Lovie Smith ‘favorite’ for Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching job?
By Bryan Rose
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wasted no time after firing head coach Greg Schiano early Monday morning.
Before Schiano could clean out his office, rumors began to leak suggesting the Buccaneers had interest in former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith. The interest was reportedly mutual from Smith and now according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Smith is the favorite for the job:
"Former Bears HC Lovie Smith is considered the favorite for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers HC job, based on multiple league sources."
Smith last coached in 2012 though was fired after a nine year stint at the helm of the Bears organization.
The 55-year-old Smith is quite familiar with the Bucs organization, spending five years with the franchise as a linebackers coach under the guidance of Tony Dungy.
Multiple teams have expressed interest in bringing Smith aboard (like the Houston Texans) so it’s possible the Buccaneers are attempting to expedite a potential hiring to avoid expanded competition.
Smith, through nine seasons as a head coach, has amassed a 81-63 career regular season record while going 3-3 in the postseason.