|
 Smith, who was linebackers coach at Tampa Bay from 1996 to 2000 as
part of Tony Dungy's initial staff, replaces Greg Schiano, who was
fired by the club on Monday after two mediocre seasons in charge.
"Today is an exciting day for the Buccaneer organization, and the
entire Tampa Bay community, as we welcome back Lovie Smith,"
Buccaneers co-chairman Bryan Glazer said in a statement.
"We knew from the start of our search that he was the ideal man to
lead our team into a new era of Buccaneer football. Lovie is an
accomplished and very well-respected head coach who has enjoyed
success at every level of his 30-year career."
Smith, 55, was 81-63 after nine seasons with the Bears, leading them
to three division titles and the Super Bowl in 2006 when they were beaten by the
Indianapolis Colts. Under his guidance, the Bears defense ranked among the best
in the NFL.
[to top of second column] |
He was sacked by Chicago in December 2012 after the team
ended the season with a 10-6 record but missed the playoffs for
a fifth time in six years.
Smith will take over a Buccaneers franchise in urgent need of a
re-build after finishing a lowly 15th in the 16-team National
Football Conference last year.
In a bid to wipe the slate clean, Tampa Bay dropped Schiano as
coach on Monday and also ditched general manager Mark Dominik.
"The results over the past two years have not lived up to our
standards and we believe the time has come to find a new
direction," Glazer said.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles;
editing by
Frank Pingue)
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