Johnthan Banks was once a promising second-round draft pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During his rookie season in 2013, Banks started all 16 games — recording three interceptions and making 55 total tackles. In his sophomore season, he appeared in 15 games and notched four more interceptions, including a pick-six. But after his first two NFL seasons, Banks never returned to that form as one of the league’s best young cornerbacks.
In fact, he never recorded another interception in his career after tallying seven in his first two years. In 2015, he started just seven games — and in 2016, he was traded midseason from Tampa Bay to the Detroit Lions.
After years of silence about what went wrong in Tampa Bay following the promising start to his career, Banks recently took to social media to open up about his negative experience with his former head coach Lovie Smith.
Johnthan Banks says the quiet part out loud about what went wrong during his Buccaneers tenure
A video recently resurfaced of Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll addressing students at USC in 2017. Taylor Lewan, a nine-year NFL veteran at left tackle for the Tennessee Titans, quote-tweeted the clip. “Pete Carroll is the man. At his age, his mentality, and his attitude. Tough to beat," said Lewan.
In the video, Carroll was asked by a student what separates his leadership style from other successful coaches such as Bill Belichick. Carroll criticized the military-style coaching approach, where players are broken down and expected to fully conform to the system, as authoritarian and lacking trust.
He explained that while he still prioritizes practice and preparation, he also goes out of his way to celebrate individuality and make football enjoyable for his players. Carroll wants players to work hard but also have fun doing it, because they know the organization supports and empowers them.
That message struck a chord with Banks, who responded in the comments:
Lovie Smith was the exact opposite, dude made me straight up hate football… Greg Schaino was like a college coach in Tampa, but as a player and person you knew he cared about you… https://t.co/y8BH8qvlDM
— Johnthan Banks (@JBanks_27) August 2, 2025
“Lovie Smith was the exact opposite, dude made me straight up hate football… Greg Schiano was like a college coach in Tampa, but as a player and person you knew he cared about you…”
In just two seasons as the Buccaneers’ head coach in 2014 and 2015, Smith led Tampa Bay to a disappointing 8–24 record before being fired. Schiano, the coach who drafted Banks and led the team during his rookie season, didn’t fare much better, going 11–21 before being succeeded by Smith.
Wins and losses aside, Banks’ sentiment comes as a surprise. Schiano had a reputation for being a control freak, with a hard-nosed, militant style that clashed with respected players like Darrelle Revis and Michael Bennett. Bennett even compared Schiano’s regime to “being in Cuba.”
Smith, on the other hand, was generally regarded as a players’ coach. Though the on-field results fell short, he was widely respected by the locker room and typically maintained strong relationships with his players.
Banks’ revealing his disdain for Smith, even saying that the former Tampa Bay head coach made him hate football, is an unexpected nugget based on what we know about both coaches. Perhaps there is more behind the scenes than we know about, as Banks’ experience with Smith didn’t seem to be the norm in Tampa Bay.
As for Schiano? Well…