The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially announced that Lovie Smith has been hired as their new head coach.
On Thursday, the Buccaneers announced the hiring of Lovie Smith as the 10th head coach in franchise history. Smith, who served as the Chicago Bears’ head coach from 2004-12, began his NFL career as the Buccaneers’ linebackers coach in 1996. As part of Tony Dungy’s first staff in ‘96, Smith helped turn around a franchise that had gone 15 years without a playoff berth, eventually leading to the team’s victory in Super Bowl XXXVII.
“Today is an exciting day for the Buccaneer organization, and the entire Tampa Bay community, as we welcome back Lovie Smith,” said Buccaneers Co-Chairman Bryan Glazer. “Lovie is an accomplished and very well respected head coach who has enjoyed success at every level of his 30-year career. We knew from the start of our search that he was the ideal man to lead this team into this new era of Buccaneer football.”
Smith and the team agreed to a five-year deal. The Buccaneers’ new head coach will be formally introduced at a press conference at One Buccaneer place on Monday, Jan. 6, at 2:00 p.m. ET. The press conference will be carried live on Buccaneers.com.
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