Mike Smith, Buccaneers Agree to New Contract: Latest Details and Reaction

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will reportedly keep Mike Smith as their defensive coordinator after he helped lead them to a 9-7 record in 2016, the team announced on Friday. 

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported the two sides agreed to a contract extension on Thursday. Rapoport noted Smith was a candidate for the Los Angeles Chargers job before inking the deal.

Smith released a statement on the contract in the announcement, via the team's website:

"

I am excited about what we are building here in Tampa Bay and would like to thank the Glazer family, Jason Licht and Dirk Koetter for showing faith in what we are doing on the defensive side of the ball. I think we grew quite a bit as a defense this past season and I look forward to working with my staff and our players to continue building upon what we have started. While I did have a chance to speak with a few organizations about head coaching opportunities earlier this offseason, it became very clear to me that I am in an ideal situation here with the Buccaneers. For the next couple years, I am fully committed and focused on my role with Dirk and the organization and will not be pursuing head coaching opportunities during this time.

"

"Interesting that Mike Smith would take himself out of the mix in SD," Scott Smith of Fox 13 in Tampa Bay, Florida, tweeted. "Shows he has a lot of faith in #Bucs future & great for continuity sake."

According to Pro-Football-Reference.com Smith's lengthy coaching experience started in 1982, when he was an assistant with San Diego State. He first joined the NFL ranks as a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens in 1999 and served as the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003 to 2007 before becoming the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2008 to 2014.

Tampa Bay brought in Smith to replace Leslie Frazier ahead of the 2016 campaign.

During his first season with the Bucs, the defense struggled at times, though the team remained in the postseason race throughout the year.

The Buccaneers finished a disappointing 23rd in the league in yards allowed (367.9) and 15th in points allowed per game (23.1). They gave up 417 total yards in a 31-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints and 449 total yards in a 26-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively, which ended the team's postseason hopes.

Tampa Bay ranked 10th in the league in total yards allowed per game in 2015, so there was a dip in production under Smith.

Still, his presence means there is continuity for a defense that features a mix of young playmakers, such as 22-year-old Kwon Alexander and 21-year-old Vernon Hargreaves, and veterans, such as 28-year-old Gerald McCoy and 33-year-old Brent Grimes.