Schiano Watch in Full Effect
Will he stay or will he go?
For the sake of Bucs fans, I hope he goes.
The Greg Schiano experiment over the past two years has been a colossal failure when it has come to wins and losses. With Sunday's loss to the New Orleans Saints, Schiano has gone 11-21 in his two seasons at the helm of the Bucs organization.
Early on Sunday, there was a report which surfaced that Greg Schiano was the leading candidate to replace Bill O'Brien at Penn St. I thought it was very peculiar timing for a report like that to leak on the morning of the final game of the regular season for the Bucs.
Later Sunday morning, both Fox Sports' Jay Glazer and ESPN's Chris Mortenson reported that Greg Schiano was indeed safe and would return as head coach of the Bucs in 2014.
How on earth could the Glazers and the Bucs promote their own team to their own fans if Greg Schiano returns as head coach?
I have talked to enough Bucs fans and season ticket holders to know that a return of Greg Schiano in 2014 would mean death to ticket sales. Fans I have talked with, who have been the hardest of the hardcore fans, are fed up with the way their team is being run and with the way their head coach speaks condescendingly during his press coferences.
The clock is ticking.
Tony Dungy was fired in the middle of the night in the pouring rain because of his flaws, but Greg Schiano could possibly remain as head coach of the Bucs?
Jon Gruden was fired because of constant 9-7 seasons and for his urging the ownership to spend more money, but Greg Schiano could possibly survive two horrid seasons?
A quietly commanding coach's playoff appearances are enviable to this team. And I bet a 9-7 season looks pretty damn good now.
Hell, Raheem Morris had a 10-6 record before his team tanked in 2011 to a record of...4-12...with far less talent, but Greg Schiano's 4-12 is better?
Greg Schiano has been a spin artist in the 2nd half of this season. He has worked hard to put on an act for the fans to try and like. He's worked harder behind the scenes with local media in an attempt to get them to side with him. Imagine the show he must be putting on for the Glazers.
Could the Glazers truly buy into the smoke and mirrors and excuses that Schiano is selling? I hope not.
The clock continues to tick.
Schiano will say his team fought hard, but aren't all professional athletes supposed to try hard? Is that the measuring stick? If so, this franchise is a losing franchise and will remain a losing franchise as long as effort is the goal.
Schiano will point to injuries, but would Doug Martin, Mike Williams, Carl Nicks, and a slew of special teams players make the Buccaneers a playoff contender? Hell no. They were terrible when they were all healthy.
Schiano will point to a surge in the 2nd half of the season, but didn't the Bucs just lose 4 of their last 5 games to end this season?
I guess it's all Josh Freeman's fault then. Whatever.
The clock is ticking.
In a league where many games are decided by 8 points or less, the Bucs lost by 9 points or more 7 times this season.
The Bucs defense has given up at least 27 points in 8 of their last 12 games.
The Bucs offense has been awful.
The direction of the franchise is unknown.
Greg Schiano has brought discipline and rid the organizations of some malcontents. He has cleaned up a locker room that was out of control under Raheem Morris. However, Greg Schiano has not won his fair share of games.
Time is up!
It is not a tough decision. If the Glazers want to portray hope to their fans, hope for the future of their organization, and show that they truly want a winning organization, then major change is needed.
If the Glazers do not want any of the above, then no moves need to be made.
We, the fans, have held up our signs, chanted in the stands, had billboards go up, and got #FireSchiano trending on twitter. It's now time for the Glazers to fix their organization, or we, the loyal and engaged fans, just might not care any longer.
It should be an interesting 72 hours...hopefully!
for more features.