Darrelle Revis won’t miss Greg Schiano in Tampa Bay.
In his first honest assessment of his first year in Tampa Bay, the All-Pro cornerback and former Jets star opened up about his thoughts on Schiano, the former Buccaneers coach who was canned after two failed seasons with the Bucs, describing him as overwhelmed and inflexible.
“The atmosphere, I felt like, was real tense,” Revis told the Tampa Bay Times while in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. “Guys didn’t like coming to work. That’s one of the things you have to have, a stress-free atmosphere and environment. You’re going to get everything out of everybody if it’s stress-free and let people be who they are. I just didn’t feel he did a very good job of that.”
Revis, 28, a Pro Bowler for the fifth time just one year removed from a torn ACL, even said star players from other teams with him in Hawaii have described Schiano’s defensive schemes as a “joke.”
“I wish he would have listened to some of the players a little bit more, especially the veterans and some of the older guys,” Revis said. “We can go down the line like Dashon Goldson, Davin Joseph, Carl Nicks, Vincent Jackson and those type of guys and listen to them. But he was the boss, and you’ve got to fall in line.”
Revis hopes to remain in Tampa for a long time. He said he’s excited to play under new coach Lovie Smith, who won three NFC North titles in nine years with the Bears. Revis has yet to meet Smith, but he’s heard nothing but good things.
“One of the guys I really listened to was [former Bears linebacker] Brian Urlacher,” Revis said. “He said, ‘You’re going to love Lovie.’ [Receiver] Brandon Marshall … told me I’m going to love Lovie. … All the guys that played under him have good things to say about him.”
Despite the ugly stint with the Bucs, Schiano received an interview for the Browns’ vacant head-coaching position on Wednesday, though NFL.com reported he is not a candidate.
Revis hopes the time Schiano — who previously coached at Rutgers — spent with the Bucs will help him at his next stop.
“Hopefully, if he ever gets another stab at it, he’ll do things differently,” Revis said.