With so much being said about the Miami Dolphins’ head-coaching job and the Raiders reportedly planning to make a quick decision (given that the Packers have been bumped out of the playoffs the Raiders now can), the Tampa situation has gotten lost in the shuffle.
But the Bucs are in no hurry to fill their vacancy, as Peter King recently explained on NBC SportsTalk. And that’s a good thing.
Although it would be ideal to have a coaching staff in place for next week’s Senior Bowl practices, it’s more important to have the right coach to lead a team that already skews way too young. For the Bucs, the right coach will be a coach who can take control of the locker room, instilling discipline and focus for a squad that lost 10 games in a row to end the season.
And while various former NFL coaches have been linked to the job (including Mike Sherman, Marty Schottenheimer, and Brad Childress), the Bucs could opt for an up-and-coming coordinator. Per multiple reports, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will interview with the team on Monday. Another defensive coordinator — Perry Fewell of the Giants (pictured) — also could be on the Bucs’ radar, per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
Fewell would be an intriguing candidate, to say the least. Overlooked in the current hiring cycle after getting several sniffs in the past, the one-time interim head coach of the Bills was believed to be in danger of being replaced in New York. Now that the Giants are partying like it’s 2007, Fewell is benefiting from the Spagnuolo effect.
Which of course could explain why Spagnuolo is dragging his Bottecellis. With teams like the Falcons reportedly interested and the Eagles possibly interested (if the figure out what to do with Juan Castillo), Spags could be waiting to see what happens with the team for which he worked through 2008.
Of course, if the Giants win the Super Bowl, a return to New York may not be all that attractive for Spagnuolo, especially since he said just a couple weeks ago that he’d like to help bring a title to a town that hasn’t enjoyed one recently.
But this blurb is about the Bucs. And there could be several more items about their coaching search before it’s over. With the front office in place, there’s no reason to make a rash decision. Even if it takes a little while, it’s far more important to make the right decision.