Bucs replace Smith as ‘D’ coordinator
Mike Smith is out as defensive coordinator of the Buccaneers, replaced by linebackers coach Mark Duffner.
Riding a three-game losing streak and not showing any signs of being able to fix a porous unit that keeps undermining the team’s chances of winning, the Bucs dismissed the former Falcons coach Monday after yielding 92 points in the first half of consecutive losses to the Steelers, Bears and Falcons.
Through five games, the Bucs (2-3) are 31st in total defense at 439.8 yards per game. They’re last in pass defense (355.6), while also allowing a league-high 34.6 points per game.
Smith, a former Ravens defensive assistant, coached the Falcons from 2008 to 2014. Duffner was Maryland’s head coach from 1992 to 1996, going 20-35 and never finishing better than fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Rookie Josh Allen is out indefinitely after hurting his right throwing arm and leaving the Bills in a quandary at quarterback.
Coach Sean McDermott said Allen is “week to week” after Allen hurt his elbow in the third quarter of a 20-13 loss to the Texans. McDermott said he will know more about the nature of Allen’s injury after meeting with team doctors.
The injury to the first-round draft pick leaves McDermott having to decide between turnover-prone backup Nathan Peterman or newly signed 12-year veteran Derek Anderson to start against the Colts on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Dolphins coach Adam Gase said QB Ryan Tannehill might return Sunday against the Lions but there’s uncertainty about the severity of the injury to his throwing shoulder. Gase described Tannehill’s status as day to day and said he didn’t know whether there was a chance the injury could be a long-term issue.