Dirk Koetter is on the hot seat heading into the final weekend of the 2018 regular season, and it sounds like the third-year head coach knows his tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is in serious jeopardy.
Speaking on his weekly radio show Friday, Koetter sounded resigned to the fact he might no longer be with the team after Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons.
"Thanks to all the Bucs fans out there and hope for the best for the Bucs in the future," Koetter said. "Whether I'm here or not, I'm always going to be a Bucs fan."
There have been some positives for the Buccaneers amid a 5-10 season that has kept them out of playoff contention for the 11th straight year. Tampa Bay's third-ranked offense (414.3 yards per game) is the best in franchise history and the team has seen improvement on defense since dismissing defensive coordinator Mike Smith.
That might not be enough to save Koetter's job, but NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported last week that the Buccaneers' front office hadn't ruled out the possibility of keeping Koetter for the 2019 season. Last week's gutsy if flawed performance in a loss to the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys certainly isn't the darkest mark on Koetter's resume, but was it enough to seriously keep him in the running for a fourth season with the team?
The Bucs' 19-28 record over the last three seasons coupled with Winston's inconsistent development since being selected No. 1 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft means nothing is certain about Koetter's future. Koetter isn't going to prognosticate publicly on conclusions the Glazer family might have already made about his tenure in Tampa.
"They're the owners. Whatever they decide, that's what we'll go with," Koetter said on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Friday, per Greg Auman of The Athletic. "I'd love to finish out my contract and keep coaching in Tampa, but that's not going to be my decision."
