Jason Licht No. 27
May 23rd, 2019
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
It seems one NFL analyst is none too impressed with Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
In scanning the landscape of NFL general managers, Patrick Daughtery of Rotoworld.com is down on two of the Bucs’ last three general managers. That would be Licht and Bruce Almighty.
Daughterty decided to rank each NFL general manager and Licht comes in at No. 27 while Bruce Almighty, now with the Redskins, is just behind him at No. 28. (Yes, Joe knows former Bucs great Doug Williams is effectively the GM in D.C.)
On Licht, Daugherty types:
27. Jason Licht, Bucs
We said earlier that Steve Keim is lucky to still have a job. Jason Licht is even luckier he got the opportunity to hire Keim’s former coach. Bruce Arians is Licht’s third sideline boss in six seasons. Licht was not responsible for bringing in Lovie Smith, whom he fired. That was a good idea. A bad idea was replacing him with Dirk Koetter, a man whose previous head-coaching stint included a 21-28 record in the PAC-12. Now Licht is on to 66-year-old Arians, who has “retired” twice since 2012. Arians can coach, but it won’t be for long. That means it is up to Licht to make the most of his third lease on life. He started by re-signing one of the league’s worst left tackles, Donovan Smith, to a new three-year contract. Licht was otherwise quiet in free agency, staking his career on Arians’ ability to get the most out of Jameis Winston. If Year 1 of the experiment is anything other than a rousing success, Licht will likely be forced to walk the plank, perhaps in favor of a handpicked Arians candidate. Considering how little talent Licht has accrued on the defensive side of the ball, Arians probably won’t be working any 2019 miracles on his behalf.
Well, a few things here. First, hiring Dirk Koetter was not a dumb move at the time because Team Glazer was looking at its massive investment in America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. The history of quarterbacks who had their head coaches moved out after their first year in the league is not pretty. We all know Koetter worked closely with Jameis and Jameis nearly won “Offensive Rookie of the Year.” So the move seemed smart at the time.
What we did not realize was that Koetter would completely and totally ignore the defense. We also did not and could not fathom Mike Smith would be such a total corpse of a defensive coordinator.
What got Koetter into trouble was getting away from the boot of inept Lovie Smith, who ordered Koetter to run the ball. Koetter sure seemed as though he didn’t have much of a desire to develop a running attack.
Koetter also proved to be blindly loyal to a fault. He brought back Smith and angrily denied it was because he was a friend (why else did Smith hang on for so long?) and Koetter also buried his head when it came to Doug Martin and his off-field (ahem) habits.
Joe does agree with Daugherty that Licht’s draft picks on defense (other than linebackers) largely have been whiffs. While Vita Vea appears to be a promising player, Licht’s defensive draft picks are at best lukewarm other than linebackers.
It’s hard to turn around a losing franchise if defensive draft picks can’t produce.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:13 pm
He would of been higher but he traded down twice…
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:23 pm
A whole lot of unknowns hinging on this season…starting with #3 and then up and the roster and the front office ….I am as critical as the next guy but I really do hope it works out !……..Oh wait…”There Ain’t No Hope in Football”
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:27 pm
Hey another nice, positive article about the Bucs!
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:28 pm
At least he’s not @32. Seriously though, how long has the Bucs been near the bottom of almost every known category anyway. Rhino skin …that’s what it takes to be a Buc fan.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:30 pm
This GM is an utter buffoon.
Curious as to why the Suh news isn’t official yet? Skeptical here… nothing would surprise at this point.
Drama City
Always interesting to see the dumpster fire/ train wreck/circus act continue.
Fire Licht today- he has absolute no vision and no control over building a winner.
Pull the plug, it’s mercy.
Take off the life support, grab a pillow for this disaster experiment.
Clean House
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:31 pm
Maybe he can go for #32 this year.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:31 pm
He actually should be worse than 27 on the list. He’d probably cannonball into his pool if he saw the article ranked him that well.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:32 pm
Would love to see people spin this if BA gets these guys to have a respectable winning record. Licht wont get credit for the hire I’m sure. This will be a really interesting year for sure more than lovie and Dirk could ever be because BA is a sore loser and he’d be calling guys out publicly every week lol I cant wait
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:35 pm
JBF…does it look like Rojo has on man weight ?…he was 20 years old last year or just turned 21
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:36 pm
This team is no more (or less) embarrassing than it was under Rockstar. Licht just grabbed the baton from Dominik and said let’s keep this garbage rolling.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:36 pm
thats about right….
GO BUCS!!!!
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:37 pm
Disagree. Hiring Dirk was a dumb move. The proof is in the pudding.
I have always asked the question if Dirk was the main guy Licht wanted to hire or if the Glazer’s wanted Dirk? We may never know.
If Licht didn’t want Dirk that’s a big factor for me.
Dirk was a bad HC and it hurt Licht and the rest of our FO and it hurt all our players. You can’t play GM and just sign your way out of awful unprepared coaching. It’s never worked in League History.
If Bruce was Lichts first hire he deserved a chance to handpick his own guy to work with.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:38 pm
That article was really kind
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:41 pm
“He started by re-signing one of the league’s worst left tackles, Donovan Smith, to a new three-year contract.”
Imagine that. It is funny how outsiders always see more clear.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:44 pm
How in the hell did this franchise ever win a Super Bowl? –Thank God we somehow did.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:45 pm
He’s ranked right where he should be. He should have been fired along with inept Irk Koetter. If the Bucs have another losing season (6-10 is my prediction) you’ll still have clowns around here stating he should get another year because….because…Bruce Arians controlled everything.
December 30, 2019 can’t come fast enough. The problem is that now we have BA (Band-Aid) and a need for a new GM, unless BA becomes the GM. The Bucs will need another QB because the Jay-Miss experiment will be over with.
Jason Licht has been a bigger disaster than Mark Dominick. At least Dominick left the team in a good financial position. He was very good with structuring team friendly contracts.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:45 pm
How can anyone say he has not brought talent in on defense? This year we will have up to 9 major contributors on this defense that are in their first or second year. You cannot judge the talent on this defense until after this year (or really next year). Not to mention the horrible job done by Mike Smith and company keep many of the other players (Hargraves, Spence, Evans) from showing their true
ability.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:48 pm
Supporters of Licht, don’t kid yourselves! No matter what our record is or if Meathead makes a luck draft pick, his history of stupid draft pick, draft trades and moves, his terrible Free Agency signings have cemented his place as a Horrific GM!! I fully supported Meathead his first couple of years and then saw he was in way over his head! As a previous post wrote, I’m sure Gump is celebrating being ranked 27th as we speak!
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:48 pm
Season is over, Smith, whatever he is, was the best left tackle on this market. If he leaves things get worse. But don’t worry about those little things.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:51 pm
Koetter didn’t give up on developing a running attack, he didn’t have one at all because Licht failed to develop the offensive line (that’s a fact Joe, Koetter has a great run game when Logan Mankins played.) Not to mention, Licht failed to draft a decent running back.
Second, Steve Keim is way luckier to have a job than Licht. His teams are trash, he hired and fired a coach in one year, then traded his first round quarterback of the future after one year. Not to mention, he had an awful DUI.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:53 pm
#27 is being kind. I hope this season will change my mind.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:58 pm
27!!! Hahahahahaha, this dude is lucky to be #32. He’s just made one mistake after another since he got this job. When your crowning achievement in 6 years as GM is to hire a 66 year old Bruce Arians, that says everything.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:58 pm
We’ve heard that same nonsense before. Fans would say that as soon as Schiano was fired then Da’Quan Bowers will be unleashed because he was misused. My favorite is that Lovie ruined Jonthan Banks and Alterraun Verner and that they were both misused. In their cases the truth is that they were no longer good players and that the previous coaches didn’t exactly miss anything.
Same goes for Hargreaves and Spence. You’re dreaming if you think either of those guys are going to be high impact players. What have you seen out of either of those guys that make you think they’re in line to have a breakout season and display their true ability? They’ve been displaying their true ability the entire time. They’re not good enough.
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:58 pm
.. The bucs have less money then any team in the bucs own division . YOUR Grandmother would do a better job then Light !!!
May 23rd, 2019 at 2:59 pm
That’s like saying it is a fact the U.S. Treasury prints $3 bills.
Coaches are paid to develop. Licht very much has addressed the offensive line. Drafted Donovan Smith (four-year starter), drafted Ali Marpet (four-year starter), signed Ryan Jensen, re-signed Demar Dotson (multi-year starter).
Is Licht the one that told Koetter that running backs should block first and if they can run the ball, that’s icing on the cake?
Koetter himself said that when Lovie was a coach he wanted a run-oriented offense so if Koetter didn’t develop one he’d been run. When Lovie was no longer around to order Koetter what to do, the running game went into the toilet (it didn’t help that Doug Martin threw in the towel.)
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:00 pm
Koetter’s play calling, especially in the red zone, was a lot bigger issue than Martin
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:09 pm
Quizz missed about more then a dozen blocking assignments last year.
Whatever message Dirk was preaching about RBs being competent blockers never got through to the players
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:25 pm
Do not like or dislike Licht! He takes too many chances and outsmarts himself sometimes when the safe bet is best. On the other hand he is basically solely responsible for putting this offense together. This is undoubtedly the best offensive unit this team has seen EVER!
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:32 pm
It also didn’t help that Benenoch and Dotson are the best players on our roster for their positions.
Logan Mankins is a borderline Hall of Famer. The team had a potent run game, and our running backs had great receiving yardage as well. That all fell apart when the leader retired.
You’re right, Doug Martin fell apart (after Licht resigned him) but what did Licht do? He drafted Jeremy McNicholes and Ronald Jones, now we have Andre Ellington.
How the heck does one “develop” that?
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:33 pm
This team should not have this many issues after drafting #7, 1, 11, 19, 12 and 5.
It shows a epically bad level of incompetence to be this bad after all these high picks
Licht sucks
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:38 pm
Joe forgot to mention that Licht was 2nd to last as they don’t rate the new hires. Why would you assume Joe forgot something? –Joe So effectively his record has him as the second worst GM in the league compared to his peers. And Allen is with the Redskins in part because of his family connections to the Redkins (son of HOF/Skins coach George Allen). There’s no excuse for why Licht is still employed based on his record and history with personnel. Can we also point out he is rated BELOW Dave Gettleman? Below Gettleman is a priviledge denied to most of the league’s decisonmakers.
Regarding the defense of Koetter it’s not a great rationale. By promoting Koetter to HC you run the risk of adding the additional responsibilities that distracts from his job of cultivating the QB. Was Koetter going to get hired by San Fran to be their HC? If not, you don’t make that change. You keep things and see if Lovie was going to get any more out of the team and axe him the next year if he couldn’t. Dirk never had a history or rationale for being a first time NFL HC who was 4 years older than Jon Gruden who was in the booth for a longtime before Dirk attempted to prove his disasterous tenure at ASU was merely a mirage.
Generally failed college head coaches don’t fall upward like Dirk did and for good reason. Any guesses on what Licht will be doing next year?
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:40 pm
Um…..
Licht=Incompetency
Can we move on now?
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:41 pm
Josh Allen had 17 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss in his final college season.
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:42 pm
Bucnjim, explain how a GM with a 27-53 record, 1 pro bowler, a team in cap hell and regarded by the league as the second worst GM in the league is “a safe bet.” That’s like saying Roberto Aguayo was “safe” to keep around so he could continue to be an NFL bottom feeding kicker. Difference is Aguayo graced this team for one season while Licht is working on his sixth.
Some Bucs fans deserve the misery. Enjoy your “safe” 5-11 season that Licht is an expert at churning out.
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:01 pm
there is nothing wrong with Jason Licht, save for.
Admitted he does not know how to negotiate,
And, his acquisitions off the open market, leave a lot to be desired.
And I admit, he does not understand talent.
Also, he is not very good when drafting or knowing when and where to pick.
Also, his tendency to overpay his players is alarming.
But he is very good (lucky) in the undrafted free agent market.
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:02 pm
Yeah he’s not had great team building vision. Either him or the front office in general has really been terrible at that.
If not for him bringing in Arians and company I have no idea how you justify keeping him.
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:02 pm
SCBucsFan … “Smith, whatever he is, was the best left tackle on this market.” Thank you SC, I was beginning to wonder if ANYBODY was gonna challenge Daughtery’s contention that Donovan is “one of the league’s worst left tackles” and that re-signing him for 3 years was stupid on Licht’s part. I’m not a big Licht advocate, he really had no choice … there was no other decent LTs on the market & we had so many holes to fill we simply couldn’t afford to open up another hole.
But yes Joe, hiring Dirk Koetter WAS a dumb move. Dual-hatting him as both HC AND OC sealed his fate from Day 1. The only reason why we had a winning record (9-7) in 2016 was because of that defensive 5-game spurt. Without that, he would’ve had THREE losing seasons, and probably would’ve been fired after his 2nd season.
And BTW, it’s laughable to say that “What we did not realize was that Koetter would completely and totally ignore the defense.” Two reasons: his relationships with Mike Smith & Jason Licht. Do I need to explain?
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:14 pm
Tom S. Sorry you miss read the post. It states Licht takes too many chances when the best move is to play it safe. I did give him credit for the offense which is what he deserves.
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:17 pm
Tom S. Also I am pretty confident we do better than 5-11! I’ve been wrong before but wasn’t wrong with Gruden and hopefully not wrong with Arians.
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:34 pm
In my book, Licht’s grade as GM has gone from C grade thus far in 2017 to an “F” based on last year and this year.
One may ask how he earned a “F” grade.
Because we can’t give him a “G.”
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:45 pm
The article is absurd.
We have NO IDEA to what extent ownership commands Licht.
We have NO IDEA whether Licht wanted Koetter, or if ownership wanted to keep Koetter because of Winston.
In Keim’s situation, it is clear that Cards ownership has some command over him, too.
Might as well rank owners.
……..
I HATE this time of year with reporters pulling crap out of their butts just to meet deadlines and fill column inches.
May 23rd, 2019 at 4:54 pm
Tom S. Says:
May 23rd, 2019 at 3:42 pm
Bucnjim, explain how a GM with a 27-53 record, 1 pro bowler, a team in cap hell and regarded by the league as the second worst GM in the league is “a safe bet.” That’s like saying Roberto Aguayo was “safe” to keep around so he could continue to be an NFL bottom feeding kicker. Difference is Aguayo graced this team for one season while Licht is working on his sixth.
Some Bucs fans deserve the misery. Enjoy your “safe” 5-11 season that Licht is an expert at churning out.
BOOM!
May 23rd, 2019 at 5:03 pm
TOM S said it all
May 23rd, 2019 at 5:04 pm
TRex,
I can only laugh at a statement originally taking out of context and your response is Boom? Thankfully all my kids are AP English and composition!
May 23rd, 2019 at 5:08 pm
27 is WAY too high.
May 23rd, 2019 at 5:18 pm
Only 5 spots too high…27th ranked is more generous than an undeserved Licht Weight contract handed out to a malcontent free agent or one of his draft picks on a 2nd contract.
May 23rd, 2019 at 5:21 pm
it is not how bad the bucs are …it is the complete lack of progress and improvement using the eyeball test….stats shamats
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:38 pm
I think you will all be surprised at the results of last year’s draft.
I mean, think about it.
1 Vita Vea
GREAT PICK by all appearances
2 Ronald Jones
Unproven. Many think a bust, but then, Tampa fans always give up too fast. Already, he is knocking coaches socks off in camp. What Tampa fans do not seem able to grasp…it always takes more than one year to determine if a pick is a bust.
2 M J Stewart
Unproven. As I have pointed out before, some players take time to acclimate. Until they do, they tend to look slow and do a poor job. Now I am not going to say right now that Stewart will do well or even make the final roster. What I will say is this: He could surprise all of you.
2 Carlton Davis
Slightly proven. GOOD PICK. Carlton had the look of a shut down corner last year, but he still needs to take a step forward beyond last year. Still, he was a good pick.
3 Alex Cappa
GOOD PICK that still has a lot to prove. He’ll be starting this year (as I predicted last year).
4 Jordan Whitehead
GOOD PICK. Jordan played in 15 games last year…started eleven. Only 4 passes defended…but he had 76 combined tackles. That;s not bad at all for a rookie.
5 Justin Watson
Unproven. Might be a bust…but we just don’t know yet. They way Scott Miller is looking, Watson may never get a chance to prove himself in Tampa…unless he goes all out in OTAs and camp.
6 Jack Cichy
Unproven. Cichy is a known NFL-caliber talent with a worrisome lack of durability who could overachieve if he somehow gets better injury luck. And that’s just it…those injuries keep hitting him. If he heals up in time, he will have to fight for a roster spot this year…but there are opportunities on the team.
So…that’s:
1 Great pick
3 Good picks
4 Unproven picks.
If even those 4 picks work out, that puts the draft at above average, since the average is around 33% and in this case Licht will have hit on 50% or more.
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:44 pm
@Cobra
“We have NO IDEA whether Licht wanted Koetter, or if ownership wanted to keep Koetter because of Winston.”
Agree completely Cobra and would add something else. JW’s opinion carried a lot of weight at that point. In fact JW is STILL going to be the deciding factor in Licht’s record here.
If JW plays like a franchise QB Licht will be fine. If he does not Licht will be gone. “It’s as simple as that”. Licht’s career will parallel JW’s. We could argue individually over Licht’s picks…some have been great…some have been sorry. Two players were just signed for giant contracts by OTHER teams who must have admired Licht’s drafting talent..he picked one in the 4th and the other was undrafted.
But AGAIN the bottom line is you simply can’t squander a #1 pick in the draft and four years of play. Either JW is the real deal and prove it this year…or Licht is gone. That’s just the way it works.
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:50 pm
BTW I’m not blaming JW for all of our losses. But he hasn’t won either and it’s a harsh business. If he doesn’t produce this year the blame will go to him and the guy who picked him.
I believe JW will blow up this year. When he does all the Licht talk will quiet.
May 23rd, 2019 at 6:51 pm
Jason Licht should be sweeping floors at Bush Gardens
He’s not a NFL GM
He’s easily the WORST GM in the NFL
May 23rd, 2019 at 8:23 pm
Lakeland almost got it right, Gump should be shoveling out the elephant habitat at Busch Gardens.
This dude actually jumps into his swimming pool fully clothed when the Bucs win a home game and he films it. Dude, act like you’ve been there before.
Ranked 27 out of 28, he would be ranked 7 out of 8 in the AAF.
Fire Licht Tonight!
May 23rd, 2019 at 11:08 pm
Whether you like, love, dislike, hate or feel the same as Bucnjim about Licht you will have to take it up with the Glazers four. You will have to send a message as fans to them. They are ones who retained him for 2017 and again for 2018 and yet again for 2019. He must be doing something right in his responsibilities as GM as far as they are concerned or they would not keep giving him more time.
To be sure we do have the best overall offensive talent assembled for the Buccaneers in our history. (And yes, Gruden gets credit for putting together in short order an offense that was good enough to complement the great defense we already had in place for the Super Bowl run.)
Now BA and Bowles need to complete the job this year and next of creating a strong defense for us to be able to contend again.
The goal remains the same as in all preceding years of the franchise’s existence.
_____________
Go Bucs!!!
May 24th, 2019 at 12:36 am
Joe,
There are 32 teams in the NFL. If someone reads your post and sees Licht at 27 the natural assumption is that there are 5 GM’s rated behind him. There aren’t because you can’t rate GM’s who are in their first season or two so Licht at 27 when 28 is the lowest position. Effectively similar to a starting QB who is rated 27 out of 28 with 5 rookie starters with nothing to rate them on. My point is noted in Jonthan Limpchimpi’s “only 5 spots too high” response. Clearly assuming there were 32 rated GM’s.
Bucnjim, Licht’s 27-53 record means he has averaged a 5-11 record over five seasons. That is literally the average season you get with a Licht built team but you are welcome to believe that this season will be different, you’ll just be proven wrong when all is said and done (maybe 6-10).
May 24th, 2019 at 4:58 am
To me, this season is win win in regards to Licht. We’ll either have a winning record which would allow him to stay or a losing record and his butt is gone. These rankings are bs anyways since their isn’t a G.M. alive or dead that didn’t in hindsight, make numerous boneheaded decisions. I feel that there is a lot of luck involved when it comes to the draft. I also believe that coaches deserve their fair share of the blame when free agents don’t pan out since in most cases aren’t they pounding the table for these guys?
May 24th, 2019 at 12:15 pm
I don’t think he whiffed on most defensive picks. Kwon Alexander was good enough to get a ridiculous contract. Beckwith was looking excellent until an unforeseen accident possibly ended his career. Say what you want about Ryan Smith but he was a 4th round pick and some 4th round picks never make it in the NFL. The jury is still out on Justin Evans but his biggest question mark, his tackling, seems to improve, and he still has all the potential in the world as a pass defender. Carlton Davis has looked fine and Jordan Whitehead has played beyond his 4th round status as well. He was also astute enough a talent evaluator to pounce on Carl Nassib when the Browns cut him loose. Other than Hargreaves, who nearly all experts predicted would be a top 15 pick, and Spence, who we got in round 2 and most experts predicted would be a 1st round pick, haven’t produced. No, MJ Stewart hasn’t been good… but you know who else wasn’t good in his rookie season? Ronde Barber… he played in one game as a rookie, didn’t start his first game in the NFL until halfway through season 2. The jury is still out.