Why Greg Schiano is Mike Glennon’s Best Friend and Worst Enemy at the Same Time

Nov 11, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon (8) throws his wristbands to cheering fans after the second half of the game against the Miami Dolphins at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

No other head coach in the NFL would trust Mike Glennon the way Greg Schiano does.

No other coach in the league recruited Glennon out of high school, and no other coach in the league would put his sinking ship of a team in the hands of a third round rookie with accuracy and decision-making concerns coming out of college.

That’s why Greg Schiano is the best coach Mike Glennon could have, because it’s given him an opportunity to prove himself at the NFL level earlier in his career than any other coach would have allowed. So as such, he should be thankful for Schiano for the opportunity, and do his best on the field.

And it seems as though Glennon is doing his best. He does not have the arm strength people claim he has, and if he does then he does not apply it during games. So he compensates for his lack of arm strength (or his lack of faith in what arm strength he has) by throwing check downs and waiting for receivers to come out of their breaks before throwing passes.

Glennon rarely throws a receiver open, and cannot hit a deep pass to save his own life. But Greg Schiano has given him the keys to the offense, and he’s managed to check down his way to a somewhat successful start to his NFL career.

That said, no other coach would misuse Mike Glennon the way Greg Schiano does.

Nov 11, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon (8) scrambles out of the pocket during the second half of the game against the Miami Dolphins at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have only hit on one deep pass since Mike Glennon took over as quarterback, and that pass was hauled in with one hand around a defender by Vincent Jackson. Were it not for Vincent’s miraculous catch, Mike Glennon would still be waiting for his first completion deep down the field.

But that’s not going to stop Greg Schiano from continuing to call these plays every week, and absolutely killing the offense’s momentum.

In an article in the Tampa Bay Times, Schiano was quoted as saying that “we’re going to see him do it in games,” when referring to deep passes connecting, and then the Buccaneers head coach proclaimed that he does it in practice, so it should show up in the games sooner rather than later.

In the same article, Glennon himself said “”We’re going to keep firing out shots … when it presents itself… I just have to keep trusting my eyes, and when I think it’s there, let it fly.” So rather than working on building upon the success Glennon has had in the intermediate passing game, the Tampa Bay offense will continue to stubbornly try to have Mike Glennon throw the ball deep to Vincent Jackson and Skye Dawson for incomplete passes that set the team behind the chains in terms of down and distance.

Glennon is among the worst in the NFL in yards per attempt, so asking him to move the offense with a 2nd-and-10 or 3rd-and-8 because he missed a deep throw on first or second down is asking a lot of the rookie signal caller. He’s good on short to intermediate throws, and for some reason defenses allow Vincent Jackson and company to find space within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage where Glennon is more confident and more capable of getting them the football.

Mike Glennon has shown moments of being capable as a game-managing quarterback who allows a good running game and good defense to carry the burden of earning wins. But Greg Schiano and his staff are going to continue to force the deep pass upon Glennon and continue to watch him miss horribly.

So Glennon should be thankful to Schiano for the opportunity to start, but frustrated about the awful offense he plays in and is forced to run every week.