Overlooked Mistake
July 10th, 2018
Sorely missed.
This subject was such an interesting discussion, Joe decided to revisit it.
Earlier this week, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report listed the biggest mistake each team has made in the past decade. Gagnon believes the hiring of former Bucs commander Greg Schiano was the biggest mistake for Tampa Bay.
Joe disputed this. Joe’s list, in order from pretty awful to worst, was letting Michael Bennett walk away for no good reason, hiring inept Lovie Smith and jettisoning Chucky.
This topic came up in a recent edition of the famed “Ira Kaufman Podcast.” Ira agreed with Joe that this team has never fully recovered from firing Chucky.
However, Ira’s No. 3 worst mistake was very interesting. Ira chose the release of kicker Matt Bryant, who kicked for the Bucs from 2005 through 2008.
Ira made a helluva good point. How many games and playoff berths did the Bucs potentially p!ss away because they didn’t have a competent kicker? Meanwhile, 43-year-old Bryant is still kicking for the Dixie Chicks while the kicking game of the Bucs has been a total circus the past three years.
From what Joe remembers, former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik tried to nickel and dime Bryant, who would have none of it. It was a penny-wise move but pound foolish move by Dominik.
One could easily come up with 10 mistakes the Bucs have made the past decade and logically argue each one was the worst of the past 10 years.
There is a reason why the Bucs have been docked in Buccaneers Cove (last place in the NFC South) seven of the past nine seasons.
((For a fun look back at how perspectives change, click here. It’s a link to Joe’s worst 20 Bucs personnel moves of the past 10 years — published in the summer of 2015. Matt Bryant did not make the list. Firing Chucky was No. 15.))
July 10th, 2018 at 12:44 am
Only 10? A list of mistakes will pass 10 and keep on trucking way past that. America’s Choir Boy might be the top depending on hiw things play out, as it is, it’s already high on the list. Trying to steal a win with Byron Sandwich was a stupid thing to have tried.
July 10th, 2018 at 2:09 am
Yah. Matt Bryant still one of best and most clutch kickers in nfl. Is he 43?
July 10th, 2018 at 2:10 am
Hiring Lovie was way worse than firing Chucky. Remind me, who just signed Doug Martin? I remember watching the 2014 draft, thankful gruden wasn’t still our coach the way he was drooling over manziel. He inherited an awesome team and won the super bowl, respect, but ran the gm out of town the next yearand never won another playoff game.
July 10th, 2018 at 2:15 am
The only way jameis makes this list, is if the bucs cut him
July 10th, 2018 at 5:32 am
Westminster
FIRING LOVIE WAS A MISTAKE
HAHAHA
HEY LOVIE HOW IS THE CORN FIELDS
this must be you because that is the only sane person on this planet that believes firing Lovie was a mistake
Only bigger mistake was hiring Raheem
But atleast he is still coaching in the NFL
July 10th, 2018 at 5:55 am
I tell my ATL friend ‘you’re welcome’ all the time for Maarten Bryant
July 10th, 2018 at 5:56 am
Matt*
July 10th, 2018 at 6:03 am
Biggest mistake……Mark Dominick…..hands down!!!
July 10th, 2018 at 6:38 am
Firing Gruden was a mistake only because it took 7 years to do it. The defense kept the Bucs competitive. The offense became a handicap under Gruden. He couldn’t build one, and he couldn’t maintain one. Also, the players couldn’t trust him. Koetter doesn’t lie to his guys. The players trust him. That’s why I believe the Bucs will be contenders this season and for years to come.
July 10th, 2018 at 6:40 am
Atrain
I said hiring lovie was the mistake
July 10th, 2018 at 7:01 am
The biggest mistake is doubling season ticket prices if you did not pay by a certain date last year. That pissed off a TON of fans!
July 10th, 2018 at 7:10 am
Not cutting “dumb as a bag of hammers” Winocheo will go down as the worst move in franchise history. Or at least trade the clown. To that point, the receiving team of such a trade would have just made their worst move in their franchise history.
July 10th, 2018 at 7:26 am
1. Glazer Bros. – Chucky is a great coach, no argument. But SUCKED with
the draft. Balancing that out, firing him was not the worst thing, it was
that the Glazer Bros. could NEVER get it right in who they hired after that
2. Hiring Lovie
3. Promoting Rock Star to GM
4. Shiano
July 10th, 2018 at 7:29 am
What a great picture, with a “#3” shirt…I agree, letting #3 Matt Bryant walk is the worst mistake in memory. It could very well shape up to be that the not-so-new #3, Jameis Winston, could be another huge blunder…it’s shaping up to be that drafting him has not been worth the baggage and shame he brings. The outcome should be clearer by end of next year….
July 10th, 2018 at 7:52 am
1A and 1B are the two of the biggest buffoons in Buc History!!!!! talk show dominik and incompetent lovie!!!!!!!! every bad decision and wrong turn ALWAYS leads back to these imbeciles!!!!!!!!!!
with the 3rd being team Glazer, for hiring those two dolts and for running a team on a dime and thinking that they would just “turn it back on” and be right in the middle of the division again!!!!! They got left behind!!!!!!!
July 10th, 2018 at 7:52 am
Westminster
My mistake I apologize
I should have read a little closer
But agree totally
July 10th, 2018 at 8:04 am
So, that means that in reality the biggest mistake was to hire Dominik and his horrible decision making. Nearly everything bad that happened to this franchise after the realease of Chucky it’s connected to this buffoon.
July 10th, 2018 at 8:09 am
Tampabaybucfan Says
“Biggest mistake……Mark Dominick…..hands down!!!”
I almost agreed, until I remembered Bruce Allen. While both sucked pretty much equally in the areas of drafting and free agents, Bruce maintained cap control by being cheap. Dominick did it with unique contract structuring that is still utilized to this day.
But the real mistake? Letting Rich McCay get away in the first place. Had the Glazers shown backbone and told Gruden that Rich was in charge, McCay would have kept the defense fresh with good picks and Gruden would not have gone free agent crazy.
July 10th, 2018 at 8:15 am
@Buc Bonzai
You are wrong!!!!! talk show dominik was so bad in 2009 in handing out signing bonuses that team Glazers said no more, and Mike Greenberg came up with and structures the contacts from 2010 to this day at one Buc!!!!!!
Don’t give someone else’s credit to talk show dominik!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 10th, 2018 at 8:17 am
Waaaay too many to count.
How about the Glaziers not selling the team to Eddie DeBartelo!
July 10th, 2018 at 8:19 am
If Jameis Winston is not with the team next year the biggest personnel mistake will be Jason Licht. You can’t miss on your #1 overall pick *and* miss on a kicker in the second round.
Don’t give me this “other draft picks” nonsense. Every GM finds diamonds in the rough. The Bucs record under Jason Licht is worse than under Mark Dominick.
July 10th, 2018 at 8:47 am
dirk is rising up fast!!!!!…..he’s had more talent than rah, schiano and lovie and besides 5games he’s been worse…..unfortunately, he’s going to prove being the worse mistake this year……
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
July 10th, 2018 at 9:03 am
Biggest recent mistake was Licht wasting the #1 overall pick in the draft to pick America’s Crotchgrabber And Liar
July 10th, 2018 at 9:08 am
Dead or Alive-lovin’ ex-GM Mark Dominik got rid of a lot of good players at the expense of winning, but at least, we were always tops in the league at managing the cap (sarcasm) during his tenure. Was that a directive from the Glazers? You still have us spinning right round, Mark, like a record!
July 10th, 2018 at 9:35 am
How would you guys judge Koetter if we keep him for 4 more years a total of six and he posted a 45-51 record. Would we call him a great coach?
What if he won a SB in a 7th year?
That’s Chucky! He won a SB for us…we should all revere and respect that and I do.
But after that SB he went 7-9 one of only three Super Bowl winners to post a losing season the next year. Obviously if you win a Super Bowl you have a talented squad. The vast majority of the SB winners made the playoffs the following year and some even repeated their SB win.
Firing Chucky was NOT a mistake unless you like a record 6 games UNDER .500.
By the time he left he had lost his team…wait for it…because they felt he did not tell the truth and they did not TRUST him. There is again…that word..TRUST
July 10th, 2018 at 9:44 am
The entire team reset so yeah a lot of people got purged. Schiano want the beginning of the end, Raheem was and they should have been ashamed hiring a guy with no clue how to be a defensive coordinator much a less a head coach. Then Dominick he’s two horrible coordinators who got hired in season leaving an inexperienced position coach to be head coach and coordinator. Schiano wasn’t the worst but a after hiring Raheem than schiano than Lovie it proved we haven’t gotten over gruden because the one thing the owners can control the most they sucked at. Bad enough you could only get gruden in a trade
July 10th, 2018 at 9:45 am
Low moments:
1. Hiring Lovie stint/ FA signings/personnel decisions/giving him full authority/roster control set the franchise back at least 5 years.
2. Hiring unproven Raheem and “the Rockstar” GM as a package deal > Gruden/Allen terminations.
3. MERSA- eats Carl Nick’s big toe
4. Bennett and the inability to develop a legitimate pass-rusher.
5. Drafting Mark Barron @7 over Luke K.
6. The Brian Price miss, his injuries and being benched/called out by Raheem.
7. Kicking situation post Matt Bryant
8. Dumb penalties- Kellen Winslow PI against the Lions- likely cost the team a playoff spot + L. David opening day unnecessary roughness/out of bounds hit.
9. QB meltdowns- Freeman v. Schiano and Jameis v himself
10. Marcus Arroyo (aka Jeff Tedford’s heart).
July 10th, 2018 at 9:57 am
I would agree with the hiring of Dom and the firing of Gru.
However, for someone on this board to say “Letting Rich McCay get away in the first place” was a mistake – – I’m stunned.
Dick McKay was an asshat that thought he was a badass – he was dumped and then went on to suck so bad at ATL they had to demote him and bring in Dimitroff.
::facepalm::
July 10th, 2018 at 10:07 am
Just a question for those bashing Dirk. Not that I defend all of his decisions just curious as to how people view this.
Do we suppose our Super Bowl Champions had more talent than either the 2016 or 2017 Bucs? Because the following year Chucky went 7-9 with that talent. We were one of only three teams in the SB era to follow the title with a losing record.
Some actually repeated but the vast majority at least made the playoffs.
This is not meant to disparage Chucky or defend Koetter’s record…it’s posted simply for some perspective.
July 10th, 2018 at 10:50 am
No payoff wins but two NFC South titles post super bowl.
Gru haters like to leave that out.
How many NFC South Titles since his firing?
Bryant was a mistake on a very long list….
July 10th, 2018 at 10:58 am
I like Matt Bryant but let’s not forget he kicks in at least 9 games a year in domed stadiums since he joined the Falcons and we’ve got to wonder if his career has been extended because of indoor conditions.
July 10th, 2018 at 11:17 am
Still think Schiano should have been kept around longer. I don’t believe the stinky mess after his ouster would have been as deep after that point. The big to do about rushing the kneel down was way overblown.
July 10th, 2018 at 11:23 am
Play that kicker thing out…
Cutting Bryant led to kicker woes
Which led to trading a 3rd and a 4th round pick to grab a kicker in the second.
That was cut a year later.
A great kicker and two picks literally turned into nothing.
July 10th, 2018 at 11:59 am
biggest mistake is not taking mariotta over winston, then letting bryant go.
July 10th, 2018 at 12:47 pm
stpete
the raiders went 4-12 the same year…..either team made the playoffs the following year…..
gruden won the SB and then went 7-9…..dirk won 9games and then fell on his face after adding more talent……huge difference…..gruden lost Keyshawn and won 7games….dirk added djax, OJ, godwin and won 5games
what’s your point…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
July 10th, 2018 at 1:08 pm
Gruden matched koetter 5-11 record, and also had a 4-12 season after an 11-5 season.
Lots of coaches had up and down seasons.
July 10th, 2018 at 1:36 pm
1) sadly, Jameis Winston
2) Mark Dominick
3) Bruce Allen/ John Gruden Drafting and personel moves- after the Super bowl
4) failure to Aquire a DE, from 2008 until 2018
5)drafting improperly utilizing Mark Barron, with 7th pick in the draft
6) Vernon Hagreaves- 1st would pick
7) failure to develop a young CB over last 12 -15 years
8) faillure to develop a young Safety over last 12-15 years
9)Hiring Greg Schiano- no where close to NFL ready
10) Promoting Raheem Morris far to rapidly. He might have excelled at DC. Definitely not ready for head coach. Too big of a jump.
Joe hates him, but Lovie Smith went from 2-14, to 6-10 in his two years here. I agree with most NFL folk, that he was fired too soon.
Arroyo was the greatest kicker in college history. No one could have predicted
His mental meltdown.
No one could have predicted Brian Price ghasly injury, either
July 10th, 2018 at 2:03 pm
Aguayo*
July 11th, 2018 at 11:35 am
Overlooked???????
IVE BEEN SCREAMING ABOUT THIS MISTAKE FOR 10 GODDAMN YEARS SINCE WE GOT RID OF HIM!
July 11th, 2018 at 12:36 pm
I laugh at amateur “experts” that think kickers are a dime a dozen.
They are not, at least good, consistent ones.
July 12th, 2018 at 11:26 am
Never understood that decision. He was a very good kicker….. Yes, it ranks right up there with hiring Mrs. Howell.