Change is constant in the National Football League. If a team does well, offensive and defensive coordinators become head coaches. If it does poorly, many coaching staffs may lose their jobs. For coaches, the N.F.L. stands for Not For Long, as former Falcons and Oilers coach Jerry Glanville once said.
Losses
Jon Embree (TE Coach), Jay Hayes (DL Coach), Dave Borgonzi (Defensive QC),
Additions
Todd Monken (Full Time Offensive Coordinator), Ben Steele (TE Coach), Skyler Fulton (WR Coach), Brentson Buckner (DL Coach), Anthony Perkins (Assistant to the Head Coach), Stephen Nicholas (Defensive QC)
Improvement or No?
Bucs fans got a little agitated that Defensive Coordinator Mike Smith held on to his job after a pitiful performance by the defense in 2017 and for a while, it looked like Dirk Koetter’s coaching staff would return completely intact.
Then, the hammer dropped on Jay Hayes, the defensive line coach. After leading the Bucs to a pitiful 22 sack performance and a subpar run defense, Hayes was sent packing. In addition, Koetter decided that WRs coach Todd Monken needed to focus his attention fully as offensive coordinator and set Monken to that task. While it’s assumed Koetter will continue to call the plays, Monken will basically build the game plans and do everything that an OC is expected to do.
To replace Hayes, the Bucs nabbed renowned defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, who did great things with the Arizona Cardinals over the last few years, and elevated some in-house assistants, Skyler Fulton and Ben Steele, who replaced Jon Embree, who left for the 49ers staff.
To round out the staff, Koetter added Nicholas and Perkins.
So is it an upgrade? Well, most of the coaches are young, except for Buckner, who is expected to have an immediate impact on the defensive line. Monken’s focus being totally on the offense should help Koetter build game plans to exploit the weaknesses of their opponents and utilize their talent to the utmost ability.
I’d say with those two changes, the Bucs coaching staff has improved. Is it enough to survive 2018? We’ll find out.
J.C. De La Torre
Want to give JC a piece of your mind? E-mail him at JC@whatthebuc.net JC De La Torre is formerly a columnist/blogger for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blog site BucsNation.com where in 2016, he was nominated as best sportswriter in Tampa Bay by Creative Loafing. Previously, he served as a featured columnist for Bleacher Report on Tampa Bay sports, an editor and featured columnist for SB Nation Tampa Bay covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Gators, wrote for NFL.com’s Blog Blitz and contributed to Pewter Report, one of the top magazines on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. JC is also a filmmaker, comic writer and rabid Whovian.
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