The Countdown: Worst 20 Buccaneers Of The Past 10 Years — No. 3
July 22nd, 2014
“Excuse me, Luke, do you think you could help me with the playbook after practice?”
The popular NFL Top-Whatever craze got Joe thinking of the anemic Tampa Bay teams of the past 10 years. Not a Bucs playoff victory since their Super Bowl glory. Ugh!
That motivated Joe to gather with his senior and junior level staff and rank the 20 worst Buccaneers of those seasons. Serious deliberations went down at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters. Beer bottles were thrown. Game film came out. Arguments ensued.
One poorly dressed intern even quit when he was told E.J. Biggers wasn’t a finalist.
In the end, primary consideration was given to expectations combined with on-field performance. Off-field behavior was a factor, and players were not punished for injuries.
No. 3— offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski (2009)
Nothing says “historic train wreck” like an offensive coordinator who couldn’t call plays. That’s right. Jeff Jagodzinski literally needed help getting plays called and couldn’t do it all by himself.
Somewhere during the interview process when Raheem Morris picked the offensive coordinator of his new regime, Raheem never bothered to find out whether “Jags” could perform the primary task he was hired to deliver. Joe can only imagine the look on Team Glazer’s faces when they learned they would be paying loads of cash to a man who was fired for such blatant incompetence.
Jagodzinski was sent packing after a few preseason games. Word leaked out later that he was lost on the finer points of installing a passing game, and he needed an assistant to help him get play calls to the quarterback (via a headset not hand signals) in time to get a play off without a penalty.
Jagodzinski never returned to the NFL.
Reflecting on this colossal screwup, it’s mind-boggling to this day. Leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman got a heck of an introduction to the NFL.
No. 4 — Albert Haynesworth No. 5 — Sabby Piscitelli No. 6 — Myron Lewis No. 7 — Byron Leftwich No. 8 — Edell Shepherd No. 9 — Jerramy Stevens No. 10 — Jim Bates No. 11 — Gaines Adams No. 12 — Keydrick Vincent No. 13 — Dre Moore No. 14 —Kevin Ogletree No. 15 – Sean Mahan No. 16 — Da’Quan Bowers No. 17 — Daniel Te’o-Nesheim No. 18 — Kyle Moore No. 19 – Jeremy Trueblood No. 20 – Michael ClaytonThe Countdown: Worst 20 Buccaneers Of The Past 10 Years will run once or twice daily until No. 1 is revealed on Thursday, July 24.
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:04 am
Which just goes to show how “in over his head” the great Raheem was.
Went from head coach back to position coach.
Obviously no checks and balances in the organization to let a hire like that happen back then.
Argggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:08 am
Raheem was dreaming, Jeff was paired up with Mutt.
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:13 am
He really didn’t know??
What is it with hiring people that are really incompetent. Marinelli goes on the list.
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:14 am
WHOOOPS I MEANT Sheridan….. I need coffee B/
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:16 am
Is this all on Raheem? If I remember correctly it was a joint effort, the hiring of Jagozinsky, by both the GM and the head coach. How this slipped by everyone is hilarious. Sort of mind boggling that he was known as a great offensive mind in college right?
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:19 am
Schiano, sheridan, rockstar, raheem.. Better make a packagedeal to include them as #1
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:25 am
Excellent choice Joe. VERY FRUSTRATING as a BUCS season ticket holder since 1996. How did we get and stay that bad?
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:26 am
I didn’t think he would be this high but with two spots left i cant imagine Freeman and the WR/Return man/Beer truck driver Dexter Jackson doesn’t fill out this list!
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:50 am
My guess is:
#2 Tanard Jackson
#1 Josh Freeman
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:50 am
@Bill- Wow since 96. That’s awesome. But I kind of feel for you. Last year was a nightmare for me. I truly thought season ticket holders needed to be reimbursed after being force to experience bad game plans and horrible game adjustments. I hope you are still a season ticket holder. If so, you should getting a real NFL experience this season. Go Bucs!
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:54 am
This guy wasn’t wven with us for a whole season? If just for a couple pre season games then it seems like he isn’t very deserving of this list. I don’t remember this tool so if I’m wrong someone clue me in.
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:56 am
First coach? Interesting.
Joe, if you are indeed including coaches, that means 1 & 2 could easily be Raheem Morris and Josh Freeman.
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:58 am
Tenard Jackson played well when he was on the field. if this list is strictly off the field issues then Aquib would make it
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:01 am
Now the OC for the Historic Georgia State program so he’s still doing big things
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:07 am
@BuccaneerBonzai — Not the first coach. Jim Bates was No. 10. https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=115893
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:10 am
Freeman won’t be on this list guys, as bad as his time here ended, he had one really good season and a decent one too. If the was “The 20 Most Disappointing Bucs” yeah, he’d be number 1.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:12 am
Guys really get off the Freeman hate. Damn! The kid had success with no leadership and guidance around him. Look at this list of debacles he was surrounded with yet still managed to break multiple franchise records, lead a team of nobodies and misfits to 10-6 (if not for a bad call in the endzone vs Detroit would have made the playoffs). Maybe his colossal meltdown was a combination of idiots and the mess he was surrounded with for 5 seasons.
The past 5 years have been the worst in franchise history rivaling the early days, but it wasn’t Freeman. Dominick hired Raheem, Schiano, helped hire Raheem initial staff (including Jagodzinski and Bates both in the top 10 of this list) and missed on more FA and drafts than he hit on.
Dexter Jackson or Raheem Morris #2
Mark “Rock Star” Dominick #1
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:13 am
Gotta keep checking.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:18 am
I think everyone that had any part of the 2009 buccaners should be on the list! You had a bad gm, a coach is was a complete joke and 2 cordinators that couldn’t get through half the season. Do you know how rare it is for one cordinator to not get through the season? but both, one that didn’t even make it through the season. What a total train wreck that was! And 2009 started by getting rid of brooks, hillard, kevin carter and other pro. Then we traded 3 picks for kellen winslow and drafted freeman and gave big $ to winslow and ward and offered haynesworth over 100 million. Then we had a training camp battle between byron and luke… what a joke. If that crew won 4 games, we should win 8 this year.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:19 am
Touch_Down_Tampa_Bay Says
“Last year was a nightmare for me. I truly thought season ticket holders needed to be reimbursed after being force to experience bad game plans and horrible game adjustments.”
I inherited me season tickets from my father, and he got his the first season when I was a wee little lad.
This is the first year I gave them up…THIS year. There have been some moves I really do not 100% agree with, and since it is my money? I have a right to be picky.
That said, you totally miss about last year.
Everything…EVERYTHING…that went wrong last year was linked to either the MRSA situation, media lies, or Josh Freeman.
Now I personally thought Freeman had potential. I still do, just not here and not unless whatever screwed up his head last year is fixed. But he was at the root of about 75% of the problems last year.
It started game one. If he had studied in the off season, learned the second year offense like he should have, then that whole headphone thing would have been nothing to him. For fans, after seeing his play the year before, we thought maybe…just maybe…the offense would finally click. Then, in the very first game, we get a glimpse of the nightmare to come.
Then the media accused Schiano of leaking out Freeman’s information. Didn’t happen. Even after Freeman was gone, it left a sustaining taint to the locker room. This was someone the team had trusted as a leader, and he not only tanked…he became a different person than they had known.
And then the MRSA thing happened. As if Freeman had not done enough damage, that stuff adds to the embarrassment. It didn’t seem to want to go away and it took our best OL guy out completely.
Joseph was playing through an injury. Penn was still overweight, and as always, it made him a media target.
The defense was getting better. Yes, the stunts were out of control, but keep in mind our Defensive Coordinator put them in the book (not Schiano).
Greg Schiano was a no nonsense guy who told people like it was. The media did not like that. He called them to task in press conferences. They didn’t like that. He held them accountable…they surely did not like that.
So they targeted him with fabricated lies. The team wasn’t turning on him. With the personalities we had here, we would have seen it. Yet the media “claimed” it had. All through the season, the media did negative takes on everything the team did. Whenever there was reason to hope? They shot it down.
History will thank Greg Schiano for the good he did here.
That said, getting Lovie Smith as coach is a feather in the cap of the Glazers. He is a part of the Glazer era history. He is well liked. He has shown success on defense. He has held a head coaching job for 9 years…longer than anyone they have ever hired.
Lovie brings an element of stability…though it may take a year or two to establish it.
Schiano is gone, and I get it. But to sit there and talk about how “bad” he was is ignorant. Stupid. Blaming the all of last season on him is even more so. And I know you didn’t do so in your post…but we all know where you stand.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:19 am
Good old Jagz! At least the problem was rectified by Raheem.
Yes this reminds me of another college coach who sent Freeman to unemployment and had “The Cannon” by his…..neck. yes neck…
The General did not believe in coaching mechanics to his QBs at the NFL level. We saw how well that worked in those deep passes with The Cannon. Thank God for Jackson’s acrobatics.
Glennon should have a better preseason at the hands of Tedford and Arroyo. Unlike Freeman with Jagzzzz…
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:21 am
Freeman was the most disappointing Buc in the last 10 years.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:22 am
Wow, Raheem get’s the blame for Jags, last I heard Dominik was responsible for that. You can blame Raheem for a lot of things but I don’t know if you can blame him for this.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:25 am
mike n Says
“And 2009 started by getting rid of brooks, hillard, kevin carter and other pro.”
All of which HAD to go. Fans were crying about the team being so old. Media laughed at the old geezer Bucs as they tried to keep up with younger players (and on national TV).
Tampa fans have this habit of screaming for change and then being mad when it happens. If you were a part of the fan base back then, you’ll know how highly discussed the age factor was leading into those cuts.
If Brooks wasn’t ready to stop playing, he would have found a team. It was the right time for all of them. Heck, Hilliard went on to coach.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:26 am
@Jim Walker
The most disappointing, but not the worst Buc.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:27 am
Tenard Jackson played well when he was on the field. if this list is strictly off the field issues then Aquib would make it
Gotta keep checking.
_____________________________________
Tanard’s issues were not injury related, unless you are including that his momma must have dropped him on his head and that is the reason he is so dumb. Talk about “expectations” – not just for his play, but hope that Tanard’s brain was going to start functioning now that he was given another chance to stop with the drugs, and another, and another…
Yeah, Tanard Jackson would be a good choice. Next up?
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:41 am
Calling plays wasn’t Jags only shortcoming: I remember that he had the smallest playbook of all time. His was the polar opposite of Gruden’s – so simple anyone could predict what was coming next.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:49 am
Blaming 75% of last year on a guy how was released after week 3 is ignorant. Stupid. Schiano is gone, and deservedly so. He was bad and so was his staff of 100 and something so called assistants. This team wasn’t prepared or well coached last year, so maybe not all of the blame (only because players play the game) but a big part of last season IS on Schiano. 75% on Freeman…what a joke!
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:56 am
Dayum Bonzai you and I may not agree on Glennon, but you and I are in total agreement on the Schiano/Morris/Freeman issues
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:57 am
how about todd steussie joe we signed him to a big contract next thing we know his on roids and never performed
July 22nd, 2014 at 11:02 am
@Bonzai – Game plans and special game adjustments this made the 2013 season a NIGHTMARE. And yes, I can see some good things with Schiano. The team after Raheem needed a change of attitude. He brought that.
Lovie is bringing the same but in a more balanced way. Lovie does not have any personality problems that would be harmful to the team. His ego is in checked. It does not rule Lovie’s world. Unlike Schiano’s ego. This brings dis-function and abuse of power as a head coach creating disrespect to all under his authority. Eggshells have been removed at One Bucs Palace.
Schiano must work on himself to create a balanced personality to succeed in the NFL.
The Glazers did better with Lovie. Lovie brings expectations for each player. You are either in or out. Is really that simple. These are adults we are talking about. Schiano forgot that. He continue dealing with them as college kids. There is nothing to fix. The bad apples can be removed without DRAMA. Either you are in or out. Money and career are in the formula now. Its a job for adults. The players must make the decision or the coach will do it for them. No ego or drama involved. Straight and to the point. Drama is for TV/media.
I see you pointing at MRSA and the media to cause shaky grounds for the team. Hmmm… imagine your boss disrespecting you and the team. I think that would make a more negative impact on adults being treated like college kids. I’m sure you are aware of many players hinting to this lately.
But the reason for Schiano getting the No. 1 Spot in this list is game plans and game adjustments. IMO
July 22nd, 2014 at 11:33 am
Morris had a horrible game plan to open the game but would often make good halftime adjustments, Schiano was the opposite. The team often played well going into halftime but let teams back in who made good halftime adjustments. I find it hard to put either Rah or Schiano on the 20 worst Bucs list though I think Morris would be more deserving of honorable mention since (my opinion) he did more damage to the team when you factor in the 3 years of wasted drafts (save GMC and Foster) and the need for a complete culture reversal in the locker room.
July 22nd, 2014 at 11:45 am
@Toes – Is a close call. I see your points too. It sure has been a mess. Both coaches were thrown into a mess. L & L offer a more “solid hope,” if there is such a thing. We’ll see how things turnout.
July 22nd, 2014 at 11:45 am
EVERY freaking game. His defenses would get torched in the first half and play lights out in the second half. It got to the point whatever they planned in the first half, they should have done the opposite. He must have been watching gametape the prior week at the Undertow.
July 22nd, 2014 at 11:59 am
Jags hiring was as much on Dominik as it is on Raheem. They swung and missed horribly on their first two coordinator hires. The feat would be duplicated, although not quite as disastrous in the Schiano era. Although it’s hard to tell how much influence Dominik had on the hiring of Sheridan and Sullivan. It’s also quite possible that Schiano’s control freak style limited the ability of his coordinators to do their job as well.
July 22nd, 2014 at 12:31 pm
That only leaves room for Schiano and djax 2.0.
July 22nd, 2014 at 12:51 pm
Countdown to Dominik!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 22nd, 2014 at 12:56 pm
By my count, Dominik either hired, drafted, or extended 13 of the 18 listed so far.
July 22nd, 2014 at 1:46 pm
glazers new economy was tanking just tried to save money while they paid off gruden and the economy turned,
July 22nd, 2014 at 4:50 pm
This guy wasn’t even on our staff going into the regular season and didn’t contribute to the 3-13 disaster that year. Jags had no idea how to run an NFL offense, true. But how about we blame that idiot Raheem Morris for hiring two coordinators that he later fired during the same season?
July 22nd, 2014 at 5:50 pm
The root of many of the problems that the team has had is, and always has been, the Glazer brothers. Ever since Malcolm Glazer there have been many questionable decisions made by ownership. Everyone points to Dominic as the common denominator but at some point somebody has to see that none of his picks are panning out and make a change. Who decided to sign Gruden to an extension and then firing him the next year. The Bucs were paying Gruden money to work for someone else while the team was forced to hire inexperienced (cheap) coaches that were in over their head. I know the owners dont meet the criteria for this list but their poor decisions have caused the team to fall back into irrelevance for 10 years.
July 22nd, 2014 at 6:39 pm
If Jagz is 3rd, Sheridan is going to be up there. He was the worst DC I’ve ever seen. He was DC for one season with the Giants and they went from being a very good unit to sucking under Sherican and back to being a good unit when he was replaced. Worst DC EVER!!!!!!
July 22nd, 2014 at 7:53 pm
Only my opinion mind you, but I would guess Sheridan and Sullivan were what Schiano (who was a late hire himself) felt were best available with NFL experience. He wanted McNulty but couldn’t get him until the next year. Truthfully there was some optimism after the 2012 season, so it really wouldn’t make sense to fire Sheridan. Thankfully Lovie had plenty of time to put his staff together, so at least we’ll see the staff Smith is banking his career on.
July 23rd, 2014 at 9:56 am
When Schiano hired Sullivan, Mike Mularkey was available. Just sayin.’
July 23rd, 2014 at 11:28 am
He is too low on this list. Should be #1. This is historically bad. An epic fail if there ever was one.