The Power Of Licht
August 22nd, 2016
Full and complete control.
Rare is it for an NFL head coach not to be able to choose his players.
It seems, Bucs coach Dirk Koetter is one of those rarities.
For the second time this summer, Koetter, when asked about the 53-man roster, has said Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has the final word. Yesterday in his weekly day-after-game presser, Koetter, when asked about how many linebackers he’d like to keep, quickly stated it is out of his hands and the final say is in the lap of Licht.
“That’s Jason’s department,” Koetter said. “I have numbers I have in my head. Jason makes the call on that. That’s a long ways from being finished. You have to have some flexibility. I don’t think you can have ironclad numbers.”
Koetter did state he had a meeting scheduled with Licht yesterday to review preliminary, final-roster discussions. The first round of cuts is just around the corner. All teams must trim the roster from 90 to 75 players by 4 p.m. Aug. 30.
This intrigues Joe a great deal. Again, rarely does a coach not have final say on the roster.
Joe isn’t sure when the last time, if ever, Team Glazer allowed a general manager to throw around his weight like this.
August 22nd, 2016 at 6:31 am
I think licht will take koetters suggestions. Licht seems like a guy that has his head screwed on straight
August 22nd, 2016 at 7:02 am
And some here question why I call him a BACK-STABBER, as Steve Harvey would say, POWER is the #1 answer!
August 22nd, 2016 at 7:08 am
@ littlepiggy do yourself a favor, take your bottom lip pull it over your head and swallow.
August 22nd, 2016 at 7:10 am
Name 1 coach that can sign player contracts. It’s a business and the GM is the president of the company. Koetter is basically the VP. He has his opinions and I’m sure Licht listens but in the end Licht has the power. When players are traded or not resigned coaches always say that they wish they could have kept them. It’s nothing new really; GM’s always have the final say
August 22nd, 2016 at 7:27 am
hmmmm, if it is so rare, How come (counting Koetter) 3 out of the last 4 head coaches did not have final say on the 52 man roster????
August 22nd, 2016 at 7:54 am
I can guarantee you that if Koetter doesn’t want a player….he’s gone…..and if he really wants a player…he stays…..Jason Licht is not going to jam players down Koetter’s throat….It’s not the way Licht works.
Yes, Licht may have the final say technically….but in practice Koetter controls the players.
August 22nd, 2016 at 8:09 am
The Bucs this year along with most of the teams in the NFL have their GM making the final call in the draft and their 53 man roster.
August 22nd, 2016 at 8:32 am
Schiano had control. Lovie had final say. Chucky clearly had final say. Only Rah did not.
August 22nd, 2016 at 8:47 am
@Joe
You are wrong, Coach Schiano had control over the 46 game day roster, but not the 53 man roster!!!!
And with that there was give and take as both sides would yield on one decision to get the other side to concede on another decision!!!!!!
So that is the last 3 out of 4 coaches did not have control over the 53 man roster!!!!
August 22nd, 2016 at 8:49 am
sorry for the link to NFL.com. But read them and weep!!!!
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000211489/printable/whos-really-in-charge-nfc-south-squads-seek-balance
I will take your silence as an apology!!!
August 22nd, 2016 at 8:51 am
So Free-pass Licht is able to run cover for his sacred cows on the roster which in turn puts Koetter in a worse position and has potential to set him up for failure. Looks like an ego play and I am sure the Glazers are aware of this dynamic. They held uncle Lovie responsible after hiring his little Lapdog GM. They will hold Licht responsible if forced roster spots don’t pan out.
August 22nd, 2016 at 9:18 am
I think theres some truth to that statement but not 100%. U really think Koetter is gonna admit he has full control even if he really did?? No, that just leads to more annoying questions by the media. Wich is not what Kotter want or needs right now. I think Licht has alot of say right now because Kotter is still trying to get a hang of this HC thing and will eventually take over all duties of a HC when he does get a grasp. I’m sure they both meet and agree on decisions together and both of these guys have a great relationship unlike the last HC who was a “my way or the highway” type of Coach.
August 22nd, 2016 at 9:45 am
Because Licht is next to go, if someone has to go.
August 22nd, 2016 at 9:48 am
If Licht were to get fired, it would likely be because Koetter didn’t work out. I don’t see one outlasting the other.
August 22nd, 2016 at 9:50 am
1G8B: don’t be disrespectful, would you call your mom little piggy, I didn’t!
August 22nd, 2016 at 10:00 am
And realist, Lovie had full control because he came in with head coaching experience, unlike Rah, Schiano and Koetter. Guys like Lovie and Gruden are going to get that type of control because of their resume. And in both cases, we saw having that much power as a coach will come back to bite you.
August 22nd, 2016 at 10:16 am
@largobuc I agree…hc have to prove they can lead and win first…something dirk has yet to do….GO BUCS!!!!
August 22nd, 2016 at 10:20 am
@Largobuc
Gruden did not have roster control until halfway thru his Buc Tenure!!! That was why GM McKay was Exiled and ran the Falcons into the ground!!!!
But that is my point, As for the Bucs, it is common for the Head Coach to not have control of the 53 man roster!!!!!
August 22nd, 2016 at 10:31 am
BigHoghaynes..you are correct sir. Licht is and always has been..the ultimate backstabber. People who post here refuse to see it because they never take off their sun glasses. They remind me of a certain guy running for Prez!
August 22nd, 2016 at 10:51 am
@BigHog
You calling someone else disrepectful is amusing. You seem to me to be the most disrespectful poster on this site. It makes me think of a pot calling a kettle black. Note I did not call you a pot, nor a kettle. A don’t turn a common saying into something racist either.
August 22nd, 2016 at 10:51 am
BigHog and MJ just go get a room so you can spew your nonsense without looking so ignorant publicly. Your agendas are very clear. both of you are hoping for the day Koetter fails so you can pound your chests. Clearly neither of you have any character. instead of playing others for lovie’s failures take an objective look at the situation and realize a change was needed the team lost total confidence in lovie and did NOT believe in his BS anymore. It was time for him to go. Outperforming (grand slam in draft) you boss does not equal backstabbing. Licht has a lot to prove but there was no doubt he out performed Lovie at his job.
August 22nd, 2016 at 10:52 am
^^^^ blaming not playing… how the hell did that happen
August 22nd, 2016 at 10:57 am
@bighogheinous and mike johnson
You guys are so far off!!! Trying to drum false pressure to win or your gone!!! The “real” fan base know what we have in Tampa and will give it time to grow and prosper!!!!! Now that we have the white er ah ah errrrrr I mean right coaches, we will give them 4 years to create the contending team!!!! Its not “backstabbing if you fire someone for not doing their job!!!!!! For not showing up and doing the work, and not progressing and becoming obsolete in todays coaching field!!!!
August 22nd, 2016 at 11:01 am
Realist, Mckay and Gruden didnt even work together for two full years. So Gruden had control in 04, 05, 06, 07 and 08. That is more than half that is a majority of his tenure.
Again, it is not common for Bucs head ciaches to have full control and that’s because it is not common for Bucs to hire head coaches with experience/leverage to demand full control. Rah, Schiano and Koetter all had their first NFL head coaching job here in Tampa.
August 22nd, 2016 at 11:38 am
@Largobuc
Lovie had full control because he was an egomaniac who believed he was always right and couldn’t let anyone else in the organization do their jobs without sticking a nose up their butt
August 22nd, 2016 at 11:48 am
Wow! Not sure I really want to delve into this one! I’m not 100% on the Licht bandwagon. I think he has as much to prove as Koetter. I am, however, patient enough to see how it will pan out…..over the next 2 years!
August 22nd, 2016 at 11:50 am
Come on Joe, I know conflict and controversy drums up reader clicks, but don’t start riffs where they aren’t. Obviously, outside a few of the long term entrenched head coaches, the GM and HC collaborate in this and build the roster with the schemes and play books in mind. You write this as if Koetter is wondering who the hell is going to be on the team and waiting to find out in the media along with the rest of us. If anything this would affect the bottom 2-3 guys on the roster and might give a young guy like bell an extra chance. The core 47-50 will be perfectly in synch between the HC and gm. Nothing to see here.
August 22nd, 2016 at 11:59 am
FSU well, I can’t possibly trump that logic!
August 22nd, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Oh wait, regardless of Lovie being an ego maniac, the reasons I already stated are whty the Glazers gave it to him. But that’s another corelation, not only did Gruden and Lovie have a resume, but they were both ego maniacs! Thank you for adding on to my point FSU! And realist, i’ll take your silence as an apology!
August 22nd, 2016 at 12:13 pm
you are right about Coach Gruden having it more than half as I said earlier (for some reason I thought Mckay controlled 3 drafts and free-agency with Gruden) . But the point is, even with his resume he did not walk thru the door and have total control over the “53” man roster!!! I was bringing up the fact that in the article it is made to seem that GM’s with control over the “53” is very rare. Yet I was able to name 3 coaches who did not have control and a 4th that did not have if for 2 years out of his 7 year tenure!!!!!
August 22nd, 2016 at 12:32 pm
Well realist, once his resume included a superbpel win, all of a sudden he gets full control less than a year later and the old gm who built the thing is let go. But my correlation stands. Coaches who have experience get control. Coaches without so do not. And Gruden is kind of a special case, but firing Rich McKay to give Gruden the control he wanted really says alot.
August 22nd, 2016 at 3:03 pm
I think Dirk is underestimating his own influence. It’s not as if Licht is going to dictate the final roster. I’m sure Dirk and Jason will collaborate on the decision. There’s no way you can make a roster without participation of the coaching staff and especially the HC. Licht’s “authority” if we have to call it that would only come into play on some of the tough calls at the bottom of the roster, but Licht strikes me as more of a collaborator than a dictator in his style.
August 22nd, 2016 at 5:55 pm
I thought this was pretty much common football knowledge that only experienced coaches or ones coming in with be leverage had control of their 53 and final say in the draft and it’s only been fairly recently. Didn’t Bill Parcels start the trend of experienced coaches even asking for control? To paraphrase Bill P.: If you expect me to cook I want to buy the groceries.