After a slew of coaches were fired earlier this week, some teams have already started to hire the replacements. After a number of years with Chicago Bears, Lovie Smith has been hired as the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Lovie Smith served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears from 2004 to 2012, and in his tenure as coach, he took them to one Super Bowl, in 2006.

While other teams have begun the interview process, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wasted no time in finding their next head coach.

He comes in to replace Greg Schiano, who was fired this week during the black Monday firings, an event which saw several coaches lose their jobs on Monday.

Before taking the job with Tampa Bay, Smith also interviewed with the Houston Texans. The Detroit Lions had interest in him as well after firing Jim Schwartz, but the Bucs made sure that he did not make it to Detroit, and as a result, he will be the head coach of Tampa Bay in 2014.

It was reported that the Lovie Smith was the leading candidate to become the next coach of the Buccaneers, despite other coaches who might be interested in the job. He will also be returning to a team where he served as the linebackers coach from 1996 to 2000.

The key firings that occurred on Monday involved the coaches of the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions.

Of course, with the disappointments that the Houston Texans faced this season, they were forced to fire Gary Kubiak weeks ago.

Following the departure of Rob Chudzinski, Josh McDaniels was reported to have set up an interview with the Cleveland Browns.

Lovie Smith is the new Buccaneers coach. Done deal, as @AdamSchefter reports. Lot of former Bucs thrilled. #

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 2, 2014

Bucs make it official, announce they've hired Lovie Smith as their HC. Five-year deal, with team option after four years.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 2, 2014

Lovie Smith achieved a record of 81-63 in his nine seasons as the head coach of the Bears. With great success in Chicago, and after building a foundation around his defense, Smith will look to improve a Tampa Bay team that has continued to struggle in recent years.

Does Lovie Smith have what it takes to turn the Buccaneers around? As the first new coach to be hired, he will have plenty of time to get to know the team, and get himself acquainted with the players, building a stronger team to compete in the 2014 season.

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