The Bucs appear to be widening their search for the right 1b to Lovie Smith’s 1a.

Longtime Eagles beat writer Les Bowen, of the Philadelphia Daily News, reports this morning that the Bucs will reach out to Eagles VP of player personnel Tom Gamble about their vacant general manager gig. [read more]

Offensive linemen are taught to maximize their leverage all the time — “low man wins” — and it seems the man the San Francisco Chronicle reported to be the Bucs’ new offensive line coach followed those teachings.

Tony Sparano is not coming to Tampa Bay. [read more]

In a sense, the Bucs are a rudderless ship.

Sure the Bucs have a head coach and his staff, but the office that former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik previously occupied is empty. And free agency is not that far away. Neither is the combine, or the East-West Shrine and Senior bowl practices, all key ingredients to forming a draft plan. [read more]

For the Johnny Football haters of the world who also masquerade as Bucs fans, your day has been made. Go out and celebrate.

Johnny Football has signed the notorious Erik Burkhardt as his agent, reports Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal. [read more]

Click below for your nearest Original Hooters location. There’s no better place to watch the games.

The man coaching Darrelle Revis this season will bring some serious street cred.

This evening the Bucs announced the hiring of Gill Byrd, who will coach Bucs cornerbacks.

He was a two-time Pro Bowler for the Chargers. [read more]

All kinds of chatter surrounded former Bucs commander Greg Schiano sending a lot of players from Rutgers to the NFL. For a head coach of a recruiting challenged Big East school, Schiano did quite well in his 11 years there.

But what about new Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, the former 11-year head coach of the University of California? [read more]

Derrick Brooks weighs in

Lovie Smith landing as the 10th head coach in Bucs history wasn’t too much about Xs and Os, says Bucs icon and 2014 Hall of Fame finalist Derrick Brooks.

Team Glazer could not longer tolerate the New Schiano Order. [read more]

One thing that excites Joe about having Leslie Frazier as defensive coordinator is his background as a cornerback. Sadly, Joe’s old enough to remember Frazier leading the legendary 1985 Bears defense with six interceptions.

Frazier blew out his knee in the ’85 Super Bowl and then jumped into college and NFL coaching, and he has a great track record with defensive backs. [read more]

“Well, Mr. Joseph. You’re getting paid up here, but we need to pay you down here.”

Longtime Packers vice president Andrew Brandt, a personnel chief in Green Bay for 10 years negotiating player contracts, made a great point about Lovie Smith’s new role as Bucs’ all-powerful football man.

If players know Lovie is the biggest man on campus , then they know he’s involved in the money side of the game. That can be sticky. [read more]

This year’s list of candidates for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame was cut down to 15 tonight, and Bucs icons John Lynch, Derrick Brooks and Tony Dungy made the cut.

It is Brooks’ and Dungy’s first year of eligibility.

The “final 15,” plus two old timers, will be voted on before the Super Bowl. There is no set number of men to get in the Hall each year. Between four and seven will be in the 2014 class, and they must earn 80 percent of the vote.

Joe’s actually surprised Lynch made the cut over great Broncos safety Steve Atwater. They were similar players, and Atwater didn’t have nearly the surrounding cast.

Longtime cornerback Aeneas Williams made the final-15, as well. Bucs fans who want Ronde Barber in the Hall of Fame should be hoping Williams makes it. If Williams doesn’t get in, then it’s going to be much tougher for Barber when his time comes.

Raiders great Tim Brown, who finished his career with the Bucs, also is a finalist.

Continuing his impressive media tour of just about every NFL outlet known to the free world, new Bucs coach Lovie Smith recently appeared on “Late Hits,” co-hosted by Alex Marvez and Bill Polian, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. [read more]

This evening the Bucs announced/confirmed the hiring of more assistant coaches under Lovie Smith, new offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

Here are the names/positions:

Marcus Arroyo: quarterbacks
Joe Cullen: defensive line
Andrew Hayes-Stoker: wide receivers
Dave Kennedy: head strength and conditioning
Larry Marmie: senior defensive assistant
Hardy Nickerson: linebackers
Kevin O’Dea: special teams coordinator
Mikal Smith: safeties coach
Tim Spencer: running backs coach
Ben Steele: offensive quality control
Matt Wiegand: assistant offensive line coach.

Presumed offensive line coach Tony Sparano was not part of the official release.

Hayes-Stoker seems like a curious hire at wide receivers coach. He’s 34 years old and was a college fullback/running back. He worked as an assistant wide receivers coach with the Bears under Lovie Smith before leaving for a running backs coach job at Florida International University last year.

Joe doesn’t know the guy, but one would think Tedford would have had a more seasoned receivers coach to turn to.

Giants vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross is rumored to be on the Bucs’ radar as a GM candidate.

A couple of media outlets in the frozen northeast — hey, Joe is typing this from an empty bar in frozen Illinois, where earlier today he saw rare creatures called “snowplows” — seem to think the Bucs are looking at Giants vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross to fill Tampa Bay’s general manager job.

Both Newsday and the Newark Star-Ledger cite the ever dangerous” source familiar with the situation,” who claims the Bucs asked and received permission from the Giants to speak with Ross. [read more]

The Chiefs did not block the Bucs from interviewing their director of player personnel, Chris Ballard.

It was believed the Bucs, in their quest to fill the void left when former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik was jettisoned, were blocked by the Chiefs from interviewing front office type Chris Ballard.

Not true, says Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, who just got an update from a reliable NFL contact. [read more]

Gerald McCoy weighs in on drafting Johnny Football

Everybody’s got a take on Johnny Football, and that includes Bucs back-to-back Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy.

Asked on Jay Mohr Sports today whether Johnny Football could be a good pro quarterback drafted by Tampa Bay with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft, McCoy didn’t do a wacky Greg Schiano line stunt with the question; he bull rushed it. [read more]

It’s seems Lovie didn’t get his man

The chatter swirling about Chiefs director of pro personnel Chris Ballard being targeted by Lovie Smith as the next Buccaneers general manager has died.

ProFootballTalk.com guru Mike Florio delivered the simple reason this afternoon. Ballard didn’t want the gig.

The team explained that, while Ballard has great affection and respect for new Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith, Ballard has a young family, he has moved multiple times in recent years, and he is happy working with coach Andy Reid, G.M. John Dorsey, and owner Clark Hunt.

And so the Chiefs denied the request to interview Ballard, at Ballard’s request.

The quest continues for the Bucs to find the 1b to Lovie’s 1a.

Tears weren’t shed for Greg Schiano

Gerald McCoy was given every opportunity to throw love at Greg Schiano today on the national Jay Mohr Sports show.

McCoy didn’t bite.

“I think a fresh start was needed,” said of the hire of Lovie Smith. [read more]