In one of the more unexpected offseason coaching changes, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers revealed that they had fired head coach Lovie Smith on Wednesday night. This according to multiple outlets including NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The news comes after the Bucs finished with a 6-10 record in Smith’s second season with the team. It was a four win improvement from his first year in charge.
The #Bucs have fired Lovie Smith.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2016
Smith had previously been head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2004-12. In his nine seasons at the helm in Chicago, the Bears made the playoffs three times. That included 13-3 campaign in 2006 which culminated in an appearance in Super Bowl XLI where they would eventually fall to the Indianapolis Colts. But after a second consecutive missed playoffs after the 2012 season, Smith was let go.
The 57-year-old Smith had taken the 2013 season off before assuming head coaching duties in Tampa the following year. His inaugural season saw the Bucs finish with the worst record in the league which enabled them to pick first in the 2015 NFL Draft. It was then that they selected Florida State’s Jameis Winston to be their quarterback of the future.
Winston emerged as one of the top rookies in the league, finishing with 4,042 yards passing combined with 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. His relatively efficient play was one of the reasons the Bucs jumped out to a 5-5 record after a 45-17 Week 12 win over Philadelphia. Combined with a defense that ranked in the top ten in total yards allowed, the outlook for the future appeared to be bright in Tampa.
But the Bucs lost five of their last six including four in a row to close out the season. It culminated with a 38-10 drubbing to the eventual NFC South champion Carolina Panthers which saw Tampa Bay get outscored 24-0 in the second quarter. It’s likely the manner in which the team finished left a sour enough taste in the front office’s mouth to warrant a coaching change.
Smith finishes with an 8-24 record in his two seasons as Bucs head coach and is 89-87 overall.
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