DC Smith could be coaching for job

TAMPA — The last time the Bucs’ defense was this bad, somebody got fired.

It allowed too many points per game. It was one of the very worst in the NFL on third down. It gave up more yards per play than almost any other team in the league. The ball was thrown over its head.

Lovie Smith, head coach and defensive coordinator at the time, was shown the door.

Should current defensive coordinator Mike Smith be spared the same fate?

“This is a no-excuse business,’’ Mike Smith said Wednesday.

Only the Glazer family can say for sure. But you have to wonder that if the Bucs’ owners are inclined to keep head coach and offensive playcaller Dirk Koetter for 2018, would it be on the condition that he part with his defensive coordinator and good friend? And what would Koetter do if asked to fire Smith?

With four games left in the season — the Bucs host the Lions on Sunday — Smith’s numbers are startling similar to, and in some cases worse than, the ones Love Smith’s defense posted when he was ousted after the 2015 season.

This season the Bucs are last in the 32-team league in third-down percentage, allowing teams to convert 48 percent of their chances. In ’15 they were 30th at 46 percent. This season the Bucs are last by allowing an average 6 yards per play. In ’15 they were 25th at 5.2 yards per play. This season the Bucs are allowing 24 points per game, tied for 21st. In ’15 they allowed 26.1, 26th.

Smith’s defense also has problems rushing the passer. The Bucs have 17 sacks this season. That wasn’t a problem in Lovie Smith’s final season, when they had 38.

Koetter responded Wednesday to whether Mike Smith is to blame for the poor defense.

“That’s so hard to judge because there’s nothing about football that boils down to one person,’’ he said. “It’s on me. It’s on him. It’s on everybody.

“Again, it’s the ultimate team game. No number measures one player or one coach. That’s hard to do. Everybody is graded. I tell the team all the time: We’re all held accountable by somebody. … But the ultimate thing is it’s a team game.’’

Nobody feels worse than Smith, who hasn’t just forgotten how to coach defensive football.

As defensive coordinator in Jacksonville from 2003-07, his defenses got better each year, finishing 11th, eighth, sixth, second and first overall.

Has the game passed the 58-year-old by?

Hardly. He was a twotime coach of the year with the Falcons. His defense does not look predicable and outdated, the way Lovie Smith’s Cover 2 zone scheme simply got figured out. Each week, Smith has developed game plans with multiple looks to attack the opponent. Some have worked, but eight out of 12 times, they have failed.

Injuries have been a factor. Linebackers Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David missed significant time at the start of the season. Noah Spence’s season-ending shoulder injury in Week 3 took away the Bucs’ only legitimate threat as an edge rusher. The Bucs’ best pass defender, Brent Grimes, has missed games.

But, as Smith says, no excuses.