Tampa Bay Buccaneers Plan to Hire Greg Schiano of Rutgers [UPDATE: Schiano Has Been Hired]
By Jason Lisk
[UPDATE: Peter King says the deal is “fast tracking and [Schiano] will be the coach of the Bucs.”]
[UPDATE II: Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports says Schiano has accepted the job.]
On the plus side, Schiano is used to working with young people, and used to working at a disadvantage to other schools, as he helped turn around a Rutgers program that had little historical success. If he takes the job, he’ll be working with one of the youngest rosters in the league. Tampa’s last playoff win was the Super Bowl in 2002 (the Bucs are 0-2 in the playoffs since, with both losses coming at home).
On the other hand, Schiano’s star in the college coaching profession isn’t exactly at it’s peak, though the Scarlet Knights did rebound from their first losing season since 2004 to go 9-4 and win the Pinstripe Bowl this year. The issues in Tampa are much deeper than the coach. Is ownership actually committed to spending to win? This potential hire, though a shocker because no one had Schiano moving to the NFL this year after he had bypassed opportunities in college in the past, doesn’t seem to be any worse than the other options facing Tampa Bay.
[photo via Getty]