Jason Licht Comments on Reasoning Behind Lovie Smith Firing

January 8, 2016   ·   Mike Norris   ·   Jump to comments

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith was fired Wednesday night after an 8-24 record in two seasons at the helm.
Tampa Bay tripled its win total in 2015 from two to six, but it also lost its last four games of the season. That was enough for general manager Jason Licht and the rest of the team's brass to justify firing Smith, per Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com.   
"I think when you have eight wins in two years, three home wins in two years, I think [fans have] been patient enough," Licht said during a Thursday afternoon news conference at the team's headquarters. "It does take time, but I think while you're building a good football team you can compete."
It wasn't an easy situation for Smith. Tampa had been shut out of the playoffs for six years before he arrived, and the team was playing with a rookie quarterback this season in Jameis Winston.
DiRocco wrote that while Licht "did not want to talk about Smith's failings," it was "clear" a s...

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