The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have parted ways with quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo, as first reported by Rick Stroud and since confirmed by many other writers. Arroyo was effectively the Bucs' offensive coordinator last year, replacing Jeff Tedford when he was forced to abandon his job due to heart surgery.
Arroyo released an official statement, via Mike Garafolo.
"I just want to thank Lovie Smith, Jason Licht, the Glazer family, and the entire Buccaneer organization. I appreciated the opportunity to come in as a QB coach and I accepted the additional work and responsibilities for game planning placed upon me unexpectedly after Jeff's illness. Despite these difficult circumstances, I enjoyed my time here very much. I am certainly looking forward to continuing my coaching career in the NFL, and this experience will prove invaluable."
While Marcus Arroyo oversaw the worst offense in the NFL last year, he was also thrown into a pretty terrible situation. He was saddled with a terrible offensive line, had no experience in the NFL and was forced to suddenly become an offensive coordinator and play-caller by mid-preseason -- a job he was utterly unprepared to take on, having just had one year of experience as a play-caller in college.
Still, it's understandable that the Bucs weren't happy with his performance. It's even more understandable that they're not ready to hand the development of whoever they add at quarterback this offseason to a coach who has almost no NFL experience. And it's understandable that offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter will want to hand-pick his own quarterbacks coach.
Update: JoeBucsFan reports that assistant offensive line coach Matt Wiegand has also been fired.