Tampa Bay Buccaneers surprise everyone, hire Greg Schiano as new head coach - NFL News
Tampa Bay Buccaneers have finally completed their search for a new head coach and the name hired for the job has surprised fans and analysts alike.
The franchise on Thursday, January 26th, 2012, announced the hiring of Rutgers State University football coach Greg Schiano as the new head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a five year contract.
Franchise owner, Joel Glazer, in a statement, welcomed the new addition to the franchise.
"We are thrilled to introduce Coach Schiano as the new head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,"
The co-Chairman further added:
"During our thorough search, we met with numerous impressive candidates, but Coach Schiano surely distinguished himself. From his leadership skills to his impressive track record, he is, simply put, the right man for the job."
Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik praised the new head coach’s abilities and believed that he was just the man the franchise needed to return back to the top of the National Football League (NFL).
"Coach Schiano is a bright, meticulous teacher who knows how to get the most out of his players,"
Adding further,
"He built and ran a pro-style program at Rutgers, and he's a defensive-minded coach whose teams have always been characterized by toughness and a physical style of play."
Buccaneers fired young coach, Raheem Morris after the team went 4-12 in the 2011 regular season losing their last ten games in a row.
The franchise began the process by looking at many potential candidates including former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman.
For a few days it seemed the Bucs finally had their man when inside reports suggested that a contract was being negotiated with Oregon University’s football coach, Chip Kelly, but that deal did not pan out as Kelly refused the offer to remain with the Rose
Bowl Champions.
With Kelly out of the picture Tampa Bay recalled Mike Sherman for a second interview for the job on Wednesday but in a surprising twist of events announced the hiring of Schiano.
The Rutgers coach has a 56-33 record with the University team from 2005-11 and has been a huge success story for the team.
The Buccaneers had a torrid 2011 season after going 10-6 in 2010 under the stewardship of Morris.
2011 turned out completely different for the youngest head coach in the NFL with the team failing to maintain discipline and losing by big margins.
The fans were also voicing their discontent with the situation and the Raymond James Stadium remained almost empty for most of the season.
The Glazers finally sacked Morris after the regular season and promised fans a thorough search for a new coach that could take the Bucs back to the top of their game.
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