Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht got his start in the NFL as a scouting assistant with the Miami Dolphins in 1995.
Since then, he's risen to the top of the general manager ranks while spending time along the way with the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Phiadelphia Eagles at various points of his executive career.
But he found his footing as general manager almost immediately with a top pick in 2014 by drafting future Hall of Famer wideout Mike Evans with the No. 7 overall pick.
While he found success in his first draft in Tampa Bay, he admitted he wasn't walking into the best situation.
“It wasn’t an ideal situation, but I was just very eager to get the opportunity,” Licht said to Field Yates. “Of course, you’re young. You think, ‘I could make a difference. I can change this.’ It turns out, you need to hire a lot of very good people around you in order for it to happen, which I ultimately did. We didn’t have a quarterback. They hired the head coach – Lovie [Smith] at the time – before they hired the GM, which is, you know, not really the standard. It’s just the way it was then at that point for them, for the owners.”
Licht arrived in Tampa Bay with executive role experience, but not as a GM. While he had worked in scouting departments and player personnel departments before, he had never been "the guy" who made the final decisions.
He said he went into it in Year 1 with an attitude of "fearlessness."
“I remember, I was just kind of fearless,” Licht said about facing the challenges that came taking the job in 2014. “I walked into it. I look back on it sometimes, and I tell my wife, ‘Jeez, why did we take this job?’ I’m glad we did, don’t get me wrong. But looking back on it, it wasn’t the ideal situation, but it turned out to be fantastic.
“I’ve been here 12 years, and my ownership group, the Glazers, are amazing. I’ve gotten to have a personal relationship with all of them. They’ve stood by me, they’re a great group, and they really want to win badly. It’s always helpful when the owners’ number one priority is winning.”