Mike Alstott weighs in

The A-Train, Mike Alstott, was among the ex-Buccaneers in the house yesterday when Team Glazer unveiled Lovie Smith as the 10th head coach in Bucs history.

Alstott had all kinds of great things to say about Lovie, and the two men, who clearly hadn’t seen each other years, embraced and talked about getting together as the crowd thinned out.

Joe asked Alstott if there was a time or moment when Lovie was a Bucs linebackers coach that let Alstott know Lovie was head-coach material. [read more]

Moments after Lovie Smith’s opening news conference, and Lovie’s intimate chat with media, Joe sat down with Buccaneers Radio Network and WDAE-AM 620 voice Ronnie Lane to talk about the new regime. Enjoy the podcast below.

Joe explains why Lovie “is a step ahead of the game.”

Peter King talked cornerbacks with Lovie Smith

So many have misconstrued Joe’s take on Darrelle Revis. Joe’s not lobbying to ditch the guy. It’s not Joe’s $1 million-per-game, and the Revis is a great player.

Offenses clearly avoided Revis in 2013, and his Pro Bowl nod this season, without a ton of fan votes, helps illustrate the respect he commands. But the question, ‘Is Revis worth it?’ will come up every offseason because Revis has no guaranteed cash in his contract. Every year is a contract year. [read more]

Steve Duemig, the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, scored an exclusive with new Bucs head coach Lovie Smith this evening on WDAE-AM 620. And Joe’s got the full audio below. Enjoy.

There is no Bucs general manager, but the business of NFL rosters must go on.

New Bucs commander Lovie Smith has signed off on the Bucs locking down 12 players to futures contracts, which typically go to NFL hopefuls and former practice squad players.

Here’s the list issued today by the Bucs: [read more]

A glimpse into his mindset

During a candid moment this afternoon, Lovie Smith metaphorically dropped his pants and revealed a philosophy about winning in the NFL.

It was no surprise, but it was still telling. Lovie is a defensive-minded head coach to his core.

He explained just how far a great defense can take a team.

[read more]

Jeff Tedford has Lovie Smith’s confidence.

After Lovie Smith, the 10th Bucs coach in franchise history, had his introductory press conference, Lovie made his way to the press room for a more laid back and casual give-and-take with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club. [read more]

Lovie Smith shared intimate time with media after his One Buc Palace news conference today, and Lovie stressed his time off last year was very much about research.

One thing Lovie researched was finding his next offensive coordinator. [read more]

Lovie Smith wants all ex-Bucs like Derrick Brooks to visit One Buc Palace frequently.

It was a lovefest at One Buc Palace this afternoon, a homecoming of sorts.

Why, Joe thought it was a bunch of Middle Eastern clerics meditating he heard the word “home” so much and so often. [read more]

Lovie told Joe that Mike Glennon has “great pocket presence” and more

Dressed in a fine navy suit this afternoon, Lovie Smith stood before media and shared his admiration of Mike Glennon the quarterback and talked about key leadership characteristics from the QB position.

Joe asked Lovie to detail the promise he sees in Glennon. [read more]

Hours after it was learned Lovie Smith was going to take over the Bucs in the wake of the firing of former commander Greg Schiano, an erroneous report by Adam Schefter claimed Lovie had hired former Bucs defensive line coach and current Dallas defensive assistant Rod Marinelli as his defensive coordinator.

Sadly, this report was at best premature and at worst, flat wrong. [read more]

When the Bucs announced that Lovie Smith was their guy, the 10th coach in Bucs history, a number of NFL pundits and Bucs fans concluded — with bad math — that since Lovie runs a Tampa-2 defense, stud cornerback Darrelle Revis is SOL because he is not a zone-coverage guy but a press-man guy. [read more]

One reason Lovie Smith decided to accept the position as the 10th coach in Bucs history is because it’s home.

Though a native of Texas, Smith made his bones as a NFL assistant with Father Dungy and the Bucs in the 1990s before he left for St. Louis to become the Bucs defensive coordinator. [read more]

It’s no rebuilding process for new Bucs boss Lovie Smith.

Speaking for the first time as Bucs head coach today, Lovie says he “likes the foundation” in place with the Bucs and says it’s ready for the Bucs “to make a quick climb.”

Lovie said the Bucs will be “relentless” and he wants “athletes at every position.”

Stick with Joe all day for the latest on Lovie’s first public day on the job.

It’s a big day for Bucs fans, as the Bucs introduce Lovie Smith at One Buc Palace.

Bryan Glazer took to the podium this afternoon and raved about their new leader.

Glazer said Lovie will “energize our fan base.”

He said the Bucs owner sought “a strong leader with a proven and established track record,” and Glazer went on to say Lovie “fit our criteria perfectly.”

Stick with Joe through the day for so much more.

He once went through a Wendy’s drive-thru naked? Who hasn’t?

There have been all kinds of voices inside Gerald McCoy’s head. Entering his fourth NFL season, McCoy will now answer to his sixth defensive line coach.

There was Todd Wash, Grady Stretz, Keith Millard, Bryan Cox and Randy Melvin, and now, via various reports, Lovie Smith has hired Joe Cullen as defensive line coach. [read more]

It’s coming today

Lovie Smith will be peppered with questions for the first time as Bucs head coach/personnel chief today, and Joe is most curious to hear how Lovie talks about the quarterback position.

Lovie can direct the perception game all sorts of ways. [read more]

Lovie Smith and Team Glazer take center stage on the One Buc Palace podium this afternoon at 2 p.m., and Joe will bring you everything interesting from the events. Plenty of Bucs icons should be buzzing around to chat with, as well.

Reading Joe and listening to the festivities live via Joe’s media partner, WDAE-AM 620, is the way to go.

Joe also wants to take a moment to thank you for a great 2013! The math is done, and Joe can proudly say he enjoyed more than 6.2 million actual visits to JoeBucsFan.com last year. Wow! Thanks for all the tremendous support. Joe has far and away become the top online source for Bucs fans outside of Buccaneers.com. Thank you.

One of these days, Joe’s must find a way to earn a few pennies for each of those visits.

In the meantime, Joe wants business owners out there to know Joe now has “geo-targeting” available for his advertisers. That means, if you’re a small business in, say, Sarasota, Joe can deliver prominent advertisements to readers only in Sarasota specifically, or in Sarasota and Bradenton. Or a St. Pete plumber can advertise only in that area.

For peanuts in the advertising world, you can target these customers. Shoot Joe an email, if you’re interested, joe@joebucsfan.com.

Don’t look for Foster to be gifted a starting job for the fourth straight year

Bucs boss Lovie Smith has been blessed with an impressive of stable of middle linebackers during his 17 years of NFL coaching.

First he had perennial Bucs Pro Bowler Hardy Nickerson, who gave way to Jamie Duncan. When Smith moved on from Tampa to be Rams defensive coordinator, likely Hall of Famer London Fletcher was waiting for him. Then, for Smith’s long tenure in Chicago, surefire Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher was the main man in the Bears’ humming 4-3 defense. [read more]