Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2007 Preview
Background: Creamsicle orange! The Big Sombero! The longest losing streak in NFL history! These things defined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for most of the franchise’s first 20 years of existence.
A team on the brink of leaving Tampa over a broken stadium deal stubbornly shook off its horrible history one step at a time. The death of founding owner Hugh Culverhouse led his estate to sell the team to Malcolm Glazer. The stadium deal came through at the 11th hour. A GM emerged (Rich McKay) that had a plan. A respected and cerebral coach finally got a chance to lead an NFL (Tony Dungy). Most importantly, the Bucs dumped the Creamsicle for pewter.
Hometown boy Jon Gruden returned to win the Bucs their first Super Bowl back in 2003. The Bucs have successfully transformed from doormat to one of the NFL’s model franchises.
Team Identity: Rich McKay is a master marketer. He may not always find diamonds in the rough through the draft, but he knew how to build a roster that connected with Tampa. The Bucs have had all of Florida TVs locked up as the only NFC team in the state. McKay knew that if he drafted favorite sons from UF, FSU, and Miami that the state’s football fans might be more likely to tune in.
People take it for granted today, but the Bucs ascendancy as a premier franchise is something truly unprecedented. Pre-McKay, the Bucs winning a Super Bowl seemed about as likely as Duke football winning a national title does today.
However, McKay and Dungy have moved on, replaced by Gruden, the man who completed the dream by coaching the team to its first Super Bowl win. Except for Derrick Brooks and maybe Ronde Barber, all the notable stars from the Dungy era have left. Gruden and the Bucs are synonymous – for better or worse.
2007 Storyline: The Bucs are not a popular pick amongst league insiders. Most people see an young, inexperienced defense and an old, “over the hill” offense. But let’s not forget the wackiness of the NFC South. Teams jump up when people least expect them to do so.
Except for his Super Bowl winning squad, Gruden might have assembled his favorite team since he arrived in Tampa. Gruden likes coaching veterans on offense. He has a discarded QB that knows how to effectively run the WCO, veteran WRs who do as well. Also, his o-line is starting to develop a nasty streak. This sounds a lot like the Oakland team that Gruden built into a Super Bowl contender before Al Davis traded him to Tampa.
Gruden also waved goodbye to Simeon Rice, the player he always quietly resented because his contract alone (negotiated by Rich McKay on his way out the door) kept the Bucs in salary cap hell for years.
The 2007 Bucs are finally Gruden’s team. Will it be everything he and Tampa have hoped for or will it be another case of “be careful what you wish for….”
Expectation meter: Here’s where it gets interesting. NFL fans and media people stand in stark contrast to the Buc faithful. Leaguewide, the Bucs are seen as being in rebuilding mode – at least a year away. In Buc Land, Gruden is at the end of his leash.
The Super Bowl has been long forgotten. Dungy's Super Bowl win with Indy this year only casts further doubts on Gruden's greatness. Many now believe that Dungy could have won had he stayed (although this is serious revisionist thinking). Gruden has eradicated almost every player from that era seemingly on purpose. Gruden may love Jeff Garcia, David Boston, and Joey Galloway, but many Buc fans see them as a cast-off retreads.
Gruden might have won a Super Bowl and he might be a hometown boy, but the heat is on him this year. If the Bucs are not competing for a playoff berth, Gruden may have to be broomed after the season. The Glazer Family is too smart to let their hard fought investment in the Bucs decline. There are few seats hotter than Gruden’s right now whether the rest of the league realizes it or not.
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