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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fired head coach Greg Schiano and general manager Mark Dominik, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer (now confirmed by the team). A 4-12 season and a bad loss to the New Orleans Saints closed out the season. Schiano had a 11-21 record over his two seasons with the Bucs. Schiano was hired in 2012 after a lengthy coaching search, as the Bucs fired former head coach Raheem Morris following a similar 4-12 season.
Co-chairman Bryan Glazer released the following statement via the team website.
"The results over the past two years have not lived up to our standards and we believe the time has come to find a new direction. Mark has been a valued member of our organization for two decades and we respect the passion he showed for the Buccaneers during his time here. We thank Greg for his hard work and effort the past two seasons, but we feel these moves are necessary in order to achieve our goals,"
Schiano's tenure was plagued by on- and off-field issues. With a public image as a dictatorial manager, most of the off-field controversy this past year was lain at his feet. Josh Freeman turned in a disastrous performance over three games, and then created an ugly break with the Bucs with leaks going in both directions. Mike Glennon came in to replace the veteran, but Glennon's play was uneven, as is usually the case with rookie quarterbacks. A MRSA infection that hung over the team for months didn't help matters.
Most of all, though, the Buccaneers simply played bad football for too many games. Four wins with the talent the Bucs had on both sides of the ball simply was not going to be good enough. Personnel was consistently misused, with Darrelle Revis treated as just any other cornerback despite a $16 million per year pricetag, while the defense failed to properly use the best defensive tackle in the NFL in Gerald McCoy. Meanwhile, the team's offense was stagnant and poorly designed with an emphasis on power-running and deep balls, even when the personnel wasn't optimally suited to that style of play.
With Greg Schiano out, it remains to be seen what the Bucs will do with the rest of the coaching staff. The Glazers will now begin the search for a new head coach and general manager, while deciding what to do with the rest of their organization. Are we going to see another massive overhaul, or will they try to piece together a functioning NFL team by adding a head coach and keeping most of the rest in place?
