“They Take It Very Personally”
January 18th, 2015
Fans may not always like their moves and methodology, like firing Jon Gruden with three years and $15 million left on his contract, but Team Glazer yearns to win and is driven to win.
Veteran Tampa Tribune scribe eye-RAH! Kaufman offered rare perspective on Team Glazer in a piece he penned on the Glazer family’s now 20 years of Bucs ownership. You can read the whole thing here.
In addition to checking in with Team Glazer, Kaufman talked to former Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay and Bucs icon Ronde Barber. They painted Team Glazer as passionate and probing.
“They give you the resources to win, they support your decisions and they never stop asking questions,” McKay said. “I never had fear they would second-guess what we were doing, but they always want to understand the logic behind it.
“All you have to do is sit in the suite with them for one game and you’ll realize how much they want to win, but I never thought they were meddlesome. Challenging? Inquisitive? Yes, they are. Malcolm empowered his sons to run the business, but when there were big decisions to be made, he didn’t hesitate to weigh in.”
Ronde Barber, who spent his entire 16-year career with the organization, is proud of the close personal relationship he built with ownership.
“It’s a far-fetched and silly notion to believe an organization worth more than a billion dollars is not looking for success on the field, even with revenue sharing and even with all the owners knowing they will make money,” Barber said. “I know how the Glazers react to wins and losses — they take it very personally. And if the results aren’t up to their standards, they’ll make big changes. They don’t settle for the status quo.”
Man, reading Barber’s quote, Joe can only imagine how rough 2014 was on Team Glazer. Yeah, the No. 1 overall pick is great, but it also is humiliating. Remember, the Bucs are 30-70 in their last 100 games.
Barber spoke of Team Glazer demanding results meet “their standards.” Joe wonders what Lovie’s magic number is for 2015. Joe’s pretty sure another basement finish in the NFC South won’t cut it.
January 18th, 2015 at 11:08 am
No talent no wins
January 18th, 2015 at 11:17 am
It sounds like the Glazers do NOT get involved with the selection of players (FA or draft). They just expect to be kept ‘in the loop’ of what decisions the GM/HC make. That kind of ownership makes this organization very attractive to future HCs and GMs. Not that I’m saying there will be a change any time soon…
If I had to guess at Lovie’s “magic number”, I’d say 8-8, with at least five of those wins coming in the last half of the season.
January 18th, 2015 at 11:22 am
The Glazers will be very involved with this #1 pick……Lovie lost some autonomy by going 2-14……Licht & Lovie lost some more with their “swing & miss” FA pickups. Koetter will have significant input.
This is what happens to most managers when they have a bad year…..Board/Owners start making decisiions for you….
January 18th, 2015 at 11:22 am
I’m pretty sure they regretted letting Gruden go. As a fan, I wonder how things would of ended up. I think we only had 1 bad season under him especially when he had garbage qbs to work with(Growkowski, Sims come to mind) Imagine if he had Freeman to coach? Maybe he would still be around. I love the owners “win now” attitude but it has gotten them in trouble by losing fans and worst money. Let Lovie keep building even if it doesn’t work out this year and it will pay off eventually. I’m a die hard Bucs fan and want my team to be significant like it was once before. That won’t happen unless there is continuity.
January 18th, 2015 at 11:29 am
They want to win, so they fire Gruden and hire Morris?
January 18th, 2015 at 11:31 am
I never understood the Glazer hate. I often wonder if any of these fans who constantly complain about them lived through the Culverhouse era.
January 18th, 2015 at 11:47 am
What we have to remember is that we have not won a playoff game since the Super Bowl win, many moons ago.
Until we have a GM and a HC whose goal in all matters is to win the SB, we will have egos and/or stubbornness get in the way of winning. As an example of this, McCown playing QB in every game he was not injured, the Ghost playing DE. Chucky never won another playoff game after the SB and the reason is he and Rich McKay had a power struggle so the players got lost in the shuffle. Sapp and Lynch made all pro after being released for the new guys who did not perform. Bennet was not resigned and released. Need I go on?
I don’t expect them to have every free agent or draftee a winner no one can do that, but I expect the majority of them to be at least good enough.
The only way to create a winning tradition is to do what Green Bay, New England and now Seattle is doing and what San Francisco did, build a team instead of stroking egos.
January 18th, 2015 at 11:49 am
Stranglassman, all you have to understand about why a lot of fans dislike of the Glazers is to listen to the quote of H.L. Mencken, “no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”
The Bucs fans, like the large majority of the American public, would rather listen and believe rumors and opinion than take the necessary time to discover the facts. This is why commentators like Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity are so popular with a segment of the American public because they reinforce their uneducated, uninformed belief system.
All you have to do is read this blog with all the wild accusations, conspiracy theories and opinions based on innuendo to realize that.
Mix in some closeted bigotry and you have a perfect storm for their craziness.
January 18th, 2015 at 11:59 am
This organization misses father Malcolm. His kids just don’t seem to have his winning prowess.
January 18th, 2015 at 12:05 pm
If this holds true. Another FUKD up season and Lovie Boy is gone. No doubt about it.
January 18th, 2015 at 12:26 pm
One of the great myths perpetuated by the local media is the influence the Glazers have on building the team or what actually goes on the field. The Glazers have always run a supportive franchise and have provided funds and support for those charged with building success.
When success doesn’t come, they make changes at the top (Head Coach, General Manager). Other than that, they like to understand what is being done, without being meddlesome and second-guessing those in charge.
The biggest reason the Bucs haven’t achieved continuing success, is not having a group of top players that continue to produce year after year and each year adding to that list to build a competitive team. That’s what New England does, what Green Bay does….what every top team in the league does. Not the Bucs, though.
January 18th, 2015 at 12:28 pm
this is why commentators like Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity are so popular with a segment of the American public because they reinforce their uneducated, uninformed belief system.
@ddneast
Support your liberal agenda where everyone one wants handouts and the government to tell them to be dependant on them. Go watch your MSNBC and CNN . we talk football here
January 18th, 2015 at 12:31 pm
@ ddneast. Well put and I agree 100%
I’ve starting watching ManU as the games are broadcast live now hoping to gain some insight on how the Glazer’s run that team. They are not afraid to spend money.
BTW, the Hugh Culverhouse sucked big time. Glazers are a much better owner IMHO.
January 18th, 2015 at 12:36 pm
If anyone thinks the first pick won’t be a QB, think again. Also, no way the Bucs trade that pick either.
January 18th, 2015 at 12:38 pm
Yawn…
Worst team is the entire league…..worst HC in football.
Maybe one of the biggest reasons for the hard landing on rock bottom is the Glazers ego prohibits them hiring a Casserly, Pouilan, Billick type Team President
.
All these questions resulted in hiring Lovie and giving him absolute power?
Cue the clueless and confident…..
January 18th, 2015 at 1:00 pm
After the SB win the Glazers made a monumental business decision. The leveraged everything to the hilt to acquire one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world. Man U is worth FAR more than the Bucs will ever be. That’s just business. Has nothing to do with fans or sports. It’s just business.
The Glazers pulled it off. It cost their Bucs holding for a period and now they’ve pulled it off. How can we fault them for that. Wasn’t fun for us. Be nice if they shared some of that profit with the fans they shafted to pull the deal off.
And indeed they may be doing just that. They’ve opened their purses big time now that the Man U deal can stand on it’s own without robbing the Bucs.
Hard to criticize businessmen for making a shrewd business deal which may have not pleased us but earn them more than a Billion!
January 18th, 2015 at 1:01 pm
I know i have said this before. The Glazers need to find out what kind of GM they hired. Lovie has too much power. I bet if Licht was hired first he wouldn’t have picked Lovie as his coach. After all they only hired Licht after Lovie interviewed him and gave his blessing to the Glazers. I just don’t think were seeing Lichts true skill and value to the team.
January 18th, 2015 at 1:16 pm
The Gruden trade was what crippled the franchise. Dungy would’ve won it all in TB eventually (w/ the 18th ranked offense in ’02, the #1 ranked D was the only reason we won that year, credit goes to Dungy). Gruden and Allen broke up one of the greatest defenses of all time, couldn’t draft of they’re life depended on it, and couldn’t coach to fit the talent. Need some more incentive to stop the Gruden delusion? Here’s his more often than not mediocre Bucs record:
12-4
7-9
5-11
4-12
11-5
9-7
9-7
January 18th, 2015 at 1:30 pm
@Please, YOU KNOW NOT…
January 18th, 2015 at 1:32 pm
So the Glazers didn’t second-guess McKay’s recommendation to hire Marvin Lewis? They didn’t go over his head to pull off the trade for Gruden (which worked out brilliantly)? I find that hard to believe.
January 18th, 2015 at 2:04 pm
BTW I used to be of the school of thought that the Glazers would never sign off on Jameis. Now I’m not so certain.
If the entire Bucs braintrust agreed Jameis should be #1 and if their buds around the league agreed I don’t think they’d hesitate.
As Road Warrior and Matt have pointed out(although they disagree with the results) the Glazers pulled the trigger to get Gruden. The got tired of getting close but no Super Bowl and you have to give them credit for a bold move.
Whether it was a good move depends on whether you think 1 SB with an aging team was worth mortgaging the franchise’s future for a decade.
But the Glazers or clearly on board with go big or go home. They’re not afraid to roll the dice.
If L&L and Koetter all want Jameis they’ll get him. They may need to go to the Glazers with a plan to baby sit Jameis with the likes of DB and others as well as a clearly defined PR countercampaign against all the Jameis negatives…more ducks please…but I can see them convincing the Glazers..go big or go home. Depends how much doubt Mariota can throw into the process.
On a scale of 1-10 if they feel a 9 about Jameis Marcus has to be at least an 8 or better.
January 18th, 2015 at 2:06 pm
Come on people, the biggest reason teams like New England , and GreenBay, and Indianapolis win year in and year out is what? A great QB its not rocket science , draft a QB and if he turns out to be great the wins will come. Simple as that!!!!!!
January 18th, 2015 at 2:07 pm
30-70 that’s the real and only perspective that really matters!
I guess eventually and after another 5 years of losing we will finally start winning again – it’s cyclical it seems.
Meanwhile, stable and other small market teams like Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and a few others just always find a way to remain relevant and competitive – even during rebuilding years.
January 18th, 2015 at 2:14 pm
If we had gotten gruden a couple years earlier we would have won 2 Super Bowls. Team had tuned dingy out and his offenses couldn’t score in playoffs at the end of his tenure. That gruden record looks good. 4 winning seasons 3 losing seasons. Everybody would take that except patriots and Seahawks. They replaced him with a no experienced secondary coach. Ridiculous!
January 18th, 2015 at 2:20 pm
But the Glazers won’t roll the dice without the move being calculated. The Bucs will do their homework on Jameis. The Bucs (plus several other teams) will hire their own investigators. These are typically former FBI and CIA agents. And they will investigate everything in Winston’s background.
We are talking about giving a guy millions of dollars and be the face of the franchise. There is no question the Glazers will spare no expense to find what kind of skeletons are hiding in Winston’s closet.
They won’t just draft him and hope he behaves. It doesn’t work that way.
January 18th, 2015 at 2:23 pm
@Brent
“They replaced him with a no experienced secondary coach. Ridiculous!”
Absolutely from the perspective of a Buc’s fan. No so from the perspective of a Glazer heir. They’ve insured their family’s financial future forever. The money they saved by hiring Rah and limiting FA’s went to Man U. Sucked for us was great for the Glazer family.
January 18th, 2015 at 2:24 pm
David
Agree 100%.
January 18th, 2015 at 2:29 pm
Some of you are getting confused. The Glazers ARE going to be front-and-center in the hiring of a GM/HC. THAT is their responsibility as owners. The Glazers do NOT meddle in player transactions. That is why they hire a GM/HC. And that is what makes them an attractive organization.
Going back to Dungy. Those who say that Gruden won with ‘Dungy’s team’, are certainly not being kind to Dungy. If it takes someone else to win with Dungy’s team, that means that Dungy was not a good coach. With that in mind, here are the facts…
1999 11-5 (regular season) followed by a playoff win against Washington and a FIVE point loss to the eventual Super Bowl winner (Rams).
2000 10-6 and NO playoff win. An 18 point loss to a team that didn’t even make it to the Super Bowl (Eagles).
2001 9-7 with NO playoff win. A 22 point loss to the same team as the previous year (Eagles), who still didn’t make it to the Super Bowl.
The Buccaneers had a Super Bowl caliber team in 1999 and got progressively worse each year (regular season AND post-season play)
January 18th, 2015 at 3:01 pm
Fan apathy. Dis interest from the casual fan. Opposing fans flocking to the den of depression. If the losing continues and the team continues to fail, what will it take for the Glazers to hire a VP of football ops?
Hiring the first coach you interview because, you are desperate to recapture old success is not a way to build a winner.
January 18th, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Stanglassman Says:
January 18th, 2015 at 11:31 am
I never understood the Glazer hate. I often wonder if any of these fans who constantly complain about them lived through the Culverhouse era.
No but they are living in the Fantasy Football Era and this is why those people belive they know how to run/build an NFL team better than the professionals. They’re all GM’s, Scouts and Personel Pros now.
And it’s exhausting!
January 18th, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Hey Buco82′, the rich get way more welfare as far as tax breaks for themselves and the corporations they own or have huge stock options in than the poor could ever hope to receive.
Thank god we have a President who has led an economic recovery, helped save the auto industry, is reducing the deficit, has gotten us out of one messy war and almost another, has cut the deficit and allowed every American to have health care.
It must be making you sick. LOL.
January 18th, 2015 at 6:07 pm
The Glazers have done nothing but embarrass this team since they fired Gruden for Morris. From that, to the ugly new uniforms, to the embarrassing to 2-14 season, can we just agree that we were a great franchise when Malcolm was still running things? We haven’t won anything under his sons.
January 18th, 2015 at 9:00 pm
All hail Obama. Lol
The guy has more scandals than any president in history. And every time I pay my healthcare insurance I spit on the ground for those I am paying. America was not founded on communism.
January 19th, 2015 at 1:16 am
I shouldn’t post this this but damn,
None of YOU backyard GM’s don’t know what Blunt Time means.
But carry on, you know more than any NFL professional and will bury us Bucs with Mariota.
Carry on, carry on. Nothing else matters.
January 19th, 2015 at 7:59 am
Lovie is on a short leash. My guess is Lovie prefers to draft another position over a QB with the first pick, but the Glazers will want a QB. The Glazers will get what they want.
January 19th, 2015 at 8:31 am
Hiring Lovie was a mistake. We will be looking for a new coach in another year or two.
January 19th, 2015 at 9:32 am
Robert9, mt healthcare insurance did’t go up a dime last year or this year. Of course I am on a company plan, I don’t know about you.
I am still puzzled about why requiring people to have health insurance makes you a communist.
If you drive a car or own a home, both have to be insured. Why isn’t that communism.
Also, have you ever looked at how much those CEO’s make at all these healthcare and insurance companies.
You have to look no further than are psycho governor Rick Scott.
January 19th, 2015 at 3:46 pm
it come down to talent evaluation and we are lacking in that area. both college and pros.
January 19th, 2015 at 6:15 pm
Joe, I can’t tell what you’d like more, Winston being drafted or Lovie getting fired. If you get your Winston, you’ll likely get your 2nd wish as soon as the first Winston off field gaffe. I’m now curious to see what your biased Winston articles would look like when the first “Winston parties too hard in SoHo” or “Winston new court case looming” headlines start.
January 19th, 2015 at 6:21 pm
Lovie needs time. Proud owners are not going to hire a 4th coach in 5 or 6 seasons. They will (hopefully) allow Lovie and Licht time to build their own complete team before falling victim to impatient fans (and websites). You can’t build a team in one season and you can’t do it without a QB. QBs and head coaches, at least quality ones, are not there every year. They are not sitting in line waiting for their shot.
Only 1 team wins it all every year. Only a handful of teams win the division every year. 1/3 of the league watches the playoffs from their couch every year. Dynasties are not built in one season with multiple head coaches and roster turnover.
January 19th, 2015 at 6:28 pm
He he meant all BUT 1/3 of the league. Oops.
January 19th, 2015 at 7:39 pm
Much as I respect the work ethic and ownership of the Glazers, I do not feel that they have the “feel” for quality coaches, players and especially QB. They simply do not have nor have had top echelon coaches and players over the years and never have had a franchise QB. Brad Johnson being the closest one.
I don’t know why this is, can only say that it is so.
They do not have the “right ” eye for star personnel and wallow in mediocrity except for a standout here and there….and when they did have a few ( Revis )
they drop them rather than continue to collect and develop other stars…