* It was a season for the ages in Orlando. UCF is the only undefeated team in the country. Its head coach, Scott Frost, stayed on and saw this incredible season through with his players before assuming the full-time position at Nebraska, his alma mater. Contrast that with the beyond-awkward transitions in Tallahassee and Gainesville. Then the Knights beat favored Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
Keep in mind that Auburn had previously beaten both Alabama and Georgia, who will now play for the national championship. Yeah, the American Athletic Conference is cachet-challenged and no match for the illustrious SEC. Except on the field. This season. Go, Knights. Keep it in the Corridor.
* “Don’t give up.” It’s as much a cliché as it is directive. But it shouldn’t be applicable when it comes to pro sports.
The Bucs, for example, were lauded, despite a disappointing 2017 season, for not giving up. As in nobody quit during a frustrating year when they could have. Say what? Praise for not giving up and continuing to do the job you’re overpaid to do? And shouldn’t any working definition of “professional” preclude even the temptation to not give your best?
“Don’t give up” works at the high school level with teenagers still playing a game–not at the “professional” level.
* Dirk Koetter is back to coach the Bucs in 2018. As he should. With a team not blindsided by injuries, he was 9-7 and barely missed the playoffs last year. This year, with a team blindsided by injuries–and not enough help from his general manager–he was 5-11. There’s a pattern. He deserves a third year.
* Call it a Tampa Bay trifecta: How cool is it that a local kid, Nigel Harris, can play for Hillsborough High, USF and the Bucs. That had never happened before this season.
* Maybe it’s overreacting to bad publicity, including the controversy over national anthem protests, or maybe it’s just that the NFL wants to distance itself from the “No Fun League” label that a number of players and marketers have affixed. Whatever the rationale, the league has lifted its on-field partying ban this season. End zone choreography is not just allowed, it’s now celebrated, especially in the broadcast booth, where replays are not limited to, well, plays. Will this be permanent or Not For Long? Bet on permanent. This is the entertainment business–and plenty of players, fans and network execs like it.
* Buccaneer retrospection: The Bucs fired Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden. Still weird.