Sad Disrespect To Jason Licht
April 14th, 2023
Dissed.
It seems a popular columnist and podcaster for NFL.com has a very poor view of Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
In a spring ranking of NFL general managers, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com barely ranked Licht as average. He’s not a believer, despite Licht building a Super Bowl winner.
Winning a Super Bowl usually puts a general manager into elite company if for no other reason than the fact the suit reached the ultimate goal. But Rosenthal ranked the long-time Bucs shot-caller as the NFL’s No. 17 general manager.
That’s the bottom half of the league for Joe’s math-challenged readers.
17) Jason Licht, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Licht came from New England, a franchise that was deathly afraid of returning the same team after winning a title. The Bucs took a different approach for two straight years. While most individual moves made sense in a vacuum, the team looked as tired as Tom Brady last season.
Not that much has changed this offseason, and the last two drafts have left this team aging even without their quarterback. The Bucs appear to be building around defense — re-signing Lavonte David and Jamel Dean — because they have no choice. Devin White’s trade request figures to end with little accomplished, as Tampa Bay says it doesn’t intend to move the linebacker. There was always going to be pain to Licht’s approach, but it worked despite hanging on a year too long.
Well, it’s not like Licht’s decision to bring back the entire starting 2020 roster was a horrible decision. The Bucs were one play away from likely returning to the Super Bowl.
How did Les Snead do after his Rams won a Super Bowl in 2021? They blew chunks last year. Badly. Never made the playoffs. Yet Rosenthal has Snead ranked No. 6.
Other oddities: Duke Tobin (Bengals), Brandon Beane (Bills), Brian Gutekunst (Packers) and John Lynch (49ers) are looking for their first Super Bowl wins. All were ranked by Rosenthal in the top-10.
Brad Holmes (Lions) has one winning season to his resume (9-8) and no playoff appearances. Yet Rosenthal has him ranked No. 7.
Jerry Jones (Cowboys) has a grand total of four playoff wins this century and no trips to a championship game during the same time frame. Rosenthal has Jones ranked No. 10.
Hell, Rosenthal even listed Jets general manager Joe Douglas over Licht (No. 16). What the hell has Douglas ever done? The Jets have never had a winning season with him as general manager! Is this list supposed to be a parody?
OK, Joe gets it. Rosenthal thinks Licht has been coasting since the Bucs hammered the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. And Rosenthal isn’t wrong in that the last two Licht drafts Licht only produced one impact player, a punter.
Still, to have guys who have done far less than Licht ranked over him almost seems like this is a vendetta or ax to grind.
When did Licht p!ss in Rosenthal’s cornflakes?
April 14th, 2023 at 12:19 am
National media loves to hate the Bucs.
April 14th, 2023 at 12:37 am
Post Tom Brady era. We better get used to it again.
April 14th, 2023 at 12:56 am
Yep, in the post Tom Brady world, the Bucs go back to being a bunch of nobodies. That’s just the way things are.
As Gronk said, when Tom Brady told him that he was signing in Tampa, “oh yeah, I forgot they had a team there.”
April 14th, 2023 at 1:15 am
Licht has coasted the entire time he’s been here. BA and Brady won in spite of him.
April 14th, 2023 at 1:37 am
It’s because of drafts, and potential now. Also I think a lot of pundits feel Brady was responsible for brining in a lot of talent for the past 3 years, while ignoring it was Licht’s initial roster that lured Brady here in the first place. Just proves most of the national media doesnt know anything about smaller teams (this team)
April 14th, 2023 at 2:57 am
To be fair, Tom Brady choosing the Bucs saved Licht and Arians Bacon. They would have both been fired, But Tom Brady dragged both to the playoffs.
April 14th, 2023 at 3:25 am
Yet another great reason not to trust anything coming out of national media outlets!
April 14th, 2023 at 3:46 am
Licht has done a great job. Brady doesn’t come here if he doesn’t have a team built. Also, credit Licht for wanting Brady, remember, it wasn’t a slam dunk to sign him, in fact, you had idiots in the comments here literally saying they’d have rather gotten Teddy Bridgewater over a ‘washed up’ Brady.
April 14th, 2023 at 3:50 am
National media just mails it in when reporting on smaller market teams. They make stuff up and don’t do any research on smaller market teams so they can spend more time on NY, LA, and Dallas. They basically pander to bigger market owners. Rosenthal is just another Goodall hack reporter.
April 14th, 2023 at 3:54 am
Pure insanity that Licht is below the names you mentioned. Licht built the Super Bowl roster. Licht attracted Arians and then Brady. Licht is as responsible for the Super Bowl as anyone, and therefore is a top 5 GM as of today, and will remain top 10 regardless of our finish this coming season. Then we will see.
April 14th, 2023 at 4:32 am
Nice job of structuring various sides of an issue to elicit the expected responses. Rosenthal ranked JL middle of the pack, and that’s probably about where the Bucs as a TEAM would rank in the JL era (2014-2023). At best.
We’ve had 3 winning seasons out of his 9 years here, and 2 of those 3 years we won largely because we sold the farm & brought in (not drafted) some very elite talent (guys named Brady, Gronk, Suh & a number of others). Sorry, but that seems deserving of a middle-of-the-pack ranking to me. Whether Rosenthal did a good job of ranking those above him or below him is rather inconsequential.
April 14th, 2023 at 5:47 am
That’s ridiculously low. What a clown.
April 14th, 2023 at 6:01 am
In a study I just conducted, I rank Rosenthal as the 1079th best football columnist in the nation…lol
Who cares what any of the blow hard know it alls think! We won a championship with him as GM. Most GMs would give their left nut to do the same!
April 14th, 2023 at 6:01 am
Everyone who reads his column will know it’s nonsense.
April 14th, 2023 at 7:29 am
Perhaps a slightly lower ranking than I would give but this is generally fair.
Licht has done little without Brady….sure, give him credit for Brady and the SB…..but Brady recruited Lenny, Gronk & AB……where would we have been without them.
April 14th, 2023 at 7:41 am
Licht has to roll up the sleeves no biggie deal. We know he can do it. He is a super bowl champion. By 2030 he will have at least 3 more. Then lets see where he is ranked then. Thanks to Licht and Brady we are no longer a fanbase that hopes to make the playoffs every year. We are a fanbase that expects to win a championship every year. They have raised our collective bar.
April 14th, 2023 at 7:49 am
Jerry Jones has chronically been the worst GM in the league for years now. He is a comically bad GM who only gets away with it bc he’s the owner. This list should be dismissed out of hand by default as a result.
April 14th, 2023 at 7:56 am
Again, a measurement based on style instead of SB wins. Rosenthal is clueless. Who cares what he thinks?
It’s like the idiot who thinks Joe Burrow is better than Mahomes. Yeah. And Marino was better than Montana. Because all that matters is stats.
April 14th, 2023 at 8:05 am
Rosenthal. as well as many Beat Writers are more overrated because of their bias and other issues (BIG HEADS). They create a narrative to fit their premise.
April 14th, 2023 at 8:13 am
Superbowls are the ultimate but not every twenty years. I would rather have a more consistent franchise that is regularly going to the playoffs. I still say there is no doubt if it wasn’t for Tom Brady Licht would be fighting for his job now.
April 14th, 2023 at 8:35 am
Who cares? Also a lot of this is based on who the head coach the coordinators and Tom Brady wanted to be signed. Maybe Licht thought Julio was washed up or that Antonio Brown was a head case waiting to explode, but when To Brady said get them, he did.
My concern is how Licht performs in 2023 and beyond.
April 14th, 2023 at 9:32 am
On drafting I wouldn’t have him that high
April 14th, 2023 at 10:09 am
Did Rosenthal criticize Licht after the entire team that won the Super Bowl was brought back the following year? I’d be interested in seeing his comments from back then.
Gregg Rosenthal’s analysis is pathetic. Licht built a team that made BA and Brady want to come to Tampa, won a Super Bowl, and put them in a position to do it again.
April 14th, 2023 at 10:22 am
Licht is good at drafting o-line and defensive backs thats about it. Head Coaches outside of Arians I would give him a D-.
April 14th, 2023 at 10:23 am
To say Tom Brady and BA took Licht to the SB is stupid for 2 reasons:
1) Who went after and signed TB and BA? Both were talking to a few teams at the time. Licht got them signed? Then signed the players Tom wanted and recruited. Does anyone remember BA’s 1st response to the Bucs signing AB? lol
2) If you insist on giving Licht no credit for our SB, how is Jerry’s World Jones ranked #10?? He literally hasn’t done a thing since he ran off Jimmy Johnson.
The Bucs just won SB3 years ago, then were at the door for another the following year. NOT bad work JL. Now maybe some of these clowns will give you a chance to rebuild what was spent to get to the SB.
April 14th, 2023 at 10:57 am
3 winning seasons out of 9
Lots of losing. Brady gets a lot of credit for our SB. Maybe too much sometimes.
I think he is average at best.
April 14th, 2023 at 11:14 am
LAST 3 YEARS: Super Bowl Champs & 2x NFCS Champs
Only KC has had a better run. Not sure what Rosenthal is looking at but proof is in the results.
April 14th, 2023 at 11:16 am
Our average suggest We win a superbowl in Tampa Bay every 15 to 20 yrs. If thats the case, we have our 1 until the 2030’s. Concentrate on the Defense for now and getting off the field. Hreat Defense will win you quite a few games. It did for us back in the day. What the hell is the use in having a great Offense when you cannot stop anybody?
April 14th, 2023 at 11:46 am
Rosenthal is a pencil-necked boob. Results are what matters, even though a few around here think it’s the number of words you type and how many stats you cut and paste. Licht has gotten results. Last year through no fault of his own he got strapped with Bloweszo and has to let him have this year with “his team and coaches” to prove once and for all that he’s one of the worst head coaches in history. Then JL will hire a proper head coach and resume Bucs greatness.
April 14th, 2023 at 12:18 pm
Based on every move since the SuperBowl, I’d agree. Maybe even lower.
April 14th, 2023 at 12:24 pm
@goat – if he has another losing season…which would make 7 losing seasons out of ten…how do you justify keeping him? The only success he has had is with Tom Brady. Even then he is the ONLY GM to have a losing season with Tom Brady. No way should he get another draft and coach. This is JL’s last season. Write it down.
April 14th, 2023 at 12:46 pm
Jason Licht is the best DM we have ever had. He doesn’t play the games, but he has stacked this team with talent.
And so far as the last 2 drafts (which were depth drafts), it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.
April 14th, 2023 at 12:52 pm
Bringing back everyone after the Super Bowl seemed like a bad decision at the time to me, if only because it seemed unprecedented. It seems lazy for the GM and I think the coaches got lazy, too.
For instance, I’ve heard Bowles say how “complicated” his defense is about 20 times this offseason–“we like Devin and he knows the defense, which is complicated,” etc etc. No word on how they can improve the defense from a coaching aspect. Too complicated, I guess.
April 14th, 2023 at 12:59 pm
sasquatch Says:
April 14th, 2023 at 12:19 am
National media loves to hate the Bucs.
SB Says:
April 14th, 2023 at 12:37 am
Post Tom Brady era. We better get used to it again.
_____________________________________________________
Ding DIng DIng.
Same Ole Bucs
April 14th, 2023 at 1:16 pm
If you take a herd look at it all – the guy’s not wrong. It’s easier to win with a Tom Brady at the helm, and now that we don’t, its not looking great around here.
Now Jason Licht will really earn his pay. Trying to stop the downward slide of a team will take all the skills he has, and Draft misses will be amplified. Best of luck ’cause you’re gonna need it.
April 14th, 2023 at 1:19 pm
Buccaneer Bonzai your right he is the best DM but not even close to the best GM.
April 14th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
As the payroll goes up the wins will go down you can count on Bowles to accomplish that. Possibly the worst Head Coach in the NFL.
April 14th, 2023 at 3:37 pm
Just to add some perspective about Licht – BA is really the only head coach Jason recruited hard and hired.
Lovie hired Jason and then hired Koetter to be OC.
Jason fired Lovie and promoted Koetter from
within because of Jameis.
Three years of regression, then theee years of BA, which allowed us to get TB and the SB, and the potential of the roster was realized. Then BA did his thing so once again, Licht has a head coach he didn’t recruit.
The Bucs underperformance has been due to poor coaching. Last years’ ineptitude being kind of spectacular. Go from scoring 31 ppg to 18, give up 31 ppg to playoff teams. Lose without showing up at home against Dallas in the “playoff.”
Let’s see what Jason does with his next recruited head coach. It will only be his second.
April 14th, 2023 at 4:53 pm
JL should put his SB ring on his middle finger and tell Rosenthal to go Buc himself. JL hasn’t made every right draft pick or FA signing and did perhaps wait a year too long, but he brought Brady to Tampa and won a title.
April 14th, 2023 at 9:28 pm
Best thing licht can do is Tank season give us first pick in draft and we get caleb williams another josh allen or mahomes if not we will suck again for 10 years
April 15th, 2023 at 11:27 pm
Licht has had some great FA signings. He did a good job with the organization and with bringing in BA. But his drafts have averaged below average and the last couple were weak. The job of a GM is to make the club super in the short run and good for the long run. The last two drafts tried to get special team players. A loser strategy.
Personally, every time I think about the 2016 draft I get annoyed. Hargreaves, Spence and Aguayo instead of, say, Tunsil and Chris Jones. One of several drafts where Jason totally missed.
So yes, Jason got us a Super Bowl trophy. He has not built a Super Bowl team. In fact, the current doldrums are his fault — whose else could they be? So, even with a boost for 2020, he earns no more than the middle of the pack.