Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter was looking for some new energy to put into his defense, so it seemed strange when he hired 65-year-old Mark Duffner to replace Mike Smith as the defensive coordinator in October.
Tampa Bay was last in passing yards (355.8) and points (34.6) allowed and next to last in total yards, giving up an average of 440 per game. So, why hire a coach who might retire soon?
“ ‘Duff’ is just a terrific football coach. I think it’s something like his 42nd year coaching, and ‘Duff’ is just a really positive guy, brings a lot of energy,” Koetter said.