Dirk Koetter Fired by Buccaneers After 3 Seasons as Head Coach

Dirk Koetter's tenure as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to an end Sunday.

The Buccaneers announced they had fired the 59-year-old after their disappointing 5-11 record this season.

“We sincerely appreciate the hard work and commitment shown by Dirk over the past several years," Buccaneers owner Joel Glazer said in the team release. "Working with Dirk has been a pleasure and we wish him and his family all the best in the future. Our search for a new head coach will begin immediately and will be conducted by General Manager Jason Licht.”

Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the news.

Koetter has been with the Bucs since 2016 when he was hired to take over for Lovie Smith. He had immediate success with the team in his first year, posting their first winning record (9-7) since 2010. 

Things appeared to be trending in the right direction for the Buccaneers. Jameis Winston had a solid campaign with 4,090 yards and 28 touchdowns, while wide receiver Mike Evans set a then-career high with 1,321 receiving yards and tied his career high with 12 touchdowns. 

It didn't take long for things to fall off the rails for Koetter, though. Tampa Bay fell to 5-11 in his second year, extending the franchise's playoff drought to 10 years. 

Despite the Bucs' 2017 performance, he was brought back for a third season to become the team's first coach since Raheem Morris from 2009 to 2011 to last at least three years. 

"Among the reasons for sticking with Koetter includes the fact that Winston suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to miss three games and saw him struggle to play three others while hurt," wrote Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. 

Winston began this year suspended for three games after violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, but the Bucs got off to a surprise 2-0 start as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 819 yards and eight touchdowns. 

However, a 48-10 loss against the Chicago Bears in Week 4 caused Koetter to say everyone on the team should be fired for their performance. 

"We were horrific in all aspects of football [Sunday], all aspects," he told reporters. "Based on that game today, we couldn't make enough changes. We should fire every person that was on that field today, starting with me. That was horrific."

The Bucs tried to salvage things shortly after that by firing defensive coordinator Mike Smith after a 34-29 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6. It was an attempt to put a Band-Aid on a broken leg. 

Now that Tampa Bay's front office has taken Koetter up on that offer, he leaves the organization after going 19-29 during his three seasons with the franchise. 

The Buccaneers will return to the drawing board in an effort to become relevant in the NFL. They own the league's second-longest playoff drought and haven't won a postseason game since Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003.   

Finding the right head coach who is able to maximize their offensive talent—particularly at quarterback, whether it's Winston or someone else—will be crucial for the Bucs as they move forward.