Greg Schiano has followed a 7-9 record in his first season as the Buccaneers’ head coach with an 0-3 start and a mess at the quarterback position this year. But Schiano’s job is apparently safe.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the Glazer family which owns the Bucs still supports Schiano.
Obviously, if Schiano were doing a bang-up job, that news wouldn’t even need to be reported. We’re not about to hear a report that the Broncos’ ownership is behind John Fox or the Seahawks’ ownership is behind Pete Carroll because that goes without saying. So the fact that anyone feels the need to say the Bucs’ owners are behind Schiano isn’t a great sign for Schiano.
Still, as Rapoport notes, the Bucs were a mess before Schiano arrived. Schiano inherited a 4-12 team from Raheem Morris, and the Bucs brass wanted him to come in and shape things up, with the full knowledge that building a team Schiano’s way could take time.
The question, then, is how long the Bucs’ ownership will remain behind Schiano. If Schiano’s decision to bench Josh Freeman for Mike Glennon turns out to be a mistake, that’s the kind of thing that can lead an owner to turn on his coach.