Commentary | Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to appease quarterback Jameis Winston

TAMPA

The Tampa Bay Buccaeers are now living in a back-to-the-future mode, and the silence of Jameis Winston has become deafening.

We haven't heard from the Bucs quarterback since the season finale, when he praised the coaching staff for all the hard work it put in and wished out loud that some players would follow suit.

In response, Bucs ownership fired head coach Lovie Smith and about half of his staff.

The move has spawned a flood of conspiracy theorists and pop psychologists claiming they know why Lovie got the ax.

What we learned is that it's easy to justify anything, especially the firing of a head coach in any sport.

Greg Schiano, a former Bucs head coach and reported descendent of Genghis Khan, once said every American male thinks he is an expert at coaching football and running a grill. Now he can add Sigmund Freud to that list.

But this is about moving forward and Jameis Winston. He is the future of the franchise, and it would be wise for the Glazer family, which owns the team, to appease him.

Besides his success on the field last season, he was even better off it. Winston was a gentleman and never did anything that reflected negatively on himself and the franchise.

In other words, Winston showed a lot of Lovie Smith characteristics. Despite one's feelings about Lovie as a coach, no one has ever said anything bad about him as a person.

This is no small thing. Just look at Johnny Manziel at Cleveland or a few guys named Ryan such as Leaf and Mallett.

To some extent, Winston will probably never be the same after Lovie's firing. He played the game with a boyish enthusiasm that has put him in position to win offensive rook

ie of the year honors.

Though he had to know the NFL is a business, it never seemed to matter to Winston. Now, it surely does. He is human, and to see an important mentor in his life get thrown to the side has to be difficult.

So, in their search for the new head coach, the Glazers have to keep Winston upbeat. It's a reason offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is the frontrunner to replace Lovie as well as the reason he was fired -- though not because of his doing,

Koetter did such a good job with Winston that the other teams looking for a head coach are seriously considering him.

Unfortunately, nothing over at One Buc Place ever seems to follow logic, so the reasonable question to ask is whether Koetter is the right guy to succeed Lovie.

This raises the question of putting the cart before the horse.

Does the offensive coordinator make the quarterback, or does the quarterback make the offensive coordinator?

If we are talking Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning, we know the answer.

In Winston's case, it might not be so clear, at least for now.

Koetter put him in a good position to succeed and minimize mistakes. But sometimes a quarterback outgrows his protector. That time might be coming soon for Winston.

And to say that Winston can only succeed with Koetter is shortchanging the 22-year-old.

Winston has proven to be a hard worker, who is dedicated to becoming an elite signal caller. A change at offensive coordinator might set him back temporarily at worst.

Koetter comes with a bunch of plusses and minuses. The Bucs were the fifth-ranked offense under him but struggled scoring points and ranked 20th in that department.

Some of those offensive stats were skewed, like in the St. Louis game when the Bucs trailed 28-3 after three quarters when the Rams got conservative and played their version of prevent defense. It allowed the Bucs to roll up 238 passing yards in the fourth quarter and 20 points.

It's a call for those rabid Koetter enthusiasts to slow down.

If Koetter becomes head coach, he will have less time to spend with Winston because of his new responsibilities. He will likely have to hire an offensive coordinator, though he could still call plays.

Then there is the possible resentment from players who believe (right or wrong) that Koetter was responsible for Lovie getting fired. You never know how that will play out in the long run.

An interesting candidate is Arizona offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin, who already interviewed for the Bucs head coaching job. Under him, the Cardinals ranked first in total offense and second in points scored last season. But do you attribute that to Goodwin or quarterback Carson Palmer, who reinvented himself?

The wild card in all of this is the Glazer family. They've fired four head coaches in the last eight years. It could hurt the search for a quality person and makes you wonder if Koetter is hesitant about taking the job.

Alan Dell, Herald sports writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter at @ADellSports.

This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Commentary | Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to appease quarterback Jameis Winston ."