Will Greg Schiano Be Fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Dec 15, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano reacts against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

After making the leap from college to the NFL, Greg Schiano won seven games during his first year in charge of the Buccaneers. He was on the wrong end of some frustratingly close games, but there were marked improvements over a disastrous 2011 season.

But now that Schiano has reached his 30th game in charge of an NFL team, and sits with only 11 wins, it’s quite clear that there has been no progress during his second year in charge, and the same frustrating errors and mistakes continue to happen.

The team is missing more tackles than it did under Jon Gruden or Raheem Morris in the late 2000’s, they’re committing more penalties than any team in the NFL, and they’re wasting Pro Bowl seasons from Gerald McCoy, Lavonte David, Darrelle Revis, Mark Barron and Demar Dotson with poor coaching and execution.

But according to veteran NFL writer Peter King, Schiano’s fate may have already been decided, and there’s a good chance he’ll be back in 2014.

King has plenty of connections within the NFL, and certainly has been right with his thoughts and predictions in the past. But is this comment based on his thoughts, or does he know something from inside One Buc Place?

If he has a connection to the team which informed him that Schiano will be safe, then that is incredibly disappointing news. Determining the fate of a failing head coach with multiple games left to go in a double-digit loss season seems like the ultimate in accepting nothing more than mediocrity for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game in over 10 years.

But if King simply subscribes to the general notion that Schiano’s mini-winning streak saved his job, then hopefully those in charge of the Buccaneers see through a brief patch of wins to realize the incredible failure the 2013 Buccaneers have become.

I don’t see any way that a 2013 Buccaneers’ team with four or five wins should be able to keep a coaching staff in place which received more talent than they had the year before, and managed a worse record including eight straight losses which knocked the team out of playoff contention before they even had a chance to play a meaningful game.

Greg Schiano does not deserve another chance. He has shown that he’s not a capable NFL head coach, and he should not be forgiven for winning only one of 14 games spanning across the 2012 and 2013 seasons.