Goodwill find: Fan scores gear possibly donated by former Bucs coach Koetter

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - A Tampa Bay Bucs fan made a lucky discovery at a Goodwill store as he sorted through a stack of team gear, appearing to have belonged to former Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter.

Mike Allen said he went to the store on W. Hillsborough Avenue Thursday looking for one thing and couldn't believe what he found.

"Some of the items we found were some of his shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, hoodies," Allen said.

Each of the 13 items had an iron-on label with the name "Dirk Koetter" inside, indicating the clothing came from the former coach's closet or locker.

"I couldn't believe that it belonged to the coach," Allen told FOX 13 Friday. "They were actually in the process of bringing some of it out. There was another gentleman who was looking at some of it, who actually handed some of it off to me."

Allen was so excited about his purchases he immediately contacted Drew Garabo's radio show on 102.5 The Bone.

The Bucs fan knows the high-quality gear, some of which also are stamped with an "NFL Equipment" logo, contains some great collectibles.

"To myself and fans, it's more priceless than anything," he said. "I bought a lot of it for myself. I did pick up a few items for my friends who are season ticket holders. So they're big Bucs fans."

Jennifer Fleming, a spokesperson for Goodwill Suncoast, had a fitting reaction to Allen's find.

"I say, 'touchdown for him,'" she said. "This is one turnover from Dirk that the community can actually cheer on because he's doing a good thing by contributing to the community...we have a slogan that says we turn jeans into jobs. We can turn jerseys into jobs as well."

If it was Koetter who donated all the items, Allen is appreciative.

"To see that he took it and took the time to bring it and donate it to a place like Goodwill that takes that money in turn and puts it back into the community, it says a lot of things about him," he said.

FOX 13 contacted the Bucs to try to determine whether the donation was made by Koetter, who was fired last month, or someone else with the organization. A spokesperson has not returned our calls.