On Friday morning news started circulating that GM Jason Licht was only keeping his job this season because Bucs ownership didn’t want to rock the boat too much. Is it as simple as that though? Do the Glazer’s really not believe in what Licht is doing, but simply didn’t want to go through that much change so soon?
Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer explains their thoughts in an interview with Pewter Report,
“One thing we do know in the NFL, too much instability doesn’t lead to success,” Glazer said.
“And we have had our share of instability over the last several years. And with Jason — obviously Jason is not happy with what our record has been the last few years — but when you look at our team and you look at our drafts, there have been positives. We have had a lot of players we drafted, re-sign, and we have a good nucleus of players. So at the end of the day we felt the consistency in that was important and will ultimately lead to success.”
Licht has seen three coaching regimes during his tenure, but has hired only two. The former, in Koetter, could have almost been his demise in the failed experiment to replace Lovie Smith. And the latter may turn out to be his saving grace. As it was speculated that Licht could possibly lose his job after another 5-11 season. All of those rumors were quickly put to rest after the Glazer’s announced that he would be leading the head coaching search that would eventually land on Bruce Arians.
Without a doubt Licht has made his fair share of mistakes, and most of which has been in costly ineffective free agents. What he has done though is make just enough right moves through the draft and select free agent moves to solidify his job in the short-term.
Despite the speculation from Glazer’s comments, the organization didn’t retain Licht purely out of convenience. Instead because he has done good for the organization. The latest being helping the Bucs land Arians.
For now Licht’s job is safe. And unless the 2019 season falls to pieces rather quickly, be expecting to see him around for a bit longer.
