Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Current season
Established 1976; 36 years ago Play in Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida Headquartered in One Buccaneer Place Tampa, Florida
Logo
League/conference affiliations
National Football League (1976–present) American Football Conference (1976) AFC West (1976) National Football Conference (1977–present) NFC Central (1977–2001) NFC South (2002–present)
Current uniform
Team colors	Red, Pewter, Black, White, Florida Orange (medium shade)
Mascot	Captain Fear
Personnel
Owner(s)	Malcolm Glazer
Chairman	Bryan Glazer, Edward Glazer, Joel Glazer
President	Malcolm Glazer
General manager	Mark Dominik
Head coach	Greg Schiano
Team history
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976–present)
Team nicknames
The Bucs
Championships
League championships (1) Super Bowl Championships (1) 2002 (XXXVII)
Conference championships (1) NFC: 2002
Division championships (6) NFC Central: 1979, 1981, 1999 NFC South: 2002, 2005, 2007
Playoff appearances (10)
NFL: 1979, 1981, 1982, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007
Home fields
Tampa Stadium (1976–1997) a.k.a. Houlihan's Stadium (1996–1997) Raymond James Stadium (1998–present)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (often shortened as the Bucs) are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of theNational Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL) – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West. The team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team. The Bucs played their first season in the AFC West as part of the 1976 expansion plan. After the season, they switched conferences with the Seattle Seahawks and became part of the NFC. The club is currently owned by Malcolm Glazer. They play their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
The Buccaneers are the first post-merger expansion team to win a division title, win a playoff game, and to host and play in a conference championship game, this was accomplished during the 1979 season. They are also the first team since the merger to complete a winning season when starting 10 or more rookies, which happened in the 2010 season. In 1976 & 1977, The Buccaneers lost their first 26 games. After a brief winning era in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team suffered through 14 consecutive losing seasons. Then, for a 10-year period, they were consistent playoff contenders and won Super Bowl XXXVII at the end of the 2002 season, but have not yet returned to the Super Bowl; thus the Bucs along with the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets are the only NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance.

"Tampa Bay"
The name "Tampa Bay" is often used to describe a geographic metropolitan area which encompasses the cities around the body of water known as Tampa Bay, including Tampa, St. Petersburg,Clearwater, Bradenton and Sarasota. Unlike in the case of Green Bay, Wisconsin, there is no municipality known as "Tampa Bay". The "Tampa Bay" in the names of local professional sports franchises (Buccaneers, Rowdies, Rays, Lightning, Tampa Bay Storm, etc.) denotes that they represent the entire region, not just Tampa or St. Petersburg.

Franchise history
Main article: History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1976–1978
The Buccaneers joined the NFL as members of the AFC West in 1976. The following year, they were moved to the NFC Central, while the other 1976 expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, switched conferences with Tampa Bay and joined the AFC West. This realignment was dictated by the league as part of the 1976 expansion plan, so that both teams could play each other twice and every other NFL franchise once during their first two seasons. Instead of a traditional division schedule of playing each division opponent twice, the Buccaneers played every conference team once, plus the Seahawks.[1]
The Tampa Bay expansion franchise was originally awarded to Tom McCloskey, a construction company owner from Philadelphia. McCloskey soon entered a financial dispute with the NFL,[2] so the league found a replacement in Hugh Culverhouse, a wealthy tax attorney from Jacksonville. Culverhouse's handshake deal to purchase the Los Angeles Rams from the estate of Dan Reeves was thwarted by Robert Irsay's purchase of the team, which he then traded to Carroll Rosenbloom in exchange for the Baltimore Colts, a complete trade of teams between two owners. Culverhouse had long been alleged to be in line for an expansion franchise through a settlement of his antitrust lawsuits in which he accused the owners of conspiracy to prevent his purchase of the Rams.[3] A name-the-team contest resulted in the nickname "Buccaneers", a reference to the pirate legends of Southwest Florida.[4] The team name was opposed by St. Petersburg businessmen on the grounds that it emphasized Tampa at the expense of other Bay Area cities, until NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle himself met with them to encourage their support.[5] Their uniforms and "Bucco Bruce" winking pirate logo were designed by Tampa Tribune artist Lamar Sparkman, with colors drawn from the state's four major college teams: orange from the universities of Miami and Florida, and red from FSU and theUniversity of Tampa. They were one of the few teams to wear white home uniforms, forcing opponents to wear their dark uniforms in Tampa's 90-degree fall heat.[6] The team's first home was Tampa Stadium, which had recently been expanded to seat just over 72,500 fans. Steve Spurrier was the quarterback for Tampa Bay during their expansion season.
Tampa Bay did not win their first game until the 13th week of their second season, starting with a record of 0–26 (though the Bucs had beaten the Atlanta Falcons 17–3 in a 1976 pre-season game before their first regular season).[7] Until the Detroit Lions in 2008, the 1976 Bucs held the dubious title as the least-winningest team in NFL history. Their losing streak caused them to become the butt of late-night television comedians' jokes.[8] Their first win came in 1977 on the road against the New Orleans Saints. Saints Head Coach Hank Stram was fired after losing to the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay only needed one more week to get their second win, a home win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1977 season finale. The Cardinals also fired their coach, Don Coryell, shortly afterward.[9] The team continued to improve in 1978, although injuries to several key players kept the team from achieving the winning record promised by McKay.[10]

1979–1982
The Bucs' situation improved rapidly in 1979. With the maturation of quarterback Doug Williams and future 4-time Pro Bowl tight end Jimmie Giles, the first 1000-yard rushing season from running back Ricky Bell, and a smothering, league-leading defense led by future NFL Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon, the Bucs kicked off the season with five consecutive victories, a stunning performance that landed them on the cover of Sports Illustrated.[11]
With four games left in the season, the Bucs needed to win only one of them to make the playoffs. In the first, STP was put all over the goal posts in Tampa to prevent the goalposts from being ripped down in the event of a celebration. Four blocked kicks later, the Bucs wasted the oily substance, falling to the Minnesota Vikings 23–22. STP was wasted again the following week as the Bucs were shut out 14–0 by the Chicago Bears, and in O. J. Simpson's final home game inSan Francisco, Tampa Bay lost its third straight attempt to clinch a division title against a 49ers team which came in with a 1–13 record. However, in the season finale at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, which was played in the worst downpour in Bucs history, Tampa Bay pulled out a 3–0 victory. Finishing with a 10–6 record, the Bucs had their first winning season in franchise history, and also won the Central Division in a tiebreaker over the Chicago Bears. In an upset, the Bucs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24–17 in the divisional round of the playoffs.[12] Because the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the other NFC playoff game, the Bucs hosted the NFC Championship Game the following week in Tampa. The Bucs lost to the Rams 9–0, thanks to great defense by the Rams. In their fourth season, the Bucs seemed on the verge of fulfilling McKay's five-year plan.
The Bucs made the playoffs again by winning their division in the 1981 season. The 1981 season came down to a thrilling final game at Detroit. The winner would take the Central Division crown and the loser would miss the playoffs. The Lions had not lost at home all season. Although the Bucs trailed early, an 84-yard touchdown bomb from QB Williams to WR Kevin House and a fumble recovery for a touchdown by DT David Logan sealed the shocking win for the Bucs. The Dallas Cowboys rewarded the Bucs' efforts with a 38–0 blowout in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The 1982 season started just as poorly for the Bucs, as they went 0–3 before a player's strike shut down the NFL for seven weeks. When the league resumed play, the Bucs were nicknamed the "Cardiac Kids" for winning five of their next six games all in the final moments to go 5–4 and qualify for the expanded playoff slate. In the first round, the Bucs once again faced the Cowboys at home in Dallas, but the Bucs put up a much better fight, leading the game at the half. Tampa Bay lost 30–17. As it turned out, this would be the last winning regular season under Culverhouse's ownership.

1983–1996
Before the 1983 season, Williams bolted to the United States Football League in a salary dispute. Without Williams, the Bucs were a rudderless team. They promptly bottomed out at 2–14, the first of 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons—an NFL record for futility. Included in their misery was the drafting of Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson with the first pick in the 1986 draft. Jackson had let it be known that he would never play a down for Hugh Culverhouse at Tampa Bay. Making good on his threat, he opted instead to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals. Jackson would later return for parts of football seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders. Along with Williams, who later was a Super Bowl champion QB for the Redskins, two other Buc quarterbacks during this era led other teams to Super Bowl wins. Steve Young won with the 49ers and Trent Dilfer won with the Ravens.
The Bucs' struggles were due in large part to how Culverhouse ran the team. Under Culverhouse, the Bucs were one of the NFL's more profitable teams during the 1980s. However, this was largely because he kept the payroll among the lowest in the league, hampering their ability to sign quality players. Attendance also sagged; at one point the Buccaneers went parts of three whole seasons without having a home game televised locally.

1997–2001
Despite the profitability of the Buccaneers in the 1980s, Culverhouse's death revealed a team close to bankruptcy, which surprised many observers. His son, Miami attorney Hugh Culverhouse, Jr., practically forced the trustees of his father's estate to sell the team, which cast doubt on the future of the franchise in Tampa. Interested parties included New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, the latter of whom publicly declared he would move the team to Baltimore, as the city did not have an NFL franchise at that time. However, in a last-minute surprise, Malcolm Glazer outbid both of them for $192 million, the highest sale price for a professional sports franchise up to that point. Glazer immediately placed his sons Bryan, Edward, and Joel in charge of the team's financial affairs, and the family's deep pockets and serious commitment to fielding a winning team finally allowed the Bucs to become competitive. The team's performance dramatically improved when the Glazers hired Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Tony Dungy as head coach, jettisoned the old uniform designs (see below), and convinced Hillsborough Countyvoters to raise sales taxes to fund the construction of Raymond James Stadium.
During Dungy's first season in 1996, the team continued to struggle, starting the season 1–8. But in the second half of the season they finished 5–2, primarily due to the performance of a defense ranked seventh in the NFL led by Hardy Nickerson and the maturing of Wyche's draftees Brooks, Lynch, and Sapp. Dungy, with his even-tempered personality, quickly brought balance and morale to the team, and his Cover 2 defensive scheme, sharpened to perfection by defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and linebackers coach Lovie Smith, became the foundation for Tampa Bay's future success. Their version of Cover 2 was so successful that it became known as the Tampa 2. It has been brought to the Chicago Bears by Smith, Detroit Lions by Rod Marinelli, Kansas City Chiefs by Herman Edwards and to the Indianapolis Colts by Dungy himself, and copied by several other teams.
The team started the season 5–0, picking up where they left off the previous year, and this quick start once again landed them on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice.[13][14] The Bucs went 10–6 for their first winning season and playoff appearance since 1982, as a wild-card team. In the Bucs' final home game at Houlihan's Stadium (formerly Tampa Stadium), the team defeated the Detroit Lions 20–10. They lost at Lambeau Field to the eventual NFC champion Green Bay Packers21–7. Still, there was reason for optimism, and the expectations were high for the following season.
The 1998 season, the first to be played in the newly constructed Raymond James Stadium, saw the Bucs lose several close games en route to a disappointing 8–8 record. The Bucs had to play the first 6 football games of the year (including preseason) on the road as the new stadium was not quite finished.
The 1999 season brought much better fortune. On the strength of the NFL's number 3 overall defense and a surprising performance by rookie QB Shaun King, the Bucs finished the season with an 11–5 record and won their third NFC Central Division Championship. They beat the Washington Redskins 14–13 in the Divisional round, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams in an unusually low-scoring NFC Championship Game, 11–6. The Bucs' loss was controversial, highlighted by the unusual reversal of a pass from King to WR Bert Emanuel, which ended the Bucs' chances at continuing their last-minute drive for a possible win. In league meetings later that year, NFL later changed the rules regarding what constituted an incomplete pass, which was considered a backhanded admission that the reversal was incorrect.
While the Bucs played well in 2000 and 2001 and made the playoffs in each season, they were unable to fulfill their primary goal of a Super Bowl victory. The wild card spots that Tampa Bay earned forced them to go on the road for their postseason opener in each year, and unfortunately for the warm-weather team, both road games took them into frigid Philadelphia to play the Eagles. The two losses also continued an unusual losing streak for Tampa Bay: they remained winless all-time in games played when the temperature was less than 32°F (0°C).

2002: Super Bowl champions
Main article: 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
Dungy was fired by the Buccaneers following a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 31–9 in the Wildcard Round of 2001 and soon thereafter hired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, while the Bucs mounted a prolonged and much-maligned search for his replacement. Several potential candidates were offered the job, including University of Florida head coach Steve Spurrier, former New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells, and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Spurrier jumped to the Redskins when he was offered the most lucrative salary package ever offered to an NFL head coach, and Parcells eventually passed on the Bucs' offer—the second time he had done so in the history of the franchise. Bucs general manager Rich McKay threw his support behind Lewis. The Glazer brothers were so displeased with the selection of yet another defensive-minded coach that they overruled McKay and took control of the candidate search themselves. They made it clear that their top choice was Jon Gruden. The problem was that he was still under contract to the Oakland Raiders.
While talks with the Raiders were secretly under way, the Glazers publicly pursued another respected offensive mind, San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci. Just when initial reports indicated that Mariucci had agreed to become both the Bucs' head coach and their general manager, Raiders owner Al Davis agreed to release Jon Gruden to Tampa Bay.
The Glazers' shrewd move eventually paid off in acquiring Gruden, but it was costly. The team hired Gruden away from the Raiders on February 20, 2002, but the price was four draft picks, including the Bucs' first and second round picks in 2002, their first round pick in 2003, and their second round selection in 2004, along with $8 million in cash; the league as a result prohibited any further trading of draft picks for coaches. Gruden was frustrated by the limitation of his coaching authority by Davis and was more than pleased to return to Tampa Bay. His parents lived in Carrollwood, and he had spent part of his childhood in Tampa in the early 1980s when his father was a running backs coach and later a scout for the Bucs.[15]
Upon his arrival in Tampa, Gruden immediately went to work, retooling a sluggish offense. The league's sweeping realignment sent the Bucs to the new NFC South Division, along with the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.
Led by the league's top defense, the 2002 campaign was the Buccaneers' most successful season to date. Linebacker Derrick Brooks was named the 2002 NFL Defensive Player of the Year with a tendency to make big plays. They won the NFC South title with the team's best ever record, 12–4, and went on to rout Gruden's former team, the Oakland Raiders who had the league's number 1 offense, by a score of 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, nicknamed "The Pirate Bowl".

2003–2008: Period of peaks and valleys
 

Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp

Soon after the Super Bowl victory, a growing number of press reports indicated Gruden's lack of patience with general manager McKay. McKay was a major architect of the Bucs' rebuilding effort over the previous ten years, and he, like Gruden, had long-established ties to the Tampa Bay area. However, during the 2003 season, the Gruden-McKay relationship deteriorated as the Bucs struggled on the field. In November,Keyshawn Johnson was deactivated by the team ten games into the season for his conduct, which included sideline arguments with Bucs coaches and players. Johnson was eventually traded to the Dallas Cowboys for wide receiver Joey Galloway, who later in his career played for the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Redskins.
In December, the Glazers allowed McKay to leave the Bucs before the end of the regular season, and he promptly joined the Falcons as president and general manager. Thus, McKay watched his first game as a Falcons executive sitting next to owner Arthur Blank in a Raymond James Stadium skybox. The Falcons defeated the Bucs 30–28. The Bucs suffered a sluggish start and finished the season 7–9. With the Raiders' dismal 4–12 performance, neither Super Bowl team reached the playoffs that year.
For 2004, Bruce Allen was hired as general manager. After Allen's arrival, both John Lynch and Warren Sapp were released, stunning many Buccaneer fans. The distracted Buccaneers began the 2004 season with a 1–5 record, their worst start under Gruden. The fading accuracy of kicker Martin Gramatica did not help matters, as the team lost many close games en route to a 5–11 record.
 

President George W. Bush visiting the Bucs at practice before their game against the Panthers

In the 2005 season, the Buccaneers celebrated their 30th season in the league, and returned to their winning ways. The Bucs selected Cadillac Williams in the first round of the 2005 draft, and the rookie would provide a running game the Buccaneers had not possessed since the days of James Wilder in the 1980s. Cadillac Williams would later go on to receive the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. After starting 5–1, the team entered a midseason slump hampered by a season-ending injury to starting QB Brian Griese. Replacement starter Chris Simms struggled early, but came into his own leading to the team to a last-minute win over the Redskins. The Bucs won the NFC South Division finishing 11–5. The season ended abruptly, however, with a 17–10 loss in the Wild Card round, in a rematch with the Redskins.
After winning the division in 2005, the Bucs suffered through an abysmal 2006 season. The season was plagued by injuries, with starters such as guard Dan Buenning, wide receiver Michael Clayton, running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, defensive end Simeon Rice, cornerback Brian Kelly, and quarterback Chris Simms all being placed on injured reserve at some point in the season. The season also saw a lot of rookies starting for the Bucs, such as quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, tackle Jeremy Trueblood, and guard Davin Joseph.
The Bucs started off the season 0–3, with QB Chris Simms throwing only 1 touchdown to 7 interceptions. In the third game of the season, a last-minute loss to the Panthers, Simms's spleen was ruptured, and he was placed on injured reserve for the balance of the season. After their bye week, the Bucs elected to start rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, a 6th-round pick from Toledo. After nearly beating the Saints, Gradkowski led the team to last-minute wins over the Bengals and Eagles. The success was short-lived, however, and the Bucs lost five of the next six games. Tim Rattay replaced Gradkowski as quarterback late in the season, and the team finished 4–12. The aged defense, with 5 starters who had played there for a decade or more, was ranked 17th overall, the first time a Tampa defense was not ranked in the top ten since 1996.
 

Against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Raymond James Stadium

After a disappointing 4–12 effort in 2006, the Buccaneers for the first time in several seasons had money to spend in free agency. They brought in quarterback Jeff Garcia, offensive tackle Luke Petitgout, defensive end Kevin Carter, and linebacker Cato June. On April 28, the Buccaneers drafted Clemson defensive end Gaines Adams with the 4th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. After the draft the Buccaneers picked up tight end Jerramy Stevens and defensive tackle Ryan Sims.
The offseason changes resulted in the Buccaneers winning the NFC South title in the 2007 season, finishing with a 9–7 record, and the 4th seed in the NFC. The division crown was the second one in three seasons under Gruden. In the Wild Card round of the playoffs held on January 6, 2008, the Buccaneers lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants by a final score of 24–14.
During the 2008 offseason, the Bucs re-signed head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen through the 2011 season. They also acquired former players Warrick Dunn, who had spent the last 6 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, and Brian Griese who was the starting quarterback for the team in 2005 until a knee injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Chris Simms was finally released, having not played in a game since his injury in 2006. The Bucs got off to a great start in 2008, with a 9–3 record going into the final month of the season, tied for first place in the division, with a chance at the top seed in the conference. On December 2, it was announced that defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin would be leaving the team after the season's end, for the same job at the University of Tennessee, serving under his son Lane Kiffin, who had just been named the new head coach at the school. After the announcement, the Buccaneers would lose the final four games of the season to finish 9–7 for the second consecutive season. Unlike 2007, it was not enough to secure the division championship, nor a playoff appearance.

2009–2011: The Raheem Morris Era
In January 2009 the Buccaneers fired Jon Gruden and made Raheem Morris the head coach after having just named Morris the replacement of Monte Kiffin as defensive coordinator. Bruce Allen was also let go, with Mark Dominik his successor as general manager. On February 25, the Bucs released veterans Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard, Jeff Garcia, and Cato June.[16] They traded for tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. on February 27 for a 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft, and a 5th round draft pick in 2010. They signed running back Derrick Ward, from the New York Giants, to a four-year, $17 million contract. They signed quarterback Byron Leftwich to a two-year deal. They drafted Kansas Statequarterback Josh Freeman 17th overall in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. 2009 was one of the Bucs' worst years in recent memory. They started the season 0–7, behind veteran quarterback Byron Leftwich for the first three games, andJosh Johnson, who had never made an appearance in an NFL game prior to the season, for the next four. Following their bye week, Tampa Bay made another quarterback switch, this time to Josh Freeman. Freeman's first career start resulted in the team's first win of the season, a comeback win in which Freeman threw for two touchdown passes in the final quarter. Freeman remained the starting quarterback for the rest of the season, but the team won only two more games. Finishing 3–13, it was their worst record since 1991.
In 2010, the Buccaneers surprised everyone by producing the greatest single-season turnaround in franchise history, going 10–6.[17] This was largely made possible by the breakout performances of second-year quarterback Josh Freeman, rookie receiver Mike Williams, and undrafted rookie running back LeGarrette Blount.
Freeman started all 16 games, throwing for 3,451 yards while completing 61.4% of his throws.[18] He also had the ninth best TD/INT ratio in NFL history, throwing 25 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions.[19] Williams, who was drafted by the Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, caught 65 receptions for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns.[20] His 11 touchdowns were also a Buccaneers franchise record for all receivers.[21] LeGarrette Blount rushed for 1,007 yards and 6 touchdowns, becoming only the second undrafted rookie in NFL history to break the 1,000 yard mark.[21] He accomplished this despite not seeing significant playing time until Week 7.[22]
On the one hand, they achieved double-digit wins just one season after finishing last in their division. On the other hand, they ended up outside the playoff race despite their 10 wins. They lost a close game against the non-playoffDetroit Lions which ended up hurting them in the end as they would have made the playoffs as a wild card in place of the eventual Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers.[23] The Buccaneers' schedule on their way to a 10-win season was also under debate, as their combined opponent win percentage was 0.477, good for 11th easiest in the league that season.[23] This was partly a result of playing the entirety of the NFC West, which had a combined record of 25–39[24] and whose division winner, the Seattle Seahawks, ended their own season with a losing record of 7–9.[24] In comparison, the Cincinnati Bengals, who had the toughest 2010 schedule, had a combined opponent win percentage of 0.582.[23]
The Buccaneers would begin the 2011 season with high hopes after adding several key defensive players through the draft. After a 4–2 start however, the Buccaneers, would collapse by losing 10 games in a row and finishing the season 4–12. Quarterback Josh Freeman would go onto have his worst statistical year since being drafted and the Buccaneers defensive squad would struggle due to several mediocre performances and a variety of injuries/losses of key players such as defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, linebacker Quincy Black, in addition to safeties Cody Grimm and Tanard Jackson.
Once the regular season ended January 2, the Buccaneers fired Head Coach Raheem Morris, offensive coordinator Greg Olson and the rest of his corresponding staff.

2012: "The Buccaneer Way"
Almost three weeks after letting go of Raheem Morris, the Buccaneers announced the hiring of Rutgers's Greg Schiano as their new Head Coach. Thanks to his introductory conference in which he stated "There will be Buccaneer men, and there will be a Buccaneer Way", the phrase "The Buccaneer Way" has become almost a slogan among fans and the local media for his new tenure as head coach of the team.
A few weeks later, the Buccaneers brought along New York Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan to fill-in their offensive coordinator position, Bill Sheridan (who also coached for the Giants in 2010) as their defensive coordinator and long-time friend of Schiano dating back to his days with the University of Miami, University of North Carolina's ex-head coach Butch Davis to fulfill the role of main advisor to the head coach.