So it seems in the mind of one dude who traffics in the fantasy world, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht is inching toward getting run out of Tampa by a Twitter mob if the Bucs don’t make a serious run at the Super Bowl soon.
That’s what Patrick Daugherty of Rotoworld seems to think as he typed out his annual general manager rankings for the NBC outfit.
Daugherty is of the mind Tom Brady made Licht’s career. Had Brady (and unspoken, but one can read) and Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians not gotten a Super Bowl win, Licht would already be gone.
And while Daugherty believes if you don’t win or make a Super Bowl, there’s no point in keeping a general manager around; dump the guy no matter what if he doesn’t produce a ring.
Daugherty gives Licht credit for building a team Brady wanted to come to, Licht’s tenure is now tied to Baker Mayfield, Daugherty suggests. And it seems Daugherty isn’t sold on Mayfield as a Super Bowl-winner, as Daugherty listed Licht as the No. 10 general manager in the NFL.
10. Jason Licht, Bucs
The Bucs “should” have fired Jason Licht after 2019. Coming off a 7-9 season, he was 34-62 (.354) after six years on the job and had ridden the Jameis Winston “era” into the ditch. You know what happened next. Tom Brady wanted to move to Tampa and the rest was history. Brady’s last ride, of course, could have only worked with what turned out to be a deceptively-great Licht roster, and the personnel man finally earned some newfound respect. But then Brady retired and surely that was the end of it, right? Licht’s latest reinvention has been even more surprising than the first. It’s easier to win when you have the greatest player of all time. Much less so after he retires, but Licht has continued to thrive. The Bucs have not only won back-to-back division titles without Brady, they have done so in a fashion that’s gotten back-to-back OCs head-coaching jobs. There is still work to be done.
Despite overachievement now so routine it’s fair to argue he was underrated all along, Baker Mayfield can probably only be ridden so far. Mike Evans and the defense are old. The Bucs’ 2023-24 drafts were not calamitous, but they weren’t home runs, either. Licht’s staying power has been remarkable. But that’s not a self-perpetuating quality. Licht needs his new guard to show up. If it doesn’t, the tweeting class will once again be ready with their “shoulds.”
Joe want to ask Daugherty, if it’s all about winning Super Bowls, how are Eric DeCosta, Les Snead, Brian Gutekunst, Brad Holmes, John Lynch and Brandon Beane done better than Licht?
Daugherty has all six listed ahead of Licht in his rankings. DeCosta and Snead have just as many rings as Licht.
Lynch is looking for his first Super Bowl ring as a team executive. Gutekunst, Holmes and Beane have never been to a Super Bowl as general managers.
And as much as some folks cherry-pick Licht’s draft picks, Licht is a complete genius at the draft compared to Lynch. Do the names Trey Lance, Reuben Foster and Solomon Thomas mean anything to you?
Lynch traded a total of three first-round picks, and one each in the second, third and fourth rounds for those three stiffs. That’s not to mention Lynch could have had Pat Mahomes or a then-clean Desean Watson but went for Thomas instead.
If Licht made half the draft errors Lynch has, there would be a parade of people in front of One Buc Palace holding out white platters.
Licht trades up for Tristan Wirfs? Crickets.
Lynch trades up for Trey Lance? All hail Lynch.
Joe guesses this all boils down to Licht hasn’t drafted a legacy-media-approved quarterback. You know, he’s banked on two free agents, Brady and Mayfield, the latter most of these self-anointed football sophists still turn their noses up at, Joe guesses.
So yeah, if the Bucs can’t get to a Super Bowl in the next year, Team Glazer is going to follow the advice of the Twitter mob and run Licht.
Sure.