Buccaneers hire Lovie Smith as head coach

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have swiftly concluded their coaching search by hiring Lovie Smith, as first reported by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports. While the Bucs have not announced the hire officially, the Tampa Bay Times confirms that the team is finalizing a deal with the former Chicago Bears head coach.

Congratulations to the Bucs. I think they made a very good choice in hiring Lovie Smith. Now I'm excited about watching the Bucs next year!

— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) January 2, 2014

Lovie Smith spent five seasons with the Buccaneers in the late 1990s as a linebackers coach, helping Derrick Brooks reach his Hall of Fame level play. Smith then moved on to become the St. Louis Rams' defensive coordinator, and became the Chicago Bears' head coach from 2004 to 2012, racking up an 81-63 record and making it to the Super Bowl in 2006 where he lost to Tony Dungy's Colts.

Earlier reports suggested that Lovie Smith would hire former California Golden Bears head coach Jeff Tedford as his offensive coordinator, while Rich McKay, Jerry Angelo and Marc Ross have been named as potential general managers with Lovie at the helm.