TAMPA — Shortly after withdrawing his name from consideration from the San Diego, er, Los Angeles Chargers head coaching job Thursday, the Bucs made sure defensive coordinator Mike Smith was not relocating.
Tampa Bay signed Smith to a contract extension, keeping the cohesiveness to a unit that showed considerable improvement in 2016. Terms of the new deal were not released.
The Bucs ranked 23rd in the 32-team league in total defense this season, but they showed noticeable progress the final eight games. They ranked third in takeaways with 29, including 17 interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries. They won a league-high five games when scoring 19 points or less; they won one such game the previous three seasons.