There has been some movement among Bucs coaches, some guessed at, some real. This is not uncommon within the NFL.

But for some Bucs fans, this is cause for alarm. That was one subject explored during a recent ESPN NFC South chat.

redzone jones (NY)

I feel its a little strange that 4 coaches have left the Bucs after 1 season of being on the staff. 2 got hired to Head Coaches but why would a 7-9 team get poached? Cooper left to be the same position somewhere else. Thoughts?

Pat Yasinskas

Two guys with some college background got head coaching jobs in college. On Cooper, somebody had to take the fall for the horrible pass defense, so i don’t think that one was poaching. On the D-line coach, I don’t know.

Well, let’s think about this a moment: P.J. Fleck, who Bucs receivers loved and who guided the group to the best results in Bucs history, got offered a head coaching gig at 32 years old. How is this a bad thing? Why would anyone try to pin this as a negative on the Bucs much less Greg Schiano? Geez. Is a guy not allowed to seek career advancement?

As for Ron Turner, Joe only wished he could have bought him a farewell beer from a local craft brewery. Turner’s resume is less than spectacular and Joe isn’t shedding tears that he got a head coaching gig in South Florida. Look, “this Joe” is from the cornfields of Illinois but one would have to be brain damaged to prefer a gig in Champaign than Miami.

And yes, the Bucs are not changing defensive line coaches.

So in Joe’s eyes, thus far, only one transaction among coaches has been made from the pen of Schiano, and to suggest a guy in charge of a unit that nearly set an NFL record for most yards allowed should have been granted job security, Joe believes said person has been ordering too many double-Captains.

There is no conspiracy here.

The Bucs hired decorated NFL wide receivers coach John McNulty, the former Rutgers offensive coordinator, to be their quarterbacks coach today. He was a receivers coach for years under Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville and under Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona, where Larry Fitzgerald loved him so much he flew him to a Pro Bowl. McNulty also worked for Bill Parcells.

But Joe can’t say he likes this hire.

Josh Freeman could have used a QB coach who is a true quarterbacks guru, preferably one who played the position and who could really go deep on Freeman with his mechanics. In other words, the best QB coach — or team of QB coaches — on the market.

McNulty was a defensive back at Penn State in the 1980s. He volunteered to be Arizona’s QB coach last season, and Arizona’s quarterbacks situation was ugly.

Isn’t it allegedly all about No. 5?

And if competition is supposedly coming for Freeman, perhaps from a rookie, Joe really thinks the Bucs have shortchanged themselves with this hire.

Joe sincerely hopes the Bucs plan to hire a QB mechanics maven as a consultant to work with McNulty and Freeman during the offseason.

“Randy, if you can mold Gerald McCoy into a Pro Bowler, you are my man.”

Despite a PewterReport.com report this week that claimed the Bucs had parted ways with defensive line coach Randy Melvin, the Bucs plan on retaining him at his same position.

Both Joe, confirming independently through a trusted Bucs front office source, and Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, are reporting Melvin has not been fired.

In fact, Melvin, unless he seeks employment elsewhere, will be coaching the Bucs defensive line in 2013.

Additionally, there are several reports that confirm longtime Schiano confidant John McNulty has been hired to replace the void left by Ron Turner as the Bucs quarterback coach, a move that had been speculated.

The Bucs’ sack total from the defensive line this year was, again, miserable, and pretty much has been since Simeon Rice left the Bucs. That’s five years the Bucs have searched for a pass rusher that makes quarterbacks buy Pampers?

Draft pick after draft pick and the Bucs still don’t have a scary pass rush. The subpar 2012 season again cost the Bucs a defensive line coach for lack of sack production.

In 2010, Adrian Clayborn seemed showed talent and had splashes where he reminded Bucs fans of Rice, especially when he planted Matty Ice into the turf of the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

The defense suffered a blow when Clayborn blew out a knee early this season. But it appears Clayborn has a clean bill of health to continue his rehab, so he Twittered this morning.

@AJaClay: Bout to see my doc…hopefully I get some good news and I can start running.

(An hour later… )

@AJaClay: Knee is good!

And that means the Bucs are good!

Hopefully, with a reinvigorated Clayborn, Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy and a return of Michael Bennett and a healthy Da’Quan Bowers, the Bucs will be able to make quarterbacks have untimely accidents on the field, which used to happen when Warren Sapp and Rice danced and pranced.

Making a Pro Bowl and a playing a full season is just one hurdle for Gerald McCoy, says Derrick Brooks

It seems Bucs icon Derrick Brooks is taking a measured approach to the emergence of Gerald McCoy as a recognized superstar.

Speaking on WDAE-AM 620 this week, Brooks was told some fans still think McCoy is a bust and was asked for his take on the Bucs’ big-money, Pro Bowl defensive tackle. Brooks did not play cheerleader and was not horrified by the inference that McCoy could be a bust.

Brooks said McCoy earned the Pro Bowl berth, but it’s just a small part of the big picture.

“I was happy for him to finish a season,” Brooks said of McCoy. “I think that was the No. 1 goal, was to finish a season healthy and let’s see what happens.Now, you’ve set this [Pro Bowl year] as a standard that he has to build on. I mean, you could look at the other D-tackle up in Detroit [Ndamukong Suh], did he have the same impact this year that he did last year? No. And it could because of the defense as a whole. It could be because of him. Who knows.

“But I will say [McCoy] got through the first hurdle of finishing the season healthy. And now it’s something to build on. To determine if he’s, you know, a bust at this point, it’s something that we can’t determine and will continue to build on.”

Sure McCoy has more to achieve, but Joe’s a bit surprised there aren’t more warm and fuzzy feelings for McCoy. At 24 years old, he’s proven he’s not a bust and the prime of his career lies ahead.

Plus, his teammates voted him captain, he’s outspoken to media (which means he communicates with fans) and he’s been a pillar in the community. This morning, McCoy is speaking at a Tampa elementary school and helping distribute eyeglasses to needy kids. Yesterday, he did the same thing.

Yeah, a Hall of Fame career would be nice, but Bucs fans and observers should be able to appreciate McCoy’s impact.

If Quincy Black’s medical status doesn’t change by April, the Bucs may have to reassess linebacker needs for the draft.

One Bucs bright spot to celebrate this past season was the transformation of the rush defense and the front seven.

Just by adding a second round draft pick who appears to be a major NFL star in the making, Lavonte David, Bucs linebackers went from wretched to remarkable all in the span of 16 games.

Even when outside linebacker Quincy Black, who was having his best NFL season by far, went down with a scary upper body nerve injury, the Bucs’ rush defense didn’t fall back much.

So it struck Joe to read a missive in the TBO Bucs Q&A stump for Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to draft and/or add a linebacker via free agency.

Q: Don’t you think the Bucs need LB help either in free agency or the draft?

– Michael Stanley, Columbus, Miss.

A: I do indeed. I believe they could use a little depth there at least. May even need to start looking for a new SLB. We’re still not sure how Quincy Black is after suffering that neck stinger.

– Woody Cummings

Need help at linebacker? No.

Could the Bucs use help at linebacker? Yes, of course.

The last time Joe heard Bucs coach Greg Schiano speak of Black, there was no assurance that Black would be 100 percent by the time training camp rolls around in roughly six months — yes, six months to training camp. Black is seeking all sorts of feedback from medical specialists across the country, if not beyond borders. The fact the Bucs and Black have even gone international in seeking advice about Black’s injury tells Joe this is a very serious injury Black suffered.

So if Black remains a question mark to return by the time the draft rolls around, then sure, Joe can live with drafting a linebacker, say in the third round.

As the Bucs stand approaching late January, Joe isn’t ready to anoint linebacker as a priority need for the 2013 season.

It seems like only yesterday that Bucs fans were wondering why Chucky was so stubbornly resistant to ever putting his quarterback in the shotgun formation. Now the ol’ ball coach is crediting it for having rookie QBs NFL ready.

Below is a rare piece of a Chucky interview where he gets into some Xs and Os and doesn’t claim to love anyone. Chucky seems to accept young-and-ready QBs as a legitimate phenomenon in the NFL with no sign of stopping. Joe wonders how this could affect the perceived value of Josh Freeman going forward.

Joe’s glad to see he’s not the only one breathing a huge sigh of relief because Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan didn’t land as a head coach Chicago, in what what have been a devastating setback to Josh Freeman and the offense.

Vincent Jackson expressed similar sentiment, documented by Buccaneers video mogul Scott Smith, and explained that continuity alone should help the Bucs as they try to squeeze the most out of every last minute of practice time, which is restricted by the player-owner labor agreement.

“I think it’s huge,” said Jackson of Sullivan’s return.  “To get that year under your belt is huge, and if we had gotten a new guy here we could have had a different system and we would have had to pretty much start from scratch like we did last year.  So having this confidence – you know, we kind of know what to expect from him and the coaching staff knows what to expect from us – it’s definitely going to give us a head start this offseason.”

The Bucs didn’t achieve their postseason goals, but they did set new franchise single-season records for points scored, yards gained and passing yards gained.  Obviously, the arrival of Jackson (and rookie RB Doug Martin) had a lot to do with that, and Jackson thinks the Bucs can top themselves again in 2013, thanks to that much-appreciated continuity.

“I think there is a huge chance that we will be a lot better just because the fact that, again, you feel all different kinds of struggle when [you] get a new coordinator or [you] get a new head coach and everything is kind of fresh,” he said. “Even though we put in lots of work and I felt we were playing at a high level and we felt very comfortable with the system, you know, well early on in the season there were still things we could improve on and we could have been more consistent with. I expect us to definitely to have a head start on that. This offseason we won’t have to spend as much time installing, you know. Some of the veteran guys will know what is expected of them and know all of the calls and formations.  We’re all in this league racing against the clock, with the union and all the hours we are only allowed to do in the offseason and during the season, that’s what we’re all competing against.  It’s preparation. So for us to have that knowledge under our belt, it’s definitely going to help us.”

Smith has more excellent nuggets from Jackson, which you can find by clicking above.

Joe finds it interesting that Jackson talked about how the Bucs could have been more consistent and tighter early in the season, versus later in the year during the December collapse. It was a similar sentiment that former wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck told Joe last week, when Fleck said alleged miscommunication between Freeman and receivers was more a function of defenses catching up to the Bucs than anything else.

Regardless, Joe, along with Jackson, is confident that Year 2 of the Sullivan offense should translate to stellar and consistent production given the Bucs’ talent. There really are no more excuses.

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In his most scathing indictment to date of the current Bucs brass, former Bucs quarterback and current NBC Sports Network analyst Shaun King says “the Bucs are just wasting time” because of the lack of skills and smarts of Greg Schiano and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik.

One of only three QBs to lead the Bucs to the NFC Championship game, King says the firing of defensive backs coach Ron Cooper and defensive line coach Randy Melvin, is further evidence of the ineptitude of the regime.

“Who does that after the first year if you hire correctly?” King asked rhetorically on WDAE-AM 620 today. “But the problem becomes the elite teachers in the National Football League aren’t going to come here.”

King repeated his takes that he didn’t like the Schiano hire, and that Dominik “is not good at his job,” and he said it’s a red flag that Schiano, a defensive guy, used a defense that needs an overhaul. “Those schemes and those philosophies they’re using on defense are flawed,” King said.

King, a St. Pete native, went on to express his deep, lifelong love for the Buccaneers and belief that Mike Sullivan will move on in the near future as a hot head coaching candidate, therefore the Bucs are “spinning their wheels.” (The entire audio can be accessed below.)

Bucs icon Derrick Brooks is not surprised the Bucs have taken a “no-hurry” approach to extending Josh Freeman’s contract, which expires after the 2013 season.

In fact, Brooks says Greg Schiano’s two-week-old statement of desiring competition for Freeman would be rendered meaningless if Freeman was re-signed.

“No need to rush anything, One, in terms of respecting the head coach’s position on this and creating competition, extending a contract at this time kind of eliminates that opportunity that a head coach wants to do when it comes to creating that environment at that position,” Brooks said.

Brooks makes a sound point. Looking to lock up Freeman now, even a team-friendly deal, would essentially make Schiano’s alleged desire for completion for Freeman a complete sham. Of course, Joe finds it to be somewhat of a sham now, considering there are no quality quarterbacks laying around that are going to challenge Freeman for a starting spot.

Plus, throw in the fact that Schiano and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik assessed Freeman off his heinous 2011 season and decided he didn’t need competition. All they talked about last year at this time was Freeman hitting the “reset button” to recreate his 2010 success. So for Joe, that’s not a sign Dominik and Schiano have the core belief of competition at all positions.

Brooks also made the point that Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco and Tom Brady played into the final years of their contracts, so there’s no reason to think the Bucs are slighting Freeman or doing anything unexpected.

The way Josh Freeman tossed footballs downfield to Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams, Joe thought that, despite Freeman’s untimely December meltdown, Freeman would have decent numbers converting third downs.

After all, if Freeman set passing records for the Bucs franchise, it would stand to reason his third down conversion wasn’t too bad, no?

Apparently, no!

The thinktank crowd of ProFootballFocus.com decided to analyze their files to find the most clutch quarterbacks in 2012. Surprisingly, Freeman was in the bottom third in the NFL.

Freeman was ranked No. 24, just above Mark Sanchez and Brandon Weeden and just below Carson Palmer and Ryan Tannehill.

Clearly, if the Bucs are going to make the playoffs next season — a critical season for Freeman’s tenure as the Bucs’ starting quarterback — this is an area in which Freeman must rank among the top half of the NFL, not the bottom half.

Liquor sales reached an all-time record in the state of Ohio last year, and that trend should continue if the latest news out of Cleveland Browns camp gets serious.

Raheem Morris, the architect of the failed Tampa 2.0 defense, will interview soon for the Browns’ defensive coordinator position, per various reports out of Ohio and the Tampa Bay Times.

Apparently, new Browns head coach Rob Chudzynski has no interest in stopping the run.

Raheem coached the Redskins secondary in 2012. The unit ranked 30th in the NFL.

Joe thinks Raheem is a much better head coaching candidate than a potential defensive coordinator. He at least had stunning success as a head coach in 2010, when the Bucs were 10-6, started a bunch of rookies, and he was a deserving coach of the year candidate. But as a defensive coordinator, Raheem was dreadful on all fronts.

Joe wishes Raheem well.

This is an intriguing development.

Despite Roy Miller having a breakthrough season, Gerald McCoy making his first Pro Bowl, Michael Bennett solidifying himself as an upper tier defensive end, and Daniel Te’o-Nesheim exceeding all expectations, the Bucs have parted ways with defensive line coach Randy Melvin, per a report this evening by PewterReport.com head man Scott Reynolds.

Melvin earned a Super Bowl ring coaching under Bill Belicheat and coached for Greg Schiano at Rutgers, in addition to other stints in the NFL. Before he joined the Bucs, he was working in the CFL.

Joe has not received any comment or confirmation on the report from the Buccaneers.

“Front-7” coach Bryan Cox spent a lot of hands-on time with the Bucs defensive line. It seemed to Joe, from viewing locker room interaction, sideline chatter and practices, that Cox was closer with the D-linemen than the linebackers. Perhaps that has something to do with the Bucs making a change.

Joe will monitor this through the night and provide updates.

Joe was out at this morning’s East-West Shrine practice at Shorecrest Prep in St. Petersburg (got to sit next to Ted Thompson!) and took copious notes on what he saw, with specific attention paid to the cornerbacks — the biggest need of the Bucs. The East-West Shrine Game, which will be held at the Fruitdome at 4 p.m. Saturday, will be televised on NFL Network with a radio broadcast on WDAE-AM 620. 

Josh Johnson, CB, Purdue, 5-11, 195: Giving up way too much cushion to Florida State’s Rodney Smith, some eight yards. Later, blown coverage on Smith who was lonelier than an orphan downfield. During scrimmage, despite height disadvantage, did a nice job of fighting Auburn’s Emory Blake for the ball along the left sideline. On the next play, Blake skied high for a lob pass that Johnson had no prayer of getting to.

Branden Smith, CB, Georgia, 5-11, 175: Also giving up way too much real estate, effectively taking himself out of the play by North Carolina’s Erik Highsmith. Later, blanketed the Seminoles receiver who did a wonderful job shielding the Bulldogs corner on a high pass, going up to catch the pass with his right hand along the left sideline. Also, fine coverage on Virginia Tech’s Marcus Davis, reading a pass perfectly, breaking back and jumping Davis for the interception. Later, flew in and jumped a pass intended for Blake over the middle. On next play, Fuller again used his body to get in front of Smith and broke back for a catch. Later, doesn’t jam a receiver off the line but his coverage is like a second skin but Fuller used his height advantage to box out Smith along the left sideline for a catch. Near the end of scrimmage, read a pass perfectly for an interception on either a misread by the quarterback or a blown route.

Melvin White, CB, Louisiana-Lafayette, 6-3, 191: Auburn’s Blake Emory, who broke right for the catch, did so with little effort. Later, White was worked over on a cut-in route by Virginia Tech’s Cory Fuller and gets burned when Fuller breaks back for a pass. This seems to be a recurring issue for White.

Xavier Brewer, CB, Clemson, 5-11, 190: Good coverage on Army’s Trent Steelman who made a heck of a play for a catch. Later against Navy’s Brandon Turner, coverage was so physical he didn’t have a chance for the intended cut-back pass. During scrimmage, had outstanding coverage on New Mexico’s Lucas Reed (6-6, 255) but using his size, Reed outfought Brewer for the pass using his big body.

Brandon McGee, CB, Miami, 6-0, 197: Decent coverage on what turned out to be a bad pass intended for Boston College’s Chris Pantale but was way over his head.

Earl Wolff, safety, North Carolina State, 6-0, 207: Was left eating dust on a route over the middle but made a wonderful recovery, reacting perfectly to the ball and breaking up the pass.

Rodney Smith, WR, Florida State, 6-6, 219: Got open in coverage right away in traffic but quickly dropped the ball.

Kejuan Riley, safety, Alabama State, 6-1, 208: Had no chance for the ball on a bad pass while giving up a significant height advantage to Rutgers tight end D.C. Jefferson.

Nick Moody, LB, Florida State, 6-2, 237: Did a nice job of using his body as a shield, preventing tight end from getting to the thrown ball on a swing pass to the right.

Colby Cameron, QB, Louisiana Tech, 6-2, 205: Took a terribly high snap out of a shotgun formation and converted what was a busted play into a nice, heads-up gain around the right side.

Trey Wilson, CB, Vanderbilt, 5-11, 190: On a running back pass option, was in perfect position for an interception but failed to turn around to look for the ball, even while coaches were yelling “should be a pick” while the ball was in the air.

There are few people Joe respects more than “The Godfather,” Gil Brandt. The architect of the famed Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the late 1960s-early 1980s, Brandt now works for the NFL and hosts a show on SiriusXM NFL Radio and his attention to detail and memory recall is astounding.

Brandt put up his first mock draft of the mock season and he has Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik picking an offensive lineman in the first round.

No. 13 Buccaneers
D.J. Flucker, OT, Alabama. Fluker is strong and is good in the run game. He’d give the Bucs someone to pair with left tackle Donald Penn.

Now in Joe’s eyes, this isn’t as absurd as it may seem at first glance.

Yes, the Bucs need corners, no question. But there really aren’t any top shelf corners in the draft, so selecting one at No. 13 may be a reach. Joe has glanced at several mocks that have cornerback Xavier Rhodes of Florida State going later in the first round.

It was just this week that Dominik gave a lukewarm response to the future of Demar Dotson at right tackle. The only reason why Dotson got a starting job was that Jeremy Trueblood played his way out of a starting gig.

It also seems unlikely that the Baron of Berlin, defensive end Bjoern Werner of Florida State, a quarterback’s nightmare, will be there at No. 13.

Joe has been told corners are “three rounds deep” in the draft and that you can get quality value on a corner in the third round. Joe can testify from first hand knowledge the Bucs are doing their due diligence scouring the college ranks and homework on corners. There’s no reason to think the Bucs are stuck on a first-round corner.

If Dominik does pull the trigger on Flucker, Joe doesn’t want to hear another word about how Freeman needs more toys.

Joe thinks any Bucs fan that wasn’t tossing and turning nightly over the thought of losing offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan might not be a true Bucs fan.

Not that Sullivan is Don Coryell, but his loss in 2013 would have been nothing short of a disastrous change for Josh Freeman.

Sullivan interviewed for the Bears head coaching vacancy, but today the Bears hired Marc Trestman. So it seems Sullivan is sure to be back calling plays this season.

This is soothing news, not Rachel Watson soothing, but soothing nonetheless.

“You listen to me, Dominik. Michael Bennett’s getting paid with or without you.”

The Michael Bennett sweepstakes appear to be heating up early.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll chatted with media yesterday, stunned by his team’s loss and sack-free performance in Atlanta on Sunday, and he declared that scoring a couple of pass rushers is Seattle’s offseason priority.

Joe suspects Bennett’s agent, oily Drew Rosenhaus, is rejoicing over Carroll’s public outcry and is preparing to extract every last dime Bennett can score on the unrestricted free agent market.

How could Seattle not want a versatile guy like Bennett? He’s a manbeast against the run, second in the NFL in “run-stuffs” in 2012, (Frank Gore and Stephen Jackson live in their division), and Bennett can get after the passer.

It’s an odd free-agent class for defensive ends.

Old and somewhat worn out studs Richard Seymour, Dwight Freeney and Osi Umenyiora will be available when the free agency bell rings in March, as will Lions DE Cliff Avril, who had 9 1/2 sacks in 2012 and earned $10.7 million as the Lions franchise player. And then there’s Bennett.

Joe sincerely hopes the Bucs can lock up Bennett before he’s free to test the market in March. If not, there’s always the franchise tag for 2013, a steep price, but the one that’s likely worth it.