Licht Likely Hangs Career On Rookie Head Coach
January 15th, 2016
Regular readers here know Joe believes general manager Jason Licht has perhaps the biggest pair of footballs in the business.
The man traded up and pulled a second-round trigger on a Division-III left tackle in the draft last season (Ali Marpet), and then told him to play guard.
Heck, Licht even signed on publicly for Josh McCown, the guy he and Lovie Smith thought was the right quarterback to lead the Bucs to the promised land.
That’s footballs, folks.
And there are other examples. Desperately in need of offensive line help entering last season, Licht didn’t blink. He signed no free agent O-linemen when the free agency dinner bell rang. None!
Licht patiently waited for the dice roll that is the NFL Draft, and he had Gosder Cherilus’ agent on the phone within minutes of Demar Dotson hitting the Minnesota turf in agony in August. He also didn’t blink at signing Joe Hawley to decent pay moments after he was cut by the Falcons in September.
The result was an O-line crafted thoroughly and completely, like the way Joe mows down a plate of Hooters buffalo shrimp.
And now Licht hangs his GM career on Dirk Koetter, an almost 57-year-old, first-time head coach in the NFL. Make no mistake. Koetter is Licht’s pick to lead the Bucs to the Super Bowl. And GMs rarely get a second shot if they pick a bad head coach.
Joe and a slim majority of Bucs fans are on board with hiring Koetter, but that doesn’t detract from the bold move. Nobody has a clue whether Koetter has a clue — on being an NFL head coach.
It’s not a simple transition from offensive coordinator, especially when your defense is what got the last head coach fired.
January 15th, 2016 at 9:03 am
If you believe Licht is in any part complicit in the Trash McCown signing then he should have been fired along with the Incompetent One. My guess is, as the newly adopted lapdog of LovieDovie and first time “GM” (in title only) he had nothing to do with the signing and gifting immediate starter role to McCown. That level of incompetence has Lovie Smith written all over it.
January 15th, 2016 at 9:07 am
My guess is the Incompetent One is also fully responsible for releasing the greatest cornerback to ever play the game because no one in their right mind would do that. At least I hope lapdog Licht had no real say in those matters because those first decisions were a large reason why we won the race to the bottom in 2014.
I wouldn’t want to be any part of that dark period.
January 15th, 2016 at 9:09 am
Maybe he thought he was signing McCown to be Glennon’s hair growth coach?
January 15th, 2016 at 9:10 am
The greatest cornerback to ever play the game? High praises for an overpriced rehab project. He STILL isn’t as good as he used to be.
January 15th, 2016 at 9:11 am
Doubt it. Licht will be a GM (hopefully ours) for a long time.
January 15th, 2016 at 9:11 am
So big pair of footballs, can they be the soft spongy pool footalls?
January 15th, 2016 at 9:13 am
Espo- who is better?
January 15th, 2016 at 9:15 am
Joe and a slim majority of Bucs fans are on board with hiring Koetter,
Surely it’s not a slim majority…your own poll shows differently as does a poll from another website….
I think Lichthas the vast majority….not slim….on board with this decision.
January 15th, 2016 at 9:16 am
Furthermore…..you can’t count those who voted Maybe….he’ll take us to the Superbowl as not on board with the hiring….I was a maybe….but I’d be a maybe with any coach.
January 15th, 2016 at 9:26 am
@Dallas
Agree completely with you about Licht’s role in McCown…nada..just protecting his new found position.
If this works out as we hope and the Bucs become SB contenders each year…in a few years the rest of the league will be at Licht’s door offering him unimagined wealth.
January 15th, 2016 at 10:27 am
No. If Licht keeps banging out the drafts (& that’s an if with Robinson gone), he gets another hire. Most GMs get 2, and Koetter was kinda a forced choice because of the Jameis thing. Yes, I understand Dominik only got the Schiano hire, but his drafts began to suck.
January 15th, 2016 at 10:45 am
Lol… He hung his career up on Smith and Marpet already!!! River boat Licht baby!!! Scared money don’t make money!!!
January 15th, 2016 at 11:20 am
Licht was hired about 10 minutes before free agency. to think he was doing anything in 2014 free agency but crossing items of the shopping list Lovie Smith spent a year of basement scouting to create is a stretch. that is why he is insulated from that mess a little, he was a brand new hire doing what was requested by the coach who made the decision to hire him in the first place
January 15th, 2016 at 11:24 am
@Harlem
Scared money don’t make money!!!
Amen brother!!! Sadly many football coaches are just incredibly conservative by nature. As you point out Licht is not conservative and I think Koetter is feisty as well.
But we all know it’s about #3!! He’s the real deal. We’ll be fine.
January 15th, 2016 at 12:28 pm
EIGHT of the twelve playoff head coaches in 2015 were in their first head coaching stint in the NFL. So…not really any more risky than hiring a retread. You’re usually better at catching on to things like this by now.