NFL Notebook: Bucs give Rutgers' Schiano shot at NFL head coaching
Fred Goodall
TAMPA, Fla. — The Buccaneers are counting on Greg Schiano to lead them back to respectability and transform Tampa Bay into consistent winners — much in the same way he made Rutgers matter again.
The 45-year-old former Scarlet Knights coach was hired Thursday, more than three weeks after the Bucs fired Raheem Morris following a 4-12 finish.
The team scheduled a press conference for today to introduce Schiano, who inherits a team that allowed the most points in the NFL this season.
"Coach Schiano is a bright, meticulous teacher who knows how to get the most out of his players," general manager Mark Dominik said. "He built and ran a pro-style program at Rutgers, and he's a defensive-minded coach whose teams have always been characterized by toughness and a physical style of play."
Schiano was at Rutgers for 11 seasons, taking them from college football laughingstocks to a program that has had winning records in six of the last seven years. He was an assistant coach in the NFL with Chicago from 1996-98.
The Bucs fired Morris on Jan. 2 after Tampa Bay lost 10 straight games to end the season, most of them by double-digit margins. The collapse following a promising 4-2 start came only a year after the NFL's youngest team went 10-6 and narrowly missed the playoffs.
The Glazer family that owns the team interviewed at least 10 candidates for the opening, including Oregon's Chip Kelly, who was offered the position before turning it down earlier this week.
MANNING'S COMMENTS IRK OWNER: At Indianapolis, Jim Irsay expects Peyton Manning to keep his complaints to himself. Or at least within the confines of the Colts' team complex.
Shortly after introducing Chuck Pagano as Indianapolis' new coach, the team owner responded to the comments Manning made earlier this week by referring to the only four-time league MVP as a "politician."
"I don't think it's in the best interest to paint the horseshoe in a negative light, I really don't," Irsay said, referring to the Colts' logo. "The horseshoe always comes first, and I think one thing he's always known, because he's been around it so long, is that, you know, you keep it in the family. If you've got a problem you talk to each other, it's not about campaigning or anything like that."
Clearly, Irsay was not happy to see Manning's comments in The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday, just as the Colts were interviewing Pagano.
Manning explained that the environment at team headquarters was not the best and said people were nervous because of the major offseason overhaul that has already claimed the jobs of vice chairman Bill Polian, general manager Chris Polian, coach Jim Caldwell and most of Caldwell's assistants.
Irsay didn't like that, either.
"I have so much affection and appreciation for Peyton. I mean we're family. We always will be and we are," Irsay said. "He's a politician. I mean look at, when it comes to being competitive, let's just say on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, we're both 11s, OK? So there's been plenty of eggshells scattered around this building by him with his competitive desire to win."