The NFL head coach carousel took a late spin Wednesday evening. In rather shocking news, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fired head coach Lovie Smith. Some of the Bucs players are not pleased by the development. You can check out a screenshot of reactions down below.
Smith joined the Bucs in 2014. They went 2-14 his first year, and then went 6-10 this year during Jameis Winston's rookie year. They showed some improvement, but had plenty of issues along the way. I think the Bucs could have finished with a better record, but I also don't see how it was enough to justify firing him. But it is entirely possible there is something else going on that we don't know about. I imagine competing leaks will be worth following in the coming days.
This throws the league-wide coaching search for a little bit of a loop. It will be interesting to see if somebody wants to bring in Lovie, and it will be equally interesting to see if the chance to work with Jameis Winston brings in one of the offensive assistants interviewing this week.
Here's some more Buccaneers player reactions. Not pretty. pic.twitter.com/T2nwfOyB6Q
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) January 7, 2016