Six years after dipping into the college ranks to hire a head coach, the Buccaneers could be giving it another go.
David Haugh of 670 The Score in Chicago reports that the Buccaneers have interest in Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly.
Kelly, 57, has coached the Irish since 2010. He has been linked in the past to NFL openings, interviewing with the Eagles in 2013, when they hired Oregon coach Chip Kelly. It’s unclear whether he’s interested in coaching the Bucs.
Per Haugh, the Bucs may be willing to offer upwards of $10 million per year to Kelly. Tampa also has been linked to Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
The decision in 2012 to hire Rutgers coach Greg Schiano became an experiment that ended poorly, with the toes-on-the-line taskmaster fired after his second season.
The pendulum in recent years has swung away from college coaches, but with NFL teams looking for offensive minds, the choice may become inexperienced NFL assistants or experienced college coaches.
Whoever the Bucs hire, he needs to be on board with Jameis Winston as the quarterback, because the team has made it clear that he’s coming back for a fifth season.