The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new offensive coordinator. The team announced Thursday it has hired Dirk Koetter, who spent the last three years running the offense for the division rival Atlanta Falcons.
Dirk Koetter hired as Buccaneers offensive coordinator
The Bucs are staying within the NFC South, snatching up the Falcons OC.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Bucs head coach Lovie Smith initially hired Jeff Tedford to run his offense, but health issues forced Tedford to take an indefinite leave of absence in August. That leave became permanent when the two sides agreed to part ways in early December.
Koetter was cut loose with the rest of the coaching staff in Atlanta after a two-year skid resulted in the firing of Mike Smith. But as bad as things got with the Falcons, Koetter’s offense remained one of the league’s best. The unit ranked in the top 10 in yards and points in two of his three seasons at the helm, finishing eighth in both categories in 2014.
Of course in Atlanta, Koetter had the benefit of coaching a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback in Matt Ryan. The situation under center is significantly more muddled in Tampa. Josh McCown, who will be 36 before the start of next season, was disappointing in 2014 and second-year man Mike Glennon doesn't look like a long-term solution. The Bucs do own the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, however, and could elect to spend that pick on a quarterback like Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston.
With Tedford gone and no steady option under center, Tampa Bay ranked third from the bottom in yards per game and averaged just 17.3 points in 2014.
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