Lovie Smith has the power.

Joe has already shared the report of new Bucs coach Lovie Smith being granted full and total control over the 53-man roster. This may, in part, be why Team Glazer jettisoned former rock star general manager Mark Dominik, because in the pact for total autonomy, Lovie wanted his hand-picked man as a general manager.

Think about that: A coach who has never won a Super Bowl, has only appeared in one Super Bowl, and has a paltry record against teams with winning records is one of the most powerful men in the NFL, types Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. [read more]

Lovie record vs. winners? Not good.

On this holy day of the Church of the Bucs, Lovie Smith will be brought before the altar of Team Glazer and in a very public ceremony, be ordained as the 10th coach in Buccaneers history.

And no, Lovie won’t have to dive in a retention pond behind One Buc Palace to retrieve a coach’s headset to consummate his anointing.

But in this day of jubilation among many Bucs fans, Joe has sobering news by way of former Chicago Tribune scribe Dave Wischnowsky (now that’s a Chicago name!), who types a column for WSCR-AM 620, “The Score,” in Chicago. [read more]

Now in this CBS Sports video, popular sports radio and television personality Adam Schein, Jason La Canfora and Amy Trask discuss the Lovie Smith hiring and how Team Glazer had reached out to Bill Cowher in November to take over the team.

This tells Joe that Team Glazer had hit a boiling point from the 0-8 start by the Bucs along with the mess started by leaky Rip Van Freeman, and long ago decided former Bucs commander Greg Schiano’s fate. [read more]

It’s no real shock to Joe that the speed in which Team Glazer closed the deal on hiring Lovie Smith meant Team Glazer threw in all their chips. This was clear when Lovie didn’t explore all his options to interview leaguewide for head coaching vacancies.

One way to keep a candidate from walking out the door without a signed contract is to make him an offer he cannot refuse. And apparently, Team Glazer did just that, giving Lovie full control of the Bucs roster, so claims BSPN insider Adam Schefter. [read more]

“Who the hell gave you guys my cell? Jiminy Christmas! You think I’m going to pay $16 million for a guy that can’t throw the football? I want no part of this.”

Per CBS Sports, Team Glazer had bigger names than Lovie Smith in mind to replace Greg Schiano.

A stunning (but not really so stunning) report by Jason La Canfora this morning claims the Bucs owners were chasing the biggest big names last year. [read more]

A ticket saved is a ticket earned in the world of One Buc Palace.

When Greg Schiano was head coach and Bucs ticket sales staffers made dreaded late December 2013 renewal calls to season ticket holders, Joe’s confident they encountered quite a bit or resistance and rage not befitting the holiday season.

Yes, there are faithful fans who will buy tickets unconditionally, but that’s not everybody. [read more]

Many tens of thousands of JoeBucsFan.com readers only come here once a week or so. They’re people with meaningful lives, unlike Joe and the Bucs-obsessed lunatics who live on these pages 24/7. So Joe thought he’d re-visit a handful of this busy week’s headlines — for non-regular readers who want to catch up. Enjoy!

 
Ominous sign from Schiano at halftime
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104385

Team Glazer took the pulse
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104445

“No Fly Zone” largely unenforced
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104486

Impotence score = 83
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104504

Dominik-Schiano end was no surprise
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104515

End of the Mike Glennon era
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104522

Schiano reacts to firing
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104556

Dominik says good-bye
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104563

Freeman wrecked three careers
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104641

Why do people hate Johnny Football?
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104636

Mike Williams update
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104669

It’s Lovie!
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104685

Lovie’s power move
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104783

Father Dungy on Lovie’s leadership style
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104816

Bears save Bucs; Re-sign Cutler
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104798

Hoping for “middle-of-the-road offense”
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104793

No more “CFL B” in Tampa
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104820

Ronde, Penn, McCoy & more react
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104843

Jeff Tedford’s new offense
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104868

Glennon support is everywhere
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104893

Leslie Frazier will run the defense
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104929

John Madden weighs in on Lovie
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=104923

As Lovie Smith’s assistants are revealed, it appears he has a QB philosophy different from Greg Schiano’s.

One of the most stunning phenomena in the NFL is the fact that some teams have quarterbacks coaches who never played quarterback.

Think about that for a minute.

Under the New Schiano Order, both Greg Schiano and former QB coach John McNulty were firm in their belief that quarterback mechanics didn’t need to be taught and stressed at the NFL level. [read more]

NFL Films chief is adamant

As Joe wrote earlier, prominent NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport claims Lovie Smith has big plans for Darrelle Revis.

That’s great! But the question that will linger through the opening days of free agency is whether Lovie believes Revis is worth his massive $16 million salary, which is about triple what top free agent cornerbacks earned on the open market last offseason.  

One astute student of the NFL says Revis isn’t worth it in Lovie’s defense. [read more]

Some Bucs fans believed Darrelle Revis’ days with the Bucs were done, that Lovie Smith is a Tampa-2 guy and that isn’t what Revis plays. Thus, Revis and his $16 million a year salary were toast.

Well, maybe one shouldn’t choke on that toast.

Per Ian Rapoport, a plugged-in NFL insider, Bucs fans wringing their hands over losing Revis can rest easy tonight. Not only is Revis staying with the Bucs, but apparently Lovie is banking on Revis’ solid play. [read more]

Their Twitterings rankled a former Buccaneer

Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers should be talking big with their play and not their Twitter accounts, so says former Bucs guard Ian Beckles.

The popular WDAE-AM 620 radio host wagged a finger of shame at Clayborn and Bowers for their jabs at the New Schiano Order following its demise. Joe already brought you Bowers’ plea for good coaching, but Clayborn also yearned publicly for personal change. [read more]

Lovie Smith likes how Jeff Tedford develops “young talent.”

Well, this morning, the Bucs made the Jeff Tedford news official; he is Lovie Smith’s offensive coordinator. Joe already weighed in on Tedford, a curious but bold hire. Who knows if his quarterback magic will work on the NFL level? It will be a fun puzzle to see put together.

Usually, the quotes included in such new releases are boring, predictable and rarely worthy of repeating. If the coach didn’t like his assistant, he wouldn’t have hired him in the first place, right? [read more]

The stars are not aligning for Adrian Clayborn

Joe wouldn’t bet a nickel that Lovie Smith and Leslie Frazier are excited to feature Adrian Clayborn, Da’Quan Bowers, Daniel Te’-O Nesheim, Will Gholston and Steven Means as their edge rushers.

Looking for change in 2014?

Look no further than starting right defensive end. [read more]

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John Madden weighs in on the process

Aside from a few unkind words from the one and only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, there has been pretty much universal praise on Team Glazer for hunting down and locking up Lovie Smith as the 10th coach in Bucs history.

Add another voice to the chorus. And that comes from Hall of Fame coach John Madden. In his weekly appearance with Rich Gannon and Adam Schein, heard exclusively on SiriusXM Radio, Madden said Team Glazer could not have done a better job in finding a new coach. [read more]

Leslie Frazier will lead the Bucs defense.

Just because one works for BSPN and has a high profile doesn’t mean what comes from his mouth or fingers is Gospel.

Despite what BSPN’s Adam Schefter reported as fact the other night, Cowboys defensive line coach Rod Marinelli will not be the Bucs defensive coordinator. Instead, it is former Vikings coach and Rip Van Freeman victim Leslie Frazier who will lead Lovie Smith’s charges. [read more]

NFL insider Adam Schefter explains how the Bucs got their man, Lovie Smith, in this BSPN video.

Team Glazer had to take notice

There are always hot trends that NFL owners seem to chase like Joe would sprint after Rachel Watson if she were on the market.

This year, one of those was the Andy Reid Effect. The Chiefs, a rather conservative organization, hired Reid before they secured a general manager and gave him their blessing this offseason to do whatever to craft a fast winner. With the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Chiefs are now in the playoffs. [read more]

Butch Davis is among the casualties as the Bucs have now dismissed all of Greg Schiano’s football staff.

In the wake of the firing of former Bucs commander Greg Schiano, his assistants, some 84 in all (sarcasm, people), were still listed as staff members on Buccaneers.com. This freaked out hyper, Mountain Dew-chugging fans who honestly thought Lovie was going to continue the prancing Sheridan Stunts.

It seems Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times has calming words on Twitter for those Bucs fans, who, prone on their backs at night, had chewed through their fingernails thinking only Schiano was jettisoned. [read more]