“I’ll Lean On Bruce Heavily”
March 25th, 2019
GM Jason Licht talks to Joe
Fans love to figure out who is calling the shots for their team at the critical moments.
And in the NFL, many of those defining moments come in March and April.
Bucs general manager Jason Licht was talking today at the NFL Owners Meetings on the heavily-guarded grounds of the Arizona Biltmore resort. Asked about Bruce Arians’ role in the draft process — we already see how Arians has picked his friends in free agency — Licht told PFT Live, “I’ll lean heavily on Bruce.” And Licht added that even this morning they dove into the draft.
Joe followed up with Licht and asked how Arians is different when it comes to personnel/draft matters than when Licht was with him in Arizona back in 2013.
Licht cracked a big grin. “He’s the same as he was in Arizona. He loves looking at players. He loves looking at college players, and he loves the whole draft process. And he is somebody that I really feel that I can lean on with his experiences. Not just in Arizona, but going back and talking to people that have worked with him at other teams, he really enjoys it. And it’s always great to have a coach that does enjoy it.”
It’s obvious Arians will have a very heavy hand in the draft, as he’s had in free agency. But Joe’s not so sure that’s a great thing. Arians didn’t exactly leave a stunning draft legacy in Arizona.
Licht’s whole answer about Arians loving the draft process reminded Joe of when Licht told media that Lovie Smith was slouching in his chair and bored watching film of offensive linemen.
March 25th, 2019 at 6:46 pm
Bruce should call the shots. Glad to hear this.
March 25th, 2019 at 6:47 pm
Like I said when BA got hired. The Bucs were looking for a Prez of operations. GM and HC. Ended up getting all three in 1 guy. It’s the only way he would come here. Licht gonna ride some coattails if all this pans out.
March 25th, 2019 at 6:50 pm
Mock Draft
Your Picks:
Round 1 Pick 5: Williams, Quinnen, DT, Alabama (A+)
Round 2 Pick 7: Baker, Deandre, CB, Georgia (A+)
Round 3 Pick 6: Omenihu, Charles, DE, Texas (A+)
Round 4 Pick 5: Pierschbacher, Ross, OG, Alabama (A+)
Round 5 Pick 7: Williams, Joejuan, CB, Vanderbilt (A+)
Round 6 Pick 35 (COMP): Anderson, Rodney, RB, Oklahoma (A+)
Round 7 Pick 1: Pollard, Tony, WR/RB, Memphis (A+)
March 25th, 2019 at 6:53 pm
Catacard you a lot but still didn’t refute my basis. And please spare me that against the arc bulls@&$. Bama is the only thing carrying that now weak conference.
March 25th, 2019 at 6:53 pm
I meant sec
March 25th, 2019 at 6:59 pm
BA will be president of Operations and Leftwich Head Coach in 3 years. Unless BA goes the way of George Galas and Marv Levy that is.
He will already be the oldest HC to win the Super Bowl if that’s at all possible in the next 3 years.
Although I love him, hiring guys that worked before rarely works in this league. All it does is speed up the coaching curve.
I’m glad to know he TRULY believes in his Game Plan.
Fresh change after Klueless Koetter.
March 25th, 2019 at 7:08 pm
I am confident that BA & Bowles will do a better job than Licht……the first pick will be an interesting one if there are choices……
I suspect that if Allen, Bosa & Williams are gone then only one QB was chosen in front of us and a trade down opportunity will be possible.
If that is the case, and we traded down, then we would be passing on Devin White definitely a player of need.
That is where Bowles comes in (instead of Mike Smith)
I am quite convinced that we will choose a defensive player because of the depth at those positions in the draft.
The question will be……DE, DT, MLB, CB…….who if we trade down?
March 25th, 2019 at 7:12 pm
All those awards and accolades but when up against the heaviest hitter on his schedule last season (Georgia Bulldogs) you can barely even tell he played in that game. Certificates and trophies don’t mean s$&@ in the 4th qtr and we as fans depending on you come up with a play but you can’t cause you gassed from having all your juiced zapped from you wrestling with linemen that you don’t have the technique to beat. That boy Gerald McCoy 2.0. All finesse.
March 25th, 2019 at 7:23 pm
translation —— DEMOTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2019 season will reveal answers to the sheep, that the “real” fans already know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 25th, 2019 at 7:32 pm
“ I’ll lean on Bruce heavily…to keep my job “
Licht Weight realizing he’s botched free agency, much of the draft and used two head coaches as bullet proof vests to save his sorry hide.
March 25th, 2019 at 7:35 pm
Arians wasn’t great in AZ drafting and pairing him with a inept GM means 5 or 6 wins at best
March 25th, 2019 at 7:42 pm
So you’re saying he’s gonna do the job and you’re gonna take the credit
March 25th, 2019 at 7:44 pm
How was Licht demoted when he never held all that power anyway? I would say last year was probably lichts first year with a lot more say in draft picks and we still havent seen them playnunder god coaching.
March 25th, 2019 at 7:47 pm
No More DT in the first round! Fire Licht!
March 25th, 2019 at 7:48 pm
Just Say No To Quinnin Williams! For the love of Jameis Winston! No!
March 25th, 2019 at 7:56 pm
I’m all for it
Arians influence. Even Bowles input.
I think koetter was hands off with draft other then saying get OJ Howard the one year
March 25th, 2019 at 7:57 pm
I hope Licht instead of LEANING on Ariens, LEANS on the DOOR and ends up on the street where he belongs. Draft White.
March 25th, 2019 at 7:59 pm
Love SteveK mock draft!! But doubt Quinnen drops to us… Would rather have Meatloaf than Meathead drafting for our team!! Please Arians or someone please take Meatheads pencil away from him!!!
March 25th, 2019 at 8:01 pm
6-10 and last place AGAIN.
March 25th, 2019 at 8:21 pm
Don’t worry figures we’ll leave the bandwagon open for you.
Bruce will elevate Winston and gets him to a pro-bowl. Our defense feeds off of momentum & we are a winning team next year.
I’ll be back at the stadium supporting the new regime. Y’all can sit at home for the next nine months crying about our paper roster.
March 25th, 2019 at 8:42 pm
What happens if the drafted rookies aren’t first year sensations, who can we solely blame it on? We need a specific whipping boy and now this makes things difficult. Do we trash Arians?
March 25th, 2019 at 9:02 pm
@Jimmy Jack
How’s Bruce going to do that when he’s not calling plays or coaching qbs? Every place he’s been he’s done either or but here he’s relying on Leftwich and Christensen
Excuse us if we don’t have faith in those two to turn Winston into a good qb every week
March 25th, 2019 at 9:24 pm
I honestly think we should draft the best OT in the draft if we can’t trade down, Jawan Taylor, think it about it, this draft is extremely deep on the defensive line, we have enough LBs to pass on Devin White, no S, CB, or offensive skill position are worth the 5th pick, getting a 10 year starter and making a weakness into a strength, protect the franchise QB, actually block for the RBs, makes too much sense, obviously if 1 of the Big 3 falls to us, we take them, but elite talents never fall to
March 25th, 2019 at 9:32 pm
Loyaltotheend Says:
March 25th, 2019 at 9:02 pm
@Jimmy Jack
How’s Bruce going to do that when he’s not calling plays or coaching qbs? Every place he’s been he’s done either or but here he’s relying on Leftwich and Christensen
Excuse us if we don’t have faith in those two to turn Winston into a good qb every week
Like I have been telling you goofballs all off season Winston does not need to be “fixed” or “turned around” or “turned into a good QB” he simply needs help from a component running game, defense and kicking game. One player cannot win games alone yet all of these Jameis haters call these FACTS excuses which is typical and frankly ridiculous just like them. Why do we have to have so many “fans” that know about as much about football as a 5 year old? Oh yeah Realist how do you enjoy being DEAD WRONG about how great the last coaching staff was? So now you are onto blaming the remaining players for the epic failure by your boys Mike Smith and Koetter? Typical for you, just admit your wrong and move on.
March 25th, 2019 at 9:38 pm
Arians didn’t exactly leave a stunning draft legacy in Arizona.
While that may be true Joe, Bruce has a 49-30-1 record as Head Coach. The Cards did draft poorly 2 to 3 years ago but he was still 15-16-1 with a roster of little or aging talent. That is borderline Superbowl level compared to the last 10 years in Tampa. I’m going to trust the process with Bruce. We really need to nail the draft though.
March 25th, 2019 at 9:44 pm
Loyal…….He’s the head coach of course he’s coaching the QB. Let’s be real here.
But if you don’t believe me come back in August and I guarantee Joe will share pictures of Bruce and Winston working side by side……….Bruce will be teaching and preparing his young QB. This really should go without saying.
As far as play calling that’s a valid point. I’ll let y’all argue about that one……….Based on JBF commenters y’all worry way more about play calling then I do.Personally I think game planning is way more important then play calling but that’s just me.
March 25th, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Ndog……Winston does need to make better decisions. You’re gonna throw picks but you give up stupid ones.
He proved he has it in him down the stretch. Bruce has got to get him at full potential and get him consistent. If that happens I like our chances next year.
………A little clip I saw from Bruce in Arizona showed Palmer’s huddling for a big redzone play and the last thing Bruce whispered into the headset was “no picks”………couldn’t help but wonder if Dirk did the same.
First let the Bucs get good then we can be great.
March 25th, 2019 at 11:04 pm
I want to come out of the first four rounds of the draft with at least 2 OL, a MLB and a DE/DT.
March 25th, 2019 at 11:09 pm
@Cobra. I have my heart set on Lindstrom in the 2nd rd but something tells me he will not last. If the chips fall where Bosa, Quinnen, and Josh are all over the board, then a trade down to the bottom half of the draft with a stockpile of picks would not surprise me. If we go that direction, I could see an O Linemen being drafted. If we stay put, I wouldn’t expect an OL until round 3 at the earliest.
March 25th, 2019 at 11:13 pm
Even if Arians calls the draft picks…Tampa fans will blame Licht for anything and everything that goes wrong.
March 25th, 2019 at 11:16 pm
Cobraboy Says
“I want to come out of the first four rounds of the draft with at least 2 OL, a MLB and a DE/DT.”
I hope you don’t whine all year when you don’t get those two OL guys…like other fans here tend to whine (not you).
I suspect we won’t take any OL this draft…but we’ll likely sign some undrafted guys. Licht tends to hit on them.
More likely, I see this draft going mostly on defense, outside of a possible RB/FB.
March 25th, 2019 at 11:20 pm
We might also take a kicker at some point.
Arians is no dummy. He knows defense and the kicking game is what kept this team from winning a lot of games…enough to have flipped our record the last two years.
Those are the areas I see him addressing.
I am surprised Leonard Wester wasn’t resigned though. He’s still out there, so maybe he’ll return.
March 26th, 2019 at 1:40 am
NDOG,
I agree with you on winston not needing to be fixed or turned around. I think that’s 100% accurate assessment of the situation. My question is this, if Winston plays the same as He’s been for the last 4years, the team improves all the areas you identify, and lets say the team wins 9 games, maybe 10 , will this validate your own opinion of winston? How does this play out in your mind?
March 26th, 2019 at 4:10 am
There are going to be fools out there making the argument that Backstabbin’ Jason Licht should get **another** year should the team end up with a losing record again.
March 26th, 2019 at 5:06 am
@Bonzai … “I suspect we won’t take any OL this draft…but we’ll likely sign some undrafted guys. Licht tends to hit on them”. OK, I’ll play Bonzai. WHICH undrafted OLinemen has Licht ‘hit on’ since he’s been our GM? Heck the only reason Benenoch (Rnd 5) & Cappa (Rnd 3) are still on the Bucs is because Licht drafted them (2 of his earlier picks, Pamphile & Edwards, are already gone).
Cobraboy … I’m also hoping that the first 4 Rounds bring us 1 MLB & 1 DE/DT but my preference would be for 1 OLineman (for RG) plus a stud RB with the other two. We saw last year how lack of a running game adversely impacted our ability to keep drives going & score points. Barber’s average (to above-average maybe) but he’s not an Adrian Peterson (in his younger years). Plus we’re one injury away from having no running game at all (RoJo MIGHT have some utility, but few would bet the farm on him at this point).
@Joe … “Arians didn’t exactly leave a stunning draft legacy in Arizona”. You’re right Joe, and that’s concerning. Thus far in FA we’ve signed meh-players & it looks like BA is focusing on getting the old band back together for one last swan song. Three of the players we’ve signed (Bucannon 1st Rnd 2014, Minter 2nd Rnd 2013, Watford 4th Rnd 2013) didn’t exactly set the world on fire in Arizona. All 3 look like ‘that’s all we can afford’ signings to me.
March 26th, 2019 at 10:30 am
When I was reading these quotes from Jason Licht earlier today, the thing that crept from between the lines and really stood out to me is this…
Is he cryptically telling us that Dirk Koetter did not remotely enjoy the draft process? It sure as hell seems like it.
March 26th, 2019 at 10:34 am
JimmyJack Says:
“Bruce will be teaching and preparing his young QB. This really should go without saying.”
“Y’all worry way more about play calling then I do. Personally I think game planning is way more important then play calling but that’s just me.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As usual, JimmyJack laying it out there succinctly and SPOT ON.
Well said, sir.