The demotion of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman is a huge turning point for the Greg Schiano era in Tampa. The coach pointed out multiple times Wednesday that his team has lost eight of their last nine games. They needed a change.
Rookie quarterback Mike Glennon is unlikely to save this season. And it begs the question: Is Schiano on the hot seat if things don't turn around by the end of the regular season?
Schiano said Wednesday he was not worried about his job security. While anything can happen in the NFL, it would be surprising if Schiano is fired before his third season. The Bucs continue to change head coaches at a rapid rate, and we believe that ownership is committed to Schiano.
When struggling coaches stay, the "fall guy" often is the offensive coordinator. Mike Sullivan is a first-time coordinator, and the Bucs have a sloppy offense overall. We'd expect Sullivan or general manager Mark Dominik to be on the hot seat before Schiano. Here are some other nuggets from Schiano's press conference:
- This team is not going back to Freeman, in case that wasn't clear.
"Mike's our starting quarterback from this point forward. We're moving forward and Mike's our quarterback. That's the plan, and we're going, and that's how we're going," Schiano said.
- Asked about the potential for a Freeman trade, Schiano deferred all questions to Dominik, who could handle the "business" side of things.
- Schiano emphasized that he made the decision in conjunction with Dominik. Ownership was also involved.
"Mark and I believe that this gives us the best chance to win today. We've lost eight of nine games and haven't played particularly well on offense in the last nine games," Schiano said.
- Schiano sidestepped any questions about Freeman's "accountability" being a part of the decision. Schiano just kept calling it a "performance-based" decision. Sullivan said he wouldn't "speculate" about Freeman's work ethic being a factor.
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