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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will interview Lovie Smith as their first candidate, according to Ian Rapoport. The Bucs' coaching search has only just begun but it already seems to be heading towards a conclusion, and that conclusion seems to look like Lovie Smith. We won't know for certain until someone's hired, of course, but Smith is the clear favorite for the job right now.
Then again, as we've said for years: no one knows what the Glazers will do. Firing Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen and hiring Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik came out of left field in 2009. The pursuit of Chip Kelly and Greg Schiano two years ago was a massive surprise. While the rumors revolving around Lovie Smith seem a lot more concrete than in years past, these are still the Glazers we're talking about.
To make matters a little more interesting, Gil Arcia of The Bay Cave is reporting that Lovie Smith has recently purchased a house in the area, and that Smith could be the Bucs' next head coach within 48 hours. That seems pretty fast, but it's not unthinkable. Andy Reid was hired within five days of the season ending last season, and it the Bucs appear intent on getting Lovie Smith to come back to Tampa.
In unrelated news, our photo database needs some pictures of Lovie Smith doing something other than standing around, looking stoic.
