Team Glazer Evaluates Jason Licht
March 31st, 2023
Bucs GM Jason Licht
It’s hard to believe Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht is in his 10th season as the team’s top football executive. Where does the time go?
Even more hard to believe is during those 10 years, Joe has typed about 30,000 posts on this here website and Licht has yet to demand Joe relocate to a WiFi-free zone in northern Minnesota.
In fact, Licht was overly kind and accommodating to Joe this week at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix.
During Joe’s chat there with Team Glazer, Joe asked for an evaluation of Licht.
JoeBucsFan.com: Jason Licht is in his 10th year as general manager. That’s as long as Rick McKay was [Bucs] GM, and a tenure that long isn’t common around the league. Reflect on his 10 years and his performance and how he’s grown.
Bucs co-owner Joel Glazer: All you have to do is look at our Super Bowl ring to talk about the job he’s done because that’s the ultimate goal. He put together a Super Bowl team and won a championship, which is very rare in the NFL. Jason’s done a great job in all aspects — drafting, free agency, managing the team. We’re very pleased with the job he’s done. Over time, you’re always learning and his experience and tenure is a big benefit for us in the long term because he’s been through so many different types of situations.
In essence, Glazer yelled, “Scoreboard!” Licht won a ring and it wasn’t all because of a legendary quarterback.
The Bucs have avoided salary cap messes under Licht and the talent flow has been steady, though Joe recognizes fans always want more, more, more. Heck, the fruits from the 2018 and 2019 drafts were extraordinary and critical to winning the Super Bowl.
If the Bucs can duplicate one of those drafts this season, the team will be in phenomenal shape.
For fun, Joe pulled what Glazer told Joe in 2016 about Licht.
JoeBucsFan.com (2016): We do polls on JoeBucsFan.com, it’s rigged so people can’t vote more than once from a device. In our first poll ever on Jason Licht, he got a 90 percent confidence rating from the fans, which Joe has never seen before. And that was before the Brent Grimes signing. If we ran a poll, “Do you like this website?” we’d probably only get 70 percent saying, “Yes.” So with that kind of support for Jason, what do you think fans like about Jason? And what do you like about Jason?
Joel Glazer (2016): I think people are recognizing what he’s doing. I mean, Jason is a true football person at heart, nuts and bolts football, tape junkie. You know, he has a way in his mind of building a football team. It’s a little bit of everything and a lot of hard work. I think people see it. They see how he’s approaching things. They see his drafts. The whole approach. And they see the direction. So I think when you put all that together. We’ve gotten to know Jason behind the scenes; we’re very, very pleased and very excited about the direction he’s taking us.
March 31st, 2023 at 12:07 am
He’s a great GM. The grass isn’t always greener
March 31st, 2023 at 12:11 am
Every time I read these quotes, I can’t believe the other outlets didn’t send people to Phoenix. Unrelated, I almost exclusively read JBF for all my Bucs news. Funny how that works
March 31st, 2023 at 12:19 am
Thank you WesternBuc!
(The fact Joe was the only Bucs media outlet in Arizona is just a sad example of how MSM is swimming in red ink. They can’t even afford $1,000 for the travel/lodging. Joe’s just very thankful that because of loyal readers like you, this place is a success.)
March 31st, 2023 at 12:27 am
Great GM. Hope he stays another 10. Love this website Joe. I also come here for all my Bucs needs. Prob visit this site 3 or 4 times a day. I’m addicted
March 31st, 2023 at 12:52 am
You have to admit that Dominick had better hair
March 31st, 2023 at 1:45 am
Love Jason, tough year upcoming. He’s got ballz. Lovie actually hired him in 2014, then Jason fired Lovie after 2015. Easily his best move.
March 31st, 2023 at 5:42 am
WesternBuc, I couldn’t agree more. JBF has depth particularly with these series of articles. The other site, while run by respected writers, has grasped to put out articles this past week. Like you, it is hard to believe JBF was the only outlet there. This is why JBF is the first thing I read everyday.
March 31st, 2023 at 6:17 am
Vlad The Impaler Says:
March 31st, 2023 at 12:52 am
You have to admit that Dominick had better hair
____________
True, but JL has that skinny burgundy jacket.
March 31st, 2023 at 6:37 am
I’m with #1bucsfan. I hope Jason stays another ten years or more
And Joes, you have the best Bucs site. Lots of mostly concise articles. A big comment community that actually interacts. And the stories are always easy to read and understand. That’s important. Some of those guys get so long winded with head scratching wannabe coach-speak you just about nod off halfway thru. Even without the jargon ya have to wonder how long they’ve been speaking English.
Thank you Jason and Joes…and Ira.
March 31st, 2023 at 6:47 am
Bucs fans evaluate the Glazers
March 31st, 2023 at 8:17 am
Glazers get. A thumbs up too.
Two superbowls (so far). Accused of being cheap for years, but they spent the money regardless.
They gave Licht time to learn on the job, and he’s become a great GM.
And not once have they threatened to move the team.
March 31st, 2023 at 9:02 am
Trent Dilfer also won a SB so that must mean he was a great QB!!
March 31st, 2023 at 9:33 am
Licht is an excellent GM. He’s had a few misses and overcalculations in the draft, a few of his older FA pickups weren’t productive (but he didn’t break the bank for them either), but overall, he has done a tremendous job of locating and acquiring talent for the team. I have no doubt that he is top five in the league at his position.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:11 am
Obviously the jason leith loving Joe-Joes don’t know much about technology. It is so easy to get past the polls ad vote over and over. As for JL, he sucks. Not as bad as dominic, but sucks. He has less than a 50-50 success rate in the draft and in free agency. Any of us could do better.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:39 am
Lichts been solid.
Glazers in picking head coaches not so much. I’d say that / mark Dominic are the biggest collective failures by the organization in terms of why we were so bad for so long.
Hell the only good HC we’ve had during Lichts tenure came because of Licht / the roster he built mostly all through the draft. At least Arians was vocal about Licht being his man / big reason he took the job.
Lovie was terrible. Dirk was a little better but another guy meant to be a coordinator not head coach. We shall see with Bowles this year
March 31st, 2023 at 10:44 am
@WesternBuc and @BuccaneersBonzai are right. True Bucs fans know that we are lucky to have the Joes, Glazers, and Licht.
And for anyone looking to criticize Licht…
1. No GM gets every transaction right even 80% of the time… Not even close. You make the most informed decisions that your staff has worked countless hours on and hope for the best. After a GM signs them, they don’t coach the player, workout with the player, study film with the player, etc.
2. He has clearly learned on the job and gotten better. Thankfully Arians kept him from getting the ax after year 5 like Dominik. If we had judged Licht on the direct results of his picks after only 5 years, he likely would have been let go and we wouldn’t have the team that Brady wanted to play for. While people work around and for GM’s there is no substitute for being a GM other than being a GM.
3. I am yet to hear anyone say that he was an a-hole to them or anything but nice. Being a decent dude helps earn the trust of those above and below you. That’s not all that matters, but for anyone that doesn’t think that is an asset to have, think again.
March 31st, 2023 at 11:13 am
Great insight from the owners. Licht has been a good GM, got us the Goat, another ring, and three years of relevance. Has he whiffed on some, yeah but overall has done a good job.
Like others, I can’t grasp why the Joes were the only ones in PHX then Joe gave the answer MSM is bleeding red. Really enjoy this site, it’s where I come for all Buc news.
March 31st, 2023 at 11:29 am
Licht is a solid GM.
He’s not perfect. He had rough start with FA. Drafting a kicker in R2 didn’t go so well. Tried pulling a Patriots and traded out of the R1 last year. A little too faithful to BA.
… But he learns with every success and mistake. That’s kudos to Licht and the Glazers. We’re not going to get a better GM. .
March 31st, 2023 at 11:42 am
Agree with the majority of commenters here – Jason Licht has been an abover average GM, and brought in a good amount of talent. Of course he has misses in the draft and free agency… but so does every single GM in the league. He’s definitley above average though.
And yes, JBF is the absolute best!!!
March 31st, 2023 at 11:56 am
Finally Licht is getting the respect that he is due. He has the track record for all to see. A successful retool with a surprising outcome this season will set the stage for the coming years. Then his legacy will be firmly secured.
Go Bucs!!!
March 31st, 2023 at 1:28 pm
No one will ever be able to prove this, but after Koetter was fired, the ONLY thing that saved Licht was that Arians wanted the job and wanted to work with Licht. Licht had already had two head coaches, and I doubt he was easily going to get a third.
Amazing that he’s on his fourth.
March 31st, 2023 at 2:24 pm
Love that dude AND his killer staff. Couldnt hope for much more than he’s done, and he seems to get better as he goes. Glad we allowed him to grow, and are reaping the benefits of his experience, instead of some other team.
March 31st, 2023 at 5:12 pm
Excellent GM. Awful owners for 10 years.
April 1st, 2023 at 8:19 pm
Just Google his drafts
That will say it all