It only took seven straight losses and rumors of his firing for Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano’s stubbornness to give way to common sense.
The former Rutgers coach, yet to win a game in his second season in the NFL, spent the weekend debating changes for his last-place Buccaneers, highlighted by the realization that he should probably have his best defensive player — Darrelle Revis — have more of an impact by playing more man-to-man coverage.
“We need to make sure we’re accentuating our best players, putting them in the best position to make plays better than we have,’’ Schiano told the Tampa Tribune. “That’s something I’ve looked at hard, and I know our coaches have looked at it as well.’’
The Buccaneers appeared to have big plans for Revis, when they acquired the four-time Pro Bowler from the Jets for first and third-round picks, and signed him to a six-year, $96 million deal in the offseason. Aside from the $16 million this season, Revis received no guaranteed money coming off of ACL surgery.
However, since arriving, Revis has mostly been used in zone coverage, negating the ability of the cornerback to strand people on his famed island.
After two games this season, Revis reportedly became frustrated with how he was being used, though he met with Schiano to tell him he was not the source of a story that suggested his skills were not being handled properly.
After the team’s most recent loss on Thursday, Revis didn’t exactly endorse the game plan the defense is being prepared with.
“I don’t know,’’ Revis told FOX 13 in Tamp when asked if the team believes in the game plans. “I don’t know. We’ve got a game plan every week and we’ve just got to stick to the game plan.’’