Tampa Bay Buccaneers will retain Dirk Koetter as head coach

All that talk about Jon Gruden leaving the “Monday Night Football” booth to return to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Never mind.

Bucs ownership on Friday told head coach Dirk Koetter that he would return for a third season, despite Tampa Bay taking a 4-11 record into Sunday’s regular-season finale against the New Orleans Saints.

The Tampa Bay Times was the first to report the news.

Koetter is 13-18 during his two seasons as Bucs head coach, including a pair of five-game losing streaks this season.

Both of the coaches before Koetter – Greg Schiano and Lovie Smith – were fired after two seasons.

Gruden, who was fired after the 2008 season, is said to be talking to potential assistant coaches in case he decides to return to the coaching ranks.

In his first season with the Bucs, Gruden led Tampa Bay to a 48-21 win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.

This story was originally published December 29, 2017 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Tampa Bay Buccaneers will retain Dirk Koetter as head coach."