Aside from fixing and replacing what was a horrid cast of cornerbacks that will live in NFL infamy, the next order of business for the Bucs is fixing Josh Freeman.

Now, the stat dudes and the sophists will point to Freeman’s franchise-setting numbers. Fair point, but stats don’t win football games and Freeman’s inaccuracies and inconsistencies all but Pearl Harbored the Bucs chances of playing in January.

Top shelf NFL quarterbacks don’t toss four interceptions against the drek that was the Saints defense last year.

As one can imagine, Bucs coach Greg Schiano’s top task is getting Freeman over the hump and into the NFL’s elite, as he explained Thursday to Joe and a gaggle of reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“Just as we do with every guy on our team, we have a specific plan to help them get better. And we visited with all our players before they left at the end of the season and there are certain things that we thought would be good for Josh to do in this down time,” Schiano said. “And that’s one of the things people say, ‘what’s the biggest difference,’ well one of the big differences between college football and the NFL is, you don’t get to see the players that much. They left after the last game and now we’re in February and other than a few guys that pop through the building, you don’t see them. But before he left, we talked about things and I think he will continue to continue to make improvement in going through the installation of the offense, a better understanding and do all that we can to develop all the players on our roster as well as go out and pursue players I free agency and the draft and so we’re going to surround Josh with better player and he’s going to get better as our whole team is and as I said, I believe he’s going to lead us to where we want to go.”

The offense under coordinator Mike Sullivan is a bit complex. It’s why Mike Williams was so adamant that receivers had to be on the same page as Freeman.

Joe’s going to guess that having a full offseason to work in Sullivan’s offense, and being in that offense for a second season, will work wonders for Freeman’s decision-making if not accuracy.

In the spirit of fairness, Joe will write about a Gators prospect the Bucs may desire.

Joe wouldn’t be shocked if the Bucs drafted an offensive tackle in either of the first two days of the draft. At best, Demar Dotson is starting caliber. He is good on pass blocking but run blocking is not a strength and we all know Greg Schiano likes to run the ball with Doug Martin. Also, Donald Penn isn’t getting any younger.

Now Gators offensive tackle Xavier Nixon is not expected to be drafted in the first day and maybe not the second day. But Nixon believes he is versatile, which always intrigues a general manager.

“My preference is tackle, either one,” Nixon said to reporters Friday. “But I can swing inside if need be, I’m willing to play wherever the team needs me to play.”

Nixon comes from a solid family base, a good guy. His father recently retired from the Army and his mother is stationed in Louisiana. He believes thediscipline he learned from his parents is a good chunk of the reason he is at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“All the values I learned coming up, integrity honesty and hard work, it transfers into football and into life,” Nixon said. “It’s always good to have those traits.”

Again, Nixon has all the tools and talents to be a decent lineman, but he must be more consistent. As Joe stated yesterday about Ricky Wagner, Joe trusts Bucs offensive line coach Bob Bostad to turn a guy like Nixon into a valued player.

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is busier than Santa Claus on Christmas Eve today. Many players the Bucs have their eyes on will be working out for all the NFL scouts and coaches at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis during the NFL Scouting Combine. Dominik was gracious enough to give Joe a few moments to discuss the draft during a jam-packed day.

JoeBucsFan: Mike Mayock, draft guru for NFL Network, says there are three tight ends who are basically clones of each other and those three could be drafted from the first round to the second round. Is that accurate?

Mark Dominik: I wouldn’t say that just yet. I think it is a little early to say that. We are just getting the medical back now. We are in the middle of the interview process. Today is a big day. How they perform today and certainly during their pro day. Then there are the individual meetings with the club. I think there is talent in the tight end pool here. I would say that. I would say it is rare for three tight ends to go in the first round. I haven’t seen that a lot in my history. I would have to go back and look but I don’t recall three tight ends going in the first round. The good news is there is talent in this draft and that is why I think we are in a good spot at No. 13 because there are different positions that bring an element that we could have an interest in. That’s why whether you are picking six or 13, I think we are in a good spot to be in this year comparatively to other draft classes.

Joe: How important is the combine? Packers coach Mike McCarthy said yesterday his team has had their draft board set over two weeks ago. Bill Parcells regularly downplays the combine. What is your take on the importance of the combine?

Dominik: I think the combine brings two things that are really ultra-important. One is the medical and two is the personal interaction with the players. You only get a little bit of time but these interviews are where you decide whether you want to bring them back to your building. You have the 30 players you are allowed to bring in. You get through these interviews and you say, ‘I need more time with that guy,’ or ‘I need more time with that guy because I want to reinforce what I believe.’ I would say this: we are different. There is no way my draft board is set right now. Not a chance.

Joe: 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said yesterday about player interviews at the combine, ‘some players you can get a read on them right away and others, no way.’ Is that about right?

Dominik: I think that is important. Time is everything at this level. The more time you can spend with somebody the more time you can get a feel for all different things. What are they going to be on the field? What are they going to be off the field? How do they learn? What way do they learn best? Those things are so important; you wish you can have more visits even at your own facility. That is why you have to take your time and sift through all the information and get the right guys in on your 30 visits. With us, we bring in guys that we think as much of as a first round [pick] as we do an undrafted free agent.

Joe: Recently, it was learned the NFL is looking to change its offseason schedule with the combine in March and the draft in May. What is your reaction?

Dominik: I will let Roger [Goodell] figure out what he’s going to do. I will say this: It’s a long offseason already. [The proposed new offseason schedule] will make it an even longer offseason. Everything is pushed back. But at the end of the day, if that is what is best for the league, we are all for it.

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik always talks about getting quarterback Josh Freeman toys. Though the Bucs have Dallas Clark, he is in the dusk of his career. A free agent, there is no guarantee Clark will return to Tampa Bay in 2013.

So some have suggested the Bucs will go after a tight end in the first two days of the draft, which is not an unreasonable proposition.

One tight end to keep an eye on is Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert, who is projected to go anywhere from late first round to the second round.

Noted draft expert Mike Mayock of the NFL Network believes Eifert is one of the three best tight ends available and those three, said Mayock, are interchangeable in that all three have equal skills.

Eifert spoke to the assembled scribes Friday at the NFL combine and Joe got a few quotes from Eifert, who likens himself to Jimmy Graham.

“I have spent a lot of time working on my blocking, my footwork, my head placement, things that really make a difference,” Eifert said. “I think I am a better but not where I want to be. There is room for improvement and I think I have. I have made a conscious effort to improve.

“I strive to be a complete tight end. I’m not there yet.”

As for his strengths, Eifert was specific.

“Catching the ball in traffic, making contested catches, create mismatches and get downfield,” Eifert said.

Eifert knows he’s about to hit the lottery. With the NFL becoming a pass-happy league where all the advantages go to receivers, Eifert counts his blessings for his good timing.

“I am lucky to be coming in at a time where the type of tight end that I am is being used quite a bit in the passing game,” Eifert said. “A tight end that crates mismatch problems.”

Joe wouldn’t mind if Dominik took a chance with Eifert, who is being trained by former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. Sure, Greg Schiano wants a run-oriented offense. But with a guy like offensive line coach Bob Bostad on the Bucs coaching staff, Joe is confident he can make Eifert a complete tight end and improve his blocking technique.

Joe gets a kick out of all the offseason news that doesn’t add up. Bucs fans have been treated to a good dose of that the past couple of days.

One example is Bucs beat writer Roy Cummings reporting that the Bucs are considering keeping Eric Wright and his $7.5 million contract for 2013 in tact, rather than cutting him and/or renegotiating his contract. But at nearly the same time, Cummings quotes Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik saying the Bucs will be very careful about using their cap space and the Bucs will not consider using the franchise tag on Michael Bennett or anyone else.

“We want to make sure we utilize (our cap space) to its best possible potential, because there are a lot of teams that are over the cap and in tough situations and we don’t want to get in that position. So, we’re going to be very smart with how we use the actual salary cap space that we have and the amount going forward, whatever that is and however long it takes.”

So are fans to believe the Bucs are actually considering keeping unreliable, overpaid and largely unproductive Eric Wright but not paying Michael Bennett a few extra million (franchise tag vs. new longterm contract per year) to stay in Tampa?

Joe isn’t buying it.

Joe doesn’t inhale much of the smoke blowing around these days. It’s the typical late-February wind around the NFL.

Joe has no idea if Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel will be a success in the NFL much less have any type of football career. Joe has seen projections of Manuel as Day 2 pick to an undrafted free agent, a work in progress to a practice squad guy.

Joe can write this with certainty: Manuel is one of the most impressive college players Joe has dealt with. Confident, eloquent, polished, intelligent, Manuel oozes personality and is nothing but polite.

Manuel comes across like the type of guy you’d want your daughter to marry.

Manuel met with reporters Friday afternoon at the NFL Scouting Combine and he did his best to sell himself to teams as a completely versatile quarterback.

“Pro style? I wasn’t in a gun all the time. I knew how to do a cadence,” Manuel said. “I can tell there was a difference [with other quarterbacks]. At the Senior Bowl, they taught us stuff that I already knew. I’ve done some read-option. I know I can do it.

“I think I am the best quarterback in this class, no disrespect to anyone. I have proved I am consistent in my reads and my accuracy.”

Manuel can handle pressure it sure appears. He won four bowl games, the first when he was a freshman in the Gator Bowl in what was Bobby Bowden’s final game. The sidelines were ringed by greats of Florida State’s past. Don’t think there was pressure on the kid to pull out a win then?

(In that same game, Manuel out-dueled a guy named Geno Smith and West Virginia.)

Look, Joe hasn’t forgotten Greg Schiano’s decree for competition at all positions, though this week Schiano was adamant that Josh Freeman is locked in as the Bucs starter.

Would Manuel be a nice late-round pick up to sit and develop and watch the game behind Freeman? Joe could think of worse choices.

Meanwhile, Manuel, who was the Senior Bowl MVP, seemed to enjoy all the attention he has received at this week’s combine.

“I have watched the combine every year since I’ve had the NFL Network,” he said.

Joe has a pretty good idea that if this NFL thing doesn’t work out, Manuel will be a success at whatever he tries in life.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik played a little hardball today, announcing the Bucs would not use the franchise tag on any player this offseason.

Translation: Michael Bennett, we want you to think we’ll let you walk when unrestricted free agency bell rings March 12.

Of course, the Bucs can always change their collective minds and franchise 27-year-old Bennett next week.

Regardless of what one thinks of Bennett, or whether one considers him worthy of a franchise tag that would keep him in Tampa and pay him nearly $11 million next season, Bennett will get paid huge money this offseason. Young, healthy pass rushers, especially guys like Bennett who also stuff the run effectively, always get a lottery ticket.

The Bucs can talk all they want about Da’Quan Bowers emerging and about managing their budget, but there’s no amount of spin that can make sense out of the Bucs letting their best defensive end walk away.

Joe sincerely hopes this Bennett deal gets done before Bennett hits the open market. There’s no need for the Bucs to play with fire. Bennett’s not a Hall of Famer, but he’s a very good player, the type the Bucs should be retaining.

Joe has made no secret of his mancrush on Bucs offensive line coach Bob Bostad. With the possible exception of Bryan Cox, no Bucs assistant did a better job than Bostad.

The man lost two Pro Bowl guards to injury, a third starter to injury, played another starter out of position and filled one void with a basketball player. Yet, the Bucs’ offensive line performed better than most across the NFL.

This did not surprise Ricky Wagner. An offensive tackle from Wisconsin, Wagner knows all about Bostad, who came to the Bucs from the Badgers.

“He’s the greatest coach I ever had,” Wagner said.

This is not idle talk from an excitable college kid. Wagner was (is?) a gifted athlete who, as a high school basketball player, had several scholarship offers to play hoops in college, but instead chose to walk-on at Wisconsin as a tight end.

Bostad saw something in the man and moved him to tackle. Wagner believed it is Bostad’s attention to detail and exacting standards that separates him from other coaches, as well as his ability to teach.

“The way he coached, every detail was magnified,” Wagner said. “On the offensive line that is so important because if you are off by an inch, that could screw up the whole play.

“He transformed me.”

Wagner likes to emulate Cleveland Browns tackle and former Badger Joe Thomas. Wagner has played both right and left tackle.

“If [a team] wants me at right tackle, I will work out there all offseason,” Wagner said.

Given how Bostad obviously knows all about Wagner, and the Bucs may be looking for a tackle late on the second day or the third day of the draft, Wagner, who admitted he has spoken with the Bucs and would love a reunion with his old line coach, may be a guy to keep an eye on.

“Mark, I’m moving to deregulate shoelace length and color on road game travel dress shoes. Are you with me?

“Toes on the line!”

Whether it was the temperature in meeting rooms, hotel room thermostats, pasta noodles, or water-bottle protocol, and more, the New Schiano Order seemed to have a rule for it last year. Greg Schiano was all over every last nuance. (Though Joe is still amazed it was within team rules to have Adam Hayward shove Bryan Cox on the sidelines and not get seriously punished.)

But things are going to loosen up a bit around One Buc Palace, so reports Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings, of The Tampa Tribune. Cummings got Schiano to explain that the ship doesn’t have to be as tight now that the head coach has established order.

“You have to go overboard one way or another to get that culture established, but I think at this point, our football team understands who I am and how our football program is going to be run,” Schiano said.

“I think that happened as the season went on last year, so we’ll change some things for this year, some of the mandatory things, things that I don’t necessarily think grown men need.”

Call Joe cynical, but Joe will believe in the changes when they happen.

Sure, Joe believes Schiano will loosen a few minor details — perhaps a choice of hot meals and Adam Sandler movies on team flights? — but Joe doesn’t expect Bucs players to notice any significant relaxation of the Schiano way. It won’t be an easy training camp by NFL standards, and Joe suspects Schiano will have higher expectations now that the program is established.

For the vast majority of NFL head coaches, interviewing players at all-star games and the combine is critical to not just know possible targets but to get inside their heads.

Few, if any, NFL types really know the college players aside from their athletic abilities.

Not so with Bucs coach Greg Schiano. Just one year removed from the college ranks, Schiano knows many of the players at this weekend’s largest indoor track practice after recruiting them when they were high school juniors and seniors (much like how he knew Bucs cornerback Leonard Johnson since the Clearwater native was 15).

In some cases, these same prospects played for Schiano, who didn’t dismiss he may have an advantage over his coaching brethren, during his press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine yesterday.

“It may have [been an advantage], maybe not so much the player we did select, although we did select two West Virginia players we played against. But more importantly, knowing information, knowing backgrounds, so you kind of cut to the chase on things,” Schiano said. “The other thing is the relationships I had with college head coaches, I think that’s critical, whether you went through league meetings with them or you went through national meetings with them, but you built a relationship through time to be able to talk to those guys and gain insight into the player that you maybe couldn’t have otherwise. That’s helpful.”

With the exception of Johnson, Joe isn’t so sure we have seen the benefit in Schiano knowing players and coaches.

Yes, Schiano and Dominik drafted a pair of Mountaineers, who played in the same conference (at the time) as Schiano’s Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. But at best, the jury is still out on linebacker Najee Goode and cornerback/safety Keith Tandy.

Joe pressed Mike Smith on the health of coveted cornerback Brent Grimes. It seems Grimes can’t run on grass.

Dixie Chicks coach Mike Smith just took the podium at the NFL Scouting Combine and Joe, knowing Bucs fans have a keen interest in the status of Dixie Chicks free agent cornerback Brent Grimes, asked Smith how Grimes’ rehab is coming along.

Grimes suffered a season-ending, Week 1 Achilles injury last season.

“Brent Grimes has been doing an outstanding job working with our athletic performance department, working in the training room,” Smith said. “He is progressing well. That was a significant injury that took place in Kansas City on opening weekend. But he is progressing well. The turnaround for that is usually somewhere around nine months.

“He has not been out working outside. He is still working in the training room and progressing very well.”

When Joe asked if the Dixie Chicks would slap Grimes with a franchise tag, Smith sort of chuckled, not in a happy way, and said, “Guys, I’m not going to talk about the franchise tag in terms of what we may do there.”

So the mystery of Grimes and his health and his free agency status continues, but this won’t stop many Bucs fans who yearn for Grimes to play home games at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

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The Bucs seem to embrace guys with knee injuries. As rockstar general manager Mark Dominik told us, the Bucs know knees and are confident in their medical staff.

The scariest and most heinous knee entering the 2012 NFL Draft belongs to former South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore, who was considered a sure first-round pick before one of the ugliest knee injuries ever recorded on film this past season.

Lattimore, however, is at the NFL Scouting Combine being interviewed by teams and analyzed by teams’ doctors. He’s supposedly healthy and ready to run, jump and cut through various combine drills Sunday.

Draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski, of 98.7 FM, writes that the Bucs should be a team paying very close attention and potentially considering Lattimore in the fourth round.

4. Marcus Lattimore – RB – South Carolina – Lattimore suffered a horrific knee injury to end his 2012 season and essentially his collegiate career. The doctor who performed his surgery, Dr. James Andrews, has since said that Lattimore will shock people by his progress at the combine. With Legarrette Blount potentially gone, I’m going to look long and hard at those medical records to see if Lattimore is worth a day 3 pick.

First, let Joe say that if the Bucs have no legitimate plans to use running backs other than Doug Martin, then drafting Lattimore would be foolish.

There’s no reason to believe Lattimore would be durable enough to carry the load as the No. 1 back if Martin went down (like LeGarrette Blount can) so the Bucs would have to change their offensive approach in order to make drafting Lattimore sensible.

Joe knows the Bucs yearn to run the ball like a throwback 1970’s powerhouse but couldn’t do it last season after major injuries on the offensive line. With Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks returning, and if the Bucs invest at right tackle in free agency, Joe could then envision snatching a running back in the draft.

Joe knows many Bucs fans aren’t enamoured with defensive tackle Roy Miller. He doesn’t rack up that many tackles and he doesn’t have a great quarterback-sack tally.

But if you talk to a Bucs coach or a Bucs suit, they rave about Miller nearly as much as Joe does Rachel Watson. Even Gerald McCoy has gone on record as saying he wouldn’t be the player he is without Miller taking on two blockers (or three) each play to help set GMC loose.

Miller, a free agent, has Twittered from time to time of late that he wants to stay with the Bucs. Part of that reason is he and GMC are best of friends.

(A Longhorn and a Sooner, pals?)

Last night Miller put out yet another Twitter message that he wants to be playing for the Bucs in 2013, and beyond.

@THE_ROY_V: Me and @Geraldini93 putting some hard work he never stops working in don’t tell him but I hope we r side by side next yr n pewter/red #bucs

Early this morning, Miller put out another Twitter post that, while he wants to stay with the Bucs, he is prepared to look elsewhere if not wanted.

@THE_ROY_V: Being said I’m not talking anymore about this contract stuff Mark & Coach all are great people I respect every and all decisions they will

Joe cannot imagine Miller leaving town. He’s not an expensive hire, and again, if the Bucs — suits and coaches — love him so much, why not bring him back? All Joe ever hears from Bucs people is that Miller “does exactly what we want him to do.” That’s high praise.

Joe’s pretty confident that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik will chat with Miller’s agent while in Indianapolis and perhaps a move to sign him will happen in the coming weeks before the free agency bell rings March 12.

The Bucs may be in the market for a tight end. Well, there is a tight end participating in the combine and he comes by way of Rutgers.

Yeah, you do the math.

D.C. Jefferson played tight end for three years under Greg Schiano at Rutgers and he got there via a strange but somewhat familiar route. He was recruited as a quarterback from Winter Haven, one of the top quarterback recruits in the nation in fact.

Sure, Jefferson would love to come home and play for the Bucs. More importantly, he wants to be reunited with Schiano.

“That man changed my life,” Jefferson told Joe at the NFL Scouting Combine yesterday.

Jefferson was flipped to tight end when he walked on the New Jersey campus and redshirted his freshman year.

Jefferson noted that Schiano was important to him, not so much for how he changed his football career possibly for the better, but how Schiano molded Jefferson away from the gridiron.

“The approach he took towards the game, puts leadership into people,” Jefferson explained of Schiano’s teachings. “I know he is known as a tough coach, but his teaching meant so much to me off the field, not just as a player, but as a man. Not just football, but being a good person and a good husband. He helped me make my mind right and look toward the ultimate goal.

“I would love to play for coach again.”

Jefferson (6-6, 250) had a career high 20 catches in 2012. He’s projected to be a late-round pick.

“Even when they picked up Byron Leftwich. It was something they told me -– they told me it was a smoke screen, everybody would think they didn’t want a QB. They said they were ready to trade up. I think it worked out great. I was sitting there with my family and enjoying it, and I got to go to the team that I wanted to go to.” — Josh Freeman, April 2009

Joe’s not doubting the veracity of Greg Schiano’s backpedalling yesterday when it came to desiring/not desiring “competition” for Josh Freeman, but Joe just wants to caution fans that in the world of endless spin and misdirection that swirls through the NFL draft, one should take Schiano’s comments with a grain of salt.

Sure, Freeman is the guy for 2013, but that doesn’t mean the Bucs won’t draft a quarterback in the second or third round if they believe the value is there with the pick. Schiano didn’t say he doesn’t want a rookie QB pushing Freeman.

Also, does anyone believe Schiano was too “busy” (Schiano’s word yesterday) to fix the perception about desiring competition for Freeman that Schiano himself put out there to media seven weeks ago? He could have quashed that national story in a matter of seconds via an interview or news release. Remember, this is a man who takes pride in accounting for every last detail.

The quote above came from a young — and still media naïve — Freeman during a live NFL.com chat right after the 2009 draft.

There will be plenty more “smoke screens” bellowing over the next two months. Some will be easy to sniff out; some won’t.

Yes, yesterday was Joe’s first appearance at the NFL Scouting Combine. If fortunate, it won’t be Joe’s last.

Please don’t be confused. Joe thinks the actual combine, the world’s largest indoor track practice, is a joke. It is not football, it is not remotely close to football. Do NFL coaches go to baseball games or track meets to find football players? Of course not.

What Joe did find at the combine, however, is the virtual limitless stories and access to plentiful college prospects, NFL coaches (and assistants) and general managers.

Some quick thoughts on the combine:

* It was sort of neat to see coaches and general managers react to questions from reporters across the nation (if not globe). These questions are rarely the same kind they get hit with from beat reporters.

* It was so cold in Indianapolis, even being in a dome it was cold. Even upper Midwestern types, like reporters from Chicago, were wearing sweaters and coats.

* Most players, when brought into the media workroom/center/trough, seem overwhelmed with dozens (at least) of media members crowded around their table, asking questions about playing for all sorts of different teams.

* The car wash: It is unreal what general managers and coaches deal with in a short span of time. Take Bucs coach Greg Schiano. He met with the press at one of the main podiums before around 100+ reporters, then was quickly whisked off to speak on SiriusXM NFL Radio, then interviewed by Pro Football Talk Live, then interviewed by the NFL Network, then a TV station out of West Virginia, then by Joe, then by other Bucs beat writers … and after that, who knows? It was pretty cool to watch how it all unfolded, most prearranged, scheduled.

* Joe was lucky enough to be on the same flight to Indianapolis with the Bucs coaching staff. You know how, for maybe 10 minutes you can have electronics on after boarding before the staff shuts you down? When Joe boarded he saw Schiano with his head buried in his laptop. He truly doesn’t waste away much time.

* Schiano needled Joe on the flight, in so many words, telling Joe to get his toes on the line and wear Bucs gear. Joe explained to Schiano that at least he had to look like he was objective.

* While waiting for luggage, Joe joked with special teams coach Dave Wannstedt, who was the defensive coordinator at Buffalo, “Here you thought you escaped winter and you got pulled back in.” Temperature at the time was a brisk 19 degrees. At 1:30 in the afternoon no less!

* Indianapolis really is a cool, futuristic city. The downtown is virtually a biodome where you can just about walk everywhere indoors using skywalks that connect buildings. Walking from his hotel to Lucas Oil Stadium, roughly a mile, Joe only had to be outside for about two blocks, if that. Whoever designed this city sure knew what the heck they were doing.

* Joe has two really cool stories about two potential Bucs draft picks you won’t want to miss a bit later today. And yes, Joe will be back at the combine for more stories. Hope you enjoy them.

Last year at this time, Bucs coach Greg Schiano was barely into his first month as the Bucs head coach. As expected, it was a whirlwind month for the former Rutgers coach, trying to get his family settled and taking a crash course in the draft.

Not this year. Schiano spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine today about the difference a year makes from preparing for a draft before he got a chance to unpack his belongings at One Buc Palace.

“It is what I am most excited about. The personnel group, headed up by Mark Dominik, they do an awesome job,” Schiano said. “They were at the same spot, well, maybe Mark wasn’t because he was out hiring a head coach, but the rest of them were. Now, for Mark and myself, to be able to sit in our draft meetings and our pre-draft meetings in January and really get a read on kids and hear about the kids we will eventually be watching, you know, the young men, that is huge for me now to be looking out there and knowing a lot of these guys and watched film on them, not going it after the fact [after the combine], it makes it more enlightening for me when I get to sit down with them in interviews.”

Ah, so it was Dominik and his staff that prepared for the draft and helped Schiano with a Reader’s Digest version of the draft. Yet Joe was told by many fans that Schiano was running the draft and not Dominik, despite what Schiano has said to the contrary up to and including Thursday while speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine.

This year adds intrigue to the draft. With Schiano and Dominik coming together as one with full preparation, it will be interesting to see how this draft transpires, not just the weekend of the draft, but roughly four years down the road.

The interesting thing about how NFL coaches handle the combine is they don’t just speak with and answer questions from just their local beat writers/TV talking heads. No, they are deal with NFL media types from all over the nation, in fact, from all over the world.

So today when Bucs coach Greg Schiano took to the podium in front of the masses, a Philly media type asked him what type of advice he would give Eagles coach Chip Kelly. Like Schiano last year, Kelly is coming from college to the NFL as a head coach. But there’s a twist of paths between the two that determined how Schiano ended up in Tampa Bay and Kelly in Philly.

It was Kelly’s cold feet. Schiano knew it and was grateful.

“First, my biggest advice would be to say, ‘Thank you, Chip,’” Schiano said. “Had Chip not decided what to do last year, I wouldn’t be standing here, that is first and foremost. I am happy for Chip, he will do a great job. I know he is excited, we got a chance to talk a little bit at the Senior Bowl. He doesn’t need any advice from me, he will do an excellent job.”

Yes, if Kelly hadn’t left Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik at the altar last year, rather than Schiano coaching the Bucs it would have been Kelly.

And who knows? Schiano could have been coaching the Eagles.