Jason Licht Talks Maturity, Decision-Making
January 27th, 2021
Bucs GM Jason Licht
The wise man’s NFL Executive of the Year, Bucs general manager Jason Licht, was reflecting today about his seven-season journey to the top of the NFL mountain.
What a great job Licht did expressing himself.
Licht’s not known for being a polished public speaker, but today he was relaxed, real and raw.
“I’m very humbled, and once again and I’ll use the word grateful,” Licht said. “I’ve been through a lot with my staff; they’ve done an incredible job. [Executives] and all the scouts, I could sit here for a long time naming everybody.
“I knew that I had a special staff. I knew that with B.A. we had a rare coach. I said at the beginning of the year, we have a rare coaching staff. And just for it to finally come together the way it did this year so far, it’s just a humbling experience.
“I’ve matured in my position over the last three four years. I was able to learn from a lot of mistakes and I had a lot. And I would always admit to those. You know, listening to my staff more, more inclusiveness and more teamwork, I think has been the reason that it’s come together. And we’ve better decisions in the last few years.
“But then having a head coach like Bruce, and the relationship that I have with him; I don’t know if it will ever be repeated. He’s just such a unique guy and we have such a unique strong bond that we get along well. We even argue well to get the result that we want, to make the decision that we’ve made. It’s been awesome.”
Joe’s glad that Licht mentioned his own maturity. It’s obvious and evident when you study the making of the 2020 Bucs.
Licht does not coach, so as far as Joe is concerned, Licht gets an A+ for this season. The Super Bowl result is irrelevant.
January 27th, 2021 at 11:48 am
When Licht is finally judged he will be recognized at the best Bucs GM ever over Rich McCay. It’s the last 3 or so years where he has shined. Well done Jason!
January 27th, 2021 at 11:58 am
Very well said by the Buc GM. I have to admit I was a sceptic who piled on the guy for things like the 2016 draft but there is no denying that he really redeemed himself this year with the team that the Buc currently have! Last year at this time there were serious doubts if both Arians and Licht would last more than 1 year. I am not sure if we can say if his overall body of work is better than Rich McKay’s but it now makes for a great debate and if the Bucs hoist the trophy a week from Sunday I would give the nod to Licht. Well done, you have silenced all the critics and chased all the trolls off of JBF!
January 27th, 2021 at 12:04 pm
Just don’t understand people who make mistakes, never made one myself. (anyone in the market for a slightly used bridge?)
Just kidding, I don’t have a bridge to sell.
I certainly admire his humility and respect for the staff(team) he has built to help him build this team.
A championship achievement!
January 27th, 2021 at 12:05 pm
I absolutely love reading old articles you post that have Npuppy explaining how stupid everyone was for being excited jw was gone and Brady is starting. Telling everyone they don’t know what they’re talking about. Super bowl or bust. God I miss that puppy. I wish he would come back but I’m afraid he is either blocked from this site or is too much of a coward to show up. Rip Npuppy aka female dog.
January 27th, 2021 at 12:14 pm
Yes, now Licht sits back to watch as the ingredients for this masterpiece have been obtained; the rest will soon be history.
January 27th, 2021 at 12:16 pm
I agree with the A+ rating this year. Great job!
January 27th, 2021 at 12:17 pm
great work licht!!!!
way to stick it to realist who always claimed you were clueless and called for your head everyday AFTER you canned dirk and smitty!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
January 27th, 2021 at 12:30 pm
I bet there have been times where Jason Licht for sure thought he’d be getting fired.
Not too many GMs stick around through 3 different HC’s
But credit to the Glazers for being patient and sticking with Licht it has certainly paid off.
January 27th, 2021 at 12:43 pm
Agreed, Joe.
JL doesn’t play and doesn’t coach. But you can’t look at this roster and not be in awe of the makeup. Truly great job by the GM.
January 27th, 2021 at 12:44 pm
It’s great that he has been humbled.
I wouldn’t want a cocky GM.
Just can’t understand the Revolving door for GMs.
If they can communicate and work well with the coach, evaluate talent, which others probably do better on his staff, and make a collaborative decision, why would we ever get rid of him? If they can’t why would you hire them in the 1st place. Wanting power over a team when they are losing is a tough battle.
Almost made a huge mistake and I’m glad the Glazers didn’t listen to the majority on this site last year.
Well done JL.
Keep those awesome drafts coming.
January 27th, 2021 at 12:56 pm
I’m not sure if this was from the Peter King video interview that just came out, but he has a lot of good things to say in that one as well, and some interesting things to say about Brady.
January 27th, 2021 at 1:05 pm
@JL … “I’ve matured in my position over the last three four years. I was able to learn from a lot of mistakes and I had a lot. And we’ve (made) better decisions in the last few years.”
Jason is definitely one of those Bucs who’ve grown into the position, and he deserves applause for that. I appreciate his humility & his recognition that it’s the ‘team-building’ aspect that’s improved markedly in these past couple of years. Hopefully it sets the stage for many more years of winning records.
And Tbbucs3, I totally agree with you when you say “credit to the Glazers for being patient and sticking with Licht”. They haven’t gotten much recognition on JBF & other sites, but IMO they’ve really been the center cog in putting together this whole puzzle of creating a championship TEAM. I’ve admittedly been down on their ownership of the Bucs over the years, but there’s no question in my mind that they went all-in when Tom Brady was brought on-board. Without that, we’d be missing several key pieces (Gronk, Brown, Fournette & others) who’ve been instrumental in helping us make it to this point.
January 27th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
You can’t fix a mistake until you can admit it’s a mistake.
That was the most disturbing part for me about JW. In the end he talked about “check the sheet”…and his agent tried to talk about 30 million and it must have gone to JW’s head. I checked his sheet. 28-42 is not all that impressive.
Agree with D.R. about the shout out to the Glazers. TL is now at the top of his game thanks to the patience of the Glazers.
January 27th, 2021 at 1:13 pm
He did it. I was wrong about him. It took him a while but better late than never.
January 27th, 2021 at 1:20 pm
He has been outstanding and has progressed just like coaches and players do. I just really hope they see that they need to bring in a young quarterback to develop under Brady over the next year or two.
The only thing I don’t like right now is all the love for Todd Bowles all over the airwaves. I’m really hoping him and BL stay as coordinators one more year. You just can’t say enough about consistency with your head coach and coordinators.
January 27th, 2021 at 1:55 pm
i hope that this is a trend, and not an anomaly. if he continues drafting and piecing players together as well as he has over the last few years, the bucs are here to stay!!!
January 27th, 2021 at 2:45 pm
I knew Licht was for real when he signed Cam Brate and Adam Humphrey as UDFAs. I am glad he’s taking a few plunges in his pool, and pinching himself cos his team is the first one to host its own SB.