NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hiring Dirk Koetter Means Marcus Mariota At No. 1

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By @Tweets_ByJ

Dirk Koetter

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It has long been known that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and that they will likely take a quarterback with that selection.

People have speculated on who that quarterback would be, but it seems to be a coin flip between Oregon‘s Marcus Mariota and Florida State‘s Jameis Winston. But when the Buccaneers hired Dirk Koetter as their new offensive coordinator, they tipped their hand that they prefer Mariota as their top pick.

The main reason why Koetter will likely prefer Mariota over Winston is because he is the better fit for the offense that Koetter is going to run in Tampa Bay. Bucs head coach Lovie Smith promised that the team was going to have a fast-paced, up-tempo offense when he was hired. With that guarantee in mind, Smith hired a coordinator in Koetter who can provide that quick offense.

As the Atlanta Falcons‘ offensive coordinator, he moved to a lot of no-huddle offenses to set the pace and tire out defenses. This is similar to the style that Mariota runs at Oregon, where all they do is run the no-huddle and tire a defense with their speed on the field.

Mariota is also a better fit as a quarterback in Koetter’s offense. Many will point to the fact that when Koetter was offensive coordinator with the Falcons he worked with a notorious pocket passer in Matt Ryan and conclude that since Winston is the better pocket passer, he is the better fit. This is not true, because when Koetter was hired to coach in Atlanta, Ryan was already inserted as the franchise quarterback and he had to tailor his offense to Ryan’s strengths.

When he had the same position with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Koetter chose to work with David Garrard, a mobile quarterback. He also preferred high-paced offenses when he worked in the college ranks as a coordinator and a head coach. So this makes Mariota the more ideal fit than Winston.

One final point to consider is Koetter’s relationship with the Oregon program. He was an assistant with the team years ago and also has a special relationship with current Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich. Koetter worked alongside Helfrich at Oregon, and he also brought Helfrich along as a coach on his staffs at Boise State and Arizona State. You could say that Koetter is one of Helfrich’s mentors and that could give him a special insight into the ability and tools that Mariota possesses.

Looking at the entire picture, as a stylistic and personal fit, it appears as though the hiring of Koetter signals Mariota as the first overall pick by the Buccaneers.

Justin Broyles is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @Tweets_ByJ, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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