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READ: TAKEAWAYS FROM KOETTER
When the Buccaneers selected Jameis Winston with the first overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, Mike Bajakian and Dirk Koetter became two of the most important people at One Buccaneer Place, if they weren't already.
Bajakian, who was brought in to be the Bucs' Quarterbacks Coach after serving as the University of Tennessee's Offensive Coordinator last season, is the guru responsible for grooming Winston on a day-to-day basis. And Koetter will be calling the shots as the team's newly-hired Offensive Coordinator.
On Monday, for the first time since drafting Winston, and the first time since being hired, Bajakian spoke to the media at One Buc. He spoke largely about Winston, but also about his budding relationship with his new counterpart.
"Boy, he's been great to work with," Bajakian said of Koetter. "I like his frame of mind philosophically. I think we come from similar backgrounds in terms of play-calling and what we're trying to do on the field. I enjoy being around him. I think his leadership qualities are outstanding and obviously, just looking to grow professionally, I'm looking forward to working with him."
One major difference between the system Koetter is installing and the system the Bucs ran last year, as pointed out by Demar Dotson in his press conference last week, is the tempo. Bajakian said that the speed on the offense is a point of emphasis, but not the point of emphasis.
"The tempo, I would say, is just one aspect of this offense," Bajakian said. "Obvioulsy for what we're trying to accomplish out here on the field without having a defense in front of us and going on air, that's one of the things we've been working on. But there are so many more facets to this offense that we'll cover as we get into OTAs and into training camp and all of that."
But the process has just begun; the two have been working with players on the field for just a handful of days. It's still a learning process, but Bajakian is soaking it all in.
"I've never worked with Coach Koetter before being here," Bajakian said, "but I'm absorbing as much as I can."
