Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it. -Edmund Burke
The magic that was the team of Rich McKay and Tony Dungy casts a shadow to this day over the field at Raymond James Stadium. It started with a local boy making good story. Rich McKay, son of first Buccaneers coach John McKay, served as a ball boy for the team, playing quarterback at Jesuit High School his senior year. Rich earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton in 1981 and then graduated from Stetson College of Law in 1984. McKay took over a team that was floundering, and his first moves were to draft Warren Sapp and double nickel Derrick Brooks in the first round of the 1995 draft. In 94 years of NFL history, he is the only GM whose first two draft picks both became Hall of Famers. The hiring of Tony Dungy was the piece de resistance.
Gruden wanted more control after 2002 and pushed McKay out. Bruce Allen came in, a near Gruden clone but more importantly, a Gruden yes-man. After 4 years of that roller coaster, Mark Dominick, who had previously served as director of player personnel, was named the next GM. He made Raheem Morris head coach, and after a shorter roller coaster ride, pushed him out and named Greg Schiano as HC. I still don’t know what that was about. After that fiasco, the Bucs named Jason Licht as the new general manager, who in turn named Lovie Smith as head coach. After seeing a chemistry between offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and #1 overall pick Jameis Winston, Dirk was named HC. If your head is beginning to spin like mine, then maybe we are onto something here. Maybe this is the reason the Buccaneers have spent the better part of 16 years—since San Diego—looking for a consistent identity.
If I were the Glazers I would see how the rest of this season plays out. But—and this is a huge but—I would also keep my eyes and ears open for the next bright, hungry, intelligent, football-smart executive who might have what it takes to come in here and start to find a way out of the long shadow cast by McKay and Dungy. We live in paradise, have no state income tax, play on the best surface in the NFL and have the best beaches in the world. Let’s find the executive who can draw the talent, evaluate future stars, and build the legacy that will bring the Lombardi trophy back to Tampa Bay.
Sources: Wikipedia, Google, Edmund Burke, Irish Statesman born in Dublin.
