"Somewhere, away from the cameras, far from the microphones, a conversation is going on.

Somewhere, where outsiders cannot hear, Josh is talking to Gerald, who is passing it on to Adrian, who just talked to LeGarrette, who just got off the phone with Mason, who wonders what Ronde thinks.

"So,'' the discussion begins, "what do you think about Greg Schiano?''

Somewhere, the players of the Tampa Bay Bucs are having the same conversations you are having, complete with the "who?'' and the "huh?'' and the "why?''

Odds are, their eyebrows are raised, too. Chances are, they have more questions than answers about the Bucs' latest coach. A new boss is riding in from Rutgers, and you can bet the players, too, are trying to make sense of it.

Greg Schiano?

After a search that was a month long and nationwide, that went from up-and-comer to down-and-outer, from retread to coordinator to the college campuses, the Bucs have finally brought in another coach in Schiano.

Just wondering, but who had him in the pool?

Good hire? Bad hire? For now, no one really knows. At least, Schiano is an interesting hire, one that will make you pay far closer attention than the long line of drab men in drab suits with drab resumes that the Bucs considered at one point or another.

Here's a question: Is it possible the Bucs interviewed Mike Sherman again just so Schiano would look good by comparison?

As coach hirings go, it is fair to say that Schiano does not arrive with instant gratification — not for fans and, I assume, not for players. At best, he is a give-him-a-chance kind of hire. There is a lot of proving to do before this can be called a good hire and a few playoffs before it can be called a great one. "