Gerald McCoy hints at Greg Schiano's shortcomings

Gerald McCoy was one of Greg Schiano's stoutest supporters last year, at least publicly, but yesterday he got a chance to talk to the media about the difference between Schiano's regime, and Lovie Smith's. Scott Smith captured Gerald McCoy speaking to the media for his daily (and worthwhile) Buccaneers Insider video series. McCoy was pretty clear on the change he's seen in the building.

"We're going about it completely different. It's just, we're professional. Trust us to be professionals."

McCoy doesn't come out and say that Greg Schiano didn't treat the players as responsible adults, but that's basically the implication if his statement. That's hardly shocking, given the fact that Schiano obsessed over pasta sizes, but it is interesting that ultimate team-player Gerald McCoy even says this, after consistently supporting his coaches when they were still employed.

"It's been a while, I can honestly say, since you've seen guys smile this much, have this much fun," McCoy said. "We were a tight-knit group last year, that's how we got through all that circus. However, this group is really tight-knit and having a lot of fun really throughout the whole building. I mean, it's just a completely different feel around the building."

Of course, you'll always hear statements like that whenever there's a change in regime. When Raheem Morris left and Greg Schiano came in, players talked about how it added some discipline and accountability that was lacking. When Morris replaced Jon Gruden, we heard about Gruden's dishonesty and abrasiveness. Still, somehow, Lovie Smith feels like a massive upgrade. And it looks like Gerald McCoy agrees.

"It's definitely different than last year. Guys are just kind of like 'We've gotta get it done, we wanna win' and now it's like, 'these teams are going to have something to deal with'."