"Black Monday" has come to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the second time in less than two years, as the team has fired head coach Greg Schiano and general manager Mark Dominik.
The Bucs announced the decision in a two paragraph statement released shortly before noon Monday on the team's webpage.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced Monday that they have dismissed general manager Mark Dominik and head coach Greg Schiano. “The results over the past two years have not lived up to our standards and we believe the time has come to find a new direction. Mark has been a valued member of our organization for two decades and we respect the passion he showed for the Buccaneers during his time here. We thank Greg for his hard work and effort the past two seasons, but we feel these moves are necessary in order to achieve our goals,” said Buccaneers Co-Chairman Bryan Glazer.
Schiano had an 11-21 record in two seasons, including a 4-12 season that ended with a 42-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints Sunday. A surprising 6-4 start last season was followed with a 1-5 finish and an 0-8 start this year.
Schiano's hiring in 2012 after 11 seasons as head coach at Rutgers University was a surprise to many, and his short tenure with the Bucs included complaints from players over his disciplinarian style. In addition, his relationship with former starting quarterback Josh Freeman deteriorated to the point that Freeman was benched after three games this season.
Then came reports that Freeman was in the league's drug program, which was followed by accusations from the NFL Players Association that someone - possibly Schiano - leaked that information to the media. Schiano denied any involvement. Freeman was released in early October.
Schiano was one of four NFL head coaches fired on "Black Monday," the day after the regular season ends - a day that's come to mark the end of a number of head coaches' tenures.
In addition to Schiano, Jim Schwartz (Detroit Lions), Mike Shanahan (Washington Redskins) and Leslie Frazier (Minnesota Vikings) lost their jobs Monday. The Cleveland Browns fired coach Rob Chudzinski Sunday night.
Among the coaches dismissed, only Chudzinski (one year) had a shorter tenure than Schiano.
The Buccaneers fired Schiano's predecessor, Raheem Morris, on "Black Monday" 2012, after he posted a 17-31 record in three seasons. The Glazer family has fired all five head coaches (Schiano, Morris, Jon Gruden, Tony Dungy and Sam Wyche) the team has had since they bought the Bucs for $192 million in January 1995.
Dominik has been with the Buccaneers since 1995, serving in a number of scouting and personnel positions before being named general manager in 2009. The team had a 28-52 record in Dominik's five seasons.
The firings are an expensive decision, costing the team at least $15 million. Schiano had three years left on his contract, while Dominik also received a contract extension last year.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that early speculation on a replacement coach include Penn State University Bill O'Brien and former Bears head coach and ex-Bucs assistant Lovie Smith.
