How's this for surprises? At 10:30 p.m. ET, two days after Black Monday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced they have fired head coach Lovie Smith.
Smith lasted two seasons with the franchise: a 2-14 bottom-out in which the club secured the No. 1 pick, and a 6-10 campaign behind rookie quarterback Jameis Winston.
That, apparently, wasn't enough for management.
“After careful consideration, we informed Lovie that we have decided to make a change," co-chairman Joel Glazer said in a statement. "I want to thank Lovie for his hard work and dedication to the Buccaneers during his time here. This decision was difficult on a variety of levels. I am disappointed that we were not more successful these past few seasons, but we are committed to doing what is necessary to give our fans the winning team they deserve. As we move forward, General Manager Jason Licht will oversee the process for finding our next head coach.”
Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State head coach, recently completed his first season as the Bucs' offensive coordinator. Or, they could go in an entirely different direction.
Or...back in 2012, Chip Kelly briefly accepted the Glazers' offer to become head coach only to change his mind just hours later. Is Chip in play? Oh my...
With the move, Tampa Bay becomes the seventh NFL franchise to make a coaching change during the 2015-16 cycle.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.