Thursday, 4 a.m.
At this point, they need Lewis. At this point, they need Clark. For crying out loud, at this point, they need Sacagawea.
The uncoordinated offense of the Tampa Bay Bucs needs a coordinator. They are lost. They are stuck in the mud. They may be about to lose their best player and, with him, a large degree of hope.
So, yeah, the Bucs needed guidance. They need someone who thinks both outside the box and beyond the first down marker. They need fresh ideas to replace a stale philosophy.
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And, so far, the choices seem less than inspiring.
Evidently, the shortlist for the Bucs includes former team receiver Keenan McCardell, who has been logging time in Minnesota as a receivers coach. Jim Bob Cooter, Klint Kubiak and Kevin Parullo (the Fab Four).
Of course, when you may be about to lose your quarterback, you have no running game and your offensive line is suspect, who are you going to get? Obviously, no one with directions to Tom Brady's house.
In a lot of ways, this fits in with the wacky history of the Bucs' franchise. Of all the positions they've been historically weak in (quarterback, head coach, pass rusher), offensive coordinator is a large pile of mess.
The Bucs' first offensive coordinator, John Rauch, lasted all of five games before a split with John McKay led to his departure. Rauch didn't believe in the I-formation, which McKay did. Even odder is that the two never discussed it before Rauch was hired.
A little later, there was Jeff Jagodzinski, who was Raheem Morris' first offensive coordinator. Jags didn't even make it through his first preseason. He was canned because he couldn't call the plays in a timely manner.
A little after that came Jeff Tedford, who was supposed to be the offensive coordinator for Lovie Smith. But Tedford had heart problems and stepped aside in the preseason. He departed the team with a leave of absence in September, and the Bucs limped to a 2-14 season.
There was Mike Shula and his two-yards-a-time offense. There was Les Steckel, who was fired after a season in which his offense set four team records.
Oh, there were a few good ones. Joe Gibbs was excellent even before he became a Hall of Fame coach. Dirk Koetter did well. Todd Monken.
But most of the Bucs' coordinators were third-and-11 disasters.
Will this one be different?
We'll see.