Ex-Chicago Bears head coach, and most recent Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, Lovie Smith has been dismissed.

This is rather surprising since Lovie was hired just two years ago, and he has always been a highly respected member of the Buccaneer franchise.

Lovie was 8-24 in his two seasons in Tampa. Perhaps the team grew impatient with the drafting of Jameis Winston in last years draft, hoping that bringing in a high profile young quarterback would change the team’s recent fortunes. (Speculating) Perhaps management hadn’t seen enough improvement in the first two years to trust Lovie to grow the team and build around a young QB.

Here is the statement by Buccaneers Co-Chairman Joel Glaze.

“After careful consideration, we informed Lovie that we have decided to make a change. I want to thank Lovie for his hard work and dedication to the Buccaneers during his time here. This decision was difficult on a variety of levels. I am disappointed that we were not more successful these past few seasons, but we are committed to doing what is necessary to give our fans the winning team they deserve. As we move forward, General Manager Jason Licht will oversee the process for finding our next head coach.”