Evidence Lovie Stepped Aside During Draft
January 12th, 2016
Former Lovie underling and Licht colleague speaks out
Bucs fans love to debate and discuss who really is in charge of the team.
For example, that topic raged Sunday on Twitter while former Bucs defensive end Michael Bennett was being his usual superstar-defensive-end self for the Seahawks. Even former Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik was in the fray, along with journalists, fans and former Bucs quarterback Shaun King.
Of course, the loss of Bennett, one of the dumbest decisions in Buccaneers history, remains a mystery. Why would Greg Schiano, Dominik and/or Team Glazer want Bennett to leave when he was a handpicked Dominik guy who led the 2012 Bucs in sacks and tackles for loss? Who made that call??
That brings Joe to the Buccaneers’ drafts of 2014 and 2015. Who made those picks Lovie Smith or Jason Licht?
Yeah, it’s easy to say they were organizational decisions, but former Bears personnel man Greg Gabriel, who worked under Lovie in Chicago, paints a different picture. Speaking on CBS Sports Radio in Chicago, Gabriel explained that he is friends with Licht and the two were in touch right after the 2014 NFL Draft.
Gabriel said he was stunned that the Bucs drafted all offensive players with Lovie in place.
“Jason [Licht], for the most part, was running the draft,” Gabriel said. “In fact, and I didn’t think that was going to be possible [under Lovie], but then you go back to the 2014 draft, they drafted all offense and this was a defensive coach. You know, I’ve known Jason for a while. And I sent him a text. I go, ‘How the hell did you pull that off?’ He said, ‘Hey, he let me draft who I thought was best.'” From that end, Jason had some clout.”
Gabriel went on to blast the Bucs for their extreme free agency failures and implied that was a key factor in dooming Lovie.
Regardless, it’s interesting to hear a guy like Gabriel share a story of Licht wielding power on draft day.
January 12th, 2016 at 10:09 am
Okay, never mind that Greg Gabriel provides no proof…but if Licht had so much control, wouldn’t he be the one who is to blame for the bad moves????
Lovie never even had a chance.
January 12th, 2016 at 10:15 am
While I always hoped to go back to our Tampa 2 ways from the early 2000’s, I have to admit that i’m excited about the potential of being an OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT! I know you can’t win the super bowl on offense alone, but it’s a lot more fun seeing points scored on the football field!
FIRE THE CANNONS BABY!! WOOOOOO!! LETS GO BUCS!!
January 12th, 2016 at 10:18 am
Shut up about Tampa 2 you ignorant idiot. Say that you’d be excited about a dominant defensive team that attacks you… That system is dead run over and over w no variation.
January 12th, 2016 at 10:19 am
Funny how you thought Licht was Lovie’s lapdog. I always had a feeling that was not the case at all . Good to see some knowledge coming out to change your mind of that
January 12th, 2016 at 10:34 am
“BuccaneerBonzai Says:
January 12th, 2016 at 10:09 am
Okay, never mind that Greg Gabriel provides no proof…but if Licht had so much control, ”
Licht said “He let me”, meaning Lovie ALLOWED him to do the draft and ultimately was in charge. That doesn’t mean Lovie wasn’t highly involved in free agency. Which is where the majority of the gaffs were.
January 12th, 2016 at 10:39 am
First draft, likely mostly Lovie, because he thought he had his players in free agency and Charles Simms was his Matt Forte, Mike Evans was his Ashlon Jeffrey. Second draft likely belonged to Licht.
January 12th, 2016 at 10:50 am
Lol Bonzai still doing whatever he can to try to make Laughable Lovie out to be better than he was. To Funny. I been saying this. Lovie had nothing to do with the draft and was more responsible for free agency. It’s easy to see but not if your lips are solely glued to his @$$.
January 12th, 2016 at 10:52 am
@Meat
You mean to tell me that you don’t think the Bucs defense from 2002 can stop today’s NFL offenses?? The Bucs defense from 2002 is probably the best defense to ever set foot on a football field ALL TIME! SO SHUT THE F@!! UP you IGNORANT B*TCH!
January 12th, 2016 at 10:53 am
Lovie let Licht have say in the draft. Like any good coach would do. Licht’s job has been in scouting. So lovie letting him do the drafts is not a shocker. Lovie has final say over 53. That doesnt mean he drafts the players, it means he can cut any of those players. So if the coach didnt like a player, he could cut him, even if Licht really liked him.
January 12th, 2016 at 10:53 am
So Licht drafts all offensive players except one.. And Lovie gets the shaft because his defense isn’t good enough. What if we drafted all defensive players instead of 1? Would Koetter have gotten the shaft for having an inept offense?
January 12th, 2016 at 10:53 am
What doom Lovie is failures in free agency, and the loose environment in which the team was ran. He needed to tighten the reins on dumb spit that was happening of the field witg players like Evans, ASJ, Ghoston, and several others. Scheme wise in the second year the defense made all kinds of adjustments, but nothing rarley worked. When we blitz we got burned on the back end. In zone QB’s had all day. Lovie sealed his own fate with many bad decisions, but lets not pretend that whoever coaches the defense will have a least 5 new starters. I feel that too many people are so willing to dump on Lovie, but continue to give these players a pass.
I look forward to the new coaching hire, free agency, and the draft.
January 12th, 2016 at 10:55 am
What is driving me crazy is, why are things out of One Buc Palace so quiet?! No more interviews announced? No leaked information to scour over? It’s killing me!
January 12th, 2016 at 11:07 am
Yea, but the real power lies with who controls the 53. Who do you think was responsible for trading/releasing or not re-signing Darrell Rivas, Donald Penn, Jeremy Zuttah, Ted Larson, Gabe Carimi, Patrick Omameh, Kaelin Clay, Joey Iosefa, Kadeem Edwards, Robert Herron, Mason Foster, Dashon Goldson, Mark Barron and Adrian Clayborn. Who was responsible for bringing in Michael Johnson, Anthony Collins, Oniel Cousins, Garrett Gilkey, Tim Jennings, Bruce Carter and George Johnson?
January 12th, 2016 at 11:11 am
And I repeat:
@AdamSchefter
Lovie Smith’s contract contains the clause that gives him final say over all personnel matters on the Buccaneers’ final 53-man roster.
10:45 AM – 5 Jan 2014
January 12th, 2016 at 11:20 am
BucBonzai has to be a pet dog, because I have never seen anyone as loyal to someone as he.
Lovie will be remembered as THE worst coach in Bucs history. While there are a few coaches with worse records, they were from the Cheap Skate Culverhouse years and were hamstrung by an owner unwilling to pay for quality players. The same can’t be said for Lovie – the purse strings were wide open and he failed miserably. Simple as that!
January 12th, 2016 at 11:22 am
BuccaneerBonzai Says:
January 12th, 2016 at 10:09 am
Okay, never mind that Greg Gabriel provides no proof…but if Licht had so much control, wouldn’t he be the one who is to blame for the bad moves????
Lovie never even had a chance.
_________________________________________________________________
Give it up dude, you lost. Almost everything you’ve said the past 2 months has not happened, and generally the exact opposite has happened. Let it go.
January 12th, 2016 at 11:23 am
@lightnigbuc
WRONG… That title belongs to Greg Schiano.. Easily…
January 12th, 2016 at 11:27 am
Glad the Bucs kept Licht. He’s definitely worthy of the rockstar nickname
January 12th, 2016 at 11:51 am
What free agent did the Bucs pass on over the past two years that the team should have signed? This is no longer a discussion on Lovie. Go ahead and explain who was available the Bucs should have signed.
The Bucs biggest issue on defense was at the DE position and contrary to popular belief there was no magic silver bullet to solve that problem. Ghost Johnson was supposed to be one of those guys entering the prime of his career that the Buccaneers thought would make a difference. After all, the move made sense and he was at the time the best DE one could take a chance on in FA. Just about every publication out there had Michael Johnson as one of those must sign guys that would make an impact. He couldn’t stay healthy and when he was in there he couldn’t ever win his battle. Scheme is not very relevant if the players can’t win their battles.
January 12th, 2016 at 12:08 pm
I don’t think its that complicated. When has Lovie EVER been known for spotting offensive talent or even having much of an opinion in that regard?
Even Light said Lovies eyes only lit up when talking defensive prospects. So based on that I think it’s pretty fair to assume Light was pulling the trigger in the drafts. The only offensive player Lovie seemed to have direct influence over was Josh McCown.
All the failure FAs were pretty much defensive players. Anthony Collins was probably the only big Light influenced FA pickup and the guy had great tape before failing here. The rest were mostly ex Lovie players and it was his scheme and confidence that dictated letting Revis go
January 12th, 2016 at 12:13 pm
Meat Says:
January 12th, 2016 at 10:18 am
Shut up about Tampa 2 you ignorant idiot. Say that you’d be excited about a dominant defensive team that attacks you… That system is dead run over and over w no variation
———-
Wow, who’s the ignorant idiot here? You do realize that Seattle and Carolina run the same style of D, right?
January 12th, 2016 at 12:14 pm
D-Rome
Michael Johnson has done better with Cincy. His worst year was under Lovie. Lovie let Revis walk because of his confidence in his scheme. That’s his own fault in the end and his own responsibility to make it work.
The CBs he signed and started have sucked other than Moore who should have been starting the whole time.
He could have used mark barron at OLB as we’ve seen how effective he is there for the Rams.
No one expected a top 5-10 D this year but being one of the worst in the league; especially when it mattered most down the stretch; is simply inexcusable.
How can anyone justify not ONE defensive player improving under his watch in 2 years? That’s bad coaching man simple as that
January 12th, 2016 at 12:28 pm
Yeah, that was a dumb ass move to let Bennett go, it ranks right up there with the worst Bucs blunders of all time. Will somebody take ownership for just who made that decision. Probably a well kept secret.
January 12th, 2016 at 12:41 pm
Alshon Jeffrey? Bucs traded for Logan Mankins too who had a very good season. Lovie was the one who absolutely wanted Jameis Winston over Marcus Mariota.
Clinton McDonald improved greatly. Granted, he was injured most of 2015 but he was a solid pickup to play next to GMC. Kwon Alexander improved tremendously over the course of the year. Honestly, do you just say sh*t just to say sh*t?
As for your other points it didn’t really address my initial response to lightningbuc’s comment about spending in free agency. There has been this idea among the readers that the Bucs signed the wrong guys as if there were better players out there. Heck, you actually illustrated my point with your example on Anthony Collins. Michael Johnson, just like Collins, had great tape. Showed a lot of promise. Didn’t work out. Michael Johnson has not done better in Cincinnati. Don’t sit here and pretend that Lovie’s “system” somehow held him back and he’s tearing it up with the Bengals again.
January 12th, 2016 at 1:09 pm
“Lovie was the one who absolutely wanted Jameis Winston over Marcus Mariota.”
Source? We know that Licht was coveting Jameis since 2014.
January 12th, 2016 at 1:35 pm
L&W, I’ve been hearing for the last week on the local radio that it was Lovie that was “beating the drum” loudest for Winston. Licht already said he was going to draft him back in 2014 if he ever had a chance. It always sounded like Licht had to sell Lovie and the Glazers. What gives??
January 12th, 2016 at 1:39 pm
Anyone with half a brain not named Dungy wanted Winston over Mariota. That point is not.
@ OneLove
Thank you! Tampa 2 is not dead! Corners who can’t cover anyone and likely coached to not jam anyone, an invisible pass rush, safeties constantly out of place, and a Mike linebacker who bites 110% on every play action, is a dead defense and also a run on sentence if I’ve ever seen one. I’d put our 02 or 99 defenses up against any team in today’s NFL.
January 12th, 2016 at 1:40 pm
*That point is moot
January 12th, 2016 at 2:13 pm
lmao Kwon Alexander was a rookie. Wtf. I’m talking players that have played under other coaches and news flash Clinton McDonald had the same production in Seattle. He was a rotational player he didn’t emerge into a top full time DT.
And Michael Johnson absolutely has done better in Cincy this year by all accounts I’ve read. Not sure why but it’s not a good sign for Lovie.
Chris Conte is the only player I can think of that improved his play under Lovie when compared to his play with other regimes. Hell Lavonte regressed this year in the first 1/2 of the season and that’s after two full freaking offseasons
January 12th, 2016 at 2:18 pm
ALL the blame and NONE of the credit! Interesting!
The 20/20 pile-on is a trip!
January 12th, 2016 at 3:35 pm
BuccarooBonzai, what part of the article did you not understand? I’ve heard this elsewhere too in the media since Lovie was fired—he was in charge that first year, and Collins and Johnson were his babies. Remember, he spent the whole season before locked in his den “scouting”. Look, if Licht was responsible for all that, fine, rookie mistake, don’t do it again. But Lovie also ran off Goldson and Barron, the latter of which was inexcusable. Licht ran the drafts, as his buddy here provided evidence for. Those were successful, hence, why Licht has a job and Lovie does not.
January 12th, 2016 at 3:39 pm
Meat Says
“Shut up about Tampa 2 you ignorant idiot. Say that you’d be excited about a dominant defensive team that attacks you… That system is dead run over and over w no variation.”
Say…IDIOT…what are the defensive schemes of the top defensive teams in the playoffs?
January 12th, 2016 at 3:42 pm
godzilla13 Says
“Yea, but the real power lies with who controls the 53. Who do you think was responsible for trading/releasing or not re-signing…”
Um…the guys that handles the cap, signs free agents, negotiates contracts, negotiates trade deals, and heads the scouting department?
JASON FREAKING LICHT!!!!!
Sheesh…
January 12th, 2016 at 3:44 pm
Head coaches do not handle free agents. GMs do. Head Coaches do not handle trades. GMs do. Head Coaches do not cut for cap reasons. GMs do.
You people are dense.
January 12th, 2016 at 4:10 pm
To echo what BuccaneEric75 stated according to Rick Stroud Lovie absolutely wanted Jameis over Marcus. I’ll take the word of a guy who is at One Buc every day instead of the conjecture bantered around here.
Right, spot on. I mean, what is it with most of you guys around here? You guys think Jason Licht was solely responsible for the draft and not responsible at all for the free agent signings. Every GM in all sports has hits and misses. All of the free agent hits and misses the Bucs have had over the past two years are on Jason Licht. Not sure why that’s hard for some to figure out. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
January 12th, 2016 at 4:58 pm
D-Rome Says:
January 12th, 2016 at 4:10 pm
Source? We know that Licht was coveting Jameis since 2014.
I’ll take the word of a guy who is at One Buc every day instead of the conjecture bantered around here
Conjecture? He said it himself.
“You can trace the chase of Winston to Draft Day 2014, as crazy as it sounds. On the scouting trail, Licht became enamored with Winston, knowing he might leave FSU for the 2015 draft, after his second season as the starter. Licht’s brother-in-law asked him via a draft-day text last year whether he preferred Johnny Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater in the first round.
“Winston,” was Licht’s reply.”
January 12th, 2016 at 4:59 pm
Further,
“We knew that he was going to be a special player, yeah,” Licht said of scouting Winston while working for the Cardinals. “We went and watched him play when I was in Arizona and watched him on tape and talked a lot about him, too. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a general manager of a team that would have a chance to draft him.”
January 12th, 2016 at 5:31 pm
Lovie Smith had final say on the 53 man roster.
Everything we have ever read has suggested it was his move to ditch Revis due to favoring scheme over talent. Does anyone think that was somehow a Jason Light move?? I’d love to see the logic for that.
Bottom line is the best players we have gotten the last few years were pretty much all offense except Kwon. Lovie has never been known for spotting offensive talent. Somehow cited Alshon Jeffery that’s like it- and that was likely a GM pick too.
Many of the defensive players acquired in free agency had a history already with Lovie Smith. Again this isn’t that complicated… Lovie got his kind of guys for his kind of scheme and got rid of guys he didn’t like. Guys he got rid of have had success elsewhere while most his tailored acquisitions have failed.
Remember it was his choice based on confidence in his coaching / scheme that lead to letting Revis walk. I was OK with it due to the state of team and assuming we made the overall team better with the players we spent money on but it didn’t work and the pass D has been one of the worst in the league under his 2 year watch.
Until something comes out that would explain that Lovie somehow was behind who we’ve drafted and Light was the one in love with Mike Jenkins and Tim Jennings I am gonna call bullsh1t . Everything I’ve ever read following this team and Lovie has been a pretty consistent
January 12th, 2016 at 5:40 pm
OneLove Says:
January 12th, 2016 at 10:52 am
“The Bucs defense from 2002 is probably the best defense to ever set foot on a football field ALL TIME!”
———————————————–
The ’02 SB winning defense was absolutely stellar – but best all time???
Hell – The Bucs 1999 Defense was better than the Bucs 2002 Defense.
January 12th, 2016 at 5:43 pm
L&W, that was exactly what I was referring to. I’ve never heard anything about Lovie campaigning for him before. It might be true, just never heard it. I’ve heard it a lot about Licht, though.
January 12th, 2016 at 6:01 pm
The past is past…Ain’t Jack Spit we can do about it but bitch and contemplate. I’m looking forward to and wondering about the FUTURE!!!
January 13th, 2016 at 8:25 am
you have to know that Jason Licht would not go out and sign all the Chicago
castoffs,without being told to by Lovie.All the free agents were brought in because Lovie wanted them and he felt they fit his scheme.Defense was so bad that McCoy and possibly Michael Johnson were pressed into action before injuries healed.Johnson did not have a bad year in cincinatti, but he is more of
a run stopper than a sackmaster.Very similar to William Goldston.Believe McCoy should have shut down earlier because shoulder injuries require a long time to heal. But Lovie was trying to save his job so McCoy played hurt half the year.
January 18th, 2016 at 8:37 pm
The Bucs GM still has “his” job. Koetter shed fake tears for Lovie for the sake of roster unity. Yeah, OK..!! Stay classy, Dirk.
Mike Smith (Defensive Guru?) is now the DC and all is well for the “NEW” Tampa Bay Falcons.
There are 2 things that bother me about the end of this season.
1) Kwon was busted or PED’s with no real explanation to the press.
IMHO, those 4 games w/o Kwon cost us, at a minimum, an 8-8 season, and Lovie’s job.
2) Jameis’ outburst at the end of the season denouncing the “lack of effort by “SOME” players” takes on a little more significance when combined with his press blackout after Lovie was fired.
Not a peep from Jameis about Lovie leaves little doubt about his feelings on the subject of pinning the “lack of team-wide effort” on Lovie.
Maybe I’m all wrong about Jameis, but it seem to me the “face of the franchise” and “locker room leader” should have had something to say about his HC, Lovie, being fired.
Oh, Brother…!!!
Wuzzup, Jameis…??
You mad, BRO..??
January 19th, 2016 at 6:10 am
softastussieMcCoy93 Says:
January 12th, 2016 at 10:53 am
What doom Lovie is failures in free agency, and the loose environment in which the team was ran. He needed to tighten the reins on dumb spit that was happening of the field witg players like Evans, ASJ, Ghoston, and several others. Scheme wise in the second year the defense made all kinds of adjustments, but nothing rarley worked. When we blitz we got burned on the back end. In zone QB’s had all day. Lovie sealed his own fate with many bad decisions, but lets not pretend that whoever coaches the defense will have a least 5 new starters. I feel that too many people are so willing to dump on Lovie, but continue to give these players a pass
you had 3 players on defense tops