but as lakeland stated the entire bucs defensive staff including buckner & dufner are not very good because the players do not play assignment football. The DC from arizona thought so highly of buckner he didnt offer him a job in NY when he became the new DC. I think licht is a huge problem for this entire franchise and his clueless
October 16th, 2018 at 9:04 am
@Ludicrous Speed u do got to factor it’s was the bangles and he didn’t have the talent we got also u u forgot it was dick LeBeau playcalling so come on give the guy a chance
October 16th, 2018 at 9:09 am
Buccaneer Bonzai
You have to run “multiple ” defenses to counter these offenses
Don’t be predictable
You have to versatile with versatile players
I see a lot of 3-4 defenses having success this year
There’s 7 defenses allowing less than 20 points a game
4 of them are 3-4 defenses, despite the fact that only 12 teams run a 3-4
October 16th, 2018 at 9:14 am
Teams has to score points to win nowadays, in most games
There 16 offenses averaging 24 points or more per game
That’s half of the NFL offenses
October 16th, 2018 at 9:29 am
Worst defense in the NFL and they are currently on pace to have *less* sacks than in 2017.
What is your current prediction, record-wise, for the season? There’s no way you think the Bucs will go 9-2 the rest of the way.
October 16th, 2018 at 9:37 am
Until we draft better it’s all a mute point
October 16th, 2018 at 9:50 am
Buckner is an up and coming coach that has walked the walk. I would rather see him get a chance than another old re-tread, personally. However, anything is better than what we had. All of you tough guys and girls calling Buckner out are ridiculous. If your boss tells you to do something a certain way and you don’t do it, you will be fired at your job. Coaching is no different. I would bet you as a former player, he was ready to drop kick Smitty in the halls of OBP for making him run that putrid vanilla defense. You people do know that when we blitz, it may also free up d-lineman too?
October 16th, 2018 at 9:52 am
@Lakeland
We’re literally averaging 28.2 points per game.
To use your own argument structure, there are 16 defenses giving up 24 points or less a game. With 3 more teams giving up less than 25 a game.Right now, our defense is the absolute worst in the league in points per game, and the 2nd worst in yards per game.
You can’t sit here and pretend that our offense sucks in today’s standards just because they’re 8th best and not number 1. That’s just ludicrous considering we have overwhelming evidence that our woes are because of the defense.
October 16th, 2018 at 9:53 am
If Duffner can hold teams under 24 points we can win at the moment we don’t need a great defense we just need a compatant Defense and some fire but I will agree we do need to look at getting a replacement like a jack del, Mel Tucker or even a Rex would be great
October 16th, 2018 at 10:03 am
D-Rome Says:
“they are currently on pace to have *less* sacks than in 2017.”
Math much?
22 sacks in 2017. 9 sacks in 5 games already this year should make it readily apparent they’re on track to have *more* sacks this year. In fact, it projects to 28.8 for 16 games, admittedly no great shakes, but definitely, more.
That’s also been without two of their big offseason DL signings, Allen & Unrein, as well as their 1st round draft pick, Vea.
October 16th, 2018 at 10:38 am
it’s not the entire defensive coaching staff that is garbage IT’S THE ENTIRE FREAKING ORGAZINATION THAT IS GARBAGE…. So you get feedback from players that quit on coaches yearly…. yeah that’s what champions do let the freaking ignorant inmates run the show.
October 16th, 2018 at 10:51 am
Tampabucfan88 Says:
@Ludicrous Speed u do got to factor it’s was the bangles and he didn’t have the talent we got also u u forgot it was dick LeBeau playcalling so come on give the guy a chance
u do got to factor it’s was NOT the bangles (love that Egyptian song, though)
also u u forgot to notice it was NOT dick LeBeau playcalling.
In fact, I made it clear it was not anything that I was saying, but what I read on Wiki about the guy, which I proceeded to quote (notice the use of quotation marks).
October 16th, 2018 at 11:46 am
I’m giving the nod to Duffner over Buckner. Based on experience. Buckner will get there. He’s just not quite ready yet for DC. This Browns game is a biggie. Win this one and create some Defensive momentum. Lose and..well…What’s our 2019 draft order?
October 16th, 2018 at 11:46 am
I been wanted Buckner also I was definitely campaigning for him but not suprised he got passed up thats just how it goes. Oh well, just hoping for better result
October 16th, 2018 at 12:20 pm
Duffner has a history of succeeding wildly on lower levels, and having some problems when elevated to higher levels. Some examples.
He started at Holy Cross (Division I-AA) as head coach in the college ranks after some defensive coaching experiences at Ohio State and other institutions. Turned them into a powerhouse, going 60-5-1 and getting some honors in the process. Then was “promoted” to become the coach of Maryland. Four years later was fired for going 20-35.
Duffner then went to the Cincinnati Bengals as their linebackers coach in the NFL in 1997. He became the Bengals’ defensive coordinator in 2001. Under Duffner, the Bengals became the worst defense in the NFL in 2002, allowing 28.5 points per game. He was fired at the end of the season and went on to serve as linebackers coach for Green Bay, Jacksonville and Miami.
So we may see some mild improvement under Duffner, but his past history indicates his average is 6 points better than Smith. Some improvement with his schemes and coaching maybe possible, but unless he has learned a lot in the last 16 years this defense is not going to get much better.
October 16th, 2018 at 12:44 pm
Going to wait and see what kind of defense plays this Sunday.
October 16th, 2018 at 1:48 pm
Maybe whoever our DC is, should tell Adams not to high-tale it to the End Zone full speed when the defense only needs 10 yards.
If that play was a sign of this defense, who cares who the coordinator is?
I didn’t even know who Adams was before he made that dumb ass play!!!
It was so obvious the announcers where like WTF. LMAO
We were confused at what we just witnessed for sure
October 16th, 2018 at 4:41 pm
Duffner was fired in 2002 after his defense finished 32nd in the league in scoring allowed.
But that was 16 years ago, so much can change. We shall see.
October 16th, 2018 at 5:36 pm
We need a fresh new Defense next year, time to try out the 3-4, think it would be in our benefit, move lavonte to MLB along with Beckwith, let Kwon walk, we have our Nose Tackle in Vea, Trade McCoy for whatever we can get, Noah Spence rushing as a 3-4 LB would be better for both him and and this defense, and let’s trade for Patrick Peterson who’s played in a 3-4 almost his whole career, and Finally get a freakin safety
October 16th, 2018 at 5:59 pm
What is this idiocy where people think the Bucs are going to trade for Patrick Peterson, they’re not going to do it and the fact people think it’s even on the table just shows how disconnected they are from reality. One corner isn’t going to fix the defense, you literally need at least 2 starters and a safety, and without that you have guys running wide open all night and day, which makes it impossible to know if the guys in front can do their job or not. Based on the talent if the Bucs had competent guys at corner and a competent safety. The best the Bucs can hope is that the rookies gets better since if you had anything close to even below average play from corners, the defense would look much different. But you don’t, you have by far the worst DB play in football, and when they’re that bad you can’t judge anything with any certainty.
October 16th, 2018 at 10:34 pm
How in the heck did you get that “Players may have lobbied” from the question La Canfora was asking “Was strong support there?” I am done!
October 17th, 2018 at 12:47 pm
Rod Munch you are on the ball. I agree completely. If the DB play does not improve I don’t care who the defensive coordinator is. They are not trading for anyone – they are going with what they have, rookies and their inexperience. It was bad luck they lost some starters, and all they have is a “hope they learn on the job” rookie lineup in particular positions of importance. Time will tell in the next four games if we see any improvement or not.
October 27th, 2018 at 1:36 pm
I called it. I said Duffner would be about 6 points better than Smith – he was 10 points better than the season average. I guess his past history did have something to do with it. Or just dumb luck. You pick.