Does Dirk Koetter Show Traits of Rex Ryan with the Buccaneers?
As we learn more about Dirk Koetter’s style leading the Buccaneers, he does exhibit some traits of Rex Ryan. It’s not a bad thing.
Buccaneers’ training camp is in full swing, which happens to be Dirk Koetter’s first as head coach. For the first time, he is seeing just what it is like to be in charge of all sides of the football rather than just the offense. There certainly will be a learning curve, but from all observations so far, Dirk is giving the team clear direction, and his ability to lead is obvious.
Another element has become clear as the days have gone by. Koetter is a free-thinker and one with an open mind. He likes to try new things and tells the world what he is thinking and when. You know who else is like that? Rex Ryan.
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Yes, that Rex Ryan. The polarizing son of the late Buddy Ryan. That guy. Dirk is similar, but only for the right reasons. Let me explain.
Look at some of these quotes from the head coach:
"“Day one was fun, are you kidding me? Everybody’s excited on day one. Great to be out here, awesome to have the kids out and it’s the start of the journey.”"
Or this when discussing a questionable hit by Major Wright:
"“Yeah, that was a cheap shot. That was a cheap shot. He would have been ejected, he would have been fined and it was a 15-yard penalty. We don’t need those kinds of hits. Those kinds of hits don’t do us any good because they won’t be good on Sunday. Now, there are some other hits out here, some banging, that are legal. I always talk to these guys: ‘We’ve got to take care of each other on the field. There’s hitting in live contact and there’s hitting against our teammates.’ Sometimes the rookies have a hard time learning that. Like everything out here, it’s a work in progress.”"
How about this one? Here Dirk revealed some big news:
"“Kenny had a little bit better day today. You know, let’s just end the big mystery about this number three wide receiver, okay? Adam Humphries is going to be our number three wide receiver. On the young lady’s question, you talk about the definition of consistent player there’s Adam Humphries’s picture right there, [a] consistently strong player. Adam’s going to be our slot receiver and then the battle for four, five, six and beyond, there’s some really good competition. Kenny is one of the guys in that mix.”"
Does anyone out there really think that Bill Belichick would just blurt out who has earned a particular position? Never. Anyone think Lovie would ever talk so openly about how much fun it is to get out on the practice field? We know that would never happen. What about calling out player for a cheap shot? Typical coaches just don’t talk like this. It’s not typical “coach speak”. Dirk Koetter doesn’t use typical coach speak, and neither does Rex Ryan.
But the part that IS missing is a part that nobody misses. Dirk does not boast the way Rex boasts. The element not incorporated into Koetter’s repertoire is the boldness. Never has Dirk predicted a Super Bowl when not knowing his roster. Ask any Jets’ fan, Rex Ryan was very good at making these types of statements. Not Dirk, he incorporates the types of statements that actually make sense.
Don’t discount the switch to early practices for the analogy either. Not every coach would think of that. It’s an out of the box move, and Dirk did it. Burying a football to forget about a bad loss is not something everyone does either, but Rex did that during his time in New York. They are both out of the box thinkers.
Next: Bucs' Madden '17 Ratings Released
Don’t be alarmed, Bucs’ fans, but in some ways Dirk really is similar to Rex Ryan. But, he is only similar in the good ways, not the big buffoon ways.