10 NFL teams poised to be better in 2016

As weird as it sounds, the 2016 Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to be on the short list of NFC Wild Card contenders this fall. Though they aren’t catching juggernaut Carolina Panthers in the NFC South, Tampa Bay seems to be trending in the right direction more than their two other division rivals in the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints.

Tampa Bay has their franchise quarterback in Jameis Winston and made a fantastic decision to promote former offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to head coach. The Lovie Smith era in Tampa Bay was ineffective because his Tampa 2 Defense was far too antiquated to appropriately cover slot receivers defensively.

Winston and Koetter had an instantaneous connection running the Air Coryell in 2015 and should be even better in 2016. Though Koetter hasn’t been a head coach since running a so-so Arizona State Sun Devils team in the Pac-10, he does get a huge boost in the top assistant department by hiring his former head coach with the Falcons in new Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

Smith is the most successful coach in Falcons history and built two solid defenses with the Baltimore Ravens under his brother-in-law Brian Billick and as the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator under Jack Del Rio before getting the Atlanta gig in 2008.

Smith is a fantastic player’s coach that knows how to win a locker room. Koetter is more of a tactician, but the two seem to have great coaching chemistry. Given that general manager Jason Licht continues to draft well, the Buccaneers should be at least a .500 caliber team, pushing for playoff contention this winter. The only that will unravel them is interference from the Glazer Family upstairs in the owner’s box.

Next: 4. Tennessee Titans.