Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Lovie Smith's Seat Heating Up After Another Home Loss

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Lovie Smith as their head coach prior to the 2014 season, it was supposed to mark the beginning of a return to the glory days for the Pewter Pirates.

A branch of the Tony Dungy coaching tree, Smith was Tampa Bay’s linebackers coach from 1996-2000, helping build the foundation for one of the best defenses in NFL history. After a three-year stint as the St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator, Smith spent nine seasons as the Chicago Bears head coach, winning three division titles and making a Super Bowl appearance.

After two failed hires who had no previous head coaching experience at the NFL level, the Bucs were bringing in a leader with a proven track record. Andy Reid took the Kansas City Chiefs from the league’s worst record to a playoff berth in just one season, so why couldn’t Smith do the same with the Bucs?

But Smith’s tenure so far in Tampa Bay has slowly drained most of the optimism from a fanbase that hasn’t tasted playoff victory since hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after the 2002 season. Sunday’s loss dropped the Bucs’ record under Smith to 3-17, and none of those three wins has come in front of their home crowd.

The Bucs spent plenty of money in free agency during Smith’s first offseason in an attempt to make a quick turnaround. He and new general manager Jason Licht said “forget patience,” planning to bring the franchise back to relevance immediately, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com:

"

We just decided that we couldn't ask our fans to be patient anymore. We needed to do whatever we could to win now, and we felt like we had a plan that would work. We weren't going to sit back and wait. We were going to attack this, and the fans were going to see that we were serious about making this team better right away.

"

But most of those big-name signings turned out to be busts, as the Bucs limped to a league-worst 2-14 record. Michael Johnson, Anthony Collins and Josh McCown were cut after just one disappointing season, while Alterraun Verner has yet to live up to the lofty expectations that came with replacing Darrelle Revis.

Between the failures in free agency and the unexpected departure of offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, the Bucs had plenty of places to point the finger when it came to doling out blame for the horrible 2014 campaign.

But hope persisted for yet another offseason, as the Bucs spent more wisely in free agency, then selected Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft. With a new franchise quarterback, playmakers on offense and a defense entering its second year in Smith’s Tampa 2 defense, the Bucs should take a significant step forward in 2015, right?

Don Juan Moore/Getty Images

Instead, it’s been more of the same for the Bucs so far this season. Winston’s rookie struggles are to be expected, and they certainly have contributed to the team’s 1-3 start, as has an anemic kicking game. But many of the same issues that plagued the Bucs throughout the 2014 season persist.

Smith has taken over play-calling duties on defense, but consistency, fundamentals and execution continue to be an issue on that side of the ball. Penalties continue to plague the team in all phases, with pre-snap alignment infractions being particularly plentiful. For a veteran head coach, such discipline issues shouldn’t be a consistent problem at this point.

In today’s NFL, teams have turned around quickly from poor seasons, and rookie quarterbacks have had enough early success to make fans impatient when those things don’t happen for their team. It may not be fair, but patience already appears to be wearing thin for Bucs fans who expected to be returning to playoff contention sooner rather than later under Smith.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Instead, the team still looks like a bottom-feeder that isn’t maximizing the presence of top talent like Gerald McCoy, Lavonte David and Mike Evans.

To his credit, Smith continues to take full responsibility for the team’s failures, but words will only go so far with a fanbase that has been told for 20 games now to be patient. Smith is only in the second year of a five-year contract, and Tampa Bay’s ownership won’t be eager to swallow another hefty buyout.

But if the on-field results don’t change soon, there may be fewer and fewer fans filing into Raymond James Stadium with the expectation of yet another home loss, and that will force the temperature to keep climbing under Smith’s seat.

Luke Easterling is a Featured Columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. He is also a senior NFL draft analyst for Draft Breakdown. Follow him on Twitter @Luke Easterling.