Following a 2-0 start to the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have continued to head south dropping their third straight game after falling just short against the Atlanta Falcons 34-29 in Week 6 action.

According to Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network, this has led to the team to come to the decision to fire defensive coordinator Mike Smith on Monday morning.

Much of these issues have come on the defensive side of the ball giving up 30 or more points in each of those losses in this current skid. The Buccaneers rank last in the league giving up 34.2 points per game while ranking 20th overall, and 31st against the pass giving up an NFL-worst 9.3 yards per attempt. They are also tied with the Falcons with a league-worst 16 passing touchdowns allowed and hold the highest opposing quarterback passing rating (129.5).

There are endless problems that have arisen this season defensively that don't have a one-stop fix toward getting them into the right direction, but the firing of Smith could be a step toward finding that solution. The Buccaneers have a formidable offense with some game-changing talent at the skilled positions, but that has been overshadowed by their defensive struggles that have only continued to mount as the season has worn on. This was on full display against the Falcons giving up 416 total offensive yards with Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Ryan completing 31-of-41 passes for 341 yards with three touchdowns and held a 125.5 passer rating.

It hasn't just been this year that the defense has struggled under Smith as since he took over as defensive coordinator back in 2016, the Buccaneers have allowed 20 400-yard games, which is by far the most in the league over that span. There have been plenty of lasting issues that the team couldn't resolve over the last couple of years that made the decision to fire Smith the only reasonable choice at this point in time for the franchise. Tampa Bay's next matchup will be against the Cleveland Browns in Week 7.