Buccaneers: Grading Dirk Koetter Halfway Through Year One
You Play the Hand You Are Dealt: B-
A lot of people are critical of Dirk thus far in his first year, hut let’s be honest; the guy isn’t exactly playing with a full deck. The injuries this team has sustained so far would cripple any team, but especially a young one trying to rebuild.
I don’t want to hear the whole “don’t use injuries as an excuse” nonsense, either. They aren’t an excuse – they’re a legitimate reason why the offensive playbook has been vanilla. They don’t have the same talent on the field they did last season when it was working so well.
Koetter is going to make rookie coach mistakes. We’ve seen some poor clock management, some hesitancy in key moments, and a guy trying to find his way. That’s OK. Again, they’re rebuilding from essentially the ground up.
At 3-5, the Bucs are in the same position they were this time last year with less overall talent on the field. That’s not Dirk Koetter’s fault. He’s playing with the hand he’s been dealt and has assembled a pretty solid staff. Most of us had expectations that were far too high heading into the season, and that’s okay.
At the end of the day, Koetter is doing a pretty darn good job teaching these guys how to compete. You have to crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run. Bucs are about where they should be and can still make a second half push.