A look at the 2016 new NFL head coaches
By Brian Miller
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New head coach – Dirk Koetter
Previous head coach – Lovie Smith
Tampa Bay surprised a lot of people when they fired Lovie Smith a week after their season ended. Smith didn’t do a bad job with the team as he was in the process of a rebuild starting a rookie quarterback to boot. Rumors ran rampant that the firing was directly or at least partially a result of interest from the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins asked permission to interview Koetter and Smith was fired the next day.
Koetter was the first and probably only choice for Tampa after the Smith firing. Everything else was geared towards putting on a game face and satisfying the “Rooney Rule”. Koetter is believed to be a top offensive mind. He worked very well with rookie Jameis Winston and Winston began to show great strides as the season progressed. Koetter will need to either replace the staff or get those he retains on board with what he wants to bring to the team.
Koetter is regarded as a very good quarterback developer and this will be his first head coaching job in the NFL. He has previously been head coach at Boise State University and Arizona State University as well as a head coach in the high-school ranks. His first coaching job.
Next: Ben McAdoo