TAMPA, Fla. – When I was about 5 years old and started showing interest in football, I asked my dad, “Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a real football team? Like a real one?” That was when the Bucco Bruce and Creamsicle jerseys were not the cherished heirlooms and retro fashion fads. They were instead a painful reminder of an embarrassingly awful Tampa Bay football team.
Sure, there were some very good years in the late nineties that led to the Super Bowl XXXVII victory after the 2002 season. But a slew of issues over salary cap, poor draft and age caught up with the Bucs, which culminated in the epic 2008 crash, followed by failed rebuilds after failed rebuilds.
So you can imagine the surprise of fans when the Bucs not only hit a full track last year to land six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, but got him. That’s why, if the Super Bowl Sunday (18:30 ET, CBS) is not programmed with their image of Brady in the downtown Sykes building, 10 months later, with the image of Brady in the Sykes building, they will not believe the Bucs. actually play in it.
When coach Bruce Arians was asked on local sports radio this week what he would think two years ago if someone told him he would be in the Super Bowl LV series against the Kansas City Chiefs with Brady as his fullback, he said: ‘What are you smoking or drinking? And get me some. ‘
“We were 2-14 the year before we got here,” said left-back Ali Marpet, who was selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. “And good, it’s hard to get here. I think because it was so hard, it makes this moment more precious.”
Brady and Arians deserve all the credit for getting the Buccaneers up to this point – the team’s second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history after a drought of 13 years after the season. But no one would be here without Jason Licht, general manager of Bucs.
“Jason is the main reason I came into coaching again,” said Arians, a two-time AP NFL coach of the year who worked with Licht when he was director of player staff and vice president of player staff at the Arizona Cardinals from 2012 to 2013. “I knew how good he was as a judge and worked with him – we shared the same vision.”
Pieces start to fall into place
Licht has been the general manager of Bucs since January 21, 2014. Most first-time GMs survive no more than two shooting incidents. It was Licht’s recommendation to separate two coaches from coach Lovie Smith, who was appointed just before Licht in 2014 after two seasons, and Dirk Koetter, attacking coordinator, who delivered one 9-7 season in 2016, followed. through two 5-11 seasons. He was gone after the 2018 season.
By that time, Jameis Winston, the fullback Licht who was with the overall no. 1 was selected in the 2015 draft, struggling with turnover, and Licht’s decision to swap in the second round of the 2016 draft to select Roberto Aguayo went up in flames. since the kicker was gone after one season. There have also been numerous failed free agent signings for massive multi-year deals such as Michael Johnson (five years, $ 43.75 million) and Anthony Collins (five years, $ 30 million).
With a 27-53 record in his first five seasons, Licht was on the hottest seat.
The Glazer family, who own the Bucs, have never shown much patience. Former general manager Mark Dominik was sacked after leading 28-52 within five seasons, along with coach Greg Schiano, which lasted just two seasons. Schiano’s predecessor, Raheem Morris, held three.
But Licht has also had some success. He knocked it out of the park when he selected wide receiver Mike Evans with the seventh overall pick in 2014, Marpet in the second round of 2015 and wide receiver Chris Godwin in the third round in 2017. He has a hidden gem found in the tight end Cameron Brate. , an uninvolved free agent from Harvard, in 2014.
Licht also drew a deal with the New York Giants to select Jason Pierre-Paul for the third round by selecting the fourth round. Ownership believed in the core group built with the players, praising Licht’s ability to re-sign Evans, Brate and Lavonte David and still maintain a healthy salary cap. So Light had to stay.
He rewarded the faith by landing the NFL’s best head coach candidate that year in Arians, and things began to fall into place piece by piece. With former Jets head coach Todd Bowles coming in as defensive coordinator, the Buccaneers defended their passive zone 4-3 to an attacking 3-4-one-gap scheme with little player turnover. One of their most important additions, linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who has only been a stalwart with the Denver Broncos, rose 19.5 bags in the league in 2019.
‘Jason [Licht] is the main reason why I come back into coaching. I knew how well he was a judge and worked with him – we shared the same vision. ‘
Bruce Arians
“I could learn from a lot of mistakes – and I had a lot – and I will always admit it,” Licht said. “Listening to my staff more, more inclusivity and more teamwork, I think, was the reason it came together and that we’ve made better decisions over the last few years.”
When Arians comes in, he becomes heavily involved in draft evaluations, and Licht puts him off in certain areas. Licht’s lack of an ego was key, sources close to the situation said. Disagreements occurred, but the results were constructive because Licht and Arians believed in the same things and respected each other. And at the end of the day, the coaches need to have players to work with.
“[Arians] is just such a unique guy and we have such a unique, strong bond, “Licht said. We get along well and we even reason well to get the result we want and make the decisions we have made. It was amazing. ‘
2019 draft class that pays dividends
The growth of the 2019 concept class in two seasons is a testament to the synergy between Licht and Arians. Infield player Devin White, the Bucs’ fifth overall draft pick in that year, delivered an off-season performance so strongly. Some have argued that he should be a defensive player of the year with 26 tackles, two hamlets, an interception and two games. (White missed the game of cards in Washington because of the coronavirus.)
Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, the Bucs’ second-round pick in 2019, had three picks in three post-season games, joining Hall of Famers Aeneas Williams and Ed Reed, along with Jason Sehorn, as the only players in the Super Bowl era with an interception in their first three playoff games in their careers.
Third-round safety Mike Edwards intercepted Drew Brees in the fourth quarter to help clinch their 30-20 victory in the playoffs in New Orleans. The day White and Murphy-Bunting tackled the field for the first time, as part of the Bucs ‘rookie transition program, White put his arm around Murphy-Bunting and said,’ We’re home, brother. We’re home. ‘ win many matches in here. Murphy-Bunting replied, “You do not even know.”
And wide receiver Scotty Miller, the Bucs’ sixth-round draft pick, may have had just two catches in the NFC championship game, but his jaw-dropping 39-yard reception with eight seconds left at halftime, after turning off after the fourth, might go among one of the largest in franchise history.
“To achieve so much success, the young guys have to act, and those guys really did,” Marpet said. “They did a really good job and they took it very seriously. They led from an early age, which is really important.”
‘No risk, no biscuit’: Brady searches for Tampa
The most important thing for compiling this list was to strengthen the quarterly situation. Separating Winston after five seasons was not easy, but when else would the Buccaneers get a chance at Brady in what would probably be his only free agency? Quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen went to Arians and told him he believes they have something.
When Arians was asked at the NFL combo if he could choose at QB, there was no doubt.
“Tom Brady,” he said, reflecting the philosophy he shared with Light from their days with the Cardinals: “No risk, no cookie.”
“You can’t get a home run unless you go swinging for one,” Arians said. “You can do nothing special in life to sit on a fence. The question at the time was, ‘If there was a quarterback who was a free agent, who would you want?’ Of course it was Tom Brady, not thinking he would become a free agent, once he did, it was a pursuit we wanted to do and [we] knew he had some interest. This is how you live. Put yourself in a closet and try to be safe, [or are] are you going to have fun? ‘
Brady likes what he saw and amazes the Bucs by making they a pitch. The Bucs were willing to give him a lot of say in terms of staff and playmaking, and he was free to train the younger players as he saw fit.
“I like the opportunity that presented itself here, and that’s why I finally chose here,” Brady said. “I love the coaching staff very much, I loved the players they had. I looked at those players and thought, ‘Wow, these are really great players. That would be a great opportunity for me.’
“I went through a process of decisions and thought about everything that really matters to me in one way or another. [and] some form. Clearly, there are many family considerations. My son [Jack] living in New York and I did not want to be too far from him. In the end, it was a great fit and I just thought, ‘Wow, this was a really magical year.’
Complete the puzzle
But the puzzle was not complete with Brady alone. Licht swapped a draft pick in the fourth round with the New England Patriots – another team he worked for in 2002 and then from 2009 to 2011 – to replace Rob Gronkowski, who was retired to join Brady. and select a seventh round. Licht signed LeSean McCoy with the running rugby to give Brady a veteran running rugby.
He overtook former fourth overall draft pick Leonard Fournette after being cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The week after Vita Vea came down in a defensive attack with a broken ankle, Licht worked out a deal with the New York Jets and sent a sixth-round draft to veteran Steve McLendon, picking a seventh-round pick. Thanks to McLendon, the Bucs were able to maintain their position as the best defense in the league, and Vea has since scored an injured reserve.
Licht also made the controversial decision to bring in wide receiver Antonio Brown, for whom Brady pleaded, but Arians felt it was inappropriate and ‘too much diva’, not to mention his issues outside the field, which is a no dispute against theft against a burglar last year after an incident with a delivery manager. Brown was also charged with sexual assault by two women, and one of them filed a civil lawsuit with a trial adjourned for a year due to the coronavirus.
Arians changed their minds when the Bucs’ receiving squad was severely depleted by injuries. They agreed to tackle him, but explained to Brown that if he made one mistake, he was gone. Despite missing the NFC title game due to a knee injury, he was a major contributor.
“To just set up the roster like he has and to be able to get Tom, Gronk and Leonard and still be really friendly with this roster we have …” Arians said. “Can’t say enough about what Jason did. To me, he’s the CEO of the year and just pulls all the things he did.”