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Six reasons why the Buccaneers should or shouldn't fire Greg Schiano

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't fired Greg Schiano, but the fanbase seems to think they should.

By Sander Philipse
Winslow Townson

Bucs nation is up in arms: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 0-3, just lost in embarrassing fashion to the New England Patriots, and rumors of player discontent are everywhere. Despite adding three All-Pros and two Pro Bowlers to the team the past two years, the Buccaneers continue to lose games. No wonder, then, that people are calling for Greg Schiano's head. Let's look at a few reasons why he should or shouldn't stay.

Three reasons why the Buccaneers should fire Greg Schiano

1. There's too much talent on this team to be 0-3

When Raheem Morris lost 13 games in his first season, the explanation was simple: he had no talent on the team. Now that Gus Bradley is losing games by the bucket in Jacksonville, no one's blaming him -- he can't win with those quarterbacks

Greg Schiano has no such excuse. The Buccaneers have arguably the best secondary in the NFL, a really good linebacking group and a good amount of talent on the defensive line. They have a good offensive line and one of the best pairs of starting wide receivers in the NFL. Yes, there are holes at tight end and the pass rush isn't up to snuff. And most importantly, the quarterback is inconsistent.

But for all of that, the Buccaneers simply have too much talent to be losing games the way they are. That goes back to coaching, and hence back to Greg Schiano.

2. All of the drama is an embarrassment to the organization

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a ridiculous amount of drama this offseason. There's the Josh Freeman drama, fueled by Greg Schiano's offseason remarks and their selecting Mike Glennon in the draft. There's the Darrelle Revis drama, and the Bucs weird misuse of the star cornerback. There are rumors everywhere that the players don't like Greg Schiano and are sick of his rigid coaching style.

Maybe none of that stuff is true. Maybe it's all just a media fabrication. That seems unlikely, but even if it is, the fact that those rumors emerge and are plausible -- that doesn't reflect very well on the organization. Embarrassing drama like that is not something anyone wants around his team.

3. The Bucs have won just one of the nine past games

It's not just talent, it's performance. Going 1-8 is never acceptable, but that's exactly what the Buccaneers have done. And it's not like we can point to them being unlucky or specific positives. For most of those games, both the defense and offense were awful. In the few where the offense was good, the defense was bad and the other way around.

The Buccaneers have not delivered an on-field product and that, more than anything, is a good argument for the removal of Greg Schiano as a head coach.

Three reasons why the Buccaneers shouldn't fire Greg Schiano

1. Firing coaches mid-season is useless

Whether or not Greg Schiano deserves to be fired at the end of the season remains to be seen, but a mid-season firing would be useless. New coaches can't implement new schemes, they can't overhaul either side of the ball. You need an offseason to implement any large-scale changes. Let's not forget that any interim coach is just going to be from Schiano's staff, and hence not be a major departure from his style of coaching.

If the Bucs were to fire Schiano before season's end, it would just be a change for change's sake. Not because they'd expect immediate improvement, but a move to appease a portion of the fanbase. The Glazers have never fired a coach before the end of the season, no matter how many games they lost, and I wouldn't expect them to start now.

2. The schedule has been very tough

Lost in the shuffle is the fact that the Bucs have lost three games to good teams. Those three teams have just one combined loss -- and that one loss came when the New York Jets lost to the New England Patriots. The Buccaneers were a few seconds removed from being 2-1.

As bad as it has been, this is not a football team that is not competitive. For now, it has put up a good fight in all the games -- although the defensive collapse late against the Patriots was a little concerning. But as long as the team is competitive and they're losing games on last-second issues, firing Schiano may be counterproductive.

3. The defense is doing well

For all the negatives, Greg Schiano has turned the defense into a very good unit. They've faced two of the top five NFL quarterbacks in three games, and still surrendered just 18 points per game. They've notched twelve sacks and five turnovers, and their blitzes are working while their run defense continues to be outstanding.

Schiano is first and foremost a defensive coach.and his defense is performing. Now he needs to find a way to get the offense going.

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