Buccaneers fire Lovie Smith after two seasons in Tampa Bay

The Buccaneers went 8-24 under Smith.

In perhaps the most surprising coaching change of the year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have opted to fire Lovie Smith after just two seasons at the helm.

Tampa Bay released a statement shortly after 10:00 p.m. Wednesday night in which the club's Co-Chairman Joel Glazer said he wished the team were more successful over the last couple of years.

"After careful consideration, we informed Lovie that we have decided to make a change," the statement reads. "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."

The Buccaneers went 8-24 under Smith, though they showed promise this year with a 6-10 finish –– a four-game improvement over 2014. It's worth noting, though, that they lost their final four games of the season.

Despite the Bucs' poor finish, the move to dump Smith, 57, just two years into his four-year contract is surprising. Smith's replacement will be the fourth head coach in Tampa Bay since 2008, a fact that linebacker Lavonte David pointed out on Twitter.

This is stupid, we can't even have a consistent coach, 3 coaches in 5 yrs

— Lavonte David (@LavonteDavid54) January 7, 2016

The most notable development in Tampa Bay this season was the development of No. 1 pick Jameis Winston, who posted an 84.2 quarterback rating and led the Bucs on three game-winning drives. Winston's presence should make this an attractive opening. However, former Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik says he expects the team to find its replacement in-house and promote offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.

With Lovie Smith fired I would expect Dirk Koetter to be named head coach within the week. They still will interview a few other candidates.

— Mark Dominik (@MarkdominikESPN) January 7, 2016

Smith has been an NFL coach for 11 seasons, including nine years in Chicago. He's posted a career record of 89-87 and led the Bears to a Super Bowl appearance in 2005. The Buccaneers haven't returned to the playoffs since 2007 and won their only championship in 2002.