TAMPA, Fla. _ Say this for the Bucs' Dirk Koetter: He's not the kind of head coach who puts himself ahead of the team.
In the offseason, Koetter began the process of handing over the offensive play-calling duties to Todd Monken.
When it produced more points in the preseason, Koetter abandoned the thing he enjoyed doing most as a coach and Monken got the play sheet and the helmet communicator.
That was a tough decision, especially since his work as an offensive coordinator is what got him the head coaching job in the first place.
Koetter called firing his good friend and defensive coordinator Mike Smith the second-hardest thing he's ever experienced as a head coach. The hardest? He had a player die while coaching Boise State.
Though it's hard to imagine ownership and general manager Jason Licht didn't weigh in on that decision, those are selfless decisions in a business where there is no shortage of egos.
"I think that's probably the number one job of a head coach. Just to do what is best for the organization," Koetter said. "Obviously on some decisions _ ownership, GM _ it's not only just the head coach. There's other people and I'm not specifically talking about these, but whatever the situation, I think the head coach has to look out for the best for the organization. I think also it's important that the head coach takes the lead on doing what's best for the players"
Ultimately, it may not be the best thing for Koetter, unless the Bucs start stacking wins.
But when you keep peeling layers, eventually that only exposes Koetter, whose team almost has to beat the Browns today to keep the wheels from falling off the season.
The Bucs have lost three in a row, but a win would make everything still possible at 3-3. A loss to go 2-4 with games at Cincinnati (4-2), Carolina (3-2) and home against Washington (3-2), could be too much bad mojo to overcome.
