Dirk Koetter Reportedly Will Return as Buccaneers HC Despite Jon Gruden Rumors

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly planning to stick with head coach Dirk Koetter in 2018 despite rumors that Jon Gruden could be headed back to the sidelines. 

According to the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud, "the Glazer family, which owns the team, made the decision Friday afternoon, and general manager Jason Licht informed Koetter that he would be back next season despite a 4-11 record which includes a pair of five-game losing streaks."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirmed Koetter will be back for a third season at the helm.  

The news comes after Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported Friday there was "a growing sense in league circles ... that Gruden will return to Tampa Bay as the next coach of the Buccaneers."

Koetter, 58, is 13-18 in two seasons in Tampa. A fashionable preseason playoff pick after going 9-7 in 2016, the Bucs fell apart because of a struggling defense and a wildly disappointing offense.  

Quarterback Jameis Winston struggled through the first eight games before he suffered a shoulder injury and missed three contests. The Bucs won their first two games without Winston in the lineup before losing their next one. Winston returned and has thrown for 3,141 yards and 18 touchdowns against eight picks to this point in the season, which are disappointing numbers for those who expected a major breakout after the offseason acquisition of DeSean Jackson.

The running game in particular has struggled throughout the 2017 campaign, with neither Doug Martin nor Jacquizz Rodgers finding much headway. Martin has tallied a team-high 409 yards on 135 carries, and the team has averaged just 3.7 yards per carry overall.

Koetter previously served as the head coach of Boise State and Arizona State before taking over as the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator in 2007. He joined the Atlanta Falcons in 2012 and the Buccaneers in 2015 in the same role.

The Bucs coach will enter 2018 on perhaps the hottest seat in the sport.