Mike Sullivan To Be Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers intend to hire former New York Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan to be their new offensive coordinator.

Sullivan is best known for helping Eli Manning turn things around after his 25 interception season in 2010. Giants backup quarterback David Carr is quoted as saying that Manning’s radical increase in production in 2011 was largely due to Sullivan’s “unconventional drills”. He was also the wide receivers coach for the Giants from 2004 until 2009 when he switched to the quarterback job.

Sullivan has his work cut out for him, with a Bucs offense that looked lost for much of 2011. Much of their success in 2010 was from the play of quarterback Josh Freeman and the emergence of Mike Williams, but 2011 saw both players struggle heavily. The pressure will be on in 2012 as both Williams and Freeman may find themselves on the trading block should they fail to improve. The Buccaneers may be a youthful team, but after going from 10-6 to 4-12 in a single year expectation is the biggest obstacle for the new coaching staff and their players to overcome.

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