Following what had to be considered a surprising six-win 2015 campaign, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers astonished the football world by firing head coach Lovie Smith. This came after he led the team to a four-win improvement from the previous season.
Replacing Smith, in what was nothing less than a coup from the inside, is his former offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.
It seems that Tampa Bay was worried that it might lose Koetter to a head coaching job elsewhere. By promoting him and firing Smith, the team kept some continuity for franchise quarterback Jameis Winston after what was a stellar rookie season.
Here is a look at the Buccaneers coaching moves from a fantasy perspective.
Head Coach: Dirk Koetter
This doesn't really change a whole heck of a lot from a schematic standpoint. Koetter called the plays during a 2015 season that saw Winston average 33.4 pass attempts per game while throwing for over 4,000 yards with 28 touchdowns.
With a run game that featured the NFL's second-leading rusher in Doug Martin, we can safely conclude that the Buccaneers would like to see Winston attempt less passes next season. The issue here in 2015 was that Tampa Bay finished with the 26th-ranked scoring defense in the NFL. That forced Tampa Bay to put the ball up in the air more than it would have liked.
The other primary question mark here is Martin, who is slated to become a free agent. Should he not return, the Buccaneers will be without an ultra-productive running back to help Winston out in the backfield. This could also have a major impact on the team's offensive success.
Should Martin return, the expectation here would be that Winston will put the ball up less next season, which would limit his turnovers (15 interceptions in 2015).
Offensive Coordinator: Todd Monken
Monken comes to Tampa Bay after spending the pass three seasons as the head coach of Southern Mississippi. HIs previous experience includes an offensive coordinator role in Oklahoma State's spread offense in 2011 and 2012.
From a NFL perspective, there is a large sample size to look at for Monken. He acted as the Jacksonville Jaguars wide receivers coach from 2007-2010, during which time the Jaguars failed to have a receiver put up 1,000-plus yards.
Though, Monken's experience working with receivers should come in handy for the Buccaneers. Outside of Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, there is a lot of unproven talent at that position.
Defensive Coordinator: Mike Smith
This is where it gets more interesting. Tampa Bay is replacing former defensive coordinator Leslier Frazier with this former Atlanta Falcons head coach. Smith is seen as a defensive whiz, and has had a ton of success leading improvements on that side of the ball over the years.
Atlanta's defense finished in the first half of the NFL four of the seven seasons Smith was the team's head coach, including two times in the top five.
Prior to that, he served five years as the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator, helping that unit to top-10 overall rankings in his last four seasons in that role.
Smith's ability to Tampa Bay's defense will be the key. If he's able to have the success we have seen in the past, Winston won't be forced to put the ball up as much. It will also create a trickle-down effect with Doug Martin (or whoever is the running back) gaining more opportunities. That's something to keep an eye on.