The Buccaneers are counting on Greg Schiano to lead them back to respectability and transform Tampa Bay into consistent winners – much in the same way he made Rutgers matter again.
The 45-year-old Scarlet Knights coach was hired Thursday, more than three weeks after the Bucs fired Raheem Morris after a 4-12 finish.
The team scheduled a press conference today to introduce Schiano.
“Coach Schiano is a bright, meticulous teacher who knows how to get the most out of his players,” general manager Mark Dominik said. “He built and ran a pro-style program at Rutgers, and he’s a defensive-minded coach whose teams have always been characterized by toughness and a physical style of play.”
AS THE COLTS TURN
The Indianapolis Colts are a long way from being healed.
Two days after Peyton Manning publicly complained about the dour atmosphere at team headquarters following a 2-14 season and a rash of firings, Colts owner Jim Irsay introduced his new head coach Chuck Pagano and then stunned everyone by calling his franchise player a “politician” who had decided to air dirty laundry.
“I don’t think it’s in the best interest to paint the horseshoe in a negative light, I really don’t,” Irsay said, referring to the team’s logo. “The horseshoe always comes first, and I think one thing he’s always known, because he’s been around it so long, is that, you know, you keep it in the family.
“If you’ve got a problem you talk to each other, it’s not about campaigning or anything like that.”
HOLMGREN HONORED
Mike Holmgren’s place in Green Packers’ history is now secured. On July 21, the coach will be inducted to the team’s Hall of Fame.
“I was a high school history teacher who got lucky,” Holmgren said. “(General manager) Ron Wolf decided to take a chance on a guy who hadn’t been in the league very long. To be a part of and be mentioned in the same breath with the greats of the Green Bay Packers, that’s a special thing for anybody.”
Holmgren led the Packers to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons, compiling a 75-37 record. Green Bay won the NFC Central three times, NFC championships twice and also brought the Lombardi Trophy back home in 1996. Wolf, his co-architect, will present him at this summer’s banquet.
Now the president of the Cleveland Browns, Holmgren led the Seahawks to an 86-74 record from 1999-2008 and a trip to Super Bowl XL following the 2005 season after leaving the Packers.
EXTRA POINTS
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski missed the team’s first Super Bowl practice Thursday with a left ankle injury. No further details were provided. … State police say Eagles tight end Brent Celek was a passenger in a car involved in an early-morning DUI crash. No one was injured in the accident. … An Alabama man who was allegedly assaulted by Rolando McClain and another man has sued the Raiders linebacker alleging “brutal and prolonged assault and battery.”
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