The Associated Press has announced the winners of its postseason awards, as they do every year. The most important award, the one of Most Valuable Player, was unsurprisingly handed out to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Fellow NFC North QB Matt Stafford won Comeback Player of the Year. Two other quarterbacks also won awards, and the Bucs must be thrilled that both of them reside in the NFC South: Drew Brees won Offensive Player of the Year while Cam Newton won Offensive Rookie of the Year. Finally, Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller won Rookie of the Year and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs won Defensive Player of the Year.

Surprisingly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won no awards. I blame that mostly on the lack of awards like "worst tackler" (Tanard Jackson), "worst quitters" (half the team), "most blowouts", "most disappointing player" (Josh Freeman), or "worst collapse in the history of the NFL".

The 2012 NFL Hall of Fame class has just been announced, and it will consist of Pittsbrugh Steelers center Dermontti Dawson, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Jack Butler, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers defensive end Chris Doleman, Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, New England Patriots and New York Jets running back Curtis Martin and New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Willie Roaf.

This isn't exactly the strongest class, but it was very heavily focused on linemen on both sides of the ball. The Bucs' only inductee in the Hall is a defensive lineman as well: Lee Roy Selmon. He could realistically be joined by two players next year, when both Warren Sapp and John Lynch are eligible. While Mike Alstott is eligible too, he is very unlikely to get in to the Hall of Fame.

But the lineman-heavy selection this year bodes well for Warren Sapp next year, whose only real obstacle to getting into the Hall of Fame may be his rough handling of the media during his playing days. But based on his record as a player, he should see a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction next year. Especially so because issues like character and handling of the media don't officially impact the decisions of the Hall of Fame voters.

According to ESPN Chicago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hire former NFL receiver P.J. Fleck as their wide receivers coach. P.J. Fleck spent two seasons as Rutgers' receivers coach under new Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano, and was hired by Northern Illinois as its offensive coordinator just two days ago. He resigned just one day later, however, and Pewter Report quickly connected the dots.

P.J. Fleck played college football at Northern Illinois and went undrafted in the 2004 NFL draft. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers but never played in a game before becoming a coach. Since 2006 he has coached for Ohio State, Northern Illinois and Rutgers University. At Rutgers he coached Mohamed Sanu, likely to be a second-round NFL draft pick this year. With both Sanu's head coach and receivers coach now with the Bucs, he would be a logical target for the team.

This is the first assistant coaching hire for Greg Schiano, if the report turns out to be correct. The Bucs are likely to flesh out their staff over the next couple of days. The Bucs don't necessarily need to be speedy with these hires, as the team's coaches cannot work with the players for the next couple of months anyway per the CBA.

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers must find a good offensive coordinator to succeed, finding the right defensive coordinator is imperative as well. According to Peter King of Sports Illustrated the Bucs may find that person in the form of former Miami, Cleveland Browns and North Carolina head coach Butch Davis.

Butch Davis was the head coach at the University of Miami when Greg Schiano acted as its defensive coordinator in 1999 and 2000, explaining the connection between the two coaches. Davis is best known as ahead coach, acting as the Cleveland Browns' head coach from 2001 through 2004 and North Carolina's head coach from 2007 through 2010. While his college teams were renowned for tough defenses, his Cleveland defense was pretty awful throughout his tenure.

He does have experience as a defensive coordinator at the NFL level, however, coaching the Dallas Cowboys' defense in 1993 and 1994 after being the defensive line coach in Dallas from 1989 to 1992. Those defenses were some of the best in the NFL, so he does know how to put together a good NFL defense. In addition his experience as a head coach at the NFL level should help Schiano at his new job.

"There is going to be a Buccaneer Way, there are going to be Buccaneer Men."

Greg Schiano made an impression in his first press conference as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head coach. He was clear, collected, and had a presence to him. He looked like, for lack of a better term, a football coach. One thing was abundantly clear: this was not Raheem Morris, and things are about to change around One Buc Place. Schiano wants to build this team around three things: Trust, Belief and Accountability. TBA.

Schiano wants to build this team around a "humble, unselfish attitude of sacrifice". That Trust, Belief and Accountability will play a role in that.

"Trust. 100% honesty, there's no room for 99%. 100% honesty and do what you're supposed to do, when you're supposed to do it."

"Belief. Belief in yourself, number one. Belief in the Buccaneer way. There is going to be a Buccaneer way, there are going to be Buccaneer men. You've got to believe in that, otherwise this isn't the place."

"Accountability. All those things are great, but as a coaching staff and a team and an organization we have to hold each other accountable. That's not always easy, that's where it gets sticky, that's where it gets tough. That's my job as the head football coach, to make sure that's happening throughout the football team and the organization."

Schiano also has a clear vision of the team he wants to see on the field: great defense, winning the special teams battle, and being a physical offensive football team that takes shots down the field.

"It's very hard to go 12-, 13-, 14-play drives. If we miss on a shot we line up and play defense again, get the ball back, go after them again. Physical, run the football physically and take shots down the field. That formula works. As long as you play great defense and win the kicking game that formula works."

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed brand new head coach Greg Schiano to a five-year deal worth slightly more than $15 million, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. While that represents a small raise from his $2.3 million per year deal at Rutgers, it doesn't come close to the $6 million per year reportedly offered to Chip Kelly. While this isn't a bottom-dwelling head coaching deal, it's not exactly rich, either.

That's to be expected when hiring someone with as low a profile as Schiano has. Spending a relatively low amount on a head coach could give the Bucs a chance to spend big on coordinators and other assistant coaches, if they're so inclined.

The fact that Schiano signed a five-year deal should help him lure those quality assistants to Tampa Bay. It's the kind of commitment the Bucs never made to Raheem Morris, and it should give prospective coaches a sense of security in their jobs. With a five-year deal it's highly unlikely Schiano gets anything less than three years to turn around the franchise.

It is official now, according to Adam Schefter, as originally reported by Brett McMurphy: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have hired Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano to be their next head coach, and have signed him to a five-year deal. The Bucs were the only team still looking for a head coach, after they fired third-year head coach Raheem Morris on January 3.

Greg Schiano has been the head coach with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights since 2001, turning a perennial loser into a contender in the Big East. While his overall record is not overwhelming at 68-67, he has managed to get the Scarlet Knights to bowl games in six of the last seven years, winning five of those bowl games. Rutgers had not been to a bowl game since 1978 before the arrival of Greg Schiano.

Greg Schiano is a former defensive coordinator and has a reputation as a conservative, defensive head coach. According to Adam Schefter he had interviewed with the St. Louis Rams, and has been recommended by Bill Belichick and others. The next move will be to hire a quality coaching staff in Tampa Bay to support Greg Schiano.

The reactions among the fanbase on the potential hiring of Greg Schiano as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been mixed. The reactions among the media and NFL people have been largely positive, however. Schiano is not a no-name coach: he is respected around the football world, and has been targeted for NFL jobs before. So, let's see what people on twitter are saying about him:

Boston Globe Patriots beat writer Greg Bedard:

Loved Schiano the program builder, recruiter. Terrific preparation. Not a fan of game coaching. Reminded of Wannstedt, who he coached under

Former O-lineman, now ESPN radio host Ross Tucker:

All I know is EVERYBODY that knows/has worked with Greg Schiano speaks glowingly of him.

Agent & Former Eagles Pro Scouting Director Mike McCartney:

I worked with Greg Schiano for 5 years. He is a great coach and turning #Rutgers into relevance is pretty amazing per their history.

CBS College Writer Bruce Feldman:

IF Greg Schiano does leave, this is one of clearest cases of a coach who left a place much better than he found it.

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