Can Jim Bates Replace the Defensive Leadership of Monte Kiffin?

The Bucs have slid a long way from the Tony Dungy glory days, from the welcoming of Jon Gruden, and the accomplishment that was the team's first Championship in 2002. 

My how things change. In fact, is anything the same? 

The Buccaneers' game, for more than a decade, has been defense, plain and simple.  They live and die by it.

Not by a quarterback, a loud-mouth wide receiver, or great halftime speeches—By defense. And the man who helped create the Bucs legacy, its patented Tampa 2 defense? Well, he's gone this offseason also.

Monte Kiffin was the defensive mastermind who great Buccaneers like Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks went to war for, the nice old man who use to go on jogs in 100-degree heat after two-a-days at Pepin Rood Stadium, waving to fans all the way.

The man always at work left Tampa to support his son, Lane Kiffin, in his new venture as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.

So now, the hopes of continued success on the defensive side of the ball fall rests on the shoulders of the team's new coordinator, Jim Bates.  He will rely on help from Barrett Ruud, who has emerged as a team leader and leading tackler for the Bucs the last two seasons.

Bates will also look to cultivate obvious talents like first-rounders Gaines Adams and Aqib Talib, and another defensive back, Tanard Jackson, who flies to the ball and hits like a Mack truck.

Tampa Bay's defensive legacy is by no means small. Since 1996, the team finished in the top 10 in total defenses 11 times, and were the top defense twice.

Bates, in a five-year stint as defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, posted a top 10 defense all five years. So he is no stranger to success.

Bates and the Buccaneers defense have a chance for a fresh start, and a new legacy.

The front office made tough decisions in the offseason, releasing a slowing Derrick Brooks and Cato June to free space for young linebackers like Quincy Black and Adam Heyward, looking to make a name for themselves.

The defense is now faster again, and younger.

Training athletes in Florida's sunburnt summers gets easier with time—that, and the knowledge that Bates brought fromo Miami.

So now the Bucs move again to see the new faces,  learn the new names, make the new stories, and hopefully fill the seats at Raymond James for another season.

Summer is coming for the Buccaneers defense. A fresh start might be just what they need.