Dirk Koetter seemed resigned to his fate.The coach of the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers was fired Sunday night a little more than three hours after
the Bucs concluded a disappointing season with a 34-32 loss to the Atlanta
Falcons.Koetter was promoted from offensive coordinator to his first NFL head
coaching position when Tampa Bay fired Lovie Smith in January 2016. He led the
Bucs to a 9-7 record that
year
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successor will be the sixth coach will be the fifth coach the team has had since
firing Jon Gruden after the 2008 season. The Bucs have missed the playoffs 11
straight seasons and haven¡¯t won a playoff game since their Super bowl run under
Gruden in 2002.¡°I¡¯d love to finish out my contract, of course I would,¡± Koetter
said during his postgame news conference.More Tampa Bay Buccaneers newsBucs¡¯ 5th
overall pick Devin White selects new jersey number, shouts out Mike AlstottBucs
rebuild on defense, surround Jameis Winston with playmakers in NFL
DraftBuccaneers take Lou Groza Award winning kicker Matt Gay in 5th
roundBuccaneers select Central Michigan CB Sean Bunting 39th overall in NFL
draftBuccaneers take LSU¡¯s Devin White with 5th overall pick¡°Whatever is going
to happen is going to happen, and that¡¯s just the way this business works,¡± he
added. ¡°If this is the last one for me, I appreciate the opportunity they gave
me. It¡¯s awesome to be a head football coach in the NFL. Coaching in the NFL
period is awesome. It¡¯s the best of the best.¡±The Bucs started 2-0 this year,
and then lost 11 of 14 down the stretch, including four straight games to finish
the season.Koetter, who had a 19-29 record, was dismissed after meeting with
team ownership after the news conference.¡°We sincerely appreciate the hard work
and commitment shown by Dirk over the past several years,¡± Bucs co-chairman Joel
Glazer said in a statement.Glazer said general manager Jason Licht would begin
the search for a new coach immediately.Koetter was asked if he believed he
deserved to keep his job after constructing an offense that ranked among the
league leaders this season, including No. 1 in passing yards.¡®There is no such
thing as deserve in the NFL,¡± he said. . Numbers are nice but this is a winning
league. I¡¯ve been fired before and I¡¯ve been hired before. I know this, if look
yourself in the mirror at end the day and know you did everything you could,
then I¡¯ve no problem holding my head up.¡±Licht, whose record since taking over
as general manager five years ago is 27-53, apparently is keeping his job
despite a spotty track record in the draft and free agency, where Tampa Bay has
made numerous mistakes ¡ª especially in Licht¡¯s effort to overhaul a porous
defense.Defensive coordinator Mike Smith was fired in October with the Bucs
yielding a NFL-high 34.6 points a game through the first six weeks of the
season.The team also must decide this winter whether Jameis Winston is the
team¡¯s quarterback of the future. Koetter was named coach, in part, because of
his relationship with the No. 1 overall pick from the 2015 draft, however
Winston has not blossomed into the dominating quarterback the team envisioned
him becoming under Koetter¡¯s guidance.Winston, finishing his fourth season, is
due to earn $20.92 million next season in the final year of the contract he
signed as a rookie.¡°It¡¯s an empty feeling when you
lose
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no matter how you lose. It was an up and down year and didn¡¯t turn out how we
wanted it to turn out,¡±¡± Winston said, adding he has not been told if he will
return in 2019.Winston and other teammates continued to express support Koetter
right up to the end.Receiver Mike Evans, who set a club single-season record for
receiving yards this year, called playing for the former coach ¡°awesome.¡±¡°The
fans might put stuff on him. That¡¯s how sports works. You look at the head
coach, Evans said. ¡°I¡¯m very fortunate to have played for him. ¡°He took my game
to new heights.¡± The Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles used the NFL draft
to add another playmaker, restock their depth chart and get a rugby star.After
using their only pick in the first two days to select South Dakota State tight
end Dallas Goedert with the 52nd overall spot, the Eagles turned to defense in
the fourth round Saturday. They took Pitt cornerback Avonte Maddox and Florida
State defensive end Josh Sweat five picks apart. TCU offensive lineman Matt
Pryor was picked in the sixth round and Philadelphia moved up 17 spots to draft
Australian rugby player Jordan Mailata with No. 233.Then the Eagles re-signed
veteran running back and return specialist Darren Sproles, who tore an ACL and
broke his forearm on the same play in Week 3 last season."Everybody in the
building is excited to have Darren back," said Howie Roseman, the Eagles
executive vice president of football operations. "He's that kind of
guy."Mailata, 6-foot-7, 346 pounds, is projected as an offensive tackle. He
began to pursue a career in the NFL last year and trained in Florida the past
few months."I knew if I made the decision, I'd be all in," said Mailata, who
looks dominant running with the ball and knocking tacklers over in highlight
videos. "Walking away from something I know very well to do something foreign
was a big risk."Maddox, chosen Saturday at No. 125, played four seasons in
college. Despite his size ¡ª 5-foot-9 and 184 pounds ¡ª Maddox is known for his
tough, physical play. He had seven sacks along with eight interceptions over the
past three years."This is a guy that fits in with our DB room," said Joe
Douglas, the Eagles vice president of player personnel. "It's a group of highly
competitive guys, and he's going to blend in perfectly, and even stand out to a
degree. Even though he's not the biggest guy, he will attack and
support."Sweat
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14½ sacks in three seasons and gives the Eagles even more depth on a deep
defensive line.Pryor, 6-foot-7 and 338 pounds, started 21 games at right guard
and six at right tackle in his final two seasons.Here are some other things to
know about the Eagles' draft:SET UP FOR 2019The Eagles added Baltimore's
second-round pick next year by trading out of the first round, and sent a 2019
seventh-round pick to New England to move up 17 spots to get Mailata. They have
eight picks in 2019 plus they'll likely get compensatory picks for losing free
agents Trey Burton and Beau Allen.READY TO PLAYMaddox will compete for the
nickel cornerback spot. Patrick Robinson, who had a pick-6 in the NFC
championship game, left in free agency. Maddox also will get a chance to
contribute as a returner."It can be anything on special teams," Maddox said.
"And if they need me to play in the slot, I'll try to do my best there. And if
they need me to play outside, I'll do my best there. Anything that they need me
to do, I'll do it."VALUE PICKSweat would've gone earlier in the draft if it
weren't for medical concerns going back to a knee injury suffered in high
school."He was much higher rated than where we got him," Roseman said. "We have
a lot of trust in our medical staff. Dr. (Peter) DeLuca has done a great job for
us for a long time. When he tells us that the guy's ready to go, we rely on them
and we trust that."Sweat only missed three games and sat out a bowl game last
year to prepare for the draft."I think without the injury hopefully it would
have been different," he said. "I wouldn't say frustrating. It's been more
motivating if anything."OVERLOADED D-LINEThe addition of Sweat plus free agents
Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata strengthens a line that already features
Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Tim Jernigan, Chris Long and Derek Barnett."That's
what we call 'rich man problems,'" Roseman said. "We're excited about that.
That's how we're going to build this. We're always going to put priority on the
lines. You can never have too many."MULTI-TALENTEDGoedert, who will team with
Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz to give the Eagles another weapon at the position,
rides a unicycle in parades in his hometown, Britton, South Dakota. He said the
skill helps him on the field."It helps with the balance for sure," Goedert said.
"If you get hit a little bit on the legs, you can torque your body to stay
upright. So I think the balance definitely plays a big factor."STILL NEEDNot a
lot considering they are champions. Maybe some help on the offensive line.